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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Moira Smith? A smith that smites more?

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moira Smith
Smith aiding an office worker during the 9/11 attacks.
Born
Moira Ann Reddy

(1963-02-14)February 14, 1963
Queens, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 38)
South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, U.S.
Cause of death
Collapse of 2 World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks
Resting place
Saint Charles Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York, U.S.
OccupationPolice officer
Known forAiding victims of the September 11 attacks

Moira Ann Reddy Smith (February 14, 1963[1] – September 11, 2001) was an American police officer for the New York Police Department who was killed during the September 11 attacks. She was the only female NYPD officer killed in the attacks.[2][3][1]

Life and death

[edit]

Early life and career

[edit]

Moira Smith was born on February 14, 1963, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn,[1] and grew up in Queens Village, Queens.[2] She attended Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, and majored in criminal justice.[1]

She became an officer for the New York City Transit Police in December 1988.[1] The New York City Transit police merged into the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1995, and Smith was assigned to the 13th Precinct in Manhattan.[2]

Smith was one of the first officers to respond to the 1991 Union Square derailment, in which five people were killed and more than 160 injured. She worked for the next 24 hours to rescue and treat the wounded until being sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Smith and her husband James (commonly known as Jim), also a police officer, were awarded distinguished duty medals for their actions.[1]

September 11 attacks

[edit]
Memorials near Ground Zero on September 12, 2002. At right, a March 2002 news clipping announces that Smith's remains were recovered from the site.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Smith was on duty near the World Trade Center (WTC) complex when the first plane struck the North Tower (1 WTC).[4][5] She was among the first NYPD officers to respond and the first to report events to the department, radioing in news of the attack and helping escort witnesses from the scene back to her precinct.[4][3]

Smith then returned to the World Trade Center, entering the South Tower (2 WTC) and climbing multiple flights of stairs to guide injured people to safety.[4][3] The day after the attacks, the Daily News published a photo of Smith aiding a bloodied office worker.[6]

Survivors later recalled that Smith led groups down through smoke-filled stairwells, repeatedly going back up to help more people.[3] She was last seen on the lower floors of the South Tower before it collapsed, rushing to aid a woman reportedly having an asthma attack.[4][3]

Some of the victims, including police officers and other first responders,[7] initially survived the collapse but then died, either trapped within the remnants of the World Trade Center or following their escape or rescue from the rubble. A fragment of voice recording of the final police radio transmission of Smith calling for help from what was once the third floor while running out of air[8] was publicly released by her daughter on 25th anniversary of the attacks.[9]

After months of search, also personally by her husband desperately working at the WTC Ground Zero site during the immediate aftermath,[10] Smith's remains and badge were finally recovered in March 2002.[4][1] Several days later, she received a funeral at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village.[11]

Legacy

[edit]
NYPD memorial honoring Smith and others at St. Michael's Cemetery.

Honors and memorials

[edit]

Moira Ann Reddy Smith received the NYPD Medal of Honor posthumously on December 4, 2001, for her actions on 9/11.[2][12] In 2026, the NYPD named police dog Moira Ann after her.[13]

She was listed by Glamour and Ms. among Women of the Year for 2001 and was named Woman of the Year by the NYPD's Policewomen's Endowment Association.[14] President George W. Bush cited Smith's heroism in remarks at the White House on September 10, 2005.[15]

In 2002, a section of Shore Boulevard in Queens was designated P.O. Moira Smith Way, and the Staten Island Ferry vessel Moira Smith was named for her.[2][11] In 2012, New York City renamed a playground in Madison Square Park the Police Officer Moira Ann Smith Playground in her honor.[16][17][18]

In 2014, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton unveiled a portrait of Smith at the 13th Precinct in Manhattan.[19] Smith's badge and shield are on display at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.[5]

Family

[edit]

Moira Smith's husband, James Smith, continued to serve with the NYPD after her death and has spoken publicly about her legacy.[4][3] Their daughter, Patricia, who was 2 years old when Moira died, has also given public interviews to honor her memory.[4] Moira's cousin, Montour county commissioner Trevor Finn, became a volunteer firefighter because of her.[20]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mink, Michael (September 8, 2017). "NYPD's Moira Smith Raced Into Action On 9/11, Rescuing Hundreds". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Moira Smith". New York State Senate. 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kaden, Allison (September 11, 2021). "NYPD Officer Moira Smith remembered 20 years later by the men whose lives she saved on 9/11". PIX11. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Feldman, Eric (September 1, 2026). "Patricia Smith". NY1. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "On 20th anniversary of 9/11, questions, anger and death linger". ABC News. September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "SURVIVOR, HERO HAVE SAD BOND Man cop helped meets her spouse". New York Daily News. December 23, 2001. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Miracles emerge from debris". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ "On 20th anniversary of 9/11, questions, anger and death linger". ABC News. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  9. ↑ She wants the public to hear her mom’s final transmission on Sept. 11, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2026 – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ↑ Clairmont, Susan (September 10, 2026). "I was in New York on 9/11. Here's what I remember, and what's changed". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Hendrick, Daniel (September 11, 2002). "Officer Moira Smith Honored With A Year Of Solemn Tributes". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Aftershocks: 12 Months in NYC". New York. September 2002. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Exclusive | NYPD names K-9s after fallen 9/11 heroes". September 12, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Local Tribute To Police Officer Moira Smith | NYSenate.gov". www.nysenate.gov. October 19, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  15. ↑ Janofsky, Michael (September 10, 2005). "Bush Honors Public Servants Killed on 9/11". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Police Officer Moira Ann Smith Playground". NYC Parks. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Playground named after 9/11 hero". ABC 7 Chicago. March 10, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Madison Square Park Playground Named After September 11th Hero". CBS New York. March 12, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  19. ↑ Parascandola, Rocco (September 26, 2014). "Bill Bratton dedicates portrait of NYPD's only 9/11 female cop victim to 13th precinct". Daily News. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Montour County Commissioner honors cousin, NYPD Officer Moira Smith's heroic legacy on 9/11". Yahoo News. September 10, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
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