Sean Collier”s brother pushes for national heroes holiday

Cora and Molly Collier will never meet Uncle Sean.

The twin girls were born just 12 days ago. Someday, they could mark National First Responders Day and the ultimate sacrifice their uncle made to inspire it.

Sean Collier, then MIT police badge No. 179 and now, Somerville police badge No. 310, was shot to death in his squad car on April 18, 2013, by the two brothers who committed the Boston Marathon bombings.

Collier’s younger brother Andrew and his wife Tori welcomed their infant daughters into this tumultuous world as Andrew’s three-year push to create a National First Responders Day nears a crescendo once never thought possible.

Andrew Collier, a mechanic for Hendrick Motorsports, will be heading from his North Carolina home to Washington next week. There he will pitch various congressional types for passage of a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano that would create a day to honor those who protect, serve, and are willing to put your life ahead of theirs.

“This is the next step,” Collier told the Herald yesterday. “On Memorial Day after Sean died, I noted how we, rightfully, honor our veterans. Our first responders are our front line here at home. We deal with them every day. They save lives and take care of us. It’s a huge safety net. It makes the most sense to honor and show them the support they really deserve.”

Sean Collier knew he wanted to become a police officer when he was a kid. As a boy, he and Andrew would visit their dad in New Hampshire on the weekends, racing go-karts or camping in the mountains. Sean was set to go in on Patriots season tickets with his step-dad in 2013.

His is a tale that does not need dramatic embellishment, even if it happens to be in a movie produced by Boston’s own Mark Wahlberg.

“(Patriots Day) is the main (movie) I’ve read up on. I’m not a huge fan of it,” Andrew Collier said. “I do like to get Sean’s story out there but there are aspects of the movie I don’t feel great about. The commercial aspect of it is one. I’ve heard about some of the story lines with Sean that are not true. I don’t like that.”

In “Patriots Day,” actress Lana Condor plays an MIT grad student who is Sean Collier’s girlfriend.

One problem.

“They cast someone as Sean’s girlfriend. Well, he didn’t have a girlfriend,” Andrew said. “There’s no need to dramatize anything about his life.”

Many attempts have been launched to create a National First Responders Day in the past. None have made it to Congress twice (a similar bill failed), nor have they arrived in such a super-charged political climate.

The quest to honor police officers, firefighters and EMTs was on life-support when Hooters, yes that Hooters, took up his cause earlier this year. The national restaurant chain, noted for its wings and breasts, dished out free meals nationwide yesterday to uniformed first responders while spearheading a push to get signatures for an online petition.

Collier is not naive. A seemingly endless stream of police shooting videos, cop killings in Dallas and elsewhere, civic unrest toward law enforcement and images of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem have created a caustic environment when the subject of policing is on the agenda.

Collier envisions a National First Responders Day as a way for citizens and law enforcement types to find common ground, even if its purpose is to honor all those who answer the 911 call.

“I don’t love what I’m seeing happen. People dying is not what you want to see, no matter who it is,” he said.

“One hope I have is that this holiday will bring people together. I’d love to see a town have a get-together where police and firefighters can meet members of the community and everyone gets to know each other and promote community policing. If you know the cops and get pulled over, you don’t feel threatened by them.”

Dic Donohue and Sean Collier became fast friends when they trained together in the MBTA Transit Police Academy in Quincy. Donohue was shot in Watertown during the manhunt for the bombers and nearly bled to death. He has since left the T police force and is working on a Ph.D. in criminal justice at University of Massachusetts Lowell.

“He was truly dedicated to duty and making a difference in his community. Sean also lived life to the fullest and could always bring a laugh,” Donohue said.

Donohue and his wife Kim have welcomed two sons since David Ortiz declared Boston “our (bleeping) city.” For him, a National First Responders Day is a no-brainer.

“Think of a time when you needed help, or when you could need help in the future, who would you call? The people who are always on duty, always protecting the community, and always there to serve are there for you,” Donohue said. “This really works to describe Sean as well and the impact he had on his family. When you look at the National First Responders Day website, the one-word descriptions encapsulate the feelings toward all first responders, be it police, fire or EMS personnel.”

Neither Dic Donohue nor Andrew Collier were shocked by the bombings in New York and New Jersey this past weekend. The bombings, manhunt and shootout all bore an eerie resemblance to what happened in Boston more than three years ago.

“It’s scary to know what those families are going through.” Collier said.

Sean Collier is buried in Peabody next to his sister, Kristal. She died as an infant in 1985. Collier’s parents were divorced. He grew up as the second youngest of six children in a “Brady Bunch/Parenthood”-style household. Joe and Kelley Rogers’ blended family included two Jennifers.

Sean’s death has altered the course of Andrew’s life, but it did not stop it from moving forward.

“There are situations that make me more nervous,” he said. “I’ve been able to find happiness since Sean died. I’ve gotten married and had two children. I find happiness in those type of things. Sean’s always in the back of my mind. That won’t ever go away. I won’t let it.”

Bill Speros writes the Obnoxious Boston Fan column for the Herald.