Watch CBS News

9/11 Families Prepare Care Packages For Troops On Veterans Day

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A group of volunteers who lost a spouse or parent on 9/11 spent Veterans Day at St. Paul's Church in lower Manhattan preparing care packages to send to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the recent widows of servicemen.

One of the volunteers was Michelle Dominguez, whose father, Carlos, worked for Marsh & McLennan on the 95th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower.

"I was only nine months old when he died," she told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "But I've heard a lot of things about him, and he's really close to my heart."

9/11 Families Prepare Care Packages For Troops On Veterans Day

Michelle decorated a paper bag Monday "that they're going to fill with necessities for the soldiers."

"She did have school, but we thought that this was an important day," said her mother, Maureen, "and it also ... would have been her dad's birthday, so we wanted to do something nice to honor him as well."

Susan Biatini, of Park Ridge, N.J., whose husband, Paul, was killed in the World Trade Center, was also among the volunteers. She wrote a letter to soldiers.

Photos: NYC Veterans Day Parade

"I promised that would laugh again and that they would be happy again," she said.

"I think it is amazing. I am so privileged to feel that I can help them."

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.