TSA Officer Patrick McHugh remembers sister, Ann Marie McHugh

New Sacramento International Airport (SMF) team members are surprised when they learn TSA Officer Patrick McHugh's sister, Ann Marie McHugh, died in the World Trade Center's South Tower on 9/11.

"I still find people who don't know about it because I don't advertise it much," said McHugh. "It came up in my training six years ago at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, and from time to time here, especially during 9/11 anniversaries. Teammates will ask me to point out her name in the Not on My Watch banner made up of the victims' names."

For both parties, spotting Ann in the sea of other names rips 9/11 out of the history pages and brings the terrorist attack into stark focus. For McHugh, it's a painful reminder but at the same time a hopeful act of remembrance and mission duty. For other officers, it's a living connection to the reason why they chose a TSA career.

A humble McHugh doesn't think his SMF colleagues need inspiration from him, but he hopes Ann's memory reinforces their individual reasons for taking the oath.

"TSA officers have strong personalities," said McHugh. "We have to be strong to make it in this job, but we also have to be caring and thoughtful of others. I think everyone respects my dedication to the mission, and I hope that it's rubbed off on them."

What took McHugh 19 years to join the agency?

"I was taking care of a young family in those years and had a number of careers as a banker, an insurance agent and a night auditor in the hotel industry," said McHugh.

In midlife, with more than a decade of work years ahead of him, McHugh was looking for a career change.

"After the children were grown, I opened USAJobs and the TSO job was there."

It was an unmistakable sign. Call it fate, faith, destiny or providence, but McHugh immediately knew where he could help.

It was the opposite feeling from what he experienced in 2001. McHugh boarded one of the first flights allowed out of California after 9/11 and met up with his family in New York in a vain search for Ann. Although her coworkers safely evacuated, Ann went back to her office for an unknown reason and was never found. Instead of attending her Italian destination wedding planned for that November, her family solemnly gathered in Ireland for her memorial service in October.

McHugh's memory of that time is still intensely vivid, recalling ground zero as resembling a war zone. He tempers the sadness by sharing stories of Ann's vivacious personality, her success in the male-dominated financial industry of the early 2000s and her personal joy about her impending marriage. She had a very logical, methodical mind and was used to juggling the pressures of her demanding job.

Given Ann's strong work ethic, McHugh responded to a question about what he thought Ann would say to him and his teammates after an especially grueling shift engaging with passengers who might not be in the best of moods.

"She would understand that the job is stressful, and people are going to be upset," said McHugh. "'Don't let that prevent you from doing your job,' she would say. 'Stay aware, and don't let your guard down.'"

This year, September 11 falls on a regular day off for McHugh who will be hosting his 83-year-old mother visiting from her home base in Ireland.

"The day is emotional, you know," said McHugh. "I usually try to take the day off if I can and am in quiet prayer and meditation. Ann has impacted many lives after passing away, and she now has a special place of rest in New York City at a private place within the public National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

"I think Ann's life made a difference, you know, and I hope my work can make a difference to prevent a tragedy from happening again. I think she'd be delighted and very touched to know I was in a profession that was keeping people safe."

By Karen Robicheaux, TSA Strategic Communications & Public Affairs