Addendum - Tribute to Walter E. Weaver

When we first learned about the 9/11 tribute website, we were at first unable to discover much material related to Walter E. Weaver, but a new search has revealed a site of which we were heretofore unaware, so we have borrowed from that site to expand our knowledge.

This is the original site, and here is the biograpical material that gives us a better picture of this young hero who had many hopes and dreams, and traded them away so as to offer help to the victims of our national tragedy.

  Walter Weaver and his girlfriend, Shannon Faulkner, had just settled into their new home in Centereach in early September. It was a special time for them. No more apartment living, and plenty of room for their many animals, including a puppy they had adopted the week before. The couple was also looking toward the future. They were waiting to start planning a wedding until after they moved into the house and became more settled. "Now, everything's just shattered," said Faulkner, 25. The two grew up in Hicksville, although they didn't meet until seven years ago. Faulkner was at her brother's hockey game and Weaver was waiting for his turn on the ice. "I sent my mom over to get more info," recalled Faulkner. Later, she wrote him a note and left it in his mailbox at home. He called for a date and they had been together ever since. "It wasn't hard to love him," she said. With a love of animals between them, Faulkner and Weaver, 30, had a menagerie including two dogs, an iguana, turtles and birds. In fact, they took in any animal that needed help and ended up keeping them. "Every pet store in the area knows us," Faulkner said. Weaver joined the New York Police Department in 1992 and most recently with the Emergency Services Unit, Truck 3. In 1994, he helped deliver two babies a month apart, both in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx. On Sept. 11, he was last seen rushing to the scene of the disaster with three other members of his truck. "He absolutely loved his job," Faulkner said. "There was nothing else he'd rather do." She remembers times when her brother and friends would wait for him to return home from work with stories of chasing "bad guys" or rappelling offa bridge to save a potential suicide victim. "I would always worry," she said, but Weaver would calm her - telling her that nothing was going to happen to him. He also is survived by his mother, Joan Weaver, father William Weaver, and brothers Brian and Michael Weaver.

We shall not forget Mr. Weaver, and we will continue to pay tribute to him.

Peace.