Firefighter
James Pappageorge
Engine 23
Memorial
Service
held on December 14, 2001
Dedicated
to Saving People As a boy, James Pappageorge was afraid of doctors.
But he spent much of his adult life learning
about medicine and saving people — as an emergency medical technician,
then a paramedic and, finally, a firefighter. "He was always carrying
books, and he was always enrolled in some sort of course," said Gina
Pinos, his fiancée. Not that Firefighter Pappageorge was the bookish
type. His 6-foot-1 bodybuilder's physique by itself drew attention.
Then there was his hair — flowing locks that earned him the nickname
Fabio before it was shorn for enrollment at the Fire Department academy.
If that were not enough, there was a souped-up white Mustang, with
flashing lights and an ambulance siren, "everything but the gurney," Ms.
Pinos said. It was not just for show. In the back, Firefighter Pappageorge,
29, carried a full medical kit, just in case. He decided to join the
Fire Department, said his sister, Helen Pappageorge, because its schedule
would leave him free time to be a paramedic. Firefighter Pappageorge
and Ms. Pinos were saving for a September 2002 wedding. Last Sept.
11, she phoned him just as Engine 23 was being sent to the trade center.
(Legacy.com Article)
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