Lt. John McLoughlin with his wife and daugher.
Posted on 06/10/2004 6:47:22 AM PDT by areafiftyone
Trapped beneath the rubble of 1 World Trade Center, his legs crushed from hip to foot on the morning of Sept. 11, Lt. John McLoughlin accepted that this was his last shift with the Port Authority police.
"I assumed I was going to die where I was buried," McLoughlin said Wednesday at his retirement party, an event that seemed as improbable as his miracle rescue 33 months ago from the carnage at ground zero.
Rescuers pulled McLoughlin from the burning wreckage of lower Manhattan about 22 hours after the twin towers collapsed, making him the last person rescued from the site where 2,749 others perished.
McLoughlin presided Wednesday over roll call on the 3-11 p.m. shift at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where he was working when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
In a ceremony punctuated by tears and repeated cheers, McLoughlin -- leaning on a cane for support after undergoing 30 operations on his legs -- bid an emotional goodbye to his co-workers.
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers," he told them, quoting Shakespeare.
Dozens of police officers and brass saluted him sharply, then offered hugs, handshakes and words of encouragement as a bagpiper played "Auld Lang Syne."
The exertion sent rivulets of sweat pouring down McLoughlin's face, but he persevered until every co-worker was greeted.
His wife, Donna, and their four children watched proudly, as did a collection of rescue workers, doctors and therapists who helped McLoughlin literally get back on his feet.
The lieutenant recalled Pat McGee, of the New York Police Department's Emergency Service Unit, offering words of encouragement through the debris: "How you doing down there? We're going to get you out."
He grew weepy when recounting the work of his physical therapists.
His colleagues did the same watching McLoughlin.
"There is no greater gift than to see you walk into this roll call today," said PA Chief of Department Christopher Trucillo.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police lost 37 members on Sept. 11, and McLoughlin remembered their efforts.
"I made a lot of friends in 24 years," said McLoughlin, 51. "Remembering those we lost makes it tough."
Trucillo presented McLoughlin with an American flag, folded into a triangle and framed. It had flown at the World Trade Center site earlier Wednesday.
On Sept. 11, McLoughlin boarded a bus at the midtown Manhattan terminal and headed down to ground zero. He was with fellow PA police Officer Will Jimeno in one of the tower's underground levels when the building collapsed. The pair were buried alive about 60 feet below the surface.
Jimeno, 36, remains on injury leave but turned out to honor the man he credits with saving his life.
"Even though he was in a lot of pain, he coached me to survive," said Jimeno, who was on the job just nine months on Sept. 11. "It was something to see John take the leadership role and show such courage."
NEVER FORGET!
Lt. John McLoughlin with his wife and daugher.
Never forget ping
Thanks for posting this. We need to remember these men and their bravery.
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