alevin
09-10-2008, 11:00 PM
http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www?post=59722 I'm not a member, I just lurk fairly frequently and learn a lot every time. Many of the members of TickerForum experienced 9/11 firsthand, and talked a little about it today. Here is one of their stories told for the first time in writing. A public servant who saved lives that day. Tomorrow think of them and of the ones who are gone. I know where I was that day as I know all of you do too....
I worked in Mid-Town Manhattan and was not scheduled to come into work in the morning. My team worked a later tour (1pm - 9:35pm). But because of a second job, I rescheduled myself to work earlier that day. When we first heard the radio transmission we thought that it was a Cessna plane, but then heard the communications. Myself and three others began to respond when the second plane struck. We arrived within minutes because traffic had been pulled from the West Side Highway. After helping evacuate literally hundreds on the street away from the building I felt a slight breeze pass my ear and when I looked back I saw nothing but a cloud as far up as I could see. I ran, lost my radio and became separated from my three other colleagues. I continued running and made my way into 222 Broadway where I took shelter with about a hundred or so other people. Security from that building brought us towels and we obtained water from the drug store inside of the building. After gathering our composure and treating some of the injured, I led them out of the building through the loading dock because we thought that the front doors of the building was being blocked by debris (we could not see out). I was going to walk them to the Brooklyn Bridge so that they could get out of Manhattan. The second tower then fell, and again we all started running. I thought that I'd led 100+ people to their deaths in trying to get them out of Manhattan. For an hour or so until I could not see the streets again and all that I kept saying in my head is "I can't believe that I just killed those people". When the dust settled, I was relieved to learn that no debris made it all the way to Broadway, only the dust cloud did, so no one with me was hurt during our attempt to leave. I found my three other officers, two were a few blocks away and the other had made her way back to a nearby precinct. We were then directed to mustered near Peck Slip and returned to the site to help where we remained until late that night. It's weird, the memory of what I say does not bother me as much as the smell that I will never forget.
We worked 12 hour tours at the site for the next several months.
Tomorrow we will have our own memorial service at every police facility in the City for the 23 officers that we lost 7 years ago. May they rest in peace.
Thanks for reading my post. I don't share much about my experience. This is actually the first time that I wrote something out. I figured why not share it with my friends at TF who have provided me with more insight into finances and politics in one year than Undergraduate and Graduate school combined. I'm grateful that this forum exists.
And that is the kind of forum we have too here, my friends, on the best of days and even sometimes on the worst of days. Thanks Tom for making it available to us.
I worked in Mid-Town Manhattan and was not scheduled to come into work in the morning. My team worked a later tour (1pm - 9:35pm). But because of a second job, I rescheduled myself to work earlier that day. When we first heard the radio transmission we thought that it was a Cessna plane, but then heard the communications. Myself and three others began to respond when the second plane struck. We arrived within minutes because traffic had been pulled from the West Side Highway. After helping evacuate literally hundreds on the street away from the building I felt a slight breeze pass my ear and when I looked back I saw nothing but a cloud as far up as I could see. I ran, lost my radio and became separated from my three other colleagues. I continued running and made my way into 222 Broadway where I took shelter with about a hundred or so other people. Security from that building brought us towels and we obtained water from the drug store inside of the building. After gathering our composure and treating some of the injured, I led them out of the building through the loading dock because we thought that the front doors of the building was being blocked by debris (we could not see out). I was going to walk them to the Brooklyn Bridge so that they could get out of Manhattan. The second tower then fell, and again we all started running. I thought that I'd led 100+ people to their deaths in trying to get them out of Manhattan. For an hour or so until I could not see the streets again and all that I kept saying in my head is "I can't believe that I just killed those people". When the dust settled, I was relieved to learn that no debris made it all the way to Broadway, only the dust cloud did, so no one with me was hurt during our attempt to leave. I found my three other officers, two were a few blocks away and the other had made her way back to a nearby precinct. We were then directed to mustered near Peck Slip and returned to the site to help where we remained until late that night. It's weird, the memory of what I say does not bother me as much as the smell that I will never forget.
We worked 12 hour tours at the site for the next several months.
Tomorrow we will have our own memorial service at every police facility in the City for the 23 officers that we lost 7 years ago. May they rest in peace.
Thanks for reading my post. I don't share much about my experience. This is actually the first time that I wrote something out. I figured why not share it with my friends at TF who have provided me with more insight into finances and politics in one year than Undergraduate and Graduate school combined. I'm grateful that this forum exists.
And that is the kind of forum we have too here, my friends, on the best of days and even sometimes on the worst of days. Thanks Tom for making it available to us.