Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis

Name : Gillis, Rodney Rank: Sgt. Shield #: 1889 Command: ESS-8 Date of Death: 2001-09-11 Cause of Death: World Trade Center Attack Rodney Gillis was off duty the morning of Sept. 11, finishing some paperwork at Truck 8’s Brooklyn headquarters. When the planes hit, he rushed to the scene, rounded up four other ESU cops and headed inside 2 World Trade Center. “We’re on the 20th floor of the south tower,” Gillis transmitted over an NYPD radio to a boss outside. “We’re meeting a lot of resistance.” Minutes later, the tower collapsed, killing Gillis and his ESU colleagues – Santos Valentin, Ronald Kloepfer, Walter Weaver and Jerome Dominguez. Rodney Gillis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Annual Medal Day ceremony on December 4, 2001. The New York City Police Department Medal of Honor is the highest award that may be bestowed upon a member of the service.