Don’t count on 9/11 victims compensation crusader John Feal to neglect the title of the e-book he has popping out subsequent 12 months.
It’s tattooed on his proper hand.
They’re the phrases comic and fellow crusader Jon Stewart informed Feal after they efficiently lobbied lawmakers to broaden the 9/11 Sufferer Compensation Fund and healthcare invoice in 2019.
“I will follow you anywhere,” Stewart informed him.
The phrases caught.
“They truly understand what it means to be patriots and give of themselves,” Feal stated on Tuesday, within the days main as much as Thursday’s 9/11 anniversary. “If the lawmakers once again say they will never forget we’re going to make sure they never.forget.”
Publishers have timed the e-book’s 2026 launch to coincide with the twenty fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist assault.
Feal stated he expects commemorative tributes to succeed in a crescendo this time subsequent 12 months. However he stated it’s essential to remind New Yorkers and everybody else of the grief and struggling that also goes on daily of the 12 months.
“If I had to die for this, I would,” Feals stated of his dedication. “If death came knocking, I’d say, ‘What took you so long.?’”
John Feal is pictured subsequent to the 9/11 memorial he established in Ronkonkoma on Friday August 27, 2021. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Day by day Information)
Feal, a building employee and demolition supervisor, rushed to Floor Zero to help with the restoration and cleanup within the aftermath of the terrorist assault. Ninety-six hours later, his life was modified when an 8,000-pound beam crushed his left foot.
Whereas recovering from a partial amputation, a physician beneficial he be a part of a help group for 9/11 responders and survivors. The connection gave him a brand new function in life.
Feal watched his fellow responders undergo and die from most cancers and different illnesses brought on by the mud within the air they believed was secure to breathe. He turned their tireless advocate, preventing for presidency compensation.
Feal lobbied Congress to move The James Zadroga 9/11 Well being and Compensation Act of 2010, which he subsequently fought to defend and broaden in 2015 and 2019 with the assistance of dozens of his fellow 9/11 responders, post-9/11 sickness survivors, and Stewart.
The unique invoice was named for James Zagroda, the primary cop whose dying was attributed to a Floor Zero-related sickness
This system now helps greater than 137,000 members. It additionally contains those that had been uncovered on the 9/11 crash websites in Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon.
By his rely, Zeal has made 385 journeys to Washington, D.C. for greater than 2,700 conferences over the past 22 years. In that very same time, he has been to 213 funerals for individuals who have died within the years after 9/11.
“I feel selfish to keep asking these men and women to keep joining me on these trips,” Feal stated. “They truly understand what it means to be patriots and give of themselves.”
Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer of N.Y., left, speaks alongside activist and entertainer Jon Stewart and activist John Feal at a information convention after the Senate handed a invoice designed to assist thousands and thousands of veterans uncovered to poisonous substances throughout their navy service, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Picture/Patrick Semansky)
Feal, who additionally runs his non-profit FealGood Basis, stated the e-book, written with Charles Daly, is greater than a tribute to the primary responders. It’s a blueprint on the right way to get issues executed.
“Have endurance, have stamina. Don’t take no for an answer,” Feal stated. “Be willing to make sacrifices.”
Feal additionally has a tattoo on his left hand from the title of a 2021 documentary that chronicles the identical legislative journey.
It’s one other mantra Feal lives by:
“No Responders Left Behind.”
Initially Printed: September 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM EDT
