Former Port Authority officer uses artwork to honor those killed in Sept. 11 attacks

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A former Port Authority police officer who responded to the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 attacks is helping others remember the day in his own way. Mitch Rosen had been serving for about 20 years before the attacks. On Sept. 11, he helped people evacuate from buildings during all the chaos and confusion. Rosen, who was assigned to clean up at ground zero, decided to record some of the process. "Being that I have been doing artwork for many many years, when I started working at ground zero…I used to carry a little pocket camera with me because I wanted to document the history of what had happened in our country,” Rosen told News 12. Now, 17 years later, he decided it was time to share those moments by sketching those historic photos with colored pencils. In 2018, his piece, "The Search For Heroes,” was installed in New York's World Trade Center Memorial Museum. The photo is a picture of what's called the bucket brigade, which was set up for people to sift through debris, one bucket at a time. Ultimately that bucket would be analyzed to help identify victims of the attack. Rosen lost 37 close friends and coworkers that day, including his close friend, John McGlaughlin, whose story became a part of the World Trade Center movie. Rosen said, "John and I were neighbors, we used to carpool to work together and I went to the academy with him." To keep the history of Sept. 11 alive today, Rosen continues his work through speaking engagements, something new he started in 2024 as a way to inform a new generation. "This is what we have to deal with as Americans," said Rosen. "It's all about art history. It's something that shouldn't be forgotten." Rosen's artwork can be found on his website where he can also be contacted. "