At FDNY graduation, 9/11 sacrifice of Joseph Maloney's Long Island father remembered
Joseph E. Maloney was 10 years old when his dad, his namesake, an FDNY firefighter from Farmingville, was killed responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
On Tuesday, the younger man, now 31, graduated from the FDNY academy, his father's alma mater, one of 303 firefighters joining New York City’s firefighting force of roughly 11,000 personnel.
Maloney, of Blue Point, was among three graduates whose fathers died as a result of 9/11 — either directly responding to the World Trade Center that day or, years later, from the deadly, toxins left in the air at Ground Zero.
At Tuesday's graduation ceremony, held at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, each graduate lined up, saluted with a white-gloved hand, shook the hands of the commissioner and the FDNY's chief of department, and posed for photos, punctuated by cheers.
That chief, John J. Hodgens, had worked with the elder Maloney when he was assigned to Ladder 3 in Manhattan and Hodgens to nearby Ladder 11.
“We went to many different types of emergencies and fires together,” Hodgens said. “Joe was an outstanding firefighter and a great man. I’m sure he’s looking down and very proud today.”
Hodgens added: “I am confident that, just like your fathers, you will all make this city proud.”
A post-9/11 remembrance published in The New York Times recounted how the elder Maloney’s widow, Kathy, had been going through paperwork when she found a note stuck between the birth certificates of their son and daughter. It was addressed to his Kathy:
"Honey, if I die and if on the F.D.N.Y.," he wrote, “you will fare O.K.”
The note concludes: "I love you, Joseph and Megan. Sorry I had to leave you so early. Your father and husband, Joseph E. Maloney.” He was 45 when he died.
The 303 graduating firefighters will be on probation for about a year following the academy, which lasts 19 weeks, before earning the rank of full firefighter.
“I’m very excited to make him proud and continue what he started," said the 31-year-old Maloney, whose own son, also named Joseph E. Maloney, was born during his dad's time at the academy. The youngest Maloney just turned 2 months old.
When he found out he would be able to join the FDNY, Maloney was working on his master’s degree at Stony Brook University to become a gym teacher.
“As soon as I got the call and they told me my score — I stopped my master’s," he said. "I couldn’t be more excited."
The class valedictorian, Thomas York, 26, of Baldwin, told his fellow graduates: “While at basic training for the United States Marine Corps, we ran by a monument every day honoring those who died on September 11th, 2001. This somber memorial reminded me why so many joined the service, including myself, because of the events that happened on that fateful day.”
Despite years of efforts to change the department’s demographics — including a court intervention to influence the Civil Service test — the FDNY's firefighters are 76% white, followed by 13% Hispanic, 8% Black, 2% Asian, and 0.8% of another race or ethnicity, according to a 2022 City Council document. About 98% are men, the document says.
The latest class is about 54% white — 27% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 4% Asian, according to an FDNY news release. About 96% are men; 4% are women.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh noted that the class includes firefighters for whom the job runs in the family — and others for whom it doesn't.
“We also have many new traditions being made today: first-generation firefighters from diverse communities all over our city, including 11 women, who will inspire young women to follow in their footsteps,” she said.
Joseph E. Maloney was 10 years old when his dad, his namesake, an FDNY firefighter from Farmingville, was killed responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
On Tuesday, the younger man, now 31, graduated from the FDNY academy, his father's alma mater, one of 303 firefighters joining New York City’s firefighting force of roughly 11,000 personnel.
Maloney, of Blue Point, was among three graduates whose fathers died as a result of 9/11 — either directly responding to the World Trade Center that day or, years later, from the deadly, toxins left in the air at Ground Zero.
At Tuesday's graduation ceremony, held at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, each graduate lined up, saluted with a white-gloved hand, shook the hands of the commissioner and the FDNY's chief of department, and posed for photos, punctuated by cheers.
FDNY Firefighter Joseph E. Maloney of Farmingville, left, was killed responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At right, his son, also named Joseph E. Maloney, graduated from the FDNY academy Tuesday. Credit: National Fallen Firefighters Foundation / Howard Schnapp
That chief, John J. Hodgens, had worked with the elder Maloney when he was assigned to Ladder 3 in Manhattan and Hodgens to nearby Ladder 11.
“We went to many different types of emergencies and fires together,” Hodgens said. “Joe was an outstanding firefighter and a great man. I’m sure he’s looking down and very proud today.”
Hodgens added: “I am confident that, just like your fathers, you will all make this city proud.”
A post-9/11 remembrance published in The New York Times recounted how the elder Maloney’s widow, Kathy, had been going through paperwork when she found a note stuck between the birth certificates of their son and daughter. It was addressed to his Kathy:
"Honey, if I die and if on the F.D.N.Y.," he wrote, “you will fare O.K.”
The note concludes: "I love you, Joseph and Megan. Sorry I had to leave you so early. Your father and husband, Joseph E. Maloney.” He was 45 when he died.
The 303 graduating firefighters will be on probation for about a year following the academy, which lasts 19 weeks, before earning the rank of full firefighter.
“I’m very excited to make him proud and continue what he started," said the 31-year-old Maloney, whose own son, also named Joseph E. Maloney, was born during his dad's time at the academy. The youngest Maloney just turned 2 months old.
When he found out he would be able to join the FDNY, Maloney was working on his master’s degree at Stony Brook University to become a gym teacher.
“As soon as I got the call and they told me my score — I stopped my master’s," he said. "I couldn’t be more excited."
The class valedictorian, Thomas York, 26, of Baldwin, told his fellow graduates: “While at basic training for the United States Marine Corps, we ran by a monument every day honoring those who died on September 11th, 2001. This somber memorial reminded me why so many joined the service, including myself, because of the events that happened on that fateful day.”
Despite years of efforts to change the department’s demographics — including a court intervention to influence the Civil Service test — the FDNY's firefighters are 76% white, followed by 13% Hispanic, 8% Black, 2% Asian, and 0.8% of another race or ethnicity, according to a 2022 City Council document. About 98% are men, the document says.
The latest class is about 54% white — 27% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 4% Asian, according to an FDNY news release. About 96% are men; 4% are women.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh noted that the class includes firefighters for whom the job runs in the family — and others for whom it doesn't.
“We also have many new traditions being made today: first-generation firefighters from diverse communities all over our city, including 11 women, who will inspire young women to follow in their footsteps,” she said.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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