Former New York officer speaks to students on 9/11

Patriot Day is a day of remembrance and service to honor the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Master officer for Naples police department Sean Phillips, who at the time was a New York police officer, shared what that day was like for him with students at the Community School of Naples.

“I got woken up shortly after nine o’clock by our roll call personnel who said, ‘We need you to come into work. A plane just hit the World Trade Center,'” said Phillips. “The first thing that came to my mind was a private pilot, maybe a small plane that had hit the towers by accident.”

Shortly after, Phillips soon realized it was much more.

“As I was heading into work, the second plane hit, and that’s when we knew this wasn’t an accident,” said Phillips.

Phillips remembers the moment in time vividly as he and his team worked to save lives.

“I was with the first wave from the highway patrol in Brooklyn that went in. When we exited the Brooklyn battery tunnel, you could see from Brooklyn the flames, the dust, the just twisted metal that was building,” said Phillips. “There’s no other way I can describe it than surreal.”

He says the dangers of exposure to those elements would catch up with him 13 years later.

“I went in for my yearly screening, and the doctor said to me, ‘Sean, why don’t you have a seat?’ And I said to him, ‘No, I’m good.’ And he said, ‘No, I think you should have a seat’ and then he said, ‘Sean, you have cancer.’ And the first thing that came to my mind was, there’s just no way,” said Phillips.

In that moment, he could only think about one thing.

“Who will take care of my family? I didn’t even think about myself,” said Phillips.

Luckily, Phillips’ cancer was treatable, making his story more remarkable and teachable to the students.

“I think it’s super brave for him to go into a burning tower and, like, save people. That’s super cool,” said Logan middle schooler of Community School of Naples.

A day we shall never forget and something his son, Jaden Phillips, doesn’t take for granted.

“It’s a blessing to have my dad here, and to just be able to spread the message and like what happened on that day. I’m just so grateful that he can just do everything he can to still help the community today,” said Jaden.