Green Line hero receives 9/11 bravery award

September 11, 2008 12:26 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

A 19-year-old Lincoln-Sudbury High School graduate who comforted a woman trapped in the twisted wreckage of an MBTA Green Line train was honored in a State House ceremony today for exercising bravery in the face of harrowing circumstances in the tradition of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Ben Papapietro

The award is presented annually by the state and by the family of American Airlines flight attendant and 9/11 victim Madeline "Amy" Sweeney who is credited with calling from her hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 to provide officials with valuable information about the terrorists on board.

Ben Papapietro, who was heading to the Riverside Station from his job as an intern with the Boston Red Sox, was honored for helping a woman injured in the May 28 crash.

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray described Papapietro rushing back into the crashed train after having escaped unscathed when he heard a trapped woman screaming inside. He held the woman's hand and took off his shirt, placing it gently over her mouth to filter out the acrid smoke until emergency responders could reach her.

In a 911 recording Papapietro can be heard reassuring the woman, Min Perry. The two had an emotional reunion a couple of days later at the hospital.

"I didn't know about the award, but I knew who she [Sweeney] was," Papapietro said after the ceremony. "When I found out I was getting an award in her name, it was an honor. I was just in the right place at the right time."