We Will Not Forget

Four officers of the Marco Island Police Department (MIPD) were 9/11 first responders 25 years ago. Officers Ray Leshinger, John Wallace, Anthony Ferraro, and Johnnie Rosario sat down and shared their experiences and the impact of that day. Friday, September 11, 2026, will mark 25 years, and this was an opportunity for them to remind members of the community what that day meant and why we must never forget.

At 8:46 AM, Flight 11 crashed into the north face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center between floors 93 and 99. Officer Ray Leshinger was a Detective Sergeant with the NYPD and was off duty. He received an “all citywide mobilization” order to report to their Brooklyn main office. As he looked across the Hudson River, both towers were already down. Leshinger and his team crossed with the help of charter boats and began evacuating people from Manhattan to Brooklyn. “(I)will never forget the smell of burning and images of people covered in dust running away in fear and panic, still fresh in my mind 25 years later,” Leshinger said. He keeps a commemorative NYPD badge as a reminder with the inscription, “City of New York Police, Proud American, Proud 9/11 First Responder. I will NOT forget.” He joined the Marco Island Police Department in 2022.

At 9:03 AM, Flight 175 crashed into the south face of the South Tower between floors 77 and 85. The Brooklyn Ladder Company 148 responded to the 9/11 attacks. Firefighter Anthony Ferraro was off duty and received a “total recall” alert to report to Ground Zero immediately. Ferraro and his company got to the site around noon and both towers were already down. According to Ferraro, they immediately joined the bucket brigade and loaded piles of concrete from the rubble onto buckets so they could start the critical search for survivors. Ferraro started out as a NYPD officer for ten years and then transferred to the NYFD Ladder Company 148. He joined the Marco Island Police Department in June 2020.

On the morning of 9/11, NYPD Officer John Wallace was off duty and learned of the World Trade Center attack via the news. His precinct was home to the World Trade Center and he knew he had to go in. As he drove into Manhattan, he watched the explosive scene unfold from the expressway with rising thick plumes of smoke, and it looked like the entire south end of Manhattan was destroyed. “What I remember most, once you get over the shock, was how two 100+ story buildings once filled with people and furniture…gone!” said Wallace. “Nothing was recognizable from the rubble, just thick layers of dark ash.” Wallace was assigned to the World Trade Center pit area from September 2001 to January 2002, and he worked six days on and six days off. Wallace served for 38 years with NYPD and joined the Marco Island Police Department in March 2020.

At 8:46 AM on September 11, 2001, NYPD Officer Johnnie Rosario was a Detective First Grade for the NYPD. “What I remember most was the unimaginable devastation and the human remains we recovered,” said Rosario. “I spent nine months working 12-hour days between Ground Zero and the landfill. I witnessed both the absolute worst of that tragedy and also the extraordinary courage, unity, and humanity of the people who came together in its aftermath.” Rosario retired from the NYPD after 26 years and joined Marco Island in 2021.