2 February 2002

Firefighter honored for his long history

by Jackie McStravick

When Jim Larkin met Walter Hess at Horseneck Tavern two years ago, he was instantly drawn to the stories Hess shared about his years as a New York fireboat firefighter from 1932 to 1952.

Hess recalled events such as the time he helped battle the burning of the SS Normandie in 1942. The ocean liner was being converted into a troop carrier but a spark from a welder's torch ignited some lifejackets. The ship could not be saved and rested on its side in the Hudson River in February 1942. The remains of the ship were raised and sold for scrap.

Larkin was so taken by Hess that he organized a surprise celebration Thursday night to mark the former firefighter's 94th birthday and 50th anniversary of his retirement.

"I like to do things for people with nice historical backgrounds, so I thought, 'We have to do something special for this man,' " Larkin said.

The party, held at Horseneck Tavern, featured a surprise visit from New York Fire Department Battalion Chief William A. Siegel, as well as a group of Greenwich firefighters.

Members of the Greenwich Fire Department brought Hess to tears when they arrived in their uniforms, lining up to shake his hand and take pictures with him.

"We couldn't miss this," Greenwich Lt. Bill Ingrahan said. "Firefighting's a fellowship -- this man was fighting fires before they had any of this gear we wear now."

	Retired New York firefighter Walter Hess, 94, poses next to a photograph of the World Trade Center with the ship he served on in the foreground. Hess, a Greenwich resident, was honored Thursday night on his birthday. Photo Courtesy Bob Luckey Jr.

Hess spent his firefighting years aboard the John J. Harvey, a New York Harbor boat. He was based at the Bloomfield Street firehouse in Manhattan.

"We had a couple of good fires," Hess told Siegel Thursday night.

Hess was presented with a framed photograph of the John J. Harvey, which was decommissioned in 1994 and sold at auction in 1999. On Sept. 11, the men who purchased the boat had their crew sail from the Chelsea Piers to the World Trade Center. The vessel, which is on The National Register of Historic Places, returned to firefighting. It is now back at Chelsea Piers as a floating museum and tour boat.

Hess, a Bronx, N.Y., native, has spent most of his years living with his family in the Sunnyside section of Queens, N.Y. Before he left the department in 1952, his fellow firefighters presented him with a gold watch bearing the engraving: "Presented to Walter H. Hess by the officers and members of Engine Co. #86 for 20 years of service -- Nov. 2, 1952."

"It still works to this day," he said with a smile.

Hess worked at a men's clothing store until his retirement at age 65. He now lives in Green-wich, but retains an apartment in Queens. One of his neighbors from Sunnyside, Agnes Ludwig-son, has known Hess since 1958.

"He became a 'poppy' to my kids -- he's a wonderful man. We became family," Ludwigson said.

In two weeks, Hess will travel to Scotland, his late wife's homeland, with his daughter and son-in-law. Many of the guests at Thursday's party were neighbors from Greenwich, where Hess lives with his daughter and son-in-law.

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