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The
excitement on his face!" Lieutenant Richard, 53, was a 24-year
veteran of the Fire Department. A member of Ladder Company 7 in
Manhattan, he was to have been promoted to captain in November,
an elevation that occurred posthumously. A weight lifter and jogger
(he ran six New York City Marathons), he sang in the choir at
the First Baptist Church in Spring Valley, N.Y., near his home
in Nanuet. His voice , a deep baritone, was memorable. "When I
played high school ball, and there were maybe 500 people in the
stands, I'd hear nothing but his voice," said his son, Vernon
II. "He'd be saying, 'Go to work, Vernon.'" Profile published
in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 13, 2001.
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