Honor this fallen hero and stand with our cops

UPDATE: Viewing and funeral arrangements have been made for Officer Anthony Varvaro.

Wake is Tuesday, September 13, 2022 from 4 p.m. to 7p.m. and Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Matthew Funeral Home And Cremation Services Inc. on Staten Island.

The mass will take place on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on Staten Island.

Following the mass, the funeral will be at 12:15 p.m. at St. Peter's Cemetery on Staten Island.

Sunday marked the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that claimed the lives of three thousand Americans and thousands more in the aftermath with lingering health issues and war.

Many first responders started their careers inspired by the sacrifice of so many heroes on that day. Many carry on the tradition of honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the attempt to save lives after the planes hit the towers.

Every year, families and first responders attend the memorial service at ground zero to read the names of the fallen.

This year, one of the participants was to be Port Authority Police Officer Anthony Varvaro.

Anthony Varvaro. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland, File/Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP)

Officer Varvaor was on his way to the memorial even at Ground Zero when his vehicle was hit by a car headed in the wrong direction near exit 14C of the New Jersey Turnpike.

Officer Anthony Varvaro's End of Watch was Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.

This hero leaves behind a wife and four children, and countless family members and friends who are shocked and grief-stricken by his death.

Officer Varvaro was only 37 years old and had been a Port Authority cop for the past six years.

He left behind a six-year career as a Major League Baseball pitcher taking the mound for the Mariners, Red Sox, and the Braves.

Getty Images

His dream was to become a cop and he followed that path at the Port Authority in 2016.

It's important to recognize that being a police officer is more than a job. More than a career. It's a hero's calling and Anthony Varvaro was just that.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends especially his wife and kids as they try to make sense of this tragedy.

Say a prayer today on behalf of all of those who sacrificed their time and lives to serve others.

God bless you, Officer Varvaro, your fellow Port Authority officers will take it from here.

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