Q&A with Acton's Michael Sweeney, Widower of 9/11 Victim Madeline Amy Sweeney

On September 11, 2001, Acton resident Madeline Amy Sweeney died on Flight 11. Her husband, Michael Sweeney, instantly became a single father of two young children – Anna, a daughter who is now 15 and Jack, a son who is now 14.

Q&A with Acton resident Michael Sweeney:

Acton Patch: How do you feel about the amount of volunteers coming forward to build the Acton 9/11 Memorial? 

• Sweeney: Honestly, Tom Matthews, Jon Stackhouse, Eva Szkaradek and all the volunteers that pulled through on this have been very generous in supporting this.

Acton Patch: Back in March, didn’t you head down to New York With Matthews and Stackhouse to pick up the Ground Zero Steel?

• Sweeney: Yeah. It was an unbelievable experience. It was quite the moment to take in when we got the tour.

Acton Patch: How do you and your family deal with the 10^th anniversary of 9/11?

• Sweeney: My kids and I try to focus on the positive things. The tragic events of September 11 are always going to be there but at least in some part we can focus on the positive things people have done to help others in this tragedy.”

Acton Patch: Your wife did a pretty heroic act that day. Is this the type of positive thing you focus on?

• Sweeney: The information she gave to the grounds control was critical information for the rest of the attacks that followed that day. I can’t say for myself if I would have been brave enough to pick up the airline phone and relay all that information, but she didn’t freeze up. As a family, we are very proud of what she was able to do. It is easy to dwell on the anger, but we as a family prefer to focus on the more positive things that have happened as a result of what she was able to do.

Acton Patch: How do your kids cope with 9/11 anniversaries?

• Sweeney: For the kids it’s difficult because it’s like you’re burying your mom every year again. It’s good and it’s bad.

Acton Patch: How have you managed without your wife?

• Sweeney: I became a single parent overnight. I was lucky to have a good family support and without them it would have just been a worse situation. My son Jack was four and my daughter Anna was five when their mom died. My daughter just finished her freshman year and, you know, teenagers are a handful – so it’s not easy being a single dad.”

Acton Patch: Do you think America is a safer place since 9/11/01?

• Sweeney: You would hope it would be. Whether it is or isn’t is questionable. The money that has been spent hopefully has been spent the right way. On the surface security has increased but unfortunately it is a money thing and a political thing. I think the public is more aware now and I think that is very important. We need people to be more diligent and look out for things that may look out of place.