Port Authority Police Officer Paul W. Jurgens, who lost his life helping others on September 11, 2001, will be forever memorialized in his home community. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, together with Councilman Gary Hudes, Town Clerk Mark Bonilla and Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin were joined by family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Jurgens on October 18 when they unveiled "Paul W. Jurgens Lane" on the corner of Dogwood Lane and Wolcott Road in Levittown.

Jurgens, a 21-year veteran of the Port Authority, was one of 37 officers in the New York/New Jersey Port Authority who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. The Authority also lost one member of its K-9 Unit. This was the largest loss a police department has ever suffered, 3 percent of the entire police force.

"That morning, the Port Authority Police Department participated in the largest rescue effort in the history of our country. Paul Jurgens was among those who lost their lives doing the job they loved," Murray said. "Prior to September 11, many people thought that there were no modern heroes. Then we came to know so many people who went to work that day to support their loved ones and lost their lives in the first battle of the first war of the 21st century."

"Paul Jurgens never sought to be a hero," Hudes noted. "However, like so many others, he selected a career as a police officer because he wished to help others."

Jurgens dedicated his life to serving others. He was a former US Marine Corps Corporal, a member of the East Meadow Volunteer Fire Department and coached PAL baseball. Many members of the Port Authority and the East Meadow Fire Department were present at the ceremony to honor their fallen comrade and pay their respects. The Port Authority Bagpipers opened the ceremony, played during the unveiling and throughout the ceremony. Family members, friends and colleagues were invited to say a few words about the hero.

Murray noted that Jurgens was a truly dedicated officer. In 1992, he rushed into a burning jumbo jet that had crashed on takeoff at Kennedy Airport and helped usher 292 passengers to safety. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, he carried many of the injured from the buildings. In his years with the Port Authority, he developed such expertise as a rescuer that he was made an instructor at the authority's rescue center.

Officer Jurgens is survived by his wife Maria and children Paul, June and Lindsay.

"I truly believe that by remembering and celebrating the lives of heroes like Paul, we weave grief, pain and sorrow into strength, courage and connection," Murray concluded.