My 9-11. . .

GOD BLESS AMERICA

I have a personal story to tell about 9-11-01.

Me During A Fire Safety Presentation - 1997

Teaching Fire Safety In 1997 - I'm The One On The Right

Seven Years ago right now I was sitting on the couch in the lounge at work, wondering if what I had just seen was real. I was working at DePaul Community Services as a residential counselor. I worked 7:30 – 3:30 on Tuesdays, and this particular Tuesday got to work around 7:10. All was normal at work, and I distinctly

The opposte side of the impact of Flight 11 on the North Tower

remember looking up at the sky right before opening the door to the house I worked at and taking note of how peaceful and quiet it was, and what a beautiful day it was becoming. I was exhausted, having returned from a trip to Long Island to visit my grandmother around 3:30 that morning, the trip taking longer than normal because I stopped in Manhattan to see the sights, and had gone to the observation decks of both the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center’s south tower. Around 8:15 we started our daily staff meeting, and wrapped up around 8:40. I turned on the radio in the staff office to hear the morning talk shows and to give a little background noise as I started what seemed to be never ending paperwork following a 12 work day vacation. At 8:46, flight 11 hit the north tower. Just a few minutes later the show I was listening to was interrupted to announce an “aircraft collision in NYC.” It was a slow morning, and all but 2 of our 15 clients had gone to group sessions at another facility, so the staff gathered in the lounge and turned on the TV. We watched it all unfold and quietly speculated as to how something like this could happen, never saying what we feared the most: that this wasn’t an accident. At 9:03, flight 175 hit the south tower.

Flight 175 Hits The South Tower

Watching coverage of this on CNN, we all witnessed the crash. The plane hit about 22 floors below where I had been standing just 18 hours earlier, on the 107th floor observation deck. We watched for two more hours, seeing the aftermath of flight 77 hitting the Pentagon at 9:37, and watching as the WTC south tower collapsed at 9:59, flight 93 crashed in Shanksville PA at10:06, and the WTC north tower collapsed at 10:28.

4 days later, despite the protests of my girlfriend, I headed to Ground Zero. I had been an EMT-D/Firefighter for 5 years at that point and a Tactical EMT-D for 3 years. I knew that with the loss of so many of New York’s emergency personnel help would be needed. I stowed 2 sets of BDU’s and my turnout gear, and headed to New York, a 6 hour drive. I was unable to go too far after I crossed the George Washington Bridge, only about 5 miles down the West Side Highway, so I left my car in an apartment complex parking lot near Central Park off of Columbus Ave. between W.100th and W.97th, about 6 1/2 miles from Ground Zero. I wore my turnouts over my BDU’s, and started walking towards Ground Zero. A few minutes after I left my car, I was offered a ride by a NYC police officer headed to Ground Zero who had seen my turnouts and gear bag and figured I was headed that way. While en route, I mentioned that I had come voluntarily, and wasn’t attached to any EMS or Fire unit currently involved. The officer said that didn’t matter to him, and he’d make sure my car wasn’t towed.

I didn’t know it when I arrived, but 4 firefighters I had the honor of meeting and spending almost 2 hours talking with on a previous trip to Manhattan had been killed in the collapses. They were all stationed at the Tenhouse, or Station Ten, located literally feet from the base of the north tower. The Tenhouse lost 6 men that day. The station itself was severely damaged, and both units, Engine and Truck (ladder) 10 were destroyed. The four men that

The Patch Of The Tenhouse, Adopted In 1984

selflessly gave their lives and were willing to spend time with a rook volunteer firefighter were: Lt. Gregg Atlas, Engine 10; Jeffery Olsen, Engine 10; Paul Pansini, Engine 10 and Sean Tallon, Truck 10. These men probably had no idea how great an impact they had on me as an up-and-coming firefighter. Lt. Atlas took the time to write me a note and share a few more thoughts that the four of them had about what it is to be a good firefighter. He enclosed a photo of Engine 10 and the official patch of the Tenhouse. I consider them friends and will never forget the sacrifice they made along with 339 of our brothers.

I stayed in NYC for almost two weeks at ground zero, assisting however I could. I stood for hours in bucket lines, I assisted a search and rescue officer and his dog in lifting debris, I found and reported human remains, I helped Red Cross workers distribute food and water, I stood quietly paying respects when another body was found, and watched as the entire scene fell silent as the deceased were carefully and reverently carried to waiting vehicles. I saw things that will never leave me, and felt things I never want to feel again. To this day, floodlights at highway construction sites remind me in an amazingly strong and sometimes eerie way of those days and nights I spent there. I returned after a week home to help with the efforts again, this time I spent much less time in Ground Zero, as I went with an ambulance company I had previously worked with, and we ran calls across Manhattan for a week to cover for the manpower that was absorbed by the effort at the WTC.

I love my country, and I will stand with my guns in my hand and fight until I’m dead for the honor and freedom of this great land. I never fired a shot, but according to the President, I was among the first soldiers of this war. I have nightmares and certain smells and sights and sounds set me on alert to this day, but I would go back a thousand times and do the same thing to serve my country and help my fellow man. I was among the fortunate that responded to Ground Zero. I experienced only minor respiratory issues, but within 3 weeks of returning my eyesight had markedly diminished to the point of needing glasses for the first time in my life. I have experienced some minor metabolic issues, but my doctor isn’t sure they are related, even though the onset was rather rapid, about 6 months after returning. All this said, I made it out of there unscathed, and the minor medical effects I have felt are not worth the time it would take to worry about them. I would eagerly go back even if it cost me everything.

I tell my story not for any recognition, I don’t want any. I have told it to very few people outside my family, perhaps only a dozen. After I returned, I received a medal of honorable service which I promptly threw into a box in the basement and I haven’t looked at it since. I did what I did because I had to. I did what I did because I love my country. I did what I did because I love my freedom. I’m not a soldier, but I am a citizen, and I will not relent in my defense and service of this country.

No attacks on American soil since 9-11-01. That’s not a coincidence, that’s an accomplishment. God bless our troops. God bless President Bush. And GOD BLESS AMERICA.

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