A memorial lecture fund is being established in memory of LT. Bill McGinn. I was visiting New York City at the time of the attack. It took me a really long time to put anything about it on the Web site. Since originally putting this information on the site I have had the chance to visit New York City. The destruction is unbelievable.

Bill, was a firefighter that died rescuing others in the World Trade Center tragedy. Bill was very active in firefighter education & safety. Fantasy Styles is asking that if any of you are planning to make contributions in the near future that you consider giving to this fund.

The fund will establish an annual lecture series devoted to health and safety topics related to emergency responders, including firefighters. The fund would also like to fund other educational efforts related to firefighter safety, as well as fire safety in general.

Bill was the husband of my sister's co-worker at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

We must go on with our lives, by remembering those who still live in our memories,

Lieutenant William E. McGinn, FDNY

June 18, 1958 – September 11, 2001

Much has been said and written about the cowardly, dishonorable attacks on the

United States on the 11^th of September. However, enough cannot be said of the bravery

exhibited by the rescuers who worried not of their own safety, but that of the innocent

individuals trapped within the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. This page is dedicated to one of those brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice and saved the

lives of approximately 25,000 people, my brother-in-law, Lt. Bill McGinn, FDNY.

Bill’s unit, Squad 18 Manhattan, witnessed the first plane crash into Tower 1, and immediately headed toward danger, where they were among the first on the scene. They entered the North Tower, and in full gear, made it to about the 70^th Floor via the stairs, assisting in the rescue.

They saved countless lives.

We are now told that following the collapse of the South Tower, they were given the order to evacuate, and were trapped on the staircase at about the 12^th floor when the North Tower fell. Bill’s body was recovered on Thursday, September 27^th, and he was laid to rest in his Staten Island birthplace on Friday, October 5, 2001, with full Fire Department honors.

Bill was the best man I have ever, and probably will ever know.

Remember this: Firemen do not lose their lives – they give them.

Below are his obituary from the Staten Island Advance of September 30, 2001,

written by his wife Anne; the poignant words of his brother Mike McGinn

expressed at Bill’s Funeral Mass on October 5, 2001; and A Fireman’s Prayer read by

his boyhood friend, Father Thomas Dicks, who presided at the Mass

Bill's Obituary and Eulogy, written by family-after reading you really feel like you know Bill. The family asks that contributions be sent in Lt. McGinn's name to the New York-Cornell Burn Center or the Squad 18 Family Fund. If you find contact information for the Squad 18 Family Fund please contact me

Lt. William McGinn
firefighter , New York Fire Department
Reported missing, World Trade Center, at/in building

This Memorial is a collection of individual Tributes commemorating the life of William McGinn. Please sign the Visitor Registry. You are invited to browse through the Tributes and add your own memories, reflections and historical details.