William Lopez thought he would never see a prized plaque from his 9/11 experience again.

The wooden plaque features a photo encased in plexiglass of Firefighter Paul Finochiaro of Ladder Company 78, embracing a civilian at the debris-strewn World Trade Center site on 9/11. Next to the photo is a likeness of the Twin Towers made of twisted steel that firefighters recovered and fabricated from the deadly collapse that killed 2,996 people that day.

Lopez, who was at Ground Zero the day of the terror attack, was a younger, less seasoned photojournalist then, and snapped the photo as the emotional scene unfolded before him.

The commemoration was given to Lopez and 20 other news photographers who participated in the Bolivar Arellano Gallery 9/11 photo exhibit on the Lower East Side and a fund

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