Today in History—September 11: The First Known Victim of the 9/11 Attacks

Written by

René Ostberg

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

He was designated “Victim 0001.” But his name was Mychal Judge. He was the son of Irish immigrants, a Roman Catholic priest, and a chaplain for the New York City Fire Department.

The morning of September 11, two airplanes hijacked by Islamic extremist terrorists struck the World Trade Center in New York City.

After the first plane hit, Judge rushed to the scene to help.

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Helping people was the reason Judge had become a priest many years earlier. He ministered to people recovering from alcoholism, having struggled with alcoholism himself in the past. He served at homeless shelters. He started every day with a prayer that began, “Lord, take me where you want me to go.”

During the AIDS crisis, Judge started a ministry for people with AIDS and HIV at the monastery where he lived in New York City. He visited AIDS patients in local hospitals and attended the funerals of people who died from the disease. In 2000 he marched with gay activists in the city’s first gay-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Privately, Judge wrote in his journals about having sexual attractions to men. But he was committed to his vow of chastity. His friends say he loved everyone and judged no one.

On September 11, 2001, Judge was inside the World Trade Center’s north tower when the south tower collapsed at 9:59 am, unleashing a massive rainfall of debris. Immediately after the collapse, firefighters and other first responders found his body in the rubble. Killed by the falling debris, he became the first casualty of 9/11 to be identified. He was 68 years old.

Interesting Fact

After 9/11, Judge’s fire chaplain helmet was presented to Pope John Paul II.

As rescuers carried the priest’s body away from the destruction, a photographer snapped a photo. It became one of the most famous images of the day’s devastation.

More than 3,000 people attended Mychal Judge’s funeral. Some think he had been giving last rites to a fallen firefighter minutes before the south tower’s collapse. Many people think he should be made a saint.

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, we remember him and all the other victims of that horrible day.

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