A first responder who was present at the September 11, 2001 disaster site in New York City has shared some of the experiences from that tragic day.
Nearly 24 years have passed since al-Qaeda orchestrated a series of hijackings, with 19 members seizing four commercial airplanes across the United States. Two of these aircraft were directed into the Twin Towers, a third struck the Pentagon, and the last, believed to be targeting either the White House or the Capitol Building, was brought down in a field in Pennsylvania due to the actions of courageous passengers.
In remembrance of the event’s anniversary, we reflect on the stories shared by a Reddit user, @Hot_Day_2137, during an AMA session held six months prior, where he invited inquiries about his firsthand experiences.
One question posed was, “What was the best and worst thing you saw? Thank you for your service!”
The first responder replied: “The best? The City, the country and the world coming together. There was no division in our country like it is today.”
“The worst was people taking pictures with cameras (very rare to have cellphones back then) with Ground Zero in the background smiling,” he added. “Over 3,000 people died in a public and horrific manner and people wanted to take group pictures. Simply hated seeing that.”
Another user sought to understand what ‘human remains’ entailed in the context of the rescue missions.
“This is morbid but I’ve always been curious what they mean when they say remains,” they wrote. “I just can’t wrap my head around how bodies could survive a building crushing down on them. Can you explain more on that? Was there entire bodies recovered? Or was it just very small parts/limbs?”
Responding, the first responder clarified: “Remains primarily means body parts for identification for the family so they can properly grieve.”
“If body parts can’t be found, personal property is next and hopefully identified for the family. I saw so many [World Trade Center] ID tags with names and pictures of people while at the landfill. I remember when I was first at the landfill it was so hard to look for remains that I was wondering to myself why are we even here?” he revealed.
“Then one day we were at the cafeteria tent, taking a break, and then a whole bunch of family members of the victims came and thanked us for being there. And then I knew why we had to be there.”
On that tragic day, news agencies in the U.S. rushed to capture any footage of the aftermath.
ABC 7 conducted an interview with a man who had been inside one of the towers when it was hit. Covered in dust and debris, he confirmed on camera his presence on the 72nd floor.
As the camera rolled, the man looked to his left, witnessing his tower collapsing.
“Incredible, to see your workplace, a place where you spent thousands of hours just turn to dust,” commented one Reddit user when the interview resurfaced online.
“I just can’t imagine how he felt,” noted another. “I’m sure he thought about all the people he passed on his way down that had stopped to rest, the people from his floor that he worked with, the rescuers who were going up as he was coming down. Just awful.”