• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
        Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
        Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
    • Labor
      • Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
    • Tech
      • The future is here
        How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
    • Training
      • Using critical thinking to crack the case
        Navigating cultural and language barriers
        Why you should pocket carry
        The future is here
        Training for tomorrow
    • Policy
      • California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        No degree, no badge?
    • Health/Wellness
      • A golden key to suicide prevention
        The urgency to protect those who protect us
        Wellness for warriors: C.O.P.S. can help
        When knowing isn’t enough
        The mindfulness practice of conscious awareness to enhance resilience
    • Community
      • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
        Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
        An unexpected reunion
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
      Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
      Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
  • Labor
    • Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
  • Tech
    • The future is here
      How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
  • Training
    • Using critical thinking to crack the case
      Navigating cultural and language barriers
      Why you should pocket carry
      The future is here
      Training for tomorrow
  • Policy
    • California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      No degree, no badge?
  • Health/Wellness
    • A golden key to suicide prevention
      The urgency to protect those who protect us
      Wellness for warriors: C.O.P.S. can help
      When knowing isn’t enough
      The mindfulness practice of conscious awareness to enhance resilience
  • Community
    • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
      Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
      An unexpected reunion
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

We Remember

Memorial for the fallen: The sacrifice continues

Bobby Egbert Published September 11, 2023 @ 12:00 pm PDT

A shop drawing of the PAPBA’s new memorial marker provided by American Monument Company. (Note: This is a work in progress and not the final design.) (PAPBA)

Some years ago, a visitor to the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) JFK Airport station house commented about the various tributes and memorials to fallen PAPD officers, saying, “How do you work here surrounded by death?”

That question certainly gives one pause to take a different look around and become reacquainted with the reminders of how dangerous this job can be.

One definition of a memorial is “serving to preserve remembrance.” Police departments preserve the memory of their fallen with memorials, artifacts and tributes, keeping true to the maxim, “Always Honored, Never Forgotten.”

The Port Authority Police Benevolent Association (PAPBA), the union representing Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officers, highlights the sacrifices of 37 Port Authority police officers killed in the line of duty on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center on a memorial located in the vestibule of the PAPBA building. The PAPBA also displays memorial plaques of PAPD officers who died in the line of duty prior to September 11, 2001, in the PAPBA conference room. Unfortunately, the sacrifice continues with post-9/11 illness deaths, prompting Port Authority PBA President Frank Conti, also a National Association of Police Organizations regional vice president, to embark on a plan to renovate the PAPBA office memorial to include all line-of-duty deaths suffered by the PAPD.

The vestibule of the PAPBA headquarters features a memorial to the PAPD 37 (at left). The new memorial will be installed on the facing wall behind the American flag. (PAPBA)

The new PBA memorial will join the existing PAPD 37 memorial with matching black granite tiles and laser-etched likenesses of each fallen officer. The memorial will be a remembrance of those PAPD police officers who died in the line of duty prior to September 11, 2001, including the recently discovered line-of-duty deaths of Sergeant John V. McCabe (EOW 8/22/1946), the first Port Authority police officer to die in the line of duty, and Police Officer John J. Kane (EOW 10/26/1950). Unfortunately, no photograph exists of another historical PAPD line-of-duty death, Police Officer Charles Kessler (EOW 12/16/1951). PAPD Headquarters exhausted all investigation avenues to locate family members of Kessler or a photograph of him without success. His memorial tile will include a laser etching of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial shield and rose.

As previously stated, the sacrifice continues, and those who have died in the line of duty after September 11, 2001, will be memorialized. Those include the 14 Port Authority police officers who succumbed to 9/11 illnesses contracted during their heroic and selfless work in the toxic environment of the World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Mission. In addition, the two latest non-9/11-related line-of-duty deaths, Lieutenant Robert Jones (EOW 6/15/2019) and Police Officer Anthony Varvaro
(EOW 9/11/2022), will also be honored with memorial tiles.

 “This will be a proper memorial to all fallen PAPD members regardless of rank. We have to uphold our promise to never forget their sacrifice,” Conti said. “Everyone who works in the PBA office and all who visit will be reminded that a Port Authority police officer’s sworn, sacred oath at times results in an ultimate sacrifice.”

The memorial is being built by the American Monument Company, a local Englewood, New Jersey, business owned by Greg Boyajian and family with a deep history of creating and restoring memorials. In addition to the PAPBA memorial, the company is currently finishing the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Memorial honoring West Point cadets who died while enrolled at the academy. The memorial will be installed in the West Point Cadet Chapel. Boyajian said the company is also in the process of restoring the General Tadeusz Kosciuszko statue in West Point’s Memorial Park. That statue was originally installed in 1828.

Boyajian commented on his work on the PAPBA memorial, saying, “It is a wonderful and great project, and we are happy to be part of honoring these heroes. It is also very special for us to be partnered with a neighbor of ours to produce such a significant memorial.” 

PAPBA Second Vice President Cesar Morales reflected on the current PAPBA 9/11 memorial, reminiscing how every morning when he enters the PAPBA building, he is “reminded of the dangers our members face each day. I also think of the sacrifice our 37 brothers and sister made on that horrible morning.”

Conti anticipates the memorial to be completed by November 2023. The plans for the unveiling include inviting the families of our fallen to be among the first to view the memorial to their loved ones.

Returning to that long-ago visitor to the JFK Command who questioned how we can continually be reminded of the ultimate sacrifices of Port Authority police officers, all should know, we will never forget and always honor our fallen.

Bobby Egbert

Bobby Egbert

Bobby Egbert is a retired Port Authority police officer, a 9/11 first responder veteran and the public information officer for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association.

View articles by Bobby Egbert

As seen in the September 2023 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: We Remember

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund launches 2025 Bid for the Badge online auction
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund announces “Restoring the Ranks” conference on recruitment and retention
  • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically wounded
  • California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety concerns
  • A golden key to suicide prevention
  • Building positive media relations
  • The urgency to protect those who protect us
  • Wellness for warriors: C.O.P.S. can help
  • When knowing isn’t enough
  • Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.