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Farewell to lone Female NYPD victim

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Stephen McKinley

On what would have been her 39th birthday, mourners laid to rest police officer Moira Smith last Thursday, the only female officer of the 23 NYPD members killed by the collapse of the twin towers on Sept. 11. Smith’s husband, James, also a police officer, led mourners with the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Patricia. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly attended with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki. Earlier in the day, James and Patricia had christened a NY Waterway ferry after Moira. Alongside the name Moira Smith on the side of the ferry was clearly emblazoned the symbol of the Claddagh, the ancient Irish symbol of love, loyalty and friendship, with its heart surrounded by two hands and topped with a crown. Smith showed those who gathered with him for the launch of the ferry his own Claddagh ring, tearfully recalling that Moira had worn one as well. The ferry will plow the waters of the East River between Pier 11 at the South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn piers and the East 90th Street dock. Outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, an honor guard of hundreds of police officers and firefighters lined Fifth Avenue for Smith’s funeral, before filing inside for the funeral Mass. The officers stood to attention and hundreds of white-gloved hands saluted Smith and his Patricia. The NYPD’s Emerald Society Pipes and Drums led the funeral procession into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The crowd that filled almost six blocks of Fifth Avenue inspired James Smith to note that recently he had watched the Wizard of Oz with his daughter. “The Wizard told the Tin Man that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others,” Smith said. Looking at the crowd of more than 1,500 seated, with many more standing in the entrance and outside, he concluded that Moira must have had a very big heart. Commissioner Kelly, in his remarks, recalled that Moira had been many miles from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 but had come rushing to the scene to help. A dramatic photograph of her was captured by a New York Daily News photographer. It shows Smith helping an injured man out of the towers while calling for help for him. After she found medical assistance for the man, she went back into the towers to help others but did not survive the collapse. Kelly told the crowd that Moira exemplified the NYPD spirit on that day. “They changed history,” Kelly said. “They changed that day from one of total defeat and devastation to one of rescue and triumph.”

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