NEW YORK — When news broke that Moira Smith, a 38-year-old police officer, died on 9/11 while moving wounded victims out of the World Trade Center, it brought tears to our eyes but simultaneously reestablished our faith in humanity.
Smith was the only female among the 23 New York Police Department officers who lost their lives that day. A month after her death, Glamour Magazine honored the fallen hero by naming her as one of the publication’s “Women of the Year.”
This past October, Glamour released a new class of honorees for 2015. Caitlyn Jenner was among the magazine’s winners and Smith’s husband, James, was not pleased, according to The Washington Post.
In an open letter to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Cyndi Lieve, James Smith explained how he didn’t agree with Glamour’s decision to honor Jenner with the same distinction given to his late wife and was sending the award back to the magazine.
“I was shocked and saddened to learn that Glamour has just named Bruce Jenner ‘Woman of the Year,'” Smith wrote, choosing to use Jenner’s pre-transition name. “Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?”
A spokeswoman for the publication released a statement to the New York Post defending the magazine’s choice to recognize Jenner.
She explained how Glamour’s “Women of the Year” award is meant to give praise to women of all different backgrounds and experiences and concluded, “We were proud to honor his wife. … in 2001, and we stand by our decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner.”
