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SEPTEMBER 11
Today I will get my FDNY uniform on and join my Brothers at the WTC and stand in honor and respect. I will pass the exact spot where I stood as the north tower fell and like always....wonder why I am still here. The north tower took maybe 18 seconds to fall. I was frozen still as it did. In my mind it was over and I stood wondering what it was going to feel like...horror!
I didn't even kneel or try and run. I stood. I was in the rubble of the south tower at the corner of Liberty & Greenwich. My vision was poor from the heavy dust that filled the area when I heard a train or a windstorm. The sound was not good is all I knew. It was muffeled to a low pitch that grew stronger sending vibration thru my body. I could not move,
My first movement came from the storm of dust and wind that pushed me to my knees. I remember grabbing onto some metal. The shower of dust covered me as my arm sheilded my face and eyes under my helmet. The only protection I had was my old turn-out coat and my old helmet I grabbed from my house in Staten Island.
Moments after things settled I heard nothing! The quiet was scary. Papers flew around raining down onto the rubble for hours. The scene began to move with people, mostly Firefighters covered in thick dust. They coughed and dusted themselves off and walked slowly in a daze. It was the silence that made an erie scene worse.
The firefighters migrated to eachother as the dust rose. Everyone spitting and trying to take a breath of clean air...there was none. I seen a firefighter on his knee struggeling to get to his feet as he held his ribs. I grabed his arms to help and he lifted his face. It was my best friend Lt. Tom McGoff from E217 His face covered as he recognized me KEV? are we in hell?
That was his first words to me. I nodded yes we are!
So today on the 9th year of that day I will wear my uniform and stand with Tom McGoff and honor the memory. We will walk by protesters who scream about the lie of it all. Kids mostly who believe the goverment did all this. We will shake our heads and move on.
Mostly we will see families holding pictures of the people they lost. We will see firefighters from around the FDNY as well as around the world. We will stand as one.
MY view is the FDNY did what they had to do but to the Firefighters from around the world who came to our sides...YOU did more for us than you will ever know....YOU HELPED RESCUE THE FDNY!
NEVER FORGET
Kevin O'Brien
FDNY-Special Operations retired!
www.fdnygolf.com my tribute to our Brothers!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John on
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Our thoughts are still to this day with our fallen Brothers, families and firends. We honor thier sacrifice, and will NEVER FORGET this day 343
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Permalink Reply by Karr Quintero on
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respect and thanks from CFD Oklahoma
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Permalink Reply by Mick Mayers on
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There are a whole selection of excellent posts today on FireEMSBlogs.com about the sacrifices and thoughts regarding this tragedy. Check them out and spread the word. I think you'll enjoy all of them.
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Permalink Reply by Walt Goebel on
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9/11 by the numbers
The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.
Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819
Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
Number of NYPD officers: 23
Number of Port Authority police officers: 37
Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60
Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402
Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614
Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658
Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 22
Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1
Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39
Bodies found "intact": 289
Body parts found: 19,858
Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000
Total units of donated blood actually used: 258
Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20
FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274
FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661
Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300
Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200
Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98
Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124
Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99
Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100
Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6
Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81
Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26
Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714
Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion
Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million
Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million
Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion
Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion
Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion
Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion
Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million
Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25
Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million
Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9
Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40
Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50
Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered "inappropriate" to play after 9/11: 150
Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26
Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 30,000
Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110
Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million
Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000
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Permalink Reply by Anita King on
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Prayers from Southwest Virginia
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Hatfield on
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My thoughts and Prayers are with all of our Fallen brothers .... Never Forget.
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Permalink Reply by Márcio Teixeira on
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The world will never forget
Respect and prayers from Portugal
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Permalink Reply by Bekks on
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My wife and I drove down from Canada a few years ago and brought our kids to "Ground Zero"... paid our respects and left flowers at the side of "10 House"... I regularly wear the "Always Remembered" t-shirt we bought from the guys at the station there (wanted to make sure the money went to the right people).
I stood by the fence looking into the pit and held my (then) 7 year old daughter in my arms with tears in my eyes as I tried to explain why it was so important that she remember being here when she is old enough to truely understand what happened.
I didn't want to tell her so much that she had nightmares... but enough to know that Daddy is sad because some very bad people did some very bad things that brought these buildings down and we lost some great people here a few years ago and it is important that we remember them.
My little part to make sure we NEVER FORGET.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Kevin, thank you for your courage and for continuing to show up after that terrible day.
Most importantly, I'm glad you're still with us, brother.
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Permalink Reply by Jason on
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Kevin, you and your brothers are the image that many firefighters want to be and are the reason many become firefighters. There is a reason FDNY is "The Bravest" and you all show it each and every call. Thank you, for as I always wanted to be a firefighter it was on 9/11 that my interest really got going. Everytime I hear the tones, go on a run, or read or see footage of 9/11 I think of that day and think of our brothers we lost. I feel sorry for the "kids" that think that our gov't did this, I really have no clue as to what to say to that...just lost that people could belive that.
Thank you once again and god bless.
Jason
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