Union County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Castrogiovanni planned to light a candle Friday, Sept. 11, at Waxhaw's Military Wall of Honor for three friends killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Castrogiovanni, a former New York City police officer, was 32 and working in Manhattan when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He had been near the towers the day before, investigating a robbery, WSOC-TV reported Thursday, Sept. 10. His wife woke him the morning of the attacks.

He called his partner. Then the second plane hit.

Castrogiovanni rushed into the city and joined what responders called the bucket brigade, digging through rubble after both towers had collapsed. Three of his friends died that day: NYPD Det. Joe Vigiano, NYPD Sgt. Timothy Roy and FDNY Firefighter Chris Pickford. The NYPD's official tribute page lists Vigiano and Roy among the 23 officers killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001.

Castrogiovanni carries their initials tattooed on his arm.

The long-term toll has followed him, too. He told WSOC-TV's Gina Esposito he has been diagnosed with cancer twice, both times on his feet, and that two friends have died from the same illness. He attributes the diagnoses to toxic contamination at Ground Zero.

"Whatever we were standing in, apparently was contaminating our bodies without us knowing," Castrogiovanni told WSOC-TV.

Castrogiovanni, who now lives in the Waxhaw area and serves as a Union County deputy, said he planned to attend the Town of Waxhaw's Patriot Day ceremony at 8 a.m. Friday at the Military Wall of Honor, 105 E. North Main St. He said he would light a candle for all his friends who died on Sept. 11 or in its aftermath.

The town's ceremony program included the national anthem, a moment of silence, a guest speaker and a Quilts of Valor presentation. Mayor Robert J. Murray III noted the 25th anniversary ceremony at a Board of Commissioners work session on Aug. 25.

Remembrance church bells were scheduled to ring at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:37 a.m. and 10:03 a.m., each marking the moment a plane struck or crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.