EXCLUSIVE: Police Officer Moira Smith's 9/11 Heroism Honored
Police Officer Moira Smith's 9/11 heroism is honored as her courageous actions and sacrifice are remembered.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Twenty-three brave NYPD officers died in the 9/11 attacks – but only one was a woman.
Officer Moira Smith, a 38-year-old married mom with a 2-year-old daughter, was near the World Trade Center when the first hijacked jet slammed into the North Tower, and she was among the first cops on the scene, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Smith Sacrificed Herself Saving Others
Survivor Martin Glynn recalled Moira Smith directing people to safety inside the South Tower before its collapse.
The 13-year police veteran immediately sprang into action, helping civilians to safety before repeatedly returning to the danger zone.
After the second plane struck, Smith entered the South Tower and helped guide terrified workers toward safety. Survivor Martin Glynn, who escaped from the 84th floor, remembers seeing her standing with a flashlight, firmly directing the fleeing crowd.
"Keep moving. Don't look. Keep moving," she ordered.
"We all of a sudden felt calm," Glynn recalled. "We felt like she had it under control."
Smith could have escaped herself. Instead, she went back inside to help more people and was last seen assisting a woman struggling to breathe down the stairs. Minutes later, the South Tower collapsed, killing her.
Smith's Heroism Honored After Death
Daughter Patricia later told Moira Smith, 'Mom, I am proud to be your daughter. You will always be my hero.'
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It wasn't Smith's first brush with disaster.
In 1991, she earned the NYPD's Distinguished Duty Medal for helping save dozens during a deadly Union Square subway crash.
After 9/11, Moira was posthumously awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor.
Years later, daughter Patricia declared: "Mom, I am proud to be your daughter. You will always be my hero."
