The heroic story of Christopher Amoroso on 9/11

“I know every detail. I remember it all like it was yesterday,” Maisel said.

”[Amoroso] was one of the first officers I saw. [The woman] was in distress and Chris was determined to help her. It was like the photo brought him back to life. For that moment, they were able to see Chris for the hero that he was. I took two frames, and then I lost them,” Maisel told NBC.

It would take 20 years before the woman was identified, and the news led to something few could have imagined. Maisel’s photo had been shared countless times on social media, and someone finally commented:

“That woman Officer Amoroso is seen helping in this photo is my mother, Suman Dhamija. My mother has severe asthma so after running down the stairs of the 2nd tower and with all the debris and smoke in the air, she could not breathe,” the commenter said. “Officer Amoroso helped lift her up and walk away from the towers. This photo was taken before the 2nd tower collapsed.”

The truth behind the photo

It turned out that Dhamija had been working at the towers that fateful day.

She now lives in India but remembers exactly what Christopher Amoroso said to her.

“He said, ‘Ma’am, relax. We are here to help,’” she recalled in an interview with NBC.

Dhamija says she never had the chance to thank the 29-year-old officer. Without Christopher’s help, Dhamija believes she wouldn’t have survived the attack.

“I wish the best for his family, for his loved ones. If he wasn’t there, there is no way I could have made it,” she told NBC.