One of the most frequent questions that we have received, by phone and by email, in the days since the tragic day of terror on September 11, is whether there were any members of the wrestling community who were victims of the terrorist acts against our nation. Wrestling is truly one big family, and the members of the wrestling family are greatly concerned about other wrestling people who might have been affected by this disaster.    

It is exactly one week since that day, when the world changed forever. At this time, we can report on two wrestling family members who were victimized by this horror. The wrestling community needs to keep a special place in their hearts for two very impressive people, Raymond Downey and Jeremy Glick.    

Chief Raymond Downey of Deer Park, Long Island, N.Y., is the father of a well-known wrestling family from Suffolk County, a wrestling parent of some very talented wrestling sons.    

Downey is one of the most respected leaders in the New York Fire Department, with the title of Chief of Special Operations. He has been a hero before, as he was in charge of the FDNY's contingent that helped Oklahoma City authorities deal with the aftermath of the bombing of the federal building there. Downey has been recognized as a well-known expert on search and rescue and was recently honored in a special party by Mayor Giuliani for his service to the city.    

He was among the firemen and police officers who were on the scene at the World Trade Center responding to rescue efforts when the buildings collapsed.    

A person who knows the family well is Nick Gallo, who works with TW Promotions and Asics. Gallo coached Joe Downey at Hofstra Univ., and, like the Downey family, is originally from Deer Park. The Downey family also included Joe's  brother Ray, who was a New York state high school champion and is now a teacher. Gallo has very nice things to say about Chief Downey, a strong quiet man who was firmly behind his sons in their wrestling careers and their lives.    

Joe Downey is himself now a captain in the Fire Department, and another brother, Chuck, is also a fireman. Joe and Chuck are on duty right now, working as part of the rescue mission, looking for their father.     

"It's ironic, he's an expert in collapses and now he's in one," his daughter Kathy Ugalde said to Newsday. "I just feel like my dad saved so many people this way, I just want someone to save him."    

According to a column on Chief Downey in the New York Daily News, Raymond Downey recently said the following after the tragic death of three firefighters in Brooklyn: " You say to yourself, 'Not me.'  But, when the unexpected happens there's nothing you can do about it." He paused. "I guess that's the fate we all live with."    

Chief Downey has not yet been located. The wrestling community is asked to keep the Downey family in their prayers and thoughts now and in the difficult days ahead.    

People in Bergen County, New Jersey are coming to grips with the death of Jeremy Glick, who was among the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed outside of Pittsburgh.  Glick was a talented athlete growing up, a champion judo player and high school wrestler, who also competed in soccer and lacrosse.     

His connection to wrestling at Saddle River Day School is well documented.     

"I was two years older than him, but all I ever wanted to do was emulate him," Brad Stein, a high school wrestling teammate, told the Bergen Record.  "He and his brother, Jonah, ran our wrestling team. You know, I don't know that I ever remember Jeremy losing a match. Ever."    

In a different article in the Record, his  younger brother Jared said that Jeremy protected and inspired him. "He wrestled, I wrestled," Jared Glick said. "He took Spanish, I took Spanish. He drank milk, I drank milk."    

Jeremy Glick's story is being told all across America. He was one of the brave passengers on the flight who made the decision to stand up to the hijackers and attempt to prevent the plane from being used as a weapon against other innocent Americans.    

Glick was the passenger who called his wife Lyzbeth from the plane, and told her that he and others were going to attack the hijackers who wielded knives and claimed to have a bomb.     

A memorial service was held in Glick's honor this past weekend, as people came together to remember the man, and in their own way, thank him for his selfless act of heroism toward his fellow man.    

According to the Bergen Record, "the ceremony was marked by a range of emotions. Mourners wept when hearing farewell addresses from family members and laughed at the tale of Glick going to grade school in Superman pajamas as a child. They beamed with pride upon hearing that he apparently had no more than a plastic knife from an airline meal with which to confront the terrorists. 'Thank you, God, ...  for men armed with butter knives willing to take on incomprehensible evil,' said the Rev. Diana Smith."     

Glick leaves behind wife Lyzbeth (who was his grade school sweetheart) and a 2 1/2-month-old daughter, Emerson. This shattered family will forever know that Jeremy sacrificed his life so that others could live.    

A moving column  by Adrian Wojnarowski of the Bergen Record pointed out an amazing truth.     

" Today, Jeremy Glick could well be one of the greatest champions American sports has ever produced. Who knows where our country would be without him and the heroes of Flight 93? Where were those terrorists going to fly the hijacked plane? The White House? Air Force One? The Capitol? Somehow, the darkest day in American history could've been worse, officials insist, without the daring courage of Glick, and the people promising to storm the cockpit with him. They saved lives, even as they lost their own. Sometimes, we wonder about sports, about its redeeming value, about lessons learned on fields, and courts and mats. Today, a nation remembers the courage of West Milford's Jeremy Glick, 31, and the passengers of Flight 93, husbands and fathers turned national heroes."       

USA Wrestling and USA Judo are talking about working together on an appropriate way to honor and memorialize Jeremy Glick and his heroic act. Anybody with input on the best way to recognize Jeremy Glick should email me directly at gabbott@usawrestling.org    

Raymond Downey and Jeremy Glick have been a part of the wrestling family. As a community, we can take pride in these two heroes, and remember their ultimate sacrifice and bravery.    

Editor's note: The National Wrestling Coaches Association is establishing a list of those members of the wrestling community that have been directly or indirectly affected by this crisis. Please forward the names of any wrestling people and/or their family  members that have been injured, missing or perished to ptocci@nwca.cc