9-11 Patch Project

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The 9-11 Patch Project was founded by retired Pasadena Firefighter Brett Hill in 2001 to raise money for the family members of fallen FDNY firefighters and to create a universal remembrance for the 343 heroes who died on September 11, 2001. Since then over 5000 organizations in 22 countries have adopted this tribute, and it has become a symbol of unity among fire, police, EMS, and the United States Military.

History of the 9-11 Patch Project

Formally known as the National Firefighters 9-11 Memorial Patch, Brett Hill came up with the idea for the first design of the patch after meeting a fellow Southern California firefighter who had just returned from Ground Zero.  Hill explains, "He had spent two to three weeks there, and as he was leaving he was shaking the hands of some of the firefighters there, and one of them grabbed his hand really tight, looked him straight in the eye, and said, 'Please don't forget us.'  And so that kind of stayed with me, and in a few days after that I decided, 'You know what, this is what we need to do, this is my response.  We're going to create a tribute uniform patch that everybody can wear as a reminder of the events and sort of to create unity, to bring everybody together.'" 

In December of 2001, Hill unveiled his first design for the patch after the "Thank You America Bike Tour".  It took him approximately a year to produce the patch, print and mail fliers, and process the first set of orders, which he received in batches of 25 to 50 per day.  At the end of that run, Hill and the 9-11 Patch Project were able to present the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widows and Children's Fund of the FDNY with a check for $15,000 on the first anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy.

When Hill designed the first patch and subsequent versions of the patch and decals, he incorporated several important aspects into the image, including the World Trade Center skyline with a background of the US flag, the words 'We Will Never Forget' taken from a famous Ground Zero banner, and a firefighter holding an axe rising above the World Trade Center.  Hills says this signifies that "it is a huge tragedy, but the fire service as a whole is going to rise above this."

Charities that Benefit from the 9-11 Patch Project

In the past seven years, Hill has distributed the proceeds of the sales of his patches and decals to the UFA Widows and Children's Fund of the FDNY, San Antonio Burned Out Survivors Fund, the Esperanza Firefighters Fund, the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund, and the World-Memorial.  Currently, $.50 of every patch sale is being donated to the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund, which was founded by the family of Terry Farrell, a fallen FDNY Rescue 4 firefighter, with the mission of helping underfunded fire departments with their equipment needs and the families of fallen firefighters across the United States with their educational and medical needs.

Explaining why his organization chose to partner with the 9-11 Patch Project, Brian Farrell, the founder of the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund says, "Everything he takes in goes out, which is why we are attracted to him.  There are so many organizations out there that collect money, say they give it all out but the fact is they have 30, 40, 50, 60 percent administration fees.  That's not Brett Hill.  He goes out of his way to make sure that what comes in goes out, and his mark is all over the United States.  The money he's given out ranges from helping the individual firefighter to helping departments to helping organizations build monuments.  He's just all over the planet on this stuff.  Fabulous guy."

Remembering Heroes and Creating Unity

In the last seven years, over 5,000 organizations in 22 countries have made Brett Hill's 9-11 Patch Project design their permanent tribute, purchasing patches and decals for uniforms, helmets, emergency vehicles and personal vehicles.  The patches and decals are being worn by fire, EMS, and law enforcement personnel across the United States and around the world.  The patches have also been adopted by many members of the United States military.  Hill recalls the first orders he received from the military saying, "The United States military became involved about 2 months after we saw the first orders coming through but what really grabbed me was this picture that was sent in of a pilot from the helicopter combat support group in Afghanistan, flying over the waters of Afghanistan.  Right on his uniform is the 9-11 Patch.  I thought, 'Wow! That's pretty incredible that we can create unity beyond firefighting and into the military.'"

The mission of Brett Hill and the 9-11 Patch Project has always been to create unity between members of the fire service, EMS, law enforcement and the military, as well as to raise funds for fire service charities, and most importantly to preserve the memory of those who gave all on September 11, 2001.  Stressing the importance of this, Brian Farrell says, "The problem is that many people have forgotten what 9-11 is.  It's not about planes crashing into the buildings.  It's about 343 firefighters who went to work that morning and saw people jumping out of windows, saw people running out of the buildings and still decided to go in.  And that's an amazing thing of bravery that most people will never get to realize, never get to see, and we don't want that forgotten."

How To Get 9-11 Patch Project Patches and Decals

Currently, the 9-11 Patch Project is selling two versions of its 10th Anniversary patches and decals.  The proceeds of these are being divided between the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund and the execution of "Nine 11- Twenty 11", the West Coast's largest 9-11 Memorial Tribute program that Brett Hill is planning for the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of September 11th.  The 9-11 Patch Project is also considering other charitable organizations to donate the proceeds of the Tenth Anniversary 9-11 Patch to. 

Most recently, they released the "Home of the Brave" window decal.  Depicting a soldier, firefighter and police officer against the background of the American flag, this is the first decal that shows support for fire, police and military.

To purchase any of the 9-11 Patch Project's patches or decals, please visit their website at www.9-11PatchProject.org.

Author:Bill Lorin with contribution from Dave Kirwan