We will never forget the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11.
Yet, there’s one story that I can’t stop thinking about — the story of Port Authority Police Officer Christopher Amoroso.
Christopher Charles Amoroso was the kind of guy you could easily picture growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey — down to earth, with a love for the New York Yankees and an endless passion for sports like hockey, football, and baseball.
Chris came from a large family with four brothers and two sisters. History fascinated him, and one of his favorite pastimes was watching the History Channel with his daughter, Sophia Rose.
Posted by PAPD Officer Christopher Amoroso memorial page on Friday, September 7, 2012
Loved his job
He worked hard, first as a route manager for Consolidated Dairies, then chasing his dream of becoming a police officer. After five and a half years of dedication, he entered the Port Authority Police Academy in 1999, graduating in January 2000, ready to serve with the same selflessness that would define his legacy.
Christopher loved his job, and on the morning of September 11, he was working a rotation that had him assigned to the World Trade Center that fateful day. He could have just as easily been assigned to Newark Airport, but fate had other plans.
Along with several colleagues, Christopher made his way from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown, arriving at the Twin Towers just moments before the second jet struck.
The last time anyone saw him, he was guiding a group of people to safety. Then, he raced back into the chaos.
Final moments
In his final moments, his heroism was immortalized by photographer Todd Maisel, who captured a powerful image of Christopher helping a woman to safety, with a brutal welt under his eye, before heading back to the towers.
Despite having a wife and baby of his own at home, despite being only 29 years old, he kept rushing back into the towers.
He was hurt and covered in blood, with smoke filling his lungs. He could have stopped, but he didn’t. He had already gone far beyond what was asked of him, but his sense of duty and compassion kept him going.
Chris never made it back out after this photo was grabbed.
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After three agonizing months, his body was finally recovered from Ground Zero.
At home, his wife, Jamie, and their young daughter, Sophia Rose, were left to carry on without him.
”I knew when the second tower fell. I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be good. I just knew,” Jamie Amoroso told NBC in 2021.
Jaime and Christopher had been married just one year before the tragic events of 9/11.
She knew better than anyone how extraordinary he was, and the photograph captured by Todd Maisel showed the world his heroism. In that moment, Christopher’s actions spoke volumes about his character.
”[The photo] was given to me,” Jaime said. ”It was good and bad. We have the proof he was a hero. He saved this woman.”
Who was the woman in the photo?
Many wondered about the identity of the woman in the photo, but she never came forward.
Jamie often thought about her, wondering if she had made it out alive. Over time, she grew more convinced that her husband hadn’t rescued the woman at all, and that it was too late — perhaps she had been caught in the collapse.
Photographer Todd Maisel also didn’t know who she was, but he’ll never forget the moment the photo was taken.
“I know every detail. I remember it all like it was yesterday,” Maisel said.
”[Amoroso] was one of the first officers I saw. [The woman] was in distress and Chris was determined to help her. It was like the photo brought him back to life. For that moment, they were able to see Chris for the hero that he was. I took two frames, and then I lost them,” Maisel told NBC.
It would take 20 years before the woman was identified, and the news led to something few could have imagined. Maisel’s photo had been shared countless times on social media, and someone finally commented:
“That woman Officer Amoroso is seen helping in this photo is my mother, Suman Dhamija. My mother has severe asthma so after running down the stairs of the 2nd tower and with all the debris and smoke in the air, she could not breathe,” the commenter said. “Officer Amoroso helped lift her up and walk away from the towers. This photo was taken before the 2nd tower collapsed.”
The truth behind the photo
It turned out that Dhamija had been working at the towers that fateful day.
She now lives in India but remembers exactly what Christopher Amoroso said to her.
“He said, ‘Ma’am, relax. We are here to help,’” she recalled in an interview with NBC.
Dhamija says she never had the chance to thank the 29-year-old officer. Without Christopher’s help, Dhamija believes she wouldn’t have survived the attack.
“I wish the best for his family, for his loved ones. If he wasn’t there, there is no way I could have made it,” she told NBC.
Suman Dhamija, now a grandmother, reflected on how her life had continued while Christopher Amoroso’s was tragically cut short. ”I always felt bad because I have lived my life, and he was still so young,” she shared.
Upon learning the identity of the officer who saved her, Dhamija sent a heartfelt message to his widow, Jaime: ”Tell her that she had such a wonderful husband and that I’m alive because of him.”
When Jaime received the news, she started to cry.
”I can’t believe she’s alive. I can’t believe she has the same face,” Jaime said.
”She’s the last person with him. He went in with a purpose, to want to save as many people as possible. The fact that I get to hear somebody say it.”
Christopher Amororo’s last words
Out of the heartbreaking tragedy of 9/11, a new bond was forged nearly two decades later. Jaime Amoroso, after all these years, finally had the chance to connect with Suman Dhamija, the woman her husband had saved. Through a video call, the emotional meeting unfolded.
”You look exactly the same. If I walked past you, I would have known you from that photo,” Jaime said, her voice filled with emotion. ”I’m so glad he did his job that day, so you could be with your family.”
”Did he seem scared?” Jaime asked softly.
Dhamija’s reply was filled with gratitude: ”He wasn’t scared, but I was.”
In a world where the word “hero” is often overused, the actions of those who rushed into danger on 9/11 are the truest example of heroism — selflessly risking their lives for others.
Left letter for his daughter
During a memorial service for Christopher Amoroso, his sister-in-law Andrea Conway read a heart-wrenching letter he had written to his daughter, Sophia Rose, in the spring of 2000. In one deeply emotional passage, Christopher wrote:
”I consider myself the luckiest man ever to walk the face of Earth. If anything should happen to me, I could honestly say I’ve known true love and happiness in my life. I’ve known that because of your mother and now you. If I could go back and change my life, I would not change a thing. I’ve no regrets. I love you both more than you will ever know.”
Christopher Amoroso’s sacrifice stands as a powerful symbol of the bravery and selflessness of all the first responders who risked everything to save others.
While the world’s focus often gravitated toward the Fire Department’s loss, Christopher and his fellow Port Authority officers, who suffered the largest single-day loss in U.S. law enforcement history (37), are equally deserving of recognition.
I hope Christoper’s wife, daughter, and other loved ones are doing well. Please, share this story on Facebook to keep his memory alive!