Never Forgotten: Charles “Chuck” Costello, Jr.

Two days from now marks twenty-five years since September 11, 2001. A quarter century has passed since that terrible Tuesday morning. It is the duty of the living to remember those killed that day. It is the duty of the living to make sure that the stories of their lives continue to echo through the years. It is the duty of the living to ensure that those who were murdered that day are never forgotten. 

Charles “Chuck” Costello, Jr., forty-six, was an elevator mechanic and on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, his work took him somewhere it did not typically take him, which was Manhattan.  He was working that morning at a hotel in SoHo, roughly twenty blocks north of the World Trade Center, when he learned that American Airlines Flight 11 had slammed into the North Tower.  Immediately, Mr. Costello headed as fast as he could toward the burning tower in an effort to do whatever he could to help those in danger. 

And what a help he was. He volunteered his technical expertise to work alongside the FDNY and NYPD to override controls that had caused the North Tower’s elevators to stall, which trapped their occupants inside of the cars, unable to get out. Mr. Costello’s expertise, his tools, and his muscle manually forcing open jammed doors freed countless people otherwise marked for death.  

Having performed these selfless acts in the North Tower, Mr. Costello could have sought refuge. He did not. Instead he headed into the South Tower to repeat there what he had done in the North Tower.  Again, his courage, his selflessness, and his expertise saved countless people. 

They cost him his life.  He was inside the South Tower when it collapsed at 9:59 am.  On January 5, 2002, his remains were found in an elevator shaft, resting side-by-side with a firefighter and a police officer.  In his pocket were his driver’s license, union card, rosary, and $77.00. 

Mr. Costello lived in Old Bridge, New Jersey, with his wife Mary and their four children, Theresa, Amanda, MaryKate, and Charlie. Charlie, just six when his father was killed, has followed in the footsteps of his dad, dubbed “The Elevator Man” by the first responders with whom he worked on the final morning on his life. Charlie is an elevator mechanic - and also a volunteer firefighter. 

Forever forty-six. Forever loved. Forever remembered. 

-AK