09/11/2026
"Service over Self"
These words stand tall as retired CAPT Gene Migliaccio reflects on 9/11:
In September 2001, I was an active-duty U.S. Public Health Service officer leading the Immigration Health Service program, including clinics in lower Manhattan and Queens. Following the September 11 attacks, many of our clinical officers joined hundreds of USPHS officers deployed to support first responders at Ground Zero. At the request of the Office of the Surgeon General’s readiness and response leadership, I helped provide clinical staff for that mission.
About a week later, I traveled to New York City with three other senior Public Health Service officers to assess our clinical operations and support activities. The city appeared to have resumed its familiar pace, but it felt profoundly different. At one intersection, a man approached our government vehicle, pounded on the window beside me and, seeing us in uniform, demanded to know what was being done to help. I have never forgotten that moment.
At Ground Zero, we received hard hats, were fit-tested for respirators, and walked toward the Pile. I remember the extraordinary quiet, the smell of smoke and contaminants, and the overwhelming destruction. My immediate thought was this must be what war looks like.
We met with Public Health Service officers throughout the response to evaluate clinical operations and other support activities, including services to the command center, laboratories, and forensic dentistry operations. Most importantly, we listened to the officers about what was working, the challenges they were facing, and what additional resources they needed to continue supporting and caring for responders.
What has stayed with me most for 25 years is the spirit of those officers: service over self. Despite the difficult conditions, they were grateful for the opportunity to serve.
I remain humbled by their compassion, professionalism, and dedication. It was a privilege to support them and an honor to serve our nation.
Most of all, I will never forget the nearly 3,000 lives lost on September 11, the families who endured unimaginable loss, and the countless lives forever changed. Twenty-five years later, we honor their memory and we will never forget.
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