9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor

Officers Who Made the Ultimate Sacrificice on September 11, 2001

Every day, public safety officers risk their lives to protect America's citizens and communities. No day has proven that more than September 11, 2001.

On September 9, 2005, on the South Lawn of the White House, President George W. Bush presented the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor to surviving families of the fallen firefighters, police officers, and other public safety officers who were killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on September 11. The President thanked the families on behalf of the nation for their sacrifice. "A proud America will always stand in the shadow of their service and sacrifice," President Bush told a crowd of about 1,400 family members and friends, each of who wore a name badge honoring their fallen hero.

Reflecting the honor and respect of a grateful nation, Congress authorized and the President signed into law the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor in 2005. On July 1, 2005, U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales certified a list of 442 public safety officers killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The attacks killed members of the Fire Department of New York City, Port Authority police officers and emergency service workers, New York Police Department officers, state court officers, private ambulance workers, and members of federal law enforcement agencies.