Robert James Crawford

Today, September 11, 2006, 2,996 volunteer bloggers are coming together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11. Each website will pay tribute to a single victim. We will honor them by remembering their lives, not their murderers. Conservapuppies has been given the great privilege to honor both an innocent victim and true hero, Robert James Crawford.

From NYT 11/7/01: "On September 11, 2001 during the performance of his duties as a New York City firefighter (Safety Batallion). He was lost in The World Trade Center disaster while in the process of evacuating civilians."

The word “hero” is ubiquitous in today's vocabulary. People use the term liberally for a variety of reasons. Frankly, I think its over usage both degrades and dilutes the power of language. Mr. Crawford knowingly put his life in danger to save the lives of others. His final mission embodied the truest definition of a hero. And according to his profile (see below), he put himself in harm’s way for many years.

The following personal profile was published in the New York Times on February 3, 2002:

Modest, Helpful, 'Great'

Jennifer Eppolito has dozens of reasons to call her father, Robert Crawford, great: He would stand outside Brooklyn churches in all kinds of weather, selling raffle tickets to benefit St. Rose's Home, a cancer hospital. When he was honored for his work, he would not want to be in any photographs.

He told her, when she was little, "It's more important to listen to what people are saying than it is always to talk."

He was a firefighter for 32 1/2 years.

"You could ask him about anything, like how does a refrigerator work, and he would be able to sit there and put it into pieces you would understand," she said.

When Mrs. Eppolito's daughter, Alexandra, was born, Mr. Crawford took flowers in a vase with the Virgin Mary on it. He taught Alexandra her address by the time she was 2. He called her Poo Poo, and at 62, played Barbies with her.

"To describe my father as great, that's not even a good enough word," Mrs. Eppolito said. "I was lucky for him to be my father. There is no other man that, in my eyes, could stand up to him."

Our prayers and hopes are with Robert James Crawford and his family. He was obviously a genuine asset to our society and his valor will never be forgotten!