Lieutenant
Charles Margiotta
Battalion 22
Memorial
Service was held
on November 6, 2001.
An
Obligation to Fill Up Life
When he left Staten Island to attend Brown University, Chuck
Margiotta told classmates that he would return to New York to
become a fireman. He did just that, serving 15 years in Harlem
and then the last 4 with Ladder 85 in Staten Island. He also
became a substitute teacher. A private investigator. A coach
of his children's soccer and basketball teams. And he was a
member of the Screen Actors Guild, winning small roles in the
movies "Frequency" and "Hannibal." "He was usually the guy who
got shot," said Steve Gallira, a friend since childhood. "Nobody
knows when the guy slept. We don't think he did." Early on Sept.
11, Mr. Margiotta, 44, was returning to Staten Island after
filling in for another firefighter in Brooklyn. Once he heard
the news of the attacks, he turned around, caught a ride with
Rescue 5 near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and headed for the
towers. That was Chuck: all drive. Always doing the unexpected.
Like becoming tight end for his high school football team when
he could hardly catch a pass. Like saying unabashedly in the
company of other men how he had done the right thing by marrying
his wife, Norma. Mr. Gallira said, "I felt all this work he
did, Chuck believed it was his obligation to life, to fill it
up." Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 14,
2001.
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