The FDNY's oldest retiree, who died Friday at age 103, bravely rushed toward the wreckage of the infamous 1960 plane crash over the Big Apple as part of a lifetime of service, an act of heroism. He remained humble throughout, his son recalled Sunday.
Anthony Acquaro, who battled dementia in hospice care and died just short of his 104th birthday, traced his memories back to his time in the Navy during World War II as a firefighter responding to fires at an engine company in his 30s. He has shown unwavering courage throughout his nearly two-year career. 269 in Park Slope.
“He loved the fire department,” his son Anthony Acquaro Jr. told the Post. “It was his second family.”
Acquaro Jr. said his father stood up with his colleagues when a United plane collided with a smaller TWA Super Constellation plane, killing all 128 people on board both flights and six people on the ground in Brooklyn.
Still, he was understandably shaken by what was then the world's deadliest aviation accident.
“The plane that crashed in Brooklyn flew right over the fire station and then crashed,” the son said.
“My father didn't come back for three days. He was in rescue and recovery. He spent three days collecting body parts. It affected him a little bit, but it It was all part of the job. You saw a lot of things that the average person didn't see.”
While serving as a third deck officer in the Navy, the younger Acquaro said he was stationed in the North Atlantic aboard a destroyer escort and helped sink a German U-boat.
“We looked at all the war pictures together, and he told me about the war,” he said.
After serving in the Navy from 1942 to 1945, Acquaro Sr. became a firefighter in 1953 at the age of 31. Shilive reported.
But Acquaro was not the kind of person to brag about a lifetime of saving others' lives, his son said.
“He was the most gentle person I've ever met,” he recalls.
“He didn't like the spotlight on him. He just went about his job and everyone loved him. He was the kindest person you'd ever meet. It was.”
The fire department held a 100th birthday party and celebrated each birthday for the next three years.
“The fire department is incredible. It's hard to describe in words what they did for my dad,” said his grateful son, who continued to stay in touch with his friends in the fire department until he was the only one left.
Acquaro leaves behind his wife of 81 years, Gloria, who has done “everything” with him, two children, four grandchildren, and eight grandchildren.
“I can't remember a day that I wasn't with my dad. We did everything together,” Acquaro Jr. said.
“Even though I was in hospice, I'm still in shock. I was 72 years old and my dad was 103, and believe it or not, I still asked him for advice.
“He really helped me become the person I am. He always told me, 'Be nice to everyone.' ”
