9/11 Retrospective

September 11, 2001.

That is the date forever etched in our minds by an unforeseen event. I was a firefighter/medic for some time in the mid-nineties before I went back to college. In fact, I was in college that September. Specifically, I was helping a friend renovate his house when the first plane hit.

At, first, we thought it was a bad joke or some kind of horrible accident. We were appalled, but kept working. I switched the radio to National Public Radio and shortly thereafter, the report of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center. The first thing I thought was:

Holy shit, all those medics and firefighters are going to be really busy today. I had no idea that about twenty minutes later, the towers would fall. It should be noted that at that time we had no idea that this was anything but an accident, a catastrophic, and mind numbing confluence of horrific events.

As soon as the first plane hit I started thinking like a firefighter/medic. A chaotic scene, triage and rescue. Then I started to add up the casualties, those on the planes and those in the buildings. I came to a startling realization.

I remember thinking, they are outnumbered, the rescuers to casualties ratio. Even on a good day, multi-casualty incidents are bad news. Communication is key. I was hoping they had all charged their radios, thinking they would possibly be the most important piece of equipment they carried.

Of course, it turned out radios did not function properly inside the towers. How could this happen? Also, reference WTF? Do medics and firefighters assess structural integrity before entering a scene? Yes. Could they have forseen this? I believe they did, and went in to do their jobs anyways.

Then the towers fell, all the firefighters, medics, police officers and support personnel were killed or seriously injured. It is hard to even imagine this scale of carnage and destruction living here in the midwest. I thought long and hard about the sacrifices of these public servants, as well as the very large number of civilians killed in this senseless act of violence.

The people who responded to the incident, the people on the planes, and the people in the office buildings were innocent victims of international politics. The persons who perpetrated this vile act were indoctrinated with hate. It is my understanding that the Muslim religion is about peace and compassion. I saw neither on September 11.

I imagine I am not the first to write about this. This is our catharsis, to express our pain and anguish through the english language. I am sorry for all who died and were seriously injured on that fateful day. I hope that we can come to our senses and come together. For the people who gave all, to rescue many, thank you.