Fire Safety Medal Taylor Painting crew is painting front doors of all the apartments from 9 am to 3 pm and we need to keep door open to dry. With no computer at home, searched through stacks of 17 boxes for folders on chemistry classes taught but found none. In a loose-leaf folder, found old Cornell lecture on "Science & the Imagination" autographed Nov. 1966 by P.B. Medawar. But in a small box was a bronze medal won for best essay on "Fire Safety at Home" written in the 5th grade back in 1951. Medal still has the French tricolor attached to it, and I still remember Mayor Impellitteri pinning it on me. Recall Dad telling me to write essay at home and memorize it so I'd be relaxed repeating it in the classroom. When I came to Foothill Krause Center late at 4 pm, told Lisa DeLapo had to stay home to let paint dry. Showed her the bronze medal won 67 years ago, and found in a box searched through today at home. Lisa saw back of medal awarded by the NYC Fire Department, and said "Today is 9/11 !" That's 17 years ago and I searched through 17 boxes in my apartment— Did the spirit of NYC firefighters let me find this momento today? 343 firefighters died on 9/11 saving many lives at World Trade Center. It's an honor to remember them— and this medal they gave me will be even a greater treasure in my heart.         Peter Y. Chou         Mountain View, 9-15-2018

Front of Medal "Fire Safety at Home" Back of Medal by NYC Fire Dept World Trade Center Crashed by Planes on 9-11-2001 NYC Fire Department Truck at World Trade Center on 9-11-2001 Tribute of Lights on 9-11 Each Year at World Trade Center