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I remember JOHN GIORDANO

John Giordano

Firefighter John J. Giordano was part of Haz Mat Company 1, designated as New York City’s sole dedicated hazardous materials unit. It was quite an honor for an exceptional man. Little did he know that when he headed to work on September 11, 2001 that he would give his life doing what he did best. Helping others. The squad rushed to the aid of those in the WTC towers and suffered heavy losses. Lt Philip McArdle said that those lost, John among them, would be 'impossible to replace.' He was right, in more ways than one.

For his wife Roxann, and his three children -Jonathon, Jordan and Jessica, life must have been terribly difficult for the first few hours, days, weeks after the attacks. Their beloved father and husband was missing. It was not until October 22, 2001 that his body was recovered. The not knowing must have been terrible and I can only imagine the anguish they felt.

There is an amazing article about John and his all too short 47 year life that can be found on this page here. The title is "A strong presence in his community." What an understatement! Please take a moment to read it through. I dare you to NOT be inspired by his passion for everything he did. I have no idea where he found the hours in the day, nor the energy to do the many things he did. He must have been one of the happiest men alive. Doing all those things that he loved doing. What's that saying? Do something you'll love and you'll never work a day in your life. I'm hoping that is just how John saw it. I get the feeling it would have been.

Reading through it myself, two things stood out more than anything. He loved life. And he loved his family. He wanted to share with them in a very real way the things that were important to him. And he did just that. He passed on his love of music to his children. He was a classically trained guitarist who taught the local children from the neighborhood. He loved Bob Dylan. He also loved the environment, with the Hudson River being the topic of his thesis. He planned on becoming a teacher once he finished his Masters Degree and retired from firefighting. I mourn for the generation that will not have this man's influence in their life. I think he would have had a lot to teach today's youth about LIFE.

I'm so proud to learn about, and remember John today. He was such a compassionate, inspirational, and quite simply amazing man who left this world far too soon leaving behind a legacy that i'm sure will live on forever. To John's family, I offer my deepest sympathies and two simple words.

I remember.

I wish I had the words to do John's life justice, but it would take a lifetime to do that. He lived life to the fullest.

Click here for a full list of the tributes that are part of the 2996 project.