Never forget 9/11

[steve from staten island]

Thank you to all of you who have served overseas or have sons or daughters who have served. The one thing that i will take to my grave is being in lower manhattan that mourning. I was on a ferry boat going to manhattan and then over the Brooklyn bridge on my way to the brooklyn navy yard were we had a boat in a graving dock. I was sitting in a truck half asleep when i heard yelling,a plane had hit one tower and from the middle of the harbor it looked like a small plane had hit. When we got to the manhattan side we drove off the boat and i wanted to get to brooklyn as i knew traffic would get bad. As i drove i heard the roar of a jet,i looked to my left and though man that guy is low. Then i heard a very loud explosion and i knew. All hell broke loose and people were running everywhere. We drove back to the ferry slip and the dock officer used us to help with the crowds. There were tens of thousands of people pushing to get on any boat and we had the gates locked and closed as there was no boat yet in the slip. If that gate got busted down we knew folks would get pushed into the water and drown. Some guy tried to climb over the gate and i shoved him down,it was a sea of people trying to get away. Some were in shock others crying. I tried to console a young girl who was half hysterical. She ran through the bodies of dead people,she lost her shoes and she'd be fine one second and sobbing the next. i helped two young woman with babies in carriages who lived in battery park next to the towers. They just left there apt thinking they would be back later that day. they had nothing but there pocket books and little did they know it would be months before they got back to were they lived. When the towers collasped the dust blew down to were i was. Im able to tolerate a lot but this stuff was chocking me,we wraped rags around our mouths. The crowds eventually got less and less and then we had to set up a boat like a morgue for the boddies we thought would come. they never did come. It went like that all day,off duty firefighters coming over on boats,us doing what we could to help. later about five pm some guys walked up to the towers. What i saw in those few hours after the attack i will not forget. As we walked closer the ash got deeper up to my ankles,it was like walking through talc powder. It just made dust with every step. there were burnt pieces of paper everywere that blew out of the towers. In battery park it was very peaceful. vendors had there carts but they were just left were they were. when we got to ground zero i could not believe what i saw. Burnt cars and trucks and a pile of what was the towers. Firefihghters and cops and other emergency workers were walking around and some looked dazed to me. i did not see any dead people but i wasn't looking but there were bodies all over as it turns out. I didn't want to stay there so we left. Two days later i worked the "pile" i was standing near were the bridge goes over the west side highway or what was left of it. Every so often complete silence was called for to listen for traped people or to remove the body of a deceased person. I was picking up rubble and handing it to the next guy when i came across a air tank and jacket of a fire fighter. We thought his body would be there but what must have happened was the guy must have been running for his life and shed his gear. Later right next to me maybe three feet some firefighter found something and called for a bag. To me it looked like a mop but it actually was the head of a woman. Those fireman handeled themselves like the professionals they are. That guy who removed that body part did so while showing dignity for that person. He was discrete yet professional. There is so many stories i could type all night. When we returned that night there were only first reponders on the boat. There was a photo person from the NY times and she was taking pictures. Two days latter my picture and some of my co workers was in the paper with the Statue of Liberty in the background. When you visit NYC and stop by to visit i'll show it to you. God Bless America

- - - Updated - - -

The other thing i wanted to add was i had to piss constantly,i mean every ten minutes i had a urge. I thought great were under attack and i got a urinary tract infection. I later realized it was just nerves. A few years later my wife had a heart attack and was very ill, then five years after that came the cancer and now her second bout. I can't watch anymore 9/11 shows and between 9/11 and my wife,my dad passing,finding my mom dead in her apt a year later there are times that i find myself wanting to cry like a little girl-------------i gotta get that car on the road for sure. Hey thanks for putting up with me---------------------BTW my mom went peaceful,she had a bad heart and i found her half on the couch in her bathrobe and slippers. It was better that way rather than she just suffer on a vent in a hospital

 

[khryslerkid]

Thanks for sharing Steve.

There are a lot of people who have already forgotten. How fast they forget!

I pray we never have to experience such a disaster here again.

 

[dual fours]

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Remain Vigilant......

 

[Sonny Black]

I will also, "Never Forget" ......................... & where I was


God Bless America

 

[Dako]

Thanks, Steve. You have proven yourself to be one of the 'Sheep Dogs'...

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Never forget 9/11 2001 or 2012

 

[barnfind]

I will never forget

or where I was...

 

[roadrunnerh]

Thank you for sharing your story Steve. I will never forget what those muslim bastards did that day.

 

[usaroadrunner]

Thanks Steve. And I will never forget. Never. I wish I was in control I would of made an example for attacking us. Just my opinion.

 

[paladin06]

God Bless and thanks for sharing. Never Forget!

 

[MarPar]

View attachment Never Forget.jpg

 

[badmopar67]

This is what I'm using as a screensaver

 

[65 Coronet]

Never forget! I was on watch as the OOD onboard a DDG that was moored in Pascagoula, MS at the time of the incident. Next thing I knew my watch team was being outfittled in vests, battle gear, and the brow to the ship was on lockdown. It all happened so quickly. Proud to have served this great country for over 20 years! God bless all those that lost their lives, and the families of those who continually suffer through this ordeal, and to those that have and are currently serving!

 

[snakeyes]

I will never forget

 

[Budnicks]

I will never forget 9-11-2001 NYC
or the travesty of 9-11-2012 Benghazi either

 

[Finallygotmine]

I wonder if our State Dept figured out yet that they should have more security on any 9/11? How pathetic.

 

[cr8crshr]

Steve all I can say is "WWWWOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!" Thanks so much for sharing...Tuck

 

[NJRR]

I'll never forget that day either. I'm right across the river from mid-town Manhattan on the Jersey side of the Hudson. After the first plane hit, I went up on the roof of my building. The second plane hit already and all I saw was the plumes of smoke. The next couple of days the smell was everywhere and there was ash on our side of the river. One of my college buddies worked on Wall St and had to walk all the way up to the George Washington Bridge to get back to Jersey where I picked him up. He was shell shocked. I'll never forget that day and I will never forget who did that to us and who our enemy is, no matter what bullshit the president says !!!!

 

[Xp29h]

Thanks for sharing Steve! I certainly remember, and always will.