Middle Village, New York
The Name Meant Something
When Lt. Michael Warchola was a child in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, his grandmother brought British tabloid newspapers into the house. Paging through the tales of three-headed babies and ichthyological anthropomorphism, he developed a passion for reading and a flair for the bizarre.
He parlayed his appetite for books into a teaching certificate, and he joined the New York Fire Department in 1977, after five years on the waiting list. "It was dangerous, but it was a good job," said his father, Michael Warchola. It also helped pay for his trips to the strange and historical sites he read about.
As he neared retirement, Lieutenant Warchola, 51, who was divorced, devoted more time to tending his garden at his home in Middle Village, Queens, where he made elaborate drawings of Venus flytraps, but he kept a Godzilla poster on his wall.
The attack of Sept. 11 spread his name around the world, as it did those of many other victims. One who noticed the name was Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda of Slovakia, and when he came here recently to run in the New York Marathon, he sought out Lieutenant Warchola's older brother Denis, who was only vaguely aware of the family's central European ancestry. Mr. Dzurinda took home a picture of Lieutenant Warchola and held it aloft during a television appearance.
"Everybody in the country saw my brother's picture," Denis Warchola said.
The brother, a retired firefighter himself, had a chance for the most intimate of farewells. After his brother was dead, "I got to put my hands on my brother's arm."
9/11/2024 memorial ceremony badge
Hi my name is Mina Barkley. I am 9 years old. I got your badge at a 9/11 memorial today on the 23rd anniversary. My school attended and I sang during the ceremony. I even found the sign of your badge too. When I got home from school, my mom and I looked you up to learn about your life. Thank you for your service and thank you for your sacrifice. We will never forget.
Mina Barkley
September 11, 2024 | Springhill, FL | Friend
I got this bracelet and one for my 2 daughters not long after September 11, 2001. When you ordered them , you were just sent a random bracelet of one of the 343. I only wear it one day every year and that is on September 11. You will never be forgotten. We honor your sacrifice.
Jim Smarr
September 10, 2022 | Other
Dear Boss, 17 years have gone by, but never has a day gone by that I don 't remember our time together on that big red machine. Continued rest in peace, Brother. Jean and Dan
Dan Potter
September 11, 2018 | Yorktown, NY | Coworker
I met Mr. Warchola when I was a PA student, doing my primary care rotation in a doctors office. Lucky him, I got to practice drawing his blood. He was so good about it, he used to crack jokes (to both of our benefits). I was so saddened to hear about what happened to him that fateful day. I grieve for the life that he did not get to live and I think of his family. I will not forget you.
~Christine, formerly of Valley Stream, NY
Christine McRae
September 11, 2017 | Richardson, TX
When September 11th happened, the military unit I was assigned to made dog tags with the names of those lost that day and all the proceeds were donated to the families. I was fortunate to have received his name. That dog tag has traveled with me in every mission. Not a day goes by in which I don't think about him. You are not forgotten, Lt. Warchola!
Karen Borkowski
September 11, 2016 | San Antonio, TX
Dear Mike, not a day goes by that I don't think of our friendship and zany times together in the front seat of Ladder 5 as your chaueffer. Rest Mike, until we meet again.
Dan Potter
August 30, 2016 | Yorktown, NY
Warchola, Lt. Michael
Jon FitzSimon
September 11, 2015 | San Antonio, TX
I took part of the San Antonio 110 memorial tower climb today, Sept. 11th, 2015, and was fortunate enough to carry a badge and placard with Lt. Michael Warchola's information on it.
This event takes place at the Tower of the Americas here in San Antonio annually and they have pictures of the fallen all the way up the staircase throughout the entire tower climb. There are 65 flights of stairs leading up to the top of the Tower of the Americas, so we complete two trips up and...
Jon FitzSimon
September 11, 2015 | San Antonio, TX
Honored to have been a childhood friend of yours Mike. Think of you often, admire your everyday courage. God Bless You
Jim Carpenter
September 11, 2015 | Port Jefferson Station, NY
