Backpack
- Description
- Sandpiper of California brand black tactical backpack with waist and side clips. On the front flap is a black, green, and white embroidered commemorative patch in the shape of a pentagon. On the patch "9-11-01" is embroidered in white against a green background, with the number 11 rendered as the Twin Towers. "NEVER FORGET" is embroidered in green below the towers, along with stars and stripes. Next to the patch are two lapel pins. One pin is a City of New York Police Lieutenant pin in the shape of a shield. The second pin is the U.S. Coast Guard anchor.
- Historical Notes
Brendan Fitzpatrick is a former NYPD lieutenant and Coast Guard reservist who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11. He was involved in the ensuing rescue and recovery operations at Ground Zero and patrolled New York Harbor through December 2001. Due to 9/11-related illnesses, Fitzpatrick was medically retired from the Coast Guard in 2008 at the rank of chief petty officer and from the NYPD in 2009 at the rank of lieutenant.
During his retirement, Fitzpatrick conducted his own letter-writing campaigns to senators and members of Congress about his 9/11-related illnesses and their connection to his time spent at Ground Zero and transporting debris to Staten Island. In 2013, he joined John Feal’s advocacy campaign, spearheaded by the FealGood Foundation, and was made a team leader in 2015. The group’s advocacy contributed to the passage of the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act in the summer of 2019.
Fitzpatrick wore this backpack on lobbying trips to Washington, D.C. He estimates he made 40 or 50 trips from New York to Washington D.C. between 2015 -2019. The pins on the backpack represent his affiliations with the NYPD and Coast Guard.
- Accession Number: C.2022.9.2
- Dimensions: 22 in X 15 in X 3 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 55.88 cm X 38.1 cm X 7.62 cm
- Source: Brendan Fitzpatrick
- Credit Line: Gift of Brendan Fitzpatrick, Team Leader, FealGood Foundation
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