Purpose in the Wake of Tragedy
The cafeteria of Wantagh Middle School in suburban Long Island was abuzz with murmurs and rumors. In a time before smartphones, bits of news and gossip flew like spitballs from table to table. Only when students, like 13-year-old John McGrath, returned home to find their parents glued to the television did they learn the reality of the September 11th attacks.
The teenage years are formative ones. For John, who would barely see his late father, John Sr., over the next few weeks while the NYPD officer worked at Ground Zero, the attack on the United States cemented his desire to follow in his father’s boot steps. John Sr. spoke sparingly of what he saw at Ground Zero, especially in front of his three children. Only after speaking with his mom recently did John Jr. learn more of the details from that period.
“He was working with the Street Crime Unit at the time and just got off of a midnight shift,” John recalled. “He had just fallen asleep at home when he got the phone call. He was told that a plane hit the tower and that he had to respond to work immediately. My mom was out for a bike ride at the time and came home to find that my dad had already left the house. He tried driving into the city but was having trouble getting in
