Patricia Smith and Patrick Lyons received Legacy of Courage Awards at the First Responders Children's Foundation annual gala on May 16. The event honored the children of two fallen 9/11 first responders, including the only female NYPD officer killed at the Twin Towers and an FDNY firefighter who rushed toward the North Tower. The gala took place at Gotham Hall during New York City’s 25th anniversary preparations to remember the 2,753 people who died in downtown Manhattan. Patricia Smith was two years old when her mother, Moira Smith, was killed, and a photographer captured her leading a bloodied broker away before returning to help others. Patrick Lyons was born after the attack, and his mother described knowing he was under the towers. Awards were presented by NYPD and FDNY commissioners.
"Patricia Smith and Patrick Lyons both received Legacy of Courage Awards at the foundation's annual gala on May 16 as the head of the nonprofit said the night was meant to show "a commitment to the future of the families we serve." The 25th annual event inside Gotham Hall comes as the Big Apple prepares to remember the 2,753 lives lost in downtown Manhattan a quarter-century after terrorists flew highjacked commercial planes into the World Trade Center."
"Patricia Smith was just 2-years-old when her mother, Moira Smith, was the only female officer of the 23 NYPD cops killed in the terror attack. A photographer even captured a picture of Smith leading a bloodied broker away from the wreckage before she raced back inside to courageously help more people. "She was a person who gave her life because she knew she'd be making a difference," Moira's husband James, who is a retired NYPD cop, told PIX 11 in 2016. "She made sure other people got to go home to their families that day.""
"Patrick Mate Lyons wasn't born yet when his father, FDNY Lt. Patrick J. Lyons, rushed toward the North Tower to help people trapped in the iconic skyscraper. "As I watched the Twin Towers collapse on TV, I knew at that moment that he was under those towers and I was going to lose him," his wife Irene told The Post in 2002. The brave firefighter's son was born about a month after the attack."
"Smith received her recognition from NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Lyons accepted his award from FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. "This evening was not only a celebration of our past, but a commitment to the future of the families we serve," foundation CEO Jillian Crane said in a statement. "What makes this mission so powerful i"
Read at New York Post
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