'He really loved helping out.' Son reflects 21 years after losing NYPD officer dad on 9/11
At age 47, the 18-year veteran of the NYPD was killed trying to save people from The collapsing Twin Towers as part of Emergency Service Unit truck 2, which was one of the first to arrive on the scene.
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Sep 7, 2022, 2:41 AM
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Updated 809 days ago
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506ds agoThe son of an NYPD who died on 9/11 is reflecting 21 years after the terrorist attacks.
John D'Allara was just 7 years old when his father and namesake died on Sept. 11, 2001.
At age 47, the 18-year veteran of the NYPD was killed trying to save people from The collapsing Twin Towers as part of Emergency Service Unit truck 2, which was one of the first to arrive on the scene.
"He loved his family, of course, but he also loved his job it," D'Allara says. "Just shows he really loved helping out, being there for people when they needed it."
His father, John D'Allara, was Bronx through and through. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, graduated from Lehman College and was married at St. Lucy's Church.
The elder D'Allara was also a police officer in the 46th Precinct and on the Bronx task force. He now has a street named after him.
His son works to honor his legacy.
"I know he was funny and he was caring, always had some pretty good jokes, kindhearted, giving, loving," D'Allara says.
While he admits he will always miss his father, he chooses to focus on the bright spots of the tragedy -- the outpouring of love and support that he and his family received after 9/11.
"Time does not heal all the wounds. You kind of have to put it in some sort of positive light, otherwise it'll just kind of like bring you down," he says.
D'Allara, a member of the Marine Reserves, also gets strength through working with Tuesday's Children, a nonprofit founded after 9/11 to serve children who lost a parent that day.
"When our organization was founded, they wanted to connect with others who had experienced similar losses, similar pain. They have a community that just understands, that just gets it," D'Allara says.
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