Three Irish brothers responded to the disaster and were part of the recovery effort. Detective Sergeant Peter McCormack,33, and Captain Paul McCormack, 32, of the 41st Precinct in the South Bronx, and their brother, Brendan, 30, an ironworker, all volunteered their services in the wake of the September 11 attack.
Peter joined in the search and rescue operation until his work took him to the landfill site on Staten Island. Two days out of every five, he sifted through the debris removed from Ground Zero, searching for body parts and personal effects.
Paul, the commanding officer of the 41 st Precinct, was part of the plan to maintain the area around the WTC site, but his involvement included the “bucket brigade,” and planning the operation of the precinct while the officers were down at Ground Zero.
Brendan, working out of local 580, was part of the effort by the ironworkers which enabled rescues to begin and debris to be cleared.
The brothers, born in the U.S., grew up in Meencarrigach, Ballybofey, County Donegal. Almost 17 years ago they moved back to New York., settling in the Irish enclave of Woodlawn.
There are three other brothers and one sister in the family. Seamus, 35, who served until recently on the aircraft carder the USS Theodore Roosevelt, now lives in Minnesota. Emmet, 28, and Kevin, 29, live in Donegal, and sister Siobhan, 31, lives in upstate New York. ♦
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