NEW YORK — Kristin Marino was only 3 years old when her father, FDNY Firefighter Kenneth Marino, was killed on Sept. 11. In late August, as she walked down the aisle on her wedding day, nine of his fellow firefighters were there to honor his memory and stand in his place.
Both retired and active Rescue Company 1 firefighters gathered outside the Plaza Hotel on Aug. 23, waiting to proudly see the bride off to her wedding, the New York Post reported.
“It was truly surreal to walk out and see so many firefighters lined up in honor of my father,” Marino said. “The sight brought me to tears and reminded me of the incredible brotherhood within the FDNY.”
The presence of the firefighters made the day deeply meaningful for the bride, who felt her father’s memory honored as though he were walking her down the aisle, Marino said in a social media caption.
Standing beside the fire truck, she wiped away tears as the weight of the gesture sank in, while her mother, Katrina, and brother, Tyler, looked on with visible emotion.
“Kenny would be so proud, knowing Rescue One were there for us,” Katrina said.
