Tucked away at the northeastern end of the Empire State Plaza in Albany is a memorial wall dedicated to honoring fallen EMS volunteers and employees from across the state. Eight names were added last week bringing the total to 120 names of emergency medical service technicians.
Each one has a touching story relating the pain of the family the medical personnel left behind.
Two of the stories are those of Greg Miglino, Sr., captain of Special Operations for the South Country EMS Corps in Brookhaven and FDNY EMS Captain Alison Russo-Elling of Huntington, both from Suffolk County.
The days May 21- 27 were memorialized by the governor as Emergency Medical Services week in New York. Elected officials from the highest ranks of government paid tribute to this class of fallen heroes.
“The ones who perhaps sacrificed the most, because they didn’t sign up for this, are the family members, and yet you’re here today. Don’t forget the fact that you showed the ultimate act of love and the ultimate act of courage. That to me is the depth of love at its greatest. They say grief is the price you pay for love. That meant you had love and the loss of the object of your love creates immense grief,” said Governor Kathy Hochul as she delivered remarks at the ceremony. “Please take comfort in knowing that that love helps that person out there. That stable foundation of love at home allowed them to go out and in a selfless way, be there when strangers needed them. There’s not a single word I’m going to say that is going to make it feel better. I know I can’t. I don’t have that ability. Don’t forget the fact that you showed the ultimate act of love and the ultimate act of courage. May G-d bless every one of you and wrap you tight in His arms and give you some measure of comfort.”
Assemblywoman Anna Kelles (D – Ithaca, Tompkins County) has been fighting for more operational funding for EMS personnel, as she told the attendees about being in a tragic situation.
“The worst experience of your life, feeling helpless and hopeless and trapped and seeing the face of a stranger who knows nothing about you but is coming to save your life,” Kelles, who is Jewish, said. “Knowing those experiences that many people have in their worst, darkest moments and a person they don’t know comes to take care of them. Thank you to all of you for those calls you respond to such as someone is having a mental health crisis or a domestic violence situation and you may not feel that instant gratitude but you share your love, your care, your empathy and your desire to take care of them.”
Brief remarks also came from a Westchester assemblywoman who arrived late to the ceremony.
“Heroism is not just on our battlefield but all around us just waiting to be summoned,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D – Scarsdale, Westchester County), chairwoman of the Assembly Health Committee. “We can recognize our own mortality and remind ourselves that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth or status or power or fame but rather how we have loved and what part we have played in helping others.”
A Staten Island senator focused her remarks on the fallen involved with the World Trade Center bombing.
“When somebody is hurt, the first person you see is EMS and you know that you are in good hands. The EMS profession is one that requires immense courage, skill and resilience demanding sacrifices that go unnoticed. Yet, despite these challenges our EMS personnel continue to answer the call of duty putting themselves on the front line to safeguard the health and well-being of our communities,” said Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D – West Brighton, Staten Island), chairwoman of the Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee. “To hear that six of the eight EMS members who are being put on the wall today were lost due to 9/11-related illnesses is something I can deeply relate to.”
Senator Dean Murray paid tribute to the two fallen EMS workers honored during the somber ceremony.
“I happen to live in the South Country Ambulance District and I know that they are special, special people. Many are like family to me, they’re friends. Chief Greg Miglino, Jr. he’s been there for me when I needed him. Time after time he’s been there for me but he’s been there for the community too,” said Murray (R – Brookhaven, Suffolk County). “His father’s name is going on the wall today. His father, who came out to Suffolk County, set up home, raised five kids and numerous grandchildren. He taught them about loving this community. Which is why his son is now the chief of the South Country Ambulance Corps. That’s a legacy. He was taken too soon as well. While it took a while to get his name on here, I’m so thankful that it is. He passed away after going on a call, pulling someone out of a wreckage. Someone who is very heavy and overweight. He thought he strained himself and the next day he had a cardiac arrest and passed away. That was March of 2007. So we’re putting his name on the wall today so we can never forget his legacy.”
Miglino’s end of watch, in the vernacular of first responders, was March 26, 2007.
An assemblyman representing Brookhaven, an EMT for 40 years, spoke about the tragedy of Miglino’s passing.
“Anytime you lose anybody, it’s emotional because I’ve been a volunteer for a long time myself. In most cases when it comes to the volunteer service it’s like losing a family member,” Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano (R – Medford) told The Jewish Press. “Physical fitness is very important for anyone in EMS or a firefighter. Don’t be afraid to ask for help to lift a large person. The last thing you want is for someone to have to worry about picking you up off the ground because you weren’t able to pick up the person you’re trying to help. There’s no shame in asking for help when someone is above your means. To me over the years, it was a very rewarding experience to volunteer for my community. For the people who live in it there is something to be said for the idea of friends and neighbors coming to help you.”
The Miglino family reminisced about their patriarch for The Jewish Press. All those interviewed live in Brookhaven.
“My father died young. He was 60 years old. He was a strong individual that came to EMS late in life. Unfortunately, at a later age, didn’t know when to pull back and on that day, he pushed it too far and ended up in a cardiac arrest and he died,” said Greg Miglino, Jr. “He had been on multiple alarms the day before. The last alarm he was on, he lifted someone who was close to 300 pounds. He thought he pulled a muscle in his chest but it was the onset of a cardiac event that 11 hours later would kill him. Today he would have been 76 years old.”
“I’m a little somber today. It’s been 16 years. It’s had a little time to wear in,” said Susan Miglino, 74, the widow of Greg, Sr. “He loved what he did. It was his passion and he got into it late in life. He was 52 when he first started. He started with the EMS because he had just retired and he didn’t want to just be sitting around arguing with me. He would have been very proud to have been here today. It’s been a long time coming but it’s been very, very special. When you want something bad enough you get it eventually. G-d looks down on you.”
Gregory Charles Miglino III, 23 years old, said, “He passed away when I was only seven years old. His legacy has taught me the lesson of service to your community and dedication to those that you serve.” Gregory is a member and EMT of South Country Ambulance. “I’m an EMT as well as a motor vehicle operator. With that, going forward, I’m always trying to prove the service I give to my community and better myself as a provider as well as a member of the ambulance company. It’s a tremendous honor to have his name on the wall. I would think that it is a testament that he provided for his community. I am deeply grateful for those who have put the initiative forward to make this happen.”
He also said he would like to come back for a visit. “I would like to come up here again to take a more personal look at it. Day to day, this square is less populated than it is now, and to be able to [have time to] reflect would be something that I would very much desire to do. However, his gravesite is in our district [at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Brookhaven Hamlet] and so anytime I wish to pay respect to him I do have the luxury of a short trip away to be able to pay my respects.”
Senator Murray’s tears, which were apparent during his remarks, did not make an impression on the young man.
“Senator Murray gave an incredible speech and I was quite moved by it. Tears, although expressive, are not entirely what makes up appreciation for somebody or the emotion you feel during their speech,” the younger Miglino said. “The message that people can take away is that while the service that we provide for people, it’s something that we feel in our hearts, we must do, because that is who we are as individuals, that they should always be vigilant in their duties to ensure their own safety so that they can continue to provide the service for others.”
Another honored fallen EMS worker was FDNY EMS Captain Alison Russo-Elling of Huntington. She worked at the EMS unit Station 19 in Astoria, Queens. The 61-year-old was just six months away from retirement and was a 24-year veteran of the FDNY Emergency Medical Services. She was among the first responders to the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
While on duty she left the station house to purchase a sandwich at a nearby deli. On September 29, 2022, at approximately 2:10 p.m., the DAs office confirmed Russo-Elling was in uniform and on duty, walking down 20th Avenue, between 41st and Steinway Streets, when the defendant, Peter Zisopoulos, took a knife out of his pocket, approached Russo-Elling and attacked her without provocation. When she fell to the ground, the defendant allegedly stabbed her more than 20 times before fleeing the scene. The incident was captured on video surveillance and there is no indication that the two were known to each other prior to the attack, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
District Attorney Katz said the defendant, Zisopoulos, 34, who has a history of mental illness, ran to a nearby residential building where he barricaded himself inside his third-floor apartment. A short time later, members of the NYPD’s hostage negotiating team and emergency service unit were able to talk to the suspect and had him surrender without further altercation. Zisopoulos was indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder and other charges for the killing of Russo-Elling.
“This is a tragic case and a devastating loss for the family as well as our city,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said. “FDNY EMS Captain Alison Russo-Elling spent her 25-year career helping others in their time of need. Now, her family mourns her passing because, as alleged, the defendant brutally stabbed Ms. Russo-Elling to death near her workstation in Astoria. Our condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues that she leaves behind. The defendant has been indicted on murder charges and faces justice in our courts. Zisopoulos faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison, if convicted.”
At the end of the ceremony, Kristin Proud, the acting executive deputy commissioner and senior advisor to the Health Commissioner, read a small portion of a Jewish prayer, “We Remember Them.”
“There’s a beautiful Jewish prayer that I came across as I was thinking about how to close my remarks. It seems especially fitting for today’s occasion,” Proud said.
These are lines from the prayer.
“When we are lost and sick at heart, we remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share, we remember them.
As long as we live, they too shall live, for now they are a part of us as we remember them.”
