BOSTON (WHDH) - A United States Marine veteran was awarded the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery at the Massachusetts State House Friday morning for his heroic efforts to save lives during a shooting on Memorial Drive in Cambridge in May.
Sweeney, an Acton native, was a flight attendant on Flight 11, one of the hijacked planes that crashed on September 11, 2001. She provided critical information to Logan Airport about the hijackers before she died.
At the State House Friday, Governor Maura Healey presented the award to Thomas “T.J.” Swenson, who pulled out his gun and helped authorities confront the danger during the shooting in Cambridge.
The award was presented to Swenson by Sweeney’s daughter Anna, who spoke about her mother during the event.
“My mother was a woman who, in her final moments, chose courage over fear, and grace over panic,” Anna said. “As my daughters grow older, they will know who their grandmother was. Not just how she died, but how she lived. With bravery, compassion, and unwavering resolve.”
Rachael Lemire Saveriano, who was stuck in her car on Memorial Drive during the shooting, said she nominated T.J. for the award.
“Out of nowhere, T.J. appeared at my car door. And he looked at me, and he said, ‘Run!’ And he seemed so calm. He seemed like he was there to save us,” Saveriano said. “I can think of no one more deserving than T.J.”
Swenson was joined at the ceremony by his wife and two young daughters. A state trooper who also bravely engaged with the gunman watched from the gallery.
“What we saw that day was the American spirit at its finest,” said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble. “T.J., a former Marine, relying on his training, but in his civilian role, stepping up.”
“People would have died, people would have been killed, people would have been shot were it not for the bravery of T.J. and the trooper,” Healey said.
Swenson declined to speak publicly, but released a statement saying he is honored to win an award named for Amy Sweeney, writing, “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Sweeney family. Madeline Amy Sweeney was a true American hero. On the most devastating day in our nation’s modern history, she chose courage over fear and, in doing so, gave others a chance to survive.”
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