He vanished at Ground Zero saving 9/11 victims. His sons went looking for him.

The Apple News Today team is off for Labor Day, but we have a special story for you instead: As we approach the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, The Atlantic spent time with the family of Kevin Dowdell, a lieutenant of an elite unit in the New York City Fire Department. He taught his teen sons, Patrick and James, to take action and never sit on the sidelines. When Dowdell disappeared on 9/11, Patrick and James joined their father’s rescue unit and went to Ground Zero to search for him.

Their story, reported by Sally Jenkins, was the Apple News+ Story of the Month for August. Subscribers to Apple News+ can get narrated articles like this one every day. Your News+ subscription also includes access to more than 500 publications, 100,000+ recipes, premium local news, exclusive daily puzzles, and more. Go to apple.com/news to start your free trial today.

Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.