More than a decade after that dreadful day , 9/11 memories are still fresh for me . The intense , flesh-cutting urgency of the pain has diminished . I am no longer a grieving mother . I have learned to live with the loss of my son , Mohammad Salman Hamdani . But I am still waiting for justice . What I want is not complicated -- a recognition that , when Salman died beneath the rubble that day , he died as a first responder . His name should be reflected that way at the 9/11 Memorial , properly listed among the other first responders who rushed bravely toward the flames . On that terrible day , my husband Saleem and I could not know where Salman was . Nor could his brothers , Adnaan and Zeshan , know what had become of their Bhaijaan , the Urdu word for a beloved and revered elder brother . As anyone who lost a loved one on 9/11 knows , that uncertainty was cruel and crushing . We could n't know it then , but what had happened to Salman that morning , along with the events of the following months , changed everything for our family , bringing unbearable pain into our lives and suddenly making us public persons . In the months before 9/11 , Salman had served as a cadet in the New York Police Department . He was also a trained emergency technician . At the time of his death , he was working as a lab analyst at Rockefeller University 's Howard Hughes Medical Institute , on Manhattan 's Upper East Side . He was working there because it was a path toward becoming a doctor . Salman was determined to keep trying to get into medical school . If he could n't , he planned to join the NYPD and work toward becoming a detective , using his scientific skills . It was a momentous time of decision in his life . Opinion : After 9/11 , how we honored our son 's memory . On that crisp and glorious morning , I drove away from our home in Bayside , Queens . I dropped off Zeshan at Queensborough Community College , then continued on to Catherine & Count Basie Middle School 72 , where I taught English . When Zeshan and I left the house , at about 7:15 , Salman was still sleeping . He had been up much of the evening , first polishing up his medical school application , then providing medical care to his father , who was feeling ill . Finally , Salman went up to bed at 3 a.m. in the bedroom he shared with Zeshan . After Zeshan and I had left , Salman would have pursued his usual routine , catching a bus and then the 7 train to Manhattan . As we have since deduced , he must have seen the flames at the World Trade Center from the elevated train , then rushed downtown to try to help . Clearly , he did not make that decision and take that fatal detour as a lab analyst , but as the first responder he was trained to be . In the months that followed , in addition to uncertainty about Salman , our family had to endure suspicion pointed at him . Before anyone knew where he was , a flyer circulated around the city , saying that my son was wanted for questioning . And the New York Post ran a story with Salman 's photo and this hateful headline : `` Missing -- Or Hiding ? '' It was n't until late March that the police told us that Salman 's remains had been found beneath the pile -- in 34 pieces . Ultimately , what we would get to bury was nothing more than a body bag filled with all that was left of our son . At Salman 's funeral , the many mourners included Mayor Michael Bloomberg , Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and our congressman , Gary Ackerman . The Patriot Act , enacted in response to the terror attacks , specifically refers to Salman as a 9/11 hero . Yet , at the 9/11 Memorial , his name is grouped among the miscellaneous victims , not among the first responders who sacrificed their lives , where it belongs . Salman responded to the call of duty , transcending the barriers of race , faith and ethnicity . Yet , sadly , he is not getting his due place in history . Salman is not here to defend himself . But I will speak for him . He is my strength , and I am his voice .
Talat Hamdani : My son , Mohammad Salman Hamdani , was killed on 9/11 . Hamdani : What I want is a recognition that he died as a first responder . He didn't deserve to die like this. Hamdani : Salman 's name should be reflected and listed on the 9/11 Memorial .