Captain Kathy Mazza Port Authority Police Department Academy Captain's Shield #30
A captain and the first female commanding officer of the Port Authority Police Academy, Kathy Mazza, 46, of South Farmingdale, NY, died at the World Trade Center after drawing her gun to blast open glass walls, allowing hundreds to escape.  It's been said of the 14 year veteran of the Port Authority Police Department, she was the one that breathed life into the Academy's training program.  Trained as a nurse, she was one of only two female captains in the Port Authority, and the first female officer to loose her life in the line of duty.  Just two years ago, she was honored as New York City's Basic Life Support Provider of the Year.  Her 1997 initiative to train some 600 officers to use defibrillators in airports is credited with saving 14-16 lives.

Police Officer Donald McIntyre PATH Command P.O. Shield #1873
Because of Donald "Donnie" McIntyre and other heroes like him, 25,000 innocent civilians escaped the Twin Towers on September 11th.  McIntyre, 38, of New City, NY, had 14 years of PAPD service and showed the world that courage wears the uniform of a Port Authority police officer.  Escorting workers to safety, and running into the towers with his unit, he called his wife and promised to try and get to the 84th floor to search for his brother-in-law. Also a hero during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, he could have been saved, but he went back in to save others.

Police Officer Walter McNeil Holland Tunnel Command P.O. Shield #1235

Port Authority police officer, Walter "Mac" McNeil, 53, of East Stroudsburg, PA, called his wife on the morning of September 11th to ask if she was looking at the news, and told her he wouldn't be home for awhile. The World Trade Center was in flames and he was on his way to help.  That was the last time they spoke.  He rushed to the WTC from his post at the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, where he could usually be found directing traffice and inspecting vehicles for hazardous materials.  The 31 year veteran of the PAPD was last seen setting up a command post just before the second plane hit.  Mac was also involved in the resuce effort during the 1993 WTC bombing and was a retired National Guard first sergeant, who spent more than nine months in the Persian Gulf.

 

Superintendent of Police Fred Morrone Headquarters Command (no shield number)

Lakewood, NJ, resident and Superintendent of Police for the NY/NY Port Authority, Fred Morrone, 63, was in Jersey City, NJ, instead of his office on the first floor of the World Trade Center when hijacked jets crashed into the buildings.  He did what any other police officer would have done when he jumped into his car and rushed to the other side of the Hudson River to help in the evacuation of the buildings.  The retired NJ State Trooper, was one of the first rescuers in Tower One.  According to an assistant in contact with him via cell phone, Marrone had assisted someone down from the 67th floor shortly before the building collapsed.  One of the last cases he worked as a State Trooper was the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, assigned to help the FBI with that investigation.  Since joining the Port Authority, Mr. Morrone has been credited with many initiatives.  He established a residential training program at the Port Authority Police Academy, toughened training standards for recruits, helped create the International School for Airport and Seaport Security, implemented a program to train police officers in the use of portable heart defibrillators and established bike patrols at the airports, a scuba team, a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit, an Airborne Services Unit and a Motorcycle Unit.

Police Officer Joseph Navas PATH Emergency Services Unit P.O. Shield #1220
Joseph Navas, 44, of Paramus, NJ was a Port Authority Officer with the Emergency Services Unit and a rescue specialist who feared few risks. He was assigned to PATH to patrol the city's tunnels, but on September 11th, after the terrorist attacks, he hurried from his station in Journal Square to the World Trade Center to help in the rescue effort. With his crew, the 20 year veteran of the PAPD headed fearlessly into the North Tower, where he made his last transmission from the 66th floor.  Trained for specialized rescue jobs ranging from rappelling up and down building walls to dealing with spills of caustic chemicals and rescue diving, Navas apparently died helping lead panicky workers from Tower Two to safety.  He handed off a victim and went back in, never to emerge again.  Recently he helped rescue two mentally disturbed people from the George Washington Bridge. In 1993, he was involved in the rescues after the WTC bombing, and two years ago, he dangled from a tower door on the George Washington Bridge to yank back to safety a person trying to jump.  The truck pictured here is the Port Authority Police Department's ESU truck that Navas drove to the WTC on September 11th. Click HERE to read a tribute to Joey by his cousin

Police Officer James Nelson Port Authority Police Department Academy P.O. Shield #1517

For as long as his family can remember, James "Jimmy" Nelson, 40, of Clark, NJ, wanted to be a police officer.  On the morning of September 11th, Nelson an Instructor at the Port Authority Academy, called his wife to say he was responding to the emergency call at the World Trade Center.  He rushed to the Twin Towers, where he had been sworn in as a PAPD officer 15 years prior.  Refusing to leave while others were still inside, he was evacuating workers from the 27th floor when the tower collapsed.  In the aftermath of the 1993 bombings of the WTC, he was there braving the black smoke despite his asthma.

Police Officer Alphonse Niedermeyer Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit P.O. Shield #1537

A big man with a booming New York accent, Alphonse Niedermeyer, was a hero even before he rushed into tower two of the World Trade Center on September 11th to help in the rescue efforts.  In 1992 he received a special citation for rescuing passengers from a US Airways jet, Flight 405, that skidded off a runway and crashed at LaGuardia Airport.  He once stopped his car just to help an elderly, disoriented gentleman cross a busy street.  The 40 year old resident of Manasquan, NJ, was a 15 year veteran of the PAPD who had been awarded numerous citations for exemplary actions. Assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit, he wanted to be where he was most useful, and on September 11th that was at the WTC where he lost his life helping save the lives of others.

Police Officer James Parham Port Authority Police Department Academy P.O. Shield #1552

James Parham, 32, of Jackson Heights, NY, was a respected law enforcement officer and instructor at the Port Authority Police Academy.  He had only been with the Port Authority for 2 years, when on September 11th he rushed to aid those trapped in the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.  He knew what horrors awaited him because he had time to hear the warnings, but he went in to save people anyway.   He was an officer who would give up everything to help someone else and on that fateful day he did ... he gave his life helping to rescue another.

Police Officer Dominick Pezzulo Port Authority Bus Terminal Command P.O. Shield #900

A resident of the Bronx, New York City, NY, Dominick Pezzulo, 36, along with some other officers, commandered a New York City Bus and headed for the World Trade Center on September 11th, after they heard about the attack on the two buildings. Arriving at the scene before either building collapsed, Pezzulo was one of the many who went inside the building to evacuate it. A friendly cop who patrolled the Port Authority Bus Terminal, he initially escaped the collapse of the towers, but realizing the two officers he had been with were trapped in the rubble from the initial explosions, he disregarded his own safety and went back in for them.  He helped them escape but he was killed by falling debris. Police Officer Pezzulo was known as a man who would always give of himself to help others. His grief stricken co-workers wrapped his body in an American flag before carrying it from the wreckage.  His last words were, "Just remember me, I died trying to save you guys."

Police Officer Bruce Reynolds George Washington Bridge Command P.O. Shield #1800

At only 12 years of age, Bruce Reynolds, surprised his parents by announcing he wanted to be a police officer. That dream became a reality in 1986, when the Columbia, NJ, resident joined the Port Authority Police Department.  On the morning of September 11th, Officer Reynolds, 41, reported for his regular shift at the George Washington Bridge just as the first airliner slammed into the World Trade Center.  Along with other Port Authority officers he was sent to the scene to help in the rescue efforts.  Out of concern for Officer Reynolds' respiratory problems, a fellow officer told him to stay outside, but he was last seen rushing into Tower Two of the WTC.  He was determined to help people make it out.  Known for his street smarts and knack for drug arrests, in 2000 he helped save the life of a man who tried to jump from the bridge he patrolled.   Out of respect for their fallen commrade, on the day of Officer Reynolds' funeral, the Port Authority shut down the upper level of the bridge in both directions while the hearse passed, stopping at at the Bridge Plaza South command post, where officers stood at attention and saluted as a bagpiper played in a cold wind. Click HERE to read the Eulogy delivered at P.O. Reynold's Funeral