NYPD cadet receives hero dad’s badge number, two years after he died from 9/11-related cancer

George Miller may not have any memory of Sept. 11, 2001, but it was his hero father’s brave actions on that unforgettable day that inspired him to join the ranks of the NYPD.

Police Officer Thomas Miller had just finished working a shift when planes hit the towers.

“He turned back, to go back to help the people of New York City,” George Miller said. “He was home for five minutes and turned back.”

Thomas Miller died on Feb. 22, 2023, at the age of 56, from 9/11-related bone marrow cancer.

More than 700 first responders have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the years since the attacks.

“He died a hero,” George Miller, 24, told The Post.

Miller is scheduled to graduate from the New York City Police Academy on May 8, and start his career with the NYPD the following day. On May 2, though, during a special ceremony at the academy in Queens, the Long Island resident received a badge bearing the number 31939.

It was his father’s badge number before he retired in 2014 after a 21-year career on the force.

“I think my dad would be proud of me,” Miller told The Post Friday, as his mother, Aracelis, and two of his siblings proudly looked on. “He’d probably be making jokes with his partners.

“I would’ve loved for him to be here, but I know he’s watching over us.”

Miller, who was only a baby on 9/11, said his father rarely spoke about that day or the many days he’d spend after the terrorist attacks working the pile in Lower Manhattan.

“It was hard for him to talk about,” said Miller.

Miller’s father, who worked in Brooklyn’s 88th Precinct, was aware his son wanted to join the NYPD, and offered him some valuable advice about the job prior to his passing.

“He said, ‘Know the reason you join,'” Miller said. “He said you join to help people, and to never forget that.”