Capt. William Harry Thompson never took the elevator. He taught at the court officers' academy on the 12th floor at 123 Williams Street. Every morning, Captain Thompson, 51, would walk up the stairs to the academy. If he went out to lunch, he would climb the stairs to go back to work. When he would take the recruits, most of them less than half his age, out for runs three times a week, they would climb the stairs after the runs were over. He would be the only one not out of breath.
"His physical regimen would make you cry," said Deputy Chief Jewel Williams, of the New York State Courts, who was his commanding officer at the academy.
On the job, Captain Thompson was spit and polish. At 6 foot 2, with a booming voice, he could easily get people's attention. "I know it sounds corny — he gave the appearance of being hard as nails — but he was so easygoing," Chief Williams said. "He was the type that carried family pictures around with him in his wallet and when they opened up, there were 25 different shots."
Captain Thompson was one of three court officers who died on Sept. 11 when they ran to the World Trade Center. His oldest son, Michael, often finds himself thinking about how his father did things. "I have been faced with a lot of decisions to make, decisions that I don't want to make. I pause before I decide and I think about the approach he would take."
New York Times
Published: Oct. 13, 2001