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Retired NYPD officer says he now knows why he was spared on 9/11

Joe Monteleone recalls looking up and seeing ‘no buildings’

Joe Monteleone spent 30 years riding “the beat” in Manhattan -- a “street cop” who joined the New York City Police Department after spending four years in the U.S. military.

“I was born in Manhattan. Raised in New York City,” he said proudly.

Former NYPD Officer Joe Monteleone.

He was off duty the day of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, but he was headed to the World Trade Center for an appointment. He said he decided to leave later than usual that morning to try and avoid traffic. He had just crossed the George Washington Bridge and was on the West Side Highway when he hit terrible traffic.

“I looked up and there was no buildings. No buildings,” he remembered as we sat in the backyard of his Jacksonville home.

He moved to Jacksonville in 2011 after retiring from the NYPD.

Monteleone said he drove as far as he could to get closer to ground zero that morning.

SPECIAL SECTION: Remembering 9/11: 20 years later

What happened next, he said, is all a blur. He helped that day and as much as he could and during the days that followed.

He lost friends. He was riddled with guilt.

“I wasn’t there, I couldn’t help,” he said.

If he had been on duty, Monteleone said, he would have run into the buildings with his fellow officers. He said helping people is just in a cop’s DNA.

He was haunted by one question: “Why was I spared?”

File photo.

He prayed a lot trying to find that answer and to understand why he was hearing a melody and words in his head in the days that followed the towers’ collapse.

“This melody came out of nowhere, into my head,” he said. “I didn’t understand why and it was constant where I went and there were words that were given to me. For a moment I thought, am I crazy? Melody and words in my head?”

Monteleone said he was not a musician. He did not even know how to read music. A friend suggested he visit the Julliard School of Music, which is in New York City, to see if a musician could help him sort out what he was hearing. Monteleone found a pianist, who helped him make sense of what was happening in his head.

“I sung the melody to her and she plucked out the notes and she composed the actual score of the music,” he explained.

As soon as he heard her creation, he knew that was it.

“Once that was out, the melody in my head stopped,” said Monteleone. “It was inspirational, from a higher power, I believe.”

Monteleone titled the song Roll Call in Blue Heaven -- a tribute to the men and women in uniform with the NYPD, Secret Service, New York Port Authority, New York court officers and FBI who died Sept. 11, 2001.

He shared the song with close friends and sent it to local radio stations in New York, but admitted the terror attacks were too fresh in everyone’s mind and the words were a painful reminder of what the city was still dealing with at that time.

As the 20th year of the attacks approached this summer, he felt compelled to do more with the song. He had always believed it could bring comfort to those who lost someone that day. He worked with friends to add video to the song and posted the final product to YouTube. He said the response he received from strangers helped him realize why he survived that day nearly 20 years ago.

It’s the song.

“20 years later, I realize it was not my time. My time was to create this video and this song so all the people can hear the message, because I am a messenger. The message is very simple,” he explained. “It’s about love, compassion, and sacrifice that these brave men and women heroes did on that horrific day. Period. It’s not about me, it’s about them.”


About the Author
Jennifer Waugh headshot

Jennifer, who anchors The Morning Shows and is part of the I-TEAM, loves working in her hometown of Jacksonville.