Inspector Anthony Infante

PAPD

Inspector Infante's Act of Heroism

Over 400 first responders lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Heroically performing their sworn duty, these firefighters, members of the NYPD and PAPD, and numerous other rescue workers will forever be remembered for their sacrifice.

My Hero

As a child, Anthony Infante Jr. knew he would grow up to be a policeman.

For the past 20 years, he worked for the Port Authority, most recently, as a police inspector, rising to the rank of commanding officer for John F. Kennedy International Airport. Before that he was an officer in the Newark Police Department.

The morning of Sept. 11, Mr. Infante, 47, of Chatham, was attending a Port Authority meeting in Jersey City when he heard about the plane crashes at the Twin Towers, relatives said. He rushed to Manhattan to help, making it inside the North Tower in time to calm people as they descended. "I got an e-mail," said his brother Andy, "from somebody saying that while they were going down the stairs, she saw (Anthony) going up the stairs, being very calm and assuring people that there was a way out, a clean exit to the street."

Asked to describe his younger brother, Andy Infante of Piscataway said, "In street terms, he's a stand-up guy. He's somebody that's always there for you, somebody that won't let you down. And he always wanted to be a cop."

His love for the job helped make him a happy man, said his wife, Joyce. "There's so many people who go to work every day, put in the time, go home, and they spend 20 years putting in eight hours a day. My husband, though, he loved it, from the time he was 18 years old."

Mr. Infante was active in the lives of his two children, Marie, 23, and John Joseph, 19, and in the community. He coached his children's softball and basketball teams, did volunteer work for a soup kitchen, and was a religious school instructor at St. Patrick's Church in Chatham. "He loved helping," said his daughter, Marie. "He was always helping people."

Mr. Infante attended night classes and earned a bachelor's degree from St. Peter's College in Jersey City and a master's degree from Seton Hall University. "He set lofty goals for himself and accomplished them," Andy Infante said.

Profile by Jeff Diamant published in THE STAR-LEDGER.
Information courtesy of the Remember 9/11/2001 memorial site on legacy.com