A group of Union County deputies worked in NY on 9/11. Here are their stories

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Retired Mount Vernon, New York Det. Thomas Luisa can still smell the smoke and feel the ash from the terror attacks on Sept. 11.

Twenty-two years later, Luisa said he carries the weight of that day in his heart and on his arm.

“I just got this as a remembrance for 9/11 and to never forget,” Luisa said while showing a tattoo on his arm.

Luisa said he remembers darting to Manhattan minutes after learning a second plane hit the World Trade Center.

“I was close enough when the building started to come down. If I didn’t put myself in running mode, it would’ve fallen on top of me,” Luisa explained.

Luisa recalled desperately trying to get people to safety, no matter the sacrifice.

“We were down there that day. And after that, that day, just trying to get people out. Mental health-wise, I can’t go back. I went back. A couple of years ago, with my son -- I just broke down,” Luisa said.

Luisa now works as a school resource officer with the Union County Sheriff’s Office. He patrols alongside a handful of retired New York City law enforcement.

Former New York Police Department officers Neil Sullivan and Joseph Chimenti said they understand the struggle after serving in New York on 9/11.

“People [would] come up to you crying with pictures of their loved ones, saying, ‘Did you see him?’ And you knew it was sad because they were they were gone,” said Neil Sullivan, who is also a school resource officer with the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

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9/11 anniversary SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Family members of the victims wait in line to recite their name during the bell-ringing ceremony commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the crash of Flight 93 during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial on September 11, 2023 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The nation is marking the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Chimenti proudly sports his World Trade Center ribbon on his USCO uniform. He said he wears it because his police academy classmate Tommy Schoales never got the chance to.

“He happened to be downtown on Engine 4. And he was one of the first engines in … he did not make it out that day. So one of my goals every year is to remember Tommy,” Chimenti explained.

The three SROs will be wearing bracelets that read “Never Forget” for the 22nd anniversary of the attacks.

“We should remember that day. Remember all the lives that were lost that day and we continue to lose that day, from that day,” Luisa said.

The New York Fire Department said 331 firefighters have since died from 9/11-related illnesses. That’s approaching the number of New York firefighters killed in the Twin Towers.

VIDEO: Memorial set up to honor 9/11 victims in Uptown

Memorial set up to honor 9/11 victims in Uptown

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