Touching video published on Wednesday showing Jon Stewart break down in tears after 9/11 first responders offered him a jacket worn by a New York firefighter who lost his life because of cancer after responding events that day..
Before giving his speech in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Stewart started crying when he received an unique gift. It was the turnout coat worn by Ray Pfeifer, one of the many firs responders.
Pfeifer, who served more than 27 years with the FDNY, worked for eight months to aid the recovery effort at Ground Zero after the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Pfeifer, who joined the New York Fire Department in 1987, was playing golf with off-duty firefighters when they heard the news about World Trade Center.
The group immediately returned to the firehouse and headed straight into downtown Manhattan.
For nearly a year, Pfeifer slept in his truck or at the firehouse when he wasn’t cleaning toxic debris and searching for the remains of victims in the recovery effort. In 2009, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer.
Two years later, Pfeifer passed away in a hospice in Port Washington, New York. He was 59 years old. Stewart eulogized Pfeifer at his funeral.
