A Fire Fighter's Heart Shifts in the Wake of 9/11
- Mattie's "For Our World" Message -
Sharing reflections on 9/11 during the 25 year anniversary of this tragic event, Mattie’s mom spoke of the powerful impact of Mattie’s message of hope and peace – especially on first responder Jack Ginty.
Ginty, a fire fighter with Port Authority at the time, was one of a handful of survivors who crawled out hours after the World Trade Centers collapsed.
When Mattie first sat down with fire fighters early in 2002 – just months after his traumatic experience – Ginty expressed anger and a desire for revenge.
After a few hours of conversation with Mattie and reflecting on the message in Mattie’s “For Our World” poem – a passage for peace he penned just before midnight on 9/11 – Ginty had a change of heart.
“I understand our need to rebuild, and let go of thoughts of revenge,” Ginty told Mattie, 11 years old at the time. He then took Mattie to his locker, and as a sign of “letting go of hatred” – gave Mattie the clothes he was wearing when he crawled out from under tons of debris.
Watch the full story shared on
ETWN’s The World Over here…
Learn more about Mattie’s
“For Our World” poem and the
Foundation’s Campaign here…