Craig Vagell
In the matter of one day, America’s idols turned from movie stars, athletes and recording artists to the everyday people who risk, and sometimes give up, lives to save the lives of others. A student at Cabrini was honored by a Hollywood star, who took the time to thank him, a genuine American idol.
On the year anniversary of Sept. 11, Craig Vagell, sophomore at Cabrini and volunteer firefighter in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, was revered at Ground Zero. Jack Knight, one of Hollywood’s singers/actors, sang his song, “Fallen Heroes,” to Vagell during the ceremonies of the day.
“For me, it was the highlight of my day. He put the whole day in perspective,” Vagell said.
Vagell produced a video, which was shown at Cabrini Day 2001, entitled “America Remembers.” It is video of still images from 9/11 that moves to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American.”
Because of the success of his video, Vagell was asked by the missionary sisters to go to New York City to film the services held at Cabrini Medical Hospital, including the re-dedication of David Marc Sullins’ memorial plaque.
Sullins was an emergency medical technician at the hospital who was killed when the towers fell. “America Remembers” was played throughout the day in the lobby of the hospital.
To start off the day, Vagell attended mass at Cabrini Medical Center, followed by a moment of silence at 8:48 a.m. There was “dead silence” throughout the city, “everyone stopped in the streets,” Vagell said.
A second moment of silence was held at the exact time the first tower fell, 10:28 a.m. “It was a very emotional experience. People were crying. I almost felt like something was ripped out of my stomach, just seeing the way people were reacting,” Vagell said.
The dedication of Sullins’ plaque was held in front of the emergency room entrance. “There were flowers and candles lit. We had a moment of silence. The head of the ER Department spoke for about 10 minutes about Sullins , his family and the aftermath of Sept. 11,” Vagell said. After the memorial, the Cabrini High School Girl’s Choir sang for the public.
Vagell then went to the Cabrini Nursing Home, where there was a peace pole dedication. It is “the same peace pole that is on Cabrini’s Campus. It is in the backyard of the nursing home,” Vagell said.
All of the residents at the home were brought outside to sing songs and have a moment of silence followed by a small reception.
Once the Cabrini memorial services concluded, Vagell traveled toward Ground Zero and stopped at St. Paul’s Chapel, the church left standing after all of the surrounding buildings collapsed. “This chapel has a great significance in history. They made the chapel a place where the firefighters could sleep. They had chiropractors come in four hour shifts,” Vagell said. “They had medicine there and they stored water there. That was the firemen’s home during the recovery/cleaning process.”
The chapel has since been turned into a museum, holding artifacts from Ground Zero.
While Vagell was standing near the chapel in front of Ground Zero, he was approached by a police officer because he was wearing his “volunteer firefighter class A uniform.” “That is the highest class uniform you can wear when you are honoring someone who passed away or representing your department,” Vagell said.
“He asked me to show him my firefighter identification, and allowed me to go into Ground Zero. Since I did not have my family with me, I took Mary Brown.” It was here that Knight sang to Vagell.
Throughout the streets in New York City, Vagell was wearing his “volunteer firefighter class A uniform.” “That is the highest class uniform you can wear when you are honoring someone who passed away or representing your department,” Vagell said.
“He asked me to show him my firefighter identification, and allowed me to go into Ground Zero. Since I did not have my family with me, I took Mary Brown.” It was here that Knight sang to Vagell.
Throughout the streets in New York City, Vagell was approached many times by uniformed police officers and firefighters. He was thanked and hugged for going to New York City and showing his support, not only for the city, but also for his service in New Jersey.
“It meant a lot. To me it meant that all of these people cared about the volunteer firefighter. They had a big smile on their faces; it was comfort to them. It made me feel good inside,” Vagell said.
As Vagell stood at Ground Zero, he was hit with overwhelming emotions. His heart went out to all of the victims of the horrible tragedy and to the volunteer firefighters and policemen for all of their efforts and hard work during such a turbulent time. “To me, this is a sacred space. To me, it is something different than just a hole in the ground now. It is a place of remembrance.”
