Remembering our Fallen 9-11 Brothers:

For Local 3 Members—A New Meaning to 1776

1776 for Americans marks the birth of our nation. Indeed, Electrical Union World highlights the July 4th 1776 Declaration of Independence, calling upon all Americans to recall that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

For 17 members of Local 3 these rights were taken away from them on September 11, 2001. It has taken nearly 13 years for America to recover from the terrorist attacks of that day but today the Freedom Tower stands at 1776 feet in height as a monument to the American spirit!

Base of beacon that sits atop Freedom Tower at Ground 
Zero contains the names of the members of Local 3 
and 1212 IBEW who were killed in the terrorist attack on 
the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

At the very peak of the tower are etched the names of the 17 members of Local 3 who were killed in the terrorist attack upon the World Trade Center.

These names:

Thomas Ashton James M. Cartier Robert J. Caufield Joseph DiPilato Salvatore A. Fiumefreddo Harvey R. Hermer Ralph M. Licciardi Michael W. Lowe Charles P. Lucania

Lester V. Marino Jose A. Martinez, Jr. Joseph M. Romagnolo Anthony Seggara Jeffrey J. Shaw Steven R. Strauss Glenn J. Travers, Sr. Kenneth W. White

were etched by members of Local 3 into the plate supporting the aerial beacon that sits atop the tower.


This came about through the effort of Local 3 member Sal Cioffi. Brother Cioffi was among many Local 3 members who witnessed first-hand the attack and assisted in the search and rescue efforts immediately afterward. He returned to work at Ground Zero as an electrician/welder for Five Star Electric.

Local 3 member Sal Cioffi, etches the names of the
members of Local 3 and 1212 into the base of the
beacon that stands 1,776 feet above Manhattan
— the highest point in the Western Hemisphere.

In early 2013 he and his partner Rodney Otero were assigned to weld brackets and assist in the installation of conduits for the Freedom Tower’s Spire lighting.

Originally the thought was to place Local 3, IBEW stickers on the infrastructure of the Spire in memory of the 17 Local 3 members murdered on September 11, 2001.

Thinking this was a great idea, they decided to take it one step further and engrave the names of the 17 Local 3 members and the four IBEW Local 1212 members killed on the plate of the beacon light—a light which is to shine at the highest point of the spire.

On May 10, 2013 the Spire was lifted into place and the names of Local 3’s 17 members and Local 1212’s 4 members are now at the highest point in the Western Hemisphere in remembrance of their sacrifice.

In the days before the top sections of the spire were hoisted to the top of the Freedom Tower, the IBEW Hour Power Team videotaped the hoisting and the video is available for all to see at www.ibewhourpower.com.

As published in
Electrical Union World (October 2013)

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