Rudy Mastrocinque

This is a story of a typical American family.

Rudy was a skilled debater, known for his sense of humor, sarcasm and wit. Born into an Italian-American Catholic family, he was both a gentleman and a player of practical jokes. At Northport High School, he was a leader in student government, on the yearbook staff, edited the school newspaper, and still found time for the scholarship and athletics at which he excelled. Rudy continued his education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he graduated with a B.A. in Political Science in 1980.

Rudy and Meryl Mastrocinque met one summer when they were working as counselors at a Huntingdon day camp. Rudy was a good-looking guy and between that and his sense of humor, I can only imagine he knocked young Meryl’s socks off. He was about 24 when they married. Rudy and Meryl did not start a family right away. He was about 28 when their daughter was born, and 32 when their son was born.

Rudy worked for Johnson and Higgens, which eventually merged with Marsh and McClennan Companies. He served at MMC as a Vice-President for Property Claims, where his colleagues remember him as humble and genuine. He found relief from job stress on the boat Meryl encouraged him to buy, fishing on Long Island Sound, growing vegetables, and playing and coaching sports. He was a lacrosse and baseball coach, but his primary sport was soccer. He coached several children’s teams, and played in an adult league. He was a member and past President of the Kings Park Soccer Club, and worked hard to improve Tiffany field where many games were played by securing funds for new bleachers. Aside from whatever material improvements he made, he made a far more important contribution in his efforts to urge KPSC members “to show patience, tolerance and friendship towards one another.” He loved the game.

Rudy was a tenacious fighter. Because he loved his children, he was tough on them and had high expectations, displaying a “stubborness and strict exterior.” About a year before Rudy died, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and was ultimately victorious against it. It was a miracle, perhaps one that reaffirmed his Catholic faith. It may also have softened his tough veneer, as his daughter commented, “his later years were filled more with soft emotion than confrontational attitude.”

All in all, a typical American family, who went to bed on September 10th, 2001 just like we all did, never dreaming that things could change.

On September 11, Rudy quietly got up early. He was considerate in that he didn’t want to wake his family, but Meryl did wake up enough to ask why he was up at 6 a.m. He usually started work at 9 a.m. but he said, “I want to get in early because I have a goalie clinic tonight.” At 8:46 a.m., there had been enough time for Rudy to arrive at work, probably get some coffee and settle in at his desk, assessing the day’s work ahead of him. Marsh and McClennan lost 295 people on 9/11. Their offices were in One World Trade Center on the 93rd through the 99th floors, which were in the impact area for American Airline’s Flight 11. Flight 11 was traveling about 490 miles per hour when it struck WTC at 8:46 a.m. Because this was the first flight to strike the WTC, there was no warning. According to the Wikipedia entry,

8:46:40: Flight 11 crashes at roughly 490 mph (790 km/h) into the north side of the north tower of the World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99. (Many early accounts gave times between 8:45 and 8:50). The aircraft enters the tower mostly intact. It plows to the building core, severing all three gypsum-encased stairwells, dragging combustibles with it. A massive shock wave travels down to the ground and up again. The combustibles and the remnants of the aircraft are ignited by the burning fuel.

Rudy would have died immediately, or at least very quickly after the plane struck. I can only imagine the agony his family went through on Tuesday, waiting to hear from him or someone who knew of his status. I can imagine the frantic phone calls. Meryl finally reported him missing on Wednesday, and by Monday, they knew he wouldn’t be coming home and began to deal with their grief. Still the typical American family - the tidbits revealed about them by Google show that they are coping and dealing with their loss as well as can be expected. They grieve, and they remember how much they have lost, and they go on.

Technically, you could call Rudy Mastrocinque a “victim” of 9/11. Had he been a less giving person, he would not have been at work early that day. I prefer to think of him, not as a victim, but as a man who died while serving others, while promoting some of the best things about America - that community spirit and service to others that makes this country so amazing. His loss diminishes us all.

Read more tributes here.

Sources: Peter White: Guidance Channel, Stony Brook, MMC Tribute, Kings Park Soccer Club Newsletter, Points of Light page, Newsday article, Legacy Guestbook, September 11, 2001 Victims, Wikipedia: Flight 11; One WTC Tenants; MMC