On this day, we memorialize all those that perished on September 11, 2001 at the hands of terrorists. We remember the sacrifice of those that responded to the incident and died or were wounded. Much attention in fact is given to the sacrifice of the brave fire fighters, police officers, first responders and soldiers that were killed that day. What is not really talked about is the sacrifice of private security contractors that died on that day.
Below I have found a list compiled by one website that did the work to find these names. I have also searched through the various databases that lists the deaths to find out how many died within the various companies involved. According to the statistics, Summit Security Services lost the most personnel on that day. That number was eleven. OCS Security lost five personnel that day.
In the world of security contracting, just one or two guys getting killed in an incident is huge. An IED here, a shooting incident there–these deaths send shockwaves throughout the community. This is because usually guys know the contractors killed or have one degree of separation. I look back at my time in this industry and I have met quite a few folks, and this is a very small community.
Within the company though, deaths really hit hard because these guys are a part of the ‘family’. The human resource office, the project manager, the CEO, the friends and families, and even the clients the companies serve, all grieve when one of their own is killed. They also build memorials to those killed.
So when I see that Summit Security Services lost eleven men that day, I just imagine how devastating that really was to the company. An example of other great sacrifices within a non-security company that day was Cantor Fitzgerald. They lost 658 people… A truly horrible loss and it takes real leadership to carry the company forward and heal.
In the past I have written about the sacrifice and heroism of Rick Rescorla, who is probably the most familiar security contractor to have died on 9/11. Today in my little corner of the internet and blogosphere, I wanted to not only remember the deaths and sacrifices of all persons involved on 9/11, but also give a special remembrance to those security contractors that died that day in defense of their client. Below are a list of 36 security contractors killed, and this post is dedicated to them. –Matt
FOB Rescorla in Afghanistan. Photo credit to the Rick Rescorla Memorial.
Patrick Adams – 60, Brooklyn, NY, Security officer, Fuji Bank
Godwin Ajala – 33, New York, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
Andrew J. Bailey – 29, New York, NY, Security supervisor, Marsh & McLennan
Lawrence F. Boisseau – 36, Freehold, NJ, Fire safety director, OCS Security
Francisco Bourdier – 40, New York, NY, Security guard, Deutsche Bank
Larry Bowman – 46, New York, N.Y., security officer, Summit Security Services
Edward Calderon – 43, Jersey City, NJ, Security guard, Port Authority
Mannie Leroy Clark – 54, New York, NY, Security guard
Francisco Cruz – 48, Staten Island, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
Denease Conley – 43, New York, N.Y., Summit Security
Samuel Fields – 36, New York, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
John R. Fisher – 46, Bayonne, N.J., security consultant, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Richard Fitzsimons – 57, Lynbrook, NY, Fire safety inspector, OCS Security
Ervin Gailliard – 42, New York, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
Jorge Luis Morron Garcia, 38, New York, N.Y., security officer, Summit Security Services
Charles Gregory John – 44, Security officer, Royston and Zamani
Philip Thomas Hayes – 67, East Northport, NY, Fire safety director, OCS Security
Ronald Hoerner – 58, Massapequa Park, NY, Security manager, Summit Security Services
Mohammed Jawara – MAS Security
Douglas G. Karpiloff – 53, Mamaroneck, NY, Security director, Port Authority
Barry Kirschbaum – 53, Staten Island, NY, Security manager, Marsh & McLennan
Leon Lebor, Security guard, Summit Security Services
Daniel Lugo – 45, New York, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
Anthony Luparello Jr., 63, SecurityWguard, American Building Maintenance
Sara Manley – 31, New York, N.Y., vice president and senior security analyst, Fred Alger Management
Robert Martinez – 24, Long Island City, N.Y., security officer, Summit Security Services
Robert J. Mayo – 46, Marlboro, NJ, Fire safety director, OCS Security
Stanley McCaskill – 47, New York, NY, Security guard, Advantage Security
John P. O’Neill – 50, NY, Security, Silverstein Partners
Alexander Ortiz – Security guard, Grubb & Ellis Inc
Rick Rescorla – 62, head of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Esmerlin Salcedo – 36, New York, NY, Security officer, Summit Security Services
Nolbert Salomon – 33, Security guard
Francis Joseph Trombino – 68, Clifton, NJ, Security guard, Brinks
Jorge Velazquez – 47, Passaic, NJ, Security specialist, Morgan Stanley
William Wren – 61, Lynbrook, NJ, Resident manager, OCS Security
List compiled here.