For many on Sept. 11, survival was no accident

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

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NEW YORK

[ladyinred]

Facinating, but difficult to read article. Thinking about those who lived for hours knowing they were trapped and were going to die is hard to take.
I heard a news story the other day about 23 people who survived the attack and the collapse, but were trapped and starved to death.
The horror of that is overwhelming, in fact, this entire thing is more than the human mind can conceive of.
Reading this returns fresh tears, and anger that will never go away. To think that this happened in the United States still boggles the mind.

[xJones]

Thank you, I've just bookmarked this.

[ladyinred]

You are so right, you will never forget what you saw and felt that day, nor should you. We must always remember that day, and never allow ourselves to think we are immune to such evil in this country again.
Thank God you were safe, and the pictures you took are equally interesting. I especially like the message written in the dust, says it all.

[ladyinred]

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.

Oh my gosh, that is even worse to think about!

[Tarzantheape]

There was this post last day or two where she is playing advocate (camera time) for some WTC victim's mother. Hillbilly stated she would demand a 'blue ribbon' panel to investigate the faulty design that led to the fall of the towers. You can do a search and maybe come up with it....that is if you like tossing your supper up.

[BunnySlippers]

A very thorough assessment. Thanks for posting it.

[floriduh voter]

I have had the feeling since I heard about the PA system that it was infiltrated or was just some other hand held amplification system, maybe a suicide-terrorist telling people to go back to their desks. Who would give such an order when it was unknown what kind of crisis they were dealing with. Getting people to safety means total evacuation. Going back to desks makes no sense. At the very least, flames could have jumped from the first bldg to the second or smoke could infiltrate other ventilation systems.

[floriduh voter]

Any ptsd or nightmares? You can send me a private reply if you care to share this. I am not being nosy but I care about how trauma affects us. It takes times to step back from something so devastating and larger than life.

It is good for you to have pictures and that you are relaying your story. It is the healthy way to deal with your experience and you are sharing which helps people like me get a first hand account of that day.

When we had all the election problems here last year, I wanted to tell people how it was to be in the middle of it all. We all worked together to send Daley back to Chicago without the big prize. We weren't sad or horrified but we were very worried that Algor would steal the election. I was certain that he would competely ruin the country.

I did get an eye infection spending too much time in my contacts and couldn't see at all while they were fighting it out here and I wore a black eye patch more appropriate for a Gasparilla Pirate Invasion. I couldn't even see my Christmas presents or read the tags. I finished Christmas after the inauguration when my sight had improved. Glad you and your girlfriend made it. A Safe and Merry Christmas to you. I write long posts because I type fast.

[floriduh voter]

Some friends jumped together. I believe some of the people who jumped were on fire. They wanted the pain to stop and when they realized nobody could reach them and saw their other co-workers on fire, it was a panic situation, adrenalin triggered a flight response, a basic instinctual response.

[NC_Libertarian]

The buildings were half-empty when the jets struck. USA TODAY estimates 5,000 to 7,000 people were in each tower when the attack began. Earlier estimates ranged from 10,000 to 25,000 per tower. But company head counts show many desks were empty at 8:46 a.m. There were few tourists; the observation deck wasn't scheduled to open until 9:30 a.m.

Did flex time save lives here?

[floriduh voter]

There is a family here in Pinellas County who lost a brother-in-law in WTC and then, their house was hit by the airplane in Rockaway and burnt to the ground. Even with a strong faith, I think I'd be looking up and saying "Why us"?

[newwahoo]

They should have gotten everyone out of both buildings, but its all speculation now. Ultimately I think you're respnsible for your own survival, and I'm not sure anything would have stopped me from getting out of either building of the WTC after the first hit. At least most of the dead came from floors where there was no hope of rescue.

[Catspaw]

There is a family here in Pinellas County who lost a brother-in-law in WTC and then, their house was hit by the airplane in Rockaway and burnt to the ground. Even with a strong faith, I think I'd be looking up and saying "Why us"?

Oh, a double whammy....I'd probably yell at The Big Guy for a while, then rely on what strength I had left & my faith.

Because my friend is ex-NYPD, his family leaned on him in their desparation, but there was nothing he could do. When I started hinting that I thought no one would get out of that building alive, he snapped at me (which is rare), but it was really telling him something he already knew, but couldn't face it. But he also knew I was trying to be strong for him, just to listen--and he was there for me when I lost it and started to get some ptss creep.

Sadly, they were only married for 2 1/2 months before he was murdered. He even was scheduled to take the entrance exam for the FDNY the week of 9/11. They had so many plans for the future--buying a home, children (lots of kids!)--and now,like so many families of the victims, and so many families of our servicemen killed in Afghanistan, those plans are shattered.

[newwahoo]

"It looks like the blue ribbon engineering study is not going to go anywhere."

I don't think there is any sentiment here in NYC for laying blame, especially on the builders. I don't think anyone could have forseen it. Dragging out a bunch of elderly designers from the '60's would only make Hillary look like a fool.

[ChaseR]

Thanks so much for posting this.
Filthy whore Hillary Clinton wants to do a - "blue ribbon" investigation....HA -

[SarahW]

Nobody in the South Tower was automatically doomed - if an evacuation had been started before the second plane hit, many lives would have been saved.

[ChaseR]

"That is really sad." 72 posted on 12/19/01 1:24 PM Pacific by MissAmericanPie

Very tough to get through this thread. :(

[BlueHorseShoe]

Those are truly amazing photos. Thanks for showing us. Still so hard to believe. Unreal. Can't find words.

[newwahoo]

"Nobody in the South Tower was automatically doomed - if an evacuation had been started before the second plane hit, many lives would have been saved."

Sure, and they probably should have done it. But I don't think anyone knew of, or could imagine, an attack on this scale. I know when I heard the second hit outside my window, a second or so after I saw the building explode, I was shocked. Until that point I thought, as did the media here in NYC, that the first hit was some kind of accident. If anything, the air traffic controllers didn't get the word out fast enough.

[Chemnitz]

It makes me mad as Hell - at the terrorists. Proud to be an American.