With Tuesday marking the 11th year since the 9/11 attacks, the New York Police Department is remembering the fallen on Twitter and Facebook.
The @NYPDNews account began tweeting names of officers who died on 9/11 or due to related illnesses. The hourly tribute of names on the feed, which began Saturday, is adjoined by the hashtag #neverforget along with links to pictures of the officers on Facebook.
An NYPD spokesman told Newsday that the Twitter-stream memorial won’t replace the traditional memorial of reading out the names of the dead at firehouses around the city.
@NYPDNews has gained about 75 followers on Twitter since the memorial began Saturday. On Twitter, the department has 40,300 followers and it’s Facebook page has 74,000 fans. The The department joined Facebook and Twitter in 2011, and its accounts are a mix of department news, safety tips, and photos.
Sgt. John Coughlin, who died on 9/11, was the first officer to receive a Twitter tribute. The first tweet received more than 64 retweets on Twitter, and 101 likes on Facebook. Coughlin’s daughters left heart icons on the post.
Dawn Kloepfer, who lost her husband Ronald on 9/11, told the New York Post that the idea is a great way to honor the fallen.
“I think that most people nowadays go online to get information,” Kloepfer said. “Especially for younger people. Anyone under the age of 20 barely remembers what happened. Keep it alive. I think it’s progressive.”
Photo via Nick Allen/Flickr