Posted by John Lehmann and Clemente Lisi (165.247.9.179) on October 04, 2001 at 06:18:18:
Tears For The Commander
JOHN LEHMANN and CLEMENTE LISI
NY Post Online
October 2, 2001 -- Remembering him as a devoted family man, dedicated
firefighter and diehard Yankee fan, thousands gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral
yesterday to say farewell to beloved Assistant Chief Gerard Barbara.
The memorial service for the World Trade Center terror victim drew hundreds of
firefighters and droves of relatives and friends for the 53-year-old assistant chief,
who had been promoted to citywide tour commander earlier this year after having
served as a lieutenant, captain and deputy chief over his decorated 30-year career.
Some 300 white-gloved firefighters stood shoulder to shoulder along Fifth Avenue
as mourners - including Barbara's wife of 30 years, Joanne, Mayor Giuliani and Fire
Commissioner Thomas Von Essen - streamed into the cathedral. Dozens of others
looked on from across the street and out of their office windows.
In emotional speeches that each drew long applause, Barbara's daughter and son
remembered their father as a man who taught them how to overcome fear.
"When I was a little girl he would tuck me in at night smelling of smoke," said his
daughter Caren. "He would never let his little girl know how dangerous his job was."
Barbara's son Paul, a medical student, told how his father was last seen walking
across West Street toward the south tower.
"He didn't run, he didn't panic - he was just walking, thinking of how to fix the
greatest calamity in human history. Nobody knows where he went after that," he said.
"A month ago, I wanted dad to be the best man at my wedding - now I'm forced to get through life without
him."
Fire Department chaplain John Delendeck recalled that Barbara was a "huge Yankee fan."
"When he would watch games at home, he would rattle the windows and lights when things were not going
right with the Yankees," the chaplain said.
Mayor Giuliani, who gave his Yankee cap to the family, also recalled seeing pictures of Barbara wearing "every
form of Yankee outfit imaginable."
Barbara's memorial service was one of six that took place yesterday for the fallen heroes of the trade center
attack.
Earlier in the day, some 1,300 mourners overflowed St. Clare's Roman Catholic Church in Rosedale, Queens,
to honor 51-year-old firefighter Henry Miller Jr. Members of Ladder Co. 105 placed a cross adorned with roses
and carnations besides a photograph of the fallen hero and his black boots.
In Ronkonkoma, L.I., hundreds of family members and friends jammed into St. Joseph's Roman Catholic
Church to pay tribute to firefighter Peter Brennan, a member of Rescue Co. 4. The former city police officer,
31, was remembered as a brave rescue diver who hauled rescue equipment into the north tower moments
before it collapsed.
Also remembered yesterday were firefighters David Halderman, 40, of Squad 18; Josˇ Guadalupe, 37, of
Engine Co. 54; and Jeffrey Stark, 30, of Engine Co. 230.