BY LAUREN MORAN
As the Stonehill Field Hockey team warmed up for their game against St. Thomas Aquinas on September 11, player Maddie McGee wore a New York Fire Department shirt in place of the team’s warm-up shirt. It was not only to honor the lives lost during the attacks in New York City on September 11, but to honor her father, Larry McGee.
Larry McGee was a New York City firefighter stationed in the Bronx, and on September 11, his station was ordered to man the Brooklyn Bridge in case of a second attack.
Then, in the months following 9/11, he was involved in the cleanup at Ground Zero.
“Although I did not know my dad pre 9/11, I don’t think that he was ever the same. Every year, we have to see the pain in his eyes as he remembers; it’s really hard,” McGee said.
Along with being a firefighter, Larry McGee was also a member of the FDNY Ice Hockey Team. After 9/11, when the New York Rangers had their first game back at Madison Square Garden, the FDNY and NYPD hockey teams were invited to stand on the ice with the team. On his own, Larry McGee asked the Ranger’s captain to wear his fire helmet.
On the helmet was a picture of Chief Ray Downey, the first ever captain of the FDNY Hockey team who was killed on 9/11.
As a result of the Rangers captain wearing the helmet, ESPN asked Larry McGee to appear in the special, “The Comeback Story,” to honor the return of sports after 9/11.
“Recently, my family has also made it a tradition to watch my dad’s ESPN special every year to remember, no matter where we are,” McGee said. “With being at school, it was difficult being away from my dad and not being able to hug him. But despite all the pain he feels, he has his family around him to continuously love and support him.”
No matter where McGee is, whether it be with her family or in another state, she still takes the time to remember the loss of that day.
“As a New Yorker and daughter of a retired NYC firefighter, I will always honor those lost and never forget about that life-changing event,” she said. “Although the day commemorates awful tragedy, it also represents a time when the country was able to put aside political parties and all differences to come together as one United States of America and stand by those affected by this tragedy.”
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Stonehill Field Hockey team had a game in New York to play St. Thomas Aquinas.
“When I first saw that I was playing in New York on the anniversary I was furious. I thought how inconsiderate it was that we would play there on such an important and commemorative day,” McGee said.
But this didn’t stop her from honoring the day as she wore an FDNY t-shirt to warm up in.
“I felt it was important to show that despite being on a Massachusetts school team, I am still a New Yorker greatly affected by this day,” she said.
Despite playing a game on 9/11, McGee was so happy she was able to see her family, hug her dad and be among the community on the 20th anniversary.
“Being a New Yorker on 9/11 means so much more than remembering those who have lost their lives,” McGee said. “It means to be strong and to know that despite the differences of beliefs, humanity will always come together when necessary. We must take care and protect each other, always.”
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