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'THEY'VE FORGOTTEN'
Husband of 9/11 cop Moira Smith who died rescuing hundreds rips Dems’ ’empty’ tributes after defund the police movement
HUSBAND of hero 9/11 cop Moira Smith, who died rescuing hundreds of people from the terror carnage, ripped liberal politicians' "empty" tributes in the wake of the defund the police movement.
On the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks, James "Jim" Smith, 60, recalled the bravery of his wife – when the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001.
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named a playground after Jim's wife and a statue at the 9-11 Memorial in Clovis, California, depicts the famous image of Moira tending to bleeding broker Edward Nicholls.
Demonstrations exploded across the United States last year, calling on officials to "" by slashing their budget or in NYC and other cities following George Floyd's fatal arrest in Minneapolis.
But after a of protests, retired cop Jim feels many politicians have like his wife, who is believed to be the first officer to radio in the catastrophe.
"We made a promise to never forget and we've clearly forgotten with the way police officers are treated today in this country, both by the public and the politicians. It's disgusting. It didn't take long to forget," he said.
"When this country needed their police officers, we were the first ones there.
"We were the first ones to run into the buildings to save people. Moira lost her life to make sure that other people got a chance to go home to their families, even though she didn't get home to hers
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"Cops are the ones who come in and save people. They forgot the lessons of 9/11: there are people willing to give their lives to help you. It's sad state of affairs."
Jim slammed "anti-police" politicians who would be pictured today "with their arms around heroes and trying to bask in the reflected glory of what my wife and other officers did."
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"By September 12, they'll be back to . I've no intention of being anywhere near it," he said. Instead, he plans to watch a football game with his daughter.
His wife Moira was one of the 60 NYPD and Port Authority cops killed that morning after kissing Jim and their toddler Patricia, then two, good bye as she headed into work early.
Just minutes before the South Tower collapsed, she was pictured leading Nicholls, the dazed Wall Street worker, out of a tower before it fatally fell so he could be treated for a head and shoulder wound.
The decorated policewoman was helping a woman having an asthma attack on the third floor of the south tower when the building collapsed. She was 38.
Moira supposed to be on election duty, but she switched and was working a labour dispute demonstration instead when she saw the first plane hit.
MISSED CALL
Jim heard about the World Trade Center attack from his sister while minding Patricia, minutes after missing Moira's phone call.
He then headed to the pile of debris lining Manhattan's streets after dropping their daughter off with his family.
Jim saw the tower fall on his way into the city when he reached the midtown tunnel. He was told Moira was safe multiple times when he arrived at the 13th precinct where they worked.
Hours later, after he had toiled for hours on the heap of rubble himself, he learned his wife was "under the building" and not accounted for at around 3am.
CALLING FOR HELP
"There is a voice recording of her, calling for help," Jimmy said. "[She said] that she was on the third floor and couldn't breathe and needed help. That was the last thing we heard from her."
Lt. Rolando Pastrana recently told hearing Moira's voice over the police scanner was one of the most traumatizing parts of 9/11:
"I just remember her screaming over the radio: '1013 is stuck.
"'I can’t get out.'
"I just heard her screaming and then the transmission stopped."
"[On] that last transmission you can definitely hear it that my mom was suffering. And I have to live with that," Patricia said on the documentary, "9/11 Twenty Years Later: The Longest Shadow."
BLUR OF GRIEF
The next few months after 9/11 were a "blur" for Moira's husband, who has "no clear recollection" of that time. Jim just knew his wife was gone.
The family held a memorial service for Moira at St Patrick's Cathedral on what should have been her birthday, February 14.
Her remains were recovered on the first day of spring 2002, alongside Port Authority officers and a fireman.
Her dented NYPD badge No. 10467, leather gun holster, and house keys were had also been found.
Jim donated her belongings National September 11 Memorial and Museum, where they're on display.
"So many people – over a 1,000 people – were never recovered," he said.
LIFE OF THE PARTY
He fondly recalled how Moira lived life to the fullest and was "kind sort of person you wanted at your party."
They met after work at a bar on the lower west side when she was a rookie cop in 1988 and clicked, despite Moira being a diehard Mets fan and Jim's unwavering loyalty to the Yankees.
They ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. As a little girl in Brooklyn, Moira appeared as an extra in the movie, Saturday Night Fever, and can be seen watching the actor strut across a playground.
Jim, who still lives in New York, has now re-married to wife Christine and they have sons James, 13, and Christopher, ten.
Patricia, now 21, is an athletic trainer for Tulane University in New Orleans and has no independent recollections of her mom. Jim was preparing to fly out there to meet his daughter when he spoke to The Sun.
He said Patricia only knows what people tell her about her mom, the heroic cop who sprang into action after 19 terrorists turned planes into missiles, killing 2,977.
When this country needed their police officers, we were the first ones there.
Jimmy Smith
Patricia and Jim flew to Guantanamo Bay in 2017 to watch pre-trial hearings of the five al-Qaeda plotters charged with planning the 9/11 attacks.
Speaking about the long-delayed trial of the five - including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Patricia previously told The Sun: “We have to relive it every single year - and they get no punishment.
"People should be outraged that this is happening.”
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"It's 20 years later and we still have five people on trial in Guantanamo By – the people who planned this," Jim agreed on the eve of September 11's 20th anniversary.
"We still haven't had justice. It's still being delayed time and time again. Where's the justice for our families."
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9/11 timeline of events
The 9/11 terror attacks occurred 20 years ago. Here is a timeline of the day:
- 5:45am - Hijackers get through security in Portland, Maine and board American Airlines Flight 11 that was scheduled to fly to Boston.
- 7:59am - American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston to Los Angeles. The plane is carrying 76 passengers, 11 crew and five hijackers.
- 8:15am - United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 51 passengers, nine crew and five hijackers, takes off from Boston to Los Angeles.
- 8:20am -American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington, DC. The plane is carrying 53 passengers, six crew and five hijackers.
- 8:42am - United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark. The plane is carrying 33 passengers, seven crew and four hijackers. The flight was bound to San Francisco.
- 8:46am - Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
- 9:03am - Flight 175 hits the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
- 9:36am - Vice President Dick Cheney is evacuated by Secret Service agents to an undisclosed location.
- 9:37am - Flight 77 hits the Pentagon building in Washington, DC.
- 9:45am - The US Capitol and White House are both evacuated.
- 9:59am - The South Tower was the first to collapse after burning for around 56 minutes.
- 10:03am - United Airlines flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers and crew got together and stormed the cockpit of the hijacked plane. All passengers on board are killed.
- 10:28am - The North Tower collapses.
- 8:30pm - President George W. Bush addresses the US from the White House regarding the attacks. Almost 3,000 Americans died in the .
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