BY SEAN EGAN | “This thing started with about 25 people, maybe 30 people, outside of Father Mychal Judge’s room saying the rosary,” recalled John Bates of the impromptu gathering which would grow into the annual Father Mychal Judge 9/11 Walk of Remembrance.“[Then] we basically went to a firehouse, and knocked on the door across the street. They brought us in, we prayed for the members they lost. It just was spontaneous, and then, boom: We went down Seventh Avenue, and we made our way down to where Ground Zero is.”
From those humble beginnings, a tradition was born. “We just got more organized,” he said of he and co-founder NYPD Det. Steven McDonald, and they eventually gained the support of higher-ups at the NYPD and FDNY. “It’s kind of a grassroots operation, and what people tell me all the time is we’ve kept it very simple, and that’s why it’s a success.”
The Walk is named in honor of FDNY chaplain Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who became a friend and spiritual advisor to McDonald in 1986, after he was shot and paralyzed in the line of duty. Judge was the first official victim of the September 11 attacks recognized by the coroner, after he rushed Downtown to provide assistance following the first tower’s collapse, and was fatally injured during the second tower’s collapse.
The annual event begins with a Catholic Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church (135 W. 31st St.). Its route down Seventh Ave., designed to follow the path Judge took to get to the World Trade Center towers, makes regular stops at fire stations and police precincts along the way. The procession is led by McDonald, with Father Chris Keenan by his side to recite names of victims and lead people in prayer.
In 2005, Frank Meade, a board member of the 10th Precinct Community Council, heard about the Walk and participated for the first time, noting that since his mother was a friend of Judge’s it was “a very fitting tribute to both of them.” Meade decided to continue going to the march, and make his own contributions to the event.
“One thing led to another, and I was able to organize the [W. 20th St.] 10th Precinct Auxiliary to form a color guard as the procession comes down Seventh Avenue. We form together with Engine 3, Ladder 12, and Battalion 7,” he said, referencing the W. 19th St. firehouse that lost firefighters and a Battalion Chief on 9/11. “The very first year there were three auxiliary officers and myself,” he reminisced, noting that it has grown every year, and now includes dozens of officers as well as a trumpet player.
“Father Judge was a fire department chaplain, which was a totally voluntary title. He very easily could have stayed in the rectory watching [the attacks] on TV,” said Meade. “That’s one of the things that I hope people would take away from [the walk]: The aspect of absolute selflessness that was displayed that day by Father Judge.”
“We always tell [people] ‘This is a very good way to start a difficult week,’” said Bates, who added that the walk is intentionally scheduled to take place on the Sunday prior to the anniversary of the attacks. “Nobody can take away the sorrow of 9/11, but what you can do is you can help put them in the right mental perspective to get through it again.”
“It’s a somber event, but it isn’t a sad event by any means,” Meade noted.
When the morning of Sun., Sept. 4 arrived, there was not a cloud in the sky, despite the ominous stormy forecast looming all week. The few dozen police officers comprising the color guard chatted amongst themselves on the corner, waiting for the procession to reach W. 19th St. and Seventh Ave., where the walk was scheduled to stop, by the nearby firehouse.
One onlooker, Trish, was visiting from Delaware after helping her child move into college, and had heard about the Walk. During the attacks, “I lost one of my best friends from college,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.” As the procession approached, and the 10th Precinct officers got into formation, she commented, “Fifteen years later, it’s still the exact same feeling that it was.”
As the crowd of hundreds stopped in the street, many carrying photos of lost loved ones or clad in T-shirts representing particular affected groups, Father Keegan said a prayer for and read off the names of those lost from the area during the attacks, requesting, “Let us take a moment and keep them in our hearts.” People stood attentively as “Taps” was played. Soon after this simple, but affecting tribute, participants lined back up, and continued to make their way Downtown.
“I’ll tell you what one of the fire chiefs said to me,” Bates recalled. “He said to me, ‘John, you keep doing this, it isn’t going to be a walk; it’s going to be a parade. And I said, ‘You got the idea.’ ” And with the outpouring of support from over 800 participants on display this year, it’s not hard to see it happening very soon.
For more information, visit facebook.com/911Walk.
