Updated: Fri, September 13, 2002 - 10:39a Home --> 9/11 --> Story

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Courtesy NEW YORK POST

• Images from Ground Zero: Click for Slideshow

September 12, 2002 -- John Napolitano Sr., a Brooklyn ex-cop, carried a photo of his late son, John Jr., of the FDNY into the hole at Ground Zero yesterday and then carried it back out.

But what sounds like an unusual gesture makes perfect sense to Napolitano, who spent a week after the attacks searching for his son and other victims.

"The whole time I was searching my only goal was to carry someone's son out. But I didn't. So today I came to carry my son out," he said, clutching John Jr.'s photo.

One Father's Journey of Loss:

• About my son, John Napolitano, Jr.: "I close my eyes and I see the great man that he became, but I can still hear the childhood laughter, I can still feel the weight of a baby in my arms, the firm handshake of a man, watching him cradle his own babies is a sight that I will forever be grateful." Click here to read more of John Napolitano, Sr's words for his fallen son