Police Honor 10 Who Died From 9/11 Illnesses By Sean Gardiner — Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 ‘The Wall Street Journal’ / New York, NY

The names of nine officers and one civilian employee who were deemed to have died from illnesses connected to the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were added to the New York Police Department's memorial wall in a ceremony at police headquarters Monday.

The officers whose names were added to the wall varied in rank from inspector to police officer, worked all over the city and performed a variety of different tasks, from subway patrols to traffic duties to undercover narcotics detective to beat cop. They were all men and their ages ranged from 40 to 67.

"On Thursday, President Obama paid his respects at Ground Zero," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "He laid a wreath in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks that occurred there. That includes the 10 members of the police department that we honor today who died as a result of illnesses contracted after performing rescue and recovery work in the aftermath of the attacks. These individuals gave their lives in the service of the United States."

Those memorialized were Inspector Donald Feser, Lt. Carlos Ocasio, Sgt. Alex Baez, Det. Corey Diaz and officers Frank Boluis, Robert Grossman, Richard Jakubowsky, Robert Oswain, Robert Zand and NYPD mechanic Elmis "Chuck" Fisher.

Mr. Kelly gave short biographies of each of the fallen members of his department and in some instances detailed the work they did in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

For instance, in the case of Mr. Fisher, the mechanic, he said, "Chuck put in more than 1,000 hours clearing and repairing [police] vehicles that were caked with dust" from the collapse of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center.

Twenty-three members of the NYPD were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Including those honored at the ceremony at 1 Police Plaza in downtown Manhattan on Monday, 38 officers and one civilian worker who died of illnesses developed after work they performed at Ground Zero have since been added to the memorial wall.

"This is a ceremony that arouses both deep pride and renewed sorrow," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "Pride because we recall the bravery and devotion of those to whom we pay tribute. And sorrow because we know that their lives, like the lives of all those whose names are enshrined on this wall, ended far too soon."