For many on Sept. 11, survival was no accident

USA Today ^ | 12-19-01 | Dennis Cauchon

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NEW YORK

[sixmil]

Not to be morbid, but where you when you took the pics of the victims on the street. I assume they are from the first jetliner impact which blew wreckage to the south. All of your pics are from the south of the WTC.

Pic 05 is Carlisle and Washington, 06 is West and Carlisle.

That's right, not too many people are aware of this, but the first plane went all the way through the north tower and sprayed out the other side. Proof of this is the airplane wheel I photographed on the corner of Rector and West streets. The south tower shielded my street (Washington), but everything to the west of Washington Street was covered with building, plane, and people shrapnel. It was even between buildings like in pic 05. Some buildings were shut down even though undamaged because the FBI needed to remove all evidence from the top of them. I even saw guys with FBI jackets sweeping the window ledges.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Very compelling pictures. I was on the east side, so I never saw all that. I also didn't have my camera with me when it happened and by the time I made it back to my apartment building, they weren't letting anyone in the place. I did get some a few days and a few weeks later, here - the link opens in a new browser window.

[habs4ever]

I have viewed the video footage of the first attack several times, and the plane appears to disintegrate upon impact.The wings fall off almost straight down, and most of the fusilage appears to blow up on impact.That's what makes the shearing through the building hard to visualize.Have you seen that video from street level? I wonder also where those fireman in it are today.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Yes, thank you. It's a different vantage point than the one that I had, but just as harrowing.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I still can't image how you rationalize jumping to your death.

I remember thinking the same thing, that there had to be something truly hideous beyond words to make these people jump from 1/4 of a mile in the sky. I'll never forget those people, some flailing as they went down, others not moving and probably resigned to their gruesome fates.

[womanvet]

bump

[McGavin999]

There is never going to be a time when I can look at pictures of that and not cry.

[sixmil]

I have viewed the video footage of the first attack several times, and the plane appears to disintegrate upon impact.The wings fall off almost straight down, and most of the fusilage appears to blow up on impact.That's what makes the shearing through the building hard to visualize.Have you seen that video from street level? I wonder also where those fireman in it are today.

The amateur video of the first plane is misleading. I think the news agencies slowed it down because the reports I hear say that both planes we going about the same speed, and that second one cut through the building like a knife through butter. There was an engine from the second plane on the street north of the south tower according to reports. That tells me parts of the plane at least up to the wing made it all the way through. That wheel from the first plane could have been front or main gear, but either way, the landing gear were not down, so at least part of the plane up to the first wheel made it all the way through. The exit wounds in the buildings were not as big as the entry wounds, for lack of a better term, but plenty of stuff made it through the other side, chopped up in small pieces. That wheel I photo'd was sheared off from from a pair; the strut was a solid piece of steel as big around as your leg.

The guy that was my boss is a volunteer fireman, so he spent some time down at ground zero. He said some guys hid under their firetruck when they saw the building come down. The firetruck was crushed and so were they. A friend of mine knows a metal worker down there who is beside himself with all the shoes he sees in the ruble. Lots of them still have a foot in them. Kind of reminds me of that pile of shoes in the DC holocaust museum.

[sixmil]

There is never going to be a time when I can look at pictures of that and not cry.

I know what you mean, it got to me again today. I feel a little better every time I get done talking about it though, so thanks for listening guys. My girlfriend was a zombie for a few days, and she still gets upset when I watch WTC stuff on TV. There was a show on Animal Planet about rescuing all the pets near ground zero and another about the search dogs. She watched both shows all the way through. One that got us by surprise was when we rented "Family Man." Nicholas Cage takes his wife to dinner at Windows on the World, so there are two full screen shots of the WTC. We both looked at each other and said "oh no."

[Gael]

Thanks for the pix. I'm from NY originally and I used to work at 26 B'way. Seeing those familiar streets covered in ash, the destruction, thinking about the way those people died on an ordinary working day, the daily memorial services . . . I can't convey the grief and anger I feel at the same time, and that doesn't diminish as the months pass. I certainly can't imagine having been there in the midst of it, as you were.

Thanks also for your comments on the Balkans terrorism article I posted, BTW.

[wtc911]

As I said in an earlier post my son also survived GZ. He got through to me on a still working pay phone (before the collapses ended service) and described what he was seeing, including the falling bodies.

There is a theory among firefighters that many of those unfortunates did not jump but were following a glimpse of light through their smoke-filled offices thinking it was a stairway light. They did not know that they were stepping into space and eternity.

SM....two things

Please do not use the phrase people shrapnel anymore.

We all react to sudden stress and danger differently. There is no "right" way. I do wonder though; after you got through taking your pictures what did you do to help, both on the 11th and in the days after?

[MissAmericanPie]

That is really sad.

[wtc911]

It is sad.

Governor Pataki said it best, I think, when he described the tragedy as thousands of souls rising into heaven together. When we were working in the smoking (in some places still flaming) rubble we were all silenced by the weight of the spirits who lingered in the dust. It was common to dig in a small, hot space side-by-side with a total stranger and not speak a word for hours, not even to exchange names.

There are precious few places that force a hush on those who visit. Gettysburg is one. Omaha Beach is another, as is Dachau. The scale of suffering, sacrifice and heroism is such that the ground is soaked in it and becomes sacred and inviolate. Ground Zero has this spirituality and always will. I feel priveleged and blessed to have had the opportunity to add my prayers and my labor to the effort to recover those remains that we could.

If you ever find your way up from Ts. and want to pay your respects at the site let me know. You could not find a more willing guide.

[MissAmericanPie]

Thank you so much for your offer, that is very kind of you.

[Alabama_Wild_Man]

I was doing SAR in the pit

May God bless you, for your work (and your Son's, as well) !!

[habs4ever]

I was looking over your photos again, and #14 is astounding.It must be the closest photo yet to the damage, and I'd hope you would get your pics copyrighted so as to have some proof of ownership.You may well have the best bird's eye view to the whole scene available anywhere.In looking at #15, which is the side of the Marriott Hotel, I have an issue put out by American Media called "Day That Changed America" which has the after photo of yours from that spot.The blue van in the right corner, plus a firetruck and the covered walkway are all badly damaged, and there is no more hotel left standing.It is to be found on pages 28 and 29.Your work here is a collector's item and a vital historical artifact, and should be treated as such.Thank you for sharing with all.

[habs4ever]

You maybe interested in this fella's tale, and his posted photos.The article is good also.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Thanks, bookmarked it.

[sixmil]

As I said in an earlier post my son also survived GZ. He got through to me on a still working pay phone (before the collapses ended service) and described what he was seeing, including the falling bodies.

I'm bad for taking pictures of the carnage, but it's ok for your son to give you the play by play on the payphone while everyone is scrambling for a way to contact loved ones and the phone lines are quickly filling up? There is a theory among firefighters that many of those unfortunates did not jump but were following a glimpse of light through their smoke-filled offices thinking it was a stairway light. They did not know that they were stepping into space and eternity.

If that makes you feel beter, more power to you. But, didn't you see those pictures of people jumping off holding hands, or all those people leaning out the windows looking down?

SM....two things

Please do not use the phrase people shrapnel anymore.

We all react to sudden stress and danger differently. There is no "right" way. I do wonder though; after you got through taking your pictures what did you do to help, both on the 11th and in the days after?


wtc...

Don't patronize me.
Be constructive - suggest another phrase that is less likely to offend you.
Sorry Dr. wtc911, but I did not take pictures because I was in shock. I took for the same reason I take any other picture; to record the image. You may want to forget, but I don't.
There is no right way? Something tells me you think there is, or you might not have mentioned it.
Actually, let me try playing psychologist for a while. You think you are more important than me because you are a native New Yorker, and I am from fly-over-territory; this tradegy is yours, not mine. No one has a bigger heart than you because you did S & R at ground zero.

The reality is that everybody in the world volunteered to help. Tons just sat around applauding you guys. Did that go to your head? Just because you got in and I didn't even though I could have housed and fed several people right there while helping out means nothing except that I could not even get into my own damn apartment while people who couldn't even find my apartment on a map were telling me to stay away. Although there were no survivors found in the ruble, I could tell you the layout of the entire basement right off the top of my head. I would have been more than happy to climb down there looking for people, and I would have known my way around and where to look. They didn't want my help, and I didn't argue with them. Is that ok with you? I wasn't able to give blood either since everyone and their brother already had. So, I donated money, which will hopefully not get squandered, but it probably will.

Here's a better question I think - What did you do before 9/11 to help prevent it? My guess is that your head was burried in the sand like most people.
BTW - did you see the sign on the door when you came in? FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"

[ladyinred]

Thank you for the first hand accounts and the amazing pictures you took. I can't understand how anyone could breathe there is so much smoke in the city. Seeing your pictures sure gives us a better perspective of the attacks then previously seen.
It was closer to being there than just the tower pictures, and although difficult to look at, we all need to see them.
Thank God you are alright at least physically. Emotionally, I think you may never be the same.
None of us will, but to have been right there must just be devastating.