'Hero Times 2' Detective A Cancer Victim

By REUVEN BLAU

A retired Detective who worked at Ground Zero for three months after 9/11 died May 13 from pancreatic and lung cancer, which his family and union said they believe were directly caused by his exposure to the toxins at the site.

ROBERT WILLIAMSON

Robert Williamson, 46, spent 16-hour days digging through the rubble in the rescue and recovery effort on The Pile at the World Trade Center site. He later helped lobby then-Governor Pataki to sign into law legislation allowing retirees suffering from illness tied to Ground Zero to be reclassified and receive added pension benefits.

Had Effect on Pataki

"He's the poster hero for that 9/11 disability bill," said Michael J. Palladino, the president of the Detectives' Endowment Association. "While we were trying to get the bill enacted, I introduced him to Governor Pataki. The Governor was not only interested in what he had to say, but he was taken aback by the devastation 9/11 had levied on Bobby Williamson's life."

Mr. Williamson, who was recently granted a disability pension worth 75 percent of his average salary mostly tax-free, is survived by his wife and three children. "He became a recipient of the very bill he championed," Mr. Palladino pointed out.

His widow now plans to file for added benefits under newly amended state legislation named after Det. James Zadroga, who died from lung ailments following his work at Ground Zero.

Under that legislation signed into law last summer by Mr. Pataki, his wife will be entitled to monthly payments pegged to his final average salary.

Didn't Regret Sacrifice

In 2004, Detective Williamson told the Daily News that he would work at Ground Zero again if he had the choice. "Did I know the air was not safe? Yes. Would I go down there again today knowing that? Yes. A lot of people made sacrifices," he told the paper. "I might be a casualty of 9/11, but at least I had a few more years with my family."

Numerous reports have shown that first-responders who assisted in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks have incurred increased respiratory ailments and other potentially fatal sicknesses. Many of the city's Detectives sifted through rubble at Ground Zero, the City Morgue and the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island looking for evidence and other remnants.

"He's a hero times two," Mr. Palladino said. "Not only did he do his rescue and recovery work at Ground Zero, but he also was a pioneer in helping us get the WTC disability bill passed into law, for not only himself but for those who will follow him."