John McLoughlin (World Trade Center attack survivor)

{{{{Infobox police officer }} John McLoughlin (born c. 1953) is one of two Port Authority Police survivors of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. His rescue and that of William Jimeno is the subject of an Oliver Stone film released in 2006.
 * name        = John McLoughlin
 * image       =
 * caption     = John after the attacks
 * birth_date        = 1953
 * birth_place = New York, New York
 * nickname    =
 * department  = Port Authority Police (PAPD)
 * serviceyears = 1980 - 2001
 * rank        = Commissioned as a Patrolman - 1980 NYPD Sergeant Stripes.svg - Sergeant - 1993
 * awards      = Port Authority Police Department Medal of Honor
 * relations   = Married
 * laterwork   =

Early life and education
McLoughlin graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego, where he was a member of the Sigma Tau Chi Fraternity.

Career
He currently resides in Goshen, New York with his wife Donna and four children. He once served as the Goshen school board president.

McLoughlin led a team of officers, including Jimeno, who were in between the two towers on the main concourse when the South Tower collapsed. The five ran toward a nearby freight elevator, and were buried in the ensuing collapse of the concourse. Officers Antonio Rodrigues and Chris Amoroso were killed immediately. McLoughlin, Jimeno and a third officer, Dominick Pezzulo, were trapped but alive. The freight elevator withstood the devastation, creating breathing room that saved their lives. Pezzulo, who was the only one not pinned, immediately managed to free himself and tried to free Jimeno, but the subsequent collapse of the North Tower caused shifting and additional debris falling through, and he was mortally wounded and died minutes after the collapse.

McLoughlin and Jimeno were rescued after former U.S. Marine Corps sergeants Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes heard their cries for help.

"“As we were walking we were yelling at the top of our lungs ‘United States Marines, can anyone hear us?'” Karnes described. “As we approached the depression of the south tower I thought I heard something. Indeed it was some muffled call for help, I assured them that Thomas and I were both looking for them so keep yelling so we can find you.”"

The two men were eventually rescued after several hours of painstaking effort: Jimeno after 13 hours and McLoughlin after 22 hours.

McLoughlin was gravely injured. Doctors kept him in an induced coma for six weeks. He underwent 27 surgeries and spent nearly three months in the hospital and rehabilitation.

Four months after their rescue, McLoughlin and Jimeno — who both have since retired — took part in a ceremony at Ground Zero to watch as the final column was removed. When all the uniformed officers walked out of The Pit, the last two to be rescued were the last to leave. On June 11, 2002, McLoughlin (with a walker) and Jimeno (with a limp) walked across a stage at Madison Square Garden to receive the Port Authority's Medal of Honor. USATODAY.com

The film World Trade Center (2006) tells the story of McLoughlin (played by Nicolas Cage) and William Jimeno.