Teachers were among the public servants at work in New York City on September 11, 2001. This study focuses on the feelings and actions of a representative group of elementary teachers in Queens, New York. As they became aware of the unfolding tragedy of the World Trade Center attacks, they demonstrated the essential qualities of public service, which include selflessness and placing others' needs above their own. On that day, teachers, and other public servants, such as police and firefighters, became for ordinary citizens the voice and face of the democratic state in a time of crisis. (Contains 9 tables.)