The 9/11 victims America wants to forget: The 200 jumpers who flung themselves from the Twin Towers

Daily Mail ^ | 9/9/11 | Tom Leonard

[Nachum]

Almost all of them jumped alone, although eyewitnesses talked of a couple who held hands as they fell. One woman, in a final act of modesty, appeared to be holding down her skirt. Others tried to make parachutes out of curtains or tablecloths, only to have them wrenched from their grip by the force of their descent. The fall was said to take about ten seconds. It would vary according to the body position and how long it took to reach terminal velocity — around 125mph in most cases, but if someone fell head down with their body straight, as

[NoGrayZone]

Personally, if the flames were at my “door”....I probably would have thought at least I had 1/2 a chance at survival if I jumped.

Only they and God knows what they went through.....and it certainly wasn’t suicide. It was murder, plain and simple.

[Guenevere]

I hope you do!....Freepers know you, you've been here a long time and it's poignantly meaningful coming from someone we know here....

The other two girls who were to meet....did they get out too?

I'm still thinking about your daughter.....I would have been so in shock, I wouldn't have known which way was north!.....I can't imagine what you went through trying to reach her.....and what she went through trying to make her way to safety!

[MarDav]

Yeah. I have never even considered the actions of those that jumped an act of suicide. They were, after all, “pushed” into such a horrific decision.

If you ask me, it was a means of wresting control over their lives away from the attackers (though none of them probably thought about it in these terms.)....

Aw, heck, I can’t even imagine what they were facing/thinking...why am I trying to “figure it out?”

Never Forget.

[dubyagee]

Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to jump on the ‘religious fervor’ (bitter, gun clinging, so forth) bandwagon. That would keep you from making comments that paint believers with such a broad stroke. Take care.

[Huck]

Of course it was murder. My understanding is that when the heat gets that bad that you are burning, you can’t help it. Most of them probably jumped because of reflex. You simply can’t stand there and burn. 10 awful seconds falling and it’s over in an instant.

[DollyCali]

Happy Birthday Ken! what a great story of a daughter who listened to dad at a critical time! I hope she can find some peace eventually.

She experienced a traumatic life changing event. I read many of the survivors say the hell of memory is so bad they wish they had perished with the others. Sad to read and hear of this type of mentality but those of us on the outside looking in have no clue the horror that these folks endured

[stonehouse01]

My daughter is a sophomore at Pace right now and I am nervous. Her dorm is in Brooklyn and she loves to walk over the bridge.

Anyway Father Mychal Judge gave general absolution to all the jumpers. General absolution has its purpose - Thank God - it is misused sometimes.

[NoGrayZone]

Where the heck is this suicide crap coming from? First time I’m hearing about it.

Seems to me they’re just trying to rub salt in our still open wounds.

[Huck]

I have no idea. I don’t care. Whoever it is, I’m sure I hated them already for other reasons.

[Josa]

There is a photo of at least one jumper who appears to have already had much of their clothing burned away. For some, jumping probably prolonged their life a few seconds.

[rbmillerjr]

marked for pics and clips to post to FB on 9 11.

Never Forget.

[dubyagee]

So angry after reading this...I posted a comment on the mail site, but they are ‘previewing’ comments so I doubt it will be posted. This is the most anti-christian piece of crap I have ever read in my life. I am a bible believing Christian, and the thought has never ever crossed my mind that these people ‘sinned’ when they jumped. They were murdered plain and simple. It was my understanding the pictures aren’t often published because they make Americans so angry. This is a horrid, horrid attempt to pass judgement on that which they wish would go away — Christians!!!

[nathanbedford]

I do not think it is Christian forbearance or even fastidiousness which causes us to shrink from "resort [ing] to violence, even barbarity" in defending ourselves against the onslaught of medieval Islam. I think it is a lack of clear thinking.

It is not Christianity which has distorted our thinking but pernicious intellectual and epistemological doctrines which have distorted our collective sense of purpose. There is nothing inherently Christian about prostrating a society defenseless before its enemies. The Christian message is an individual message. Certainly, the Israelites of the Old Testament were not a bunch of handwringing pacifists. They were very willing to slay the Philistines whenever they got the chance.

It is a historically true Judeo/Christian philosophy which permits a just war against evil in defense of the good. Our problem has been predicted by the Bible, we are unable to distinguish good from evil, indeed, we have gotten to a place where we call good evil and evil good.

This is the baleful results of a departure from Christian principles and it is best exemplified by The Frankfurt School. Without exploring its doctrine for the nth time, let it suffice here to say that The Frankfurt School has succeeded in subverting our intellectual, religious, and media culture with a nihilist doctrine which calls itself "critical thinking" the purpose of which is to "deconstruct" everything which holds a moral and a civil society together. In the process it vitiates our ability to distinguish good from evil and to commit to any positive good.

I believe that a restoration of Judeo-Christian values would energize the war against this evil and medieval jihad.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

It wasn't suicide Skippy.

Not one of the people who jumped that day would have jumped were the building they were in not engulfed in flames.

The floors were so hot that they had to stand on desks to keep their feet from burning.

To even say something like "whether it was suicide or not doesn't matter" is idiocy.

[Leo58]

momtothree,
can’t see your post. guess it was pulled. apology accepted for mistake.

[LibertarianLiz]

I understand, and I did not take it as criticism. I was just trying to explain my emotions at the time.

[foreshadowed at waco]

I think you’re right. I would have talked to God and asked him to hold me in His arms and to protect my family and then stepped off the ledge, too. I liked the end of the article where the author says that the jumpers may have saved lives by spurring people in the lower floors to evacuate rather than stay and wait for help.

[takenoprisoner]

made my mornin! hehehe

[Oratam]

I never heard about the Merrill Lynch guys watching the people literally tumble out of the tower opposite. Beyond awful.

[Arrowhead1952]

I have sent an email to the admin moderator to remove that post. . . I didn’t structure the sentence correctly.

I noticed you were taking quite a beating about your post. The fastest way to have it removed, is to hit the "Report Abuse" button and explain to the mods. It will be gone much quicker.