A Memorial in Cyberspace for a Fallen Hero

Created by Ivette "Ivy" Segarra and James Arnett, (Class of 1979)

New York City Police Officer Ivette Segarra is a native New Yorker and was assigned to the Transit Manhattan Task Force, TD-4. She also worked with Police Officers Ramon Suarez and Moira Smith; graduated the Academy with Police Officer Stephen Driscoll and knew Detective Joseph Vigiano from associate functions. This Memorial project was conceived to keep their names, and the names of those that died serving with them, alive. Like Police Officer Ramon Suarez, Officer Segarra also went to New York's art schools along with co-producer James Arnett. Officer Segarra is a newly-wed, married to Police Officer Wayne Steele, her partner for eight years before she developed a life threatening auto-immune disorder called Lupus that forced her early retirement, effective at the end of April 2002.

On the morning of September 11th -- just three months after their marriage -- Officer Ivette Segarra and her husband, Officer Wayne Steele, were just home from the hospital after Segarra survivied a bout with pneumonia, a complication of Lupus destroying her lungs, following a year of chemotherapy treatment. Once the impact of the events of September 11th set in as the missing slowly became confirmed casualties, she set out to do something during her recovery to stave off the helpless condition in which she found herself.
____By December 2001, Officer Segarra had collected narratives, photos and approached James Arnett, asking, "What can we do with this?" From there, a very ambitious project was launched with great goals in mind - to tell the world who these Heroes were, to transform the statistics into names and faces while giving the families a window to the support of so many others that they may otherwise never hear. Officer Segarra mentioned, "You know, if we don't do this, nobody else is going to do it." Frustrated with the lack of financial support, while many opportunistic 501(C) 3 non-profit corporations have already taken as much as they could get under the pretense of September 11th for projects completely unrelated to the victims, Officer Segarra has maintained her focus and determination to continue pushing this project forward."
____Officer Segarra officially retired from the NYPD on 26 April 2002. Fortunately from all her efforts, the memorial Web site became a reality. This memorial was commissioned in December 2001 by Police Officer Ivette Segarra NYPD to memorialize her friend, Medal of Honor recipient, Police Officer Ramon Suarez NYPD who gave his life at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in the service of the people of New York City.

To quote the Web site:
"The ambitious goals of this memorial are driven by our desire and effort to make the nation and the world aware of at least one of the many heroes that died that fateful morning in September, so people can learn his name and also see a glimpse of the life he sacrificed, so that others may live.
____In this memorial, we hope to express not only our own deep sadness and our great pride in these heroes but also to provide a means for many others, anywhere in the world, that may never have had the opportunity, to express their feelings and support to the Suarez family, and to the entire family of the NYPD. To those ends, this memorial has been dedicated."

The link to the site is http://the23nypd.com/

 Bio of Police Officer Ramon Suarez, 45
Ramon Suarez was appointed to the Transit Police Department on January 20, 1987. He worked in Transit District 4, Transit Borough Manhattan Task Force, and the Highway District, before transferring back to District 4 in March 2000. He and his partner, PO Mark J. Ellis, were both killed while responding to the World Trade Center incident. A graduate of Manhattan's High School of Graphic Communication Arts, PO Suarez was a few credits shy of a bachelor's degree from Pace University. A physical fitness enthusiast, he had received numerous trophies and awards for his expertise in karate. PO Suarez is survived by his wife Carmen; children Jillian, Sophia and Ramon jr.; parents Marina and Raul; sisters Margarita and Milagros; and brother Raul.


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