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Thursday the 11th of September, 2008

Remembering Kenneth Tietjen

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About the Kenneth F. Tietjen Memorial Foundation

imageThe Foundation was created in November 2001 as a non-profit organization to honor the memory of Port Authority Police Officer Kenny Tietjen, who sacrificed his life at the World Trade Center on Septemebr 11th.The main goal of the Foundation is to provide bicycles and/or other aid to underpriveledged children throughout New Jersey.

The idea for the Foundation came about because each year during the Christmas season, the Tietjen’s would “adopt” a needy family and provide all the food, clothes, and toys to help make the family’s Christmas a happy one. It was always Kenny’s job to provide the bikes for the children - it was something he looked forward to doing.

With the holidays approaching less than three months after Kenny was killed, his family and friends wanted to find a positive way to keep his memory alive and lessen the huge hole that they would feel by spending Christmas without Kenny.

Through generous donations from friends, family, fellow Port Authority police officers, and wonderful strangers, the Foundation was able to purchase and deliver 11 bicycles to needy children that very first year.  With continued support, the Foundation donated 37 bicycles, 3 computers, and many other toys to families throughout New Jersey during 2002.  With your continued support, Kenny’s Foundation is looking foward to expanding its “Acts of Hope” in the years to come.

For additional information or to make a contribution, please contact .

Thank you for helping us to keep Kenny’s wonderful spirit alive!

He Claimed the Respirator

As a boy, the two things that scared Ken Tietjen most were fire trucks and police cars. So he took some ribbing from his family when, as an adult, he chose a job that required him to ride in both.

Mr. Tietjen, a Port Authority police officer, was at the 33rd Street PATH station when he heard about the terrorist attack, said Laurie Quinn, his sister. Mr. Tietjen commandeered a taxi, banished the driver to the back seat, and drove to ground zero. He rushed into the north tower and helped people down, but when he emerged to get a new respirator, only one remained, his partner recalled. Smiling, Mr. Tietjen said, “Seniority rules,” took the respirator and ran into the south tower. Moments later, the building fell.

Typical, said Ms. Quinn, noting his commendation for bravery this year, received for tackling a man who had stabbed the sergeant he worked with. As a firefighter several years back, he returned to a burning building to rescue an unconscious colleague.

One of those Mr. Tietjen rescued on Sept. 11 attended his memorial Mass. But he did not stay because he became overwhelmed.

Ms. Quinn said: “My brother had a choice whether to go back and he chose to go back in. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 1, 2001.

Kenneth Tietjen, 31, rushed to the scene

imageKenneth Tietjen, a police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, always wanted to be a firefighter.

In junior high school, as a member of the Middletown Fire Explorers, he rode his mo-ped to local fires. When he turned 18, his dream became a reality when he became a volunteer for the Belford Engine Company. His mother remembers how proud he was after fighting his first fire.

“He came home and said, ‘We had a great fire today. It was a propane tank,’ “ said Janice Tietjen of Belford. “He was right at the front of the hose and I said, ‘Why were you there?’ He said, ‘That’s where the excitement is.’ “

Mr. Tietjen, 31, of Matawan, died while rescuing people trapped in the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attack. He led workers, some of them badly burned, from Tower One before grabbing the last air pack in sight and entering Tower Two.

“He waved to his partner and went in,” his mother said.

Mr. Tietjen, who was engaged to be married later this month, died when Tower Two collapsed.

Mr. Tietjen, who had been a Port Authority police officer for nine years, was working his job on the PATH trains when he heard of the attack. He immediately rushed into Manhattan to help, first commandeering a cab, then hopping an emergency vehicle.

“Wherever he could be, that’s where he was,” his mother said.

At the time of his death, Tietjen was training to be a member of the Port Authority Emergency Services Unit. All he needed was to complete a scuba diving course to fulfill his dream, his mother said.

Mr. Tietjen received several awards for his work with the Port Authority, including a special commendation in 1996 for subduing a man who rammed a patrol car in the Holland Tunnel and then stabbed a police officer.

Off the job, Tietjen, who moved to Matawan two years ago, liked action, too.

He was an avid hockey player and enjoyed riding dirtbikes with his fiancée’s 13-year-old son. He was a reliable handyman, always ready to help others with a home improvement project, his mother said.

“He loved Home Depot,” she said. “He loved everything—life, sports, people, his job. Every day was another project for him. He was a lovable person with many, many friends. And I know it sounds corny, but he was a really good kid . . . He was born on the Fourth of July. He was a hero.”

Tietjen was a parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church in Keyport and a member of Fraternal Order of Police No. 110 and the New Jersey State PBA Lodge 116.

In addition to his mother, Mr. Tietjen is survived by his father, Kenneth Tietjen; his fiancée, Karen Dalla Valle of Matawan; and two sisters, Cindy Tietjen of Belford and Laurie Quinn of Hazlet.

A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph’s Church. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kenneth F. Tietjen Foundation, which provides bicycles to poor children at Christmas. The address is 27 Gregory St., Hazlet, N.J., 07730.

Profile by Carrie Stetler published in THE STAR-LEDGER.

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Posted by rtkenmore at 02:18 AM on the 11th of September, 2008.
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