Ask most people on the street what they were doing on September 11,
2001 between 8 am and when they watched the news and they will probably
be able to tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing.
The attacks on the United States that took place on that fateful day were something so horrific, so deadly and so unbelievable that it shook not only a nation, but the world.
In the eight years since the attack, the memory of that day, of the 2,974 people who perished, of the people still missing, of a forever changed skyline, of a plane in a field in rural Pennsylvania and of a burning national security center needs to stay fresh in the minds of the American citizens, not only as a patriotic duty but as a way to commemorate the lives lost and the people who worked around the clock to help take care of the few who survived.
On Sept. 11, 2001, many people died and many families were destroyed, but out of that tragedy brought heroes in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Three members of the Saratoga Springs Fire Department who had been trained in Urban Search and Rescue were sent to the site of the attacks at the World Trade Center in an attempt to find survivors and help clear the two-story pile of rubble that once was the prosperous twin 110-story complexes. Captain Robert Williams and firefighters John Stewart and Joseph Cook were sent, along with Lt. Colonel John Benter of the New York National Guard and currently an Assistant Chief at the Saratoga Springs Fire Department, to Ground Zero in the afternoon of September 11.
At 8:20 a.m. eight years ago, the fire crews were in the midst of changing shifts when a chief had his television on as he finished his work.
"We all went upstairs after finishing up our annual physicals and heard what happened. There was such a feeling of disbelief at first. We were all thinking 'how could no one have seen this coming?'" Stewart said. "We all kept watching and realized how big it really was."
Later that afternoon, he and two of his comrades were headed to Manhattan.
"We were sent for our training in search and rescue, but there were definitely other people who went down just to see if they could do anything to help," Stewart added.
When they arrived in New York City, it was already dark so Stewart couldn't tell the exact magnitude of the destruction.
"Walking through the scene in the dark, we could only really tell that there was mass destruction and everything was covered in this gray dust. There was an eerie silence that followed us through the site," he said.
It wasn't until the sun rose that Steward was blindsided by what he saw. When walking through a neighboring building, it was obvious that a company was readying for a morning meeting when the terror began. Coffee and bagels were sitting on a conference room table, or at least that is what Stewart could guess from the room covered in gray dust. Another room was a gym facility that had its windows blown out with exercise equipment overlooking the site where the towers stood just days earlier.
"That magnitude really hit us. Bridges and building were collapsed and this massive pile of destruction from two 110-story buildings condensed on the ground just filled an entire block," Stewart said. "We all sort of had this feeling of despair. It was obvious that those who didn't get out of the towers in time perished. There were cabs and fire trucks just buried - pulverized."
In the following days it was Stewart's job to search for survivors in the rubble and the scene became a place of unorganized chaos.
"So many people had good intentions, but the organization was lost and people were just picking spots and starting to dig. There were no properly trained K-9 units to search for survivors. It looked very haphazard but this was such a huge learning experience for our team. We had never been prepared for something of that magnitude, and I'm not sure if there really was anything that could have prepared us," he said.
One positive thing that came out of such a large-scale disaster is an improvement in equipment and supplies at the fire department and trained K-9 search and rescue dogs.
"It's sad that it takes something like this to get extra funding. Officials don't think about putting money into things until it's in the forefront of their minds. For an entire year after the attacks firefighters were heroes. Eight years later funding is cut and jobs are at stake, which shouldn't be the case. We saw what happened in 2001, and we cannot forget," Stewart said.
Remembrance Day will take place in Saratoga Springs at the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial on Railroad Place and Division Street on Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m. The program is hosted by the Adirondack Chapter #60 - Korean War Veterans and will include a moment of silence, a speech from Gene Corsale, U.S.N. Korean War Veteran and Lt. Colonel John Bentor who helped in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and served a tour of duty in Iraq. Remembrance Day is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in America on Sept. 11, 2001 - a day that will remain in infamy in the minds of millions of people across the United States of America and around the world.
In the eight years since the attack, the memory of that day, of the 2,974 people who perished, of the people still missing, of a forever changed skyline, of a plane in a field in rural Pennsylvania and of a burning national security center needs to stay fresh in the minds of the American citizens, not only as a patriotic duty but as a way to commemorate the lives lost and the people who worked around the clock to help take care of the few who survived.
On Sept. 11, 2001, many people died and many families were destroyed, but out of that tragedy brought heroes in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Three members of the Saratoga Springs Fire Department who had been trained in Urban Search and Rescue were sent to the site of the attacks at the World Trade Center in an attempt to find survivors and help clear the two-story pile of rubble that once was the prosperous twin 110-story complexes. Captain Robert Williams and firefighters John Stewart and Joseph Cook were sent, along with Lt. Colonel John Benter of the New York National Guard and currently an Assistant Chief at the Saratoga Springs Fire Department, to Ground Zero in the afternoon of September 11.
At 8:20 a.m. eight years ago, the fire crews were in the midst of changing shifts when a chief had his television on as he finished his work.
"We all went upstairs after finishing up our annual physicals and heard what happened. There was such a feeling of disbelief at first. We were all thinking 'how could no one have seen this coming?'" Stewart said. "We all kept watching and realized how big it really was."
Later that afternoon, he and two of his comrades were headed to Manhattan.
"We were sent for our training in search and rescue, but there were definitely other people who went down just to see if they could do anything to help," Stewart added.
When they arrived in New York City, it was already dark so Stewart couldn't tell the exact magnitude of the destruction.
"Walking through the scene in the dark, we could only really tell that there was mass destruction and everything was covered in this gray dust. There was an eerie silence that followed us through the site," he said.
It wasn't until the sun rose that Steward was blindsided by what he saw. When walking through a neighboring building, it was obvious that a company was readying for a morning meeting when the terror began. Coffee and bagels were sitting on a conference room table, or at least that is what Stewart could guess from the room covered in gray dust. Another room was a gym facility that had its windows blown out with exercise equipment overlooking the site where the towers stood just days earlier.
"That magnitude really hit us. Bridges and building were collapsed and this massive pile of destruction from two 110-story buildings condensed on the ground just filled an entire block," Stewart said. "We all sort of had this feeling of despair. It was obvious that those who didn't get out of the towers in time perished. There were cabs and fire trucks just buried - pulverized."
In the following days it was Stewart's job to search for survivors in the rubble and the scene became a place of unorganized chaos.
"So many people had good intentions, but the organization was lost and people were just picking spots and starting to dig. There were no properly trained K-9 units to search for survivors. It looked very haphazard but this was such a huge learning experience for our team. We had never been prepared for something of that magnitude, and I'm not sure if there really was anything that could have prepared us," he said.
One positive thing that came out of such a large-scale disaster is an improvement in equipment and supplies at the fire department and trained K-9 search and rescue dogs.
"It's sad that it takes something like this to get extra funding. Officials don't think about putting money into things until it's in the forefront of their minds. For an entire year after the attacks firefighters were heroes. Eight years later funding is cut and jobs are at stake, which shouldn't be the case. We saw what happened in 2001, and we cannot forget," Stewart said.
Remembrance Day will take place in Saratoga Springs at the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial on Railroad Place and Division Street on Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m. The program is hosted by the Adirondack Chapter #60 - Korean War Veterans and will include a moment of silence, a speech from Gene Corsale, U.S.N. Korean War Veteran and Lt. Colonel John Bentor who helped in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and served a tour of duty in Iraq. Remembrance Day is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in America on Sept. 11, 2001 - a day that will remain in infamy in the minds of millions of people across the United States of America and around the world.
Main Menu
Leave a comment