The Heroes of 9/11

On September 11, 2001, I was 7 days old. My mom and grandma were at home with me,
my dad was on a motorcycle ride, and my grandpa was in D.C. working. While dad was
at a red light, his phone rang it was mom telling him to get back because “We were
under attack.” And when dad came home, he saw the world trade center on tv in flames.
When The Pentagon got hit in D.C., they had the buildings evacuated, grandpa was with
those people who got out, and he was NOT working at the pentagon. This tragic event
had quite the impact/effect on me when I one day learned about it and drawn by the
events, so much that it gave me several events, dreams, career idea and more.

For Instance, I have had dreams of being there on that day. For example, in my
dreams I was with those who jumped/fell from the burning floors of the north tower,
alone in one of the lobbies trying to escape one of the collapses of the towers but strong
earthquake-like vibration making me fall to the floor plus my point of view fading to
black leads me buried in the rubble, and standing at the corner end of the north tower
seeing the smoke, paper flying in the wind and sparkling like diamonds in the sky,
dodging people falling from the towers like an anime with dodge ball, and running from
the crumbling north tower after the south tower collapsed and taking shelter in a
laundromat store. What was unbelievable and a “once in a lifetime” to me back then was
meeting some survivors of 9/11. Such as Mr. Nizam who used to work in the south
tower and escaped on 9/11 who now works as a teacher and another survivor at Hugo
Owens Middle school. And recently met a singing police officer who survived both
towers collapse at the anniversary/ceremony at The Chesapeake City Park, where a beam
of The North Tower is. And being on the news talking about the event and how
important it is to not forget.

However, besides this event being one of my childhood interests/obsessions this event
today has changed me and having a point of view on 9/11 after several stuff, including
the saying “We Will Never Forget” is important too. But we cannot only forget the evil
the world saw that day, but also the good that came from and after 9/11 like the heroes of 9/11.
Including The first responders, police officers, firefighters, the passengers of Flight 93,
the people in The World Trade center and The Pentagon, and the people who helped at
Ground zero.

Through documentaries, videos, and photos of 9/11, some heroes were just
ordinary people who made heroic and brave choices even though they risked their lives to
save another and some died doing it, even when the towers collapsed, and there is still
people dying to this day from that event years ago. And one of the bravest and heroic
events that happened on that day was in the sky because of Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett
jr., and the rest of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93. According to Tom
Ridge’s article, “the heroes of Flight 93 ran toward danger to save the lives of others” the
passengers and crew “were the first, first responders on the scene. They had already run
toward the danger. They had already taken up the battle. And they were already in the
arms of God.” By learning through phone calls to/from loved ones of the plane crashes
in the twin towers and the pentagon by terrorists, they decided they were going to fight
back and take back the plane. United 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA. To this
day to me the way they went out fighting to get home and saving lives is what America
should always stand for Bravery, Courage, and Resilience, even 20 years later.

Now back to The World Trade Center when the planes crashed into the north and south
tower, there were people trapped in their offices due to the damage the plane did to the
towers. Though people were escaping by stairs and couple of elevators, two men named
Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz stayed behind to help and save people who could not
get out due to jammed doors and distorted walls. Through the documentaries of “inside
the twin towers” and “The heroes of the 88th floor” on YouTube, they tell the survivor’s
story/experience on 9/11 being saved by Frank and Pablo. They saved at least fifty
people and were still looking for others when the north tower collapsed at 10:28, they’re
bodies were never recovered because the collapse “Vaporized” them to dust including
those who were trapped in the upper floors and those killed in the collapse.
Unfortunately, the very last few people they saved did not make it.

When the towers collapsed, almost 3,000 people died that day, including police
officers and firefighters. Everyone believed that anyone/everyone in the towers perished
in the collapse, miraculously some survived both tower’s collapse being buried in the
rubble. For Instance, few firefighters were helping an African American woman who had
a bad leg down the stairs. In the event called, “The Miracle of Stairway B” when the
north tower collapsed and the debris was getting close to the firefighters and the woman,
it ran out of energy as it approached them. Amazingly, they were not the only ones who
survived collapse of both towers. According to a documentary on YouTube, “The 9/11
Hotel” it tells the survivor’s experience in the hotel when the collapse of both towers nearly erased the Marriott Hotel to the ground, eleven people in the hotel survived.

In the days after 9/11, First Responders of firefighters, police officers, and
volunteers went to “Ground Zero” to help people who were trapped in the rubble.
However, after several survivors found later, they began searching for human remains to
be identified so they can be returned to their families and to make sure no one is left
behind in the rubble. Besides the piles of debris on the surface, there were parts
underground that was intact and in ruins. In this “Underworld,” the group of rescuers
and volunteers who went underground found places “Frozen in Time” like on September
10th and piled up cars, caved in tunnels, a subway train, and Bodies. they have found
horribly burned, mutilated, crushed, speared, and “Liquified” bodies.

Sadly, even to this day there are still thousands to millions of people dying this
“9/11 illness”. Because when the towers collapsed, from the debris clouds and those who
worked at Ground zero were breathing in toxic chemicals from the “9/11 dust”. One of
them was Asbestos, caused people to have health problems including lung Cancer,
Mesothelioma, and other respiratory diseases. Years later the government and people
raised funds to helped those to recover from these illnesses called “WTC Health
program.”

According to 9-11 Research article “Missing Bodies”, “only half of the victims
had been identified. 19,906 remains were recovered from Ground Zero, 4,735 of
which were identified. Up to two hundred remains were linked to a single person. Of the
1,401 people identified, 673 of the IDs were based on DNA alone. Only 293
intact bodies were found. Only twelve could be identified by sight (9-11 research.wtc7).”
Surprisingly today, there are still bodies being slowly identified.

In the end, not everyone got their loved ones remains back. so, to me as one of the
tributes and a final resting place of the souls who died in the twin towers is the two reflecting
pools where the towers once stood and The Flight 93 memorial. All the names of those who died
that day were etched into the frame of those pools including those who died at the pentagon, in
the planes, and in the bomb attack in 1993. The pools also represent the lives lost that day and
the 16-acre space the towers left after 9/11. Most of the remains of the passengers of flight 93
are still buried where the plane crashed in that quiet and peaceful field.

When the Flight 93 memorial opened, they had planted trees for the victims, The tower
of voices that holds 40 wind chimes for each passenger, and a walkway showing the times of the
planes crashed into the other buildings and a glass wall that says, “a common field one day. A
field of honor forever” where you see the rock that marks the crash. As for my tribute, I usually
think back and picture in my mind the sights and sounds of that day and pray the rosary. In
Conclusion, beside showing to all terrorist kind what happens when they not only mess with
America, but the entire world This event effected the entire world. Even those who did not lose
anyone that day in the attacks, including me.

With the experiences I have had, from dreams to meeting survivors it was not only a
blessing to me when also getting close to and touching tragic history but also gaining knowledge
and learning from their experiences. As a Roman catholic, by learning the event through stories
of the effects on my family, 9/11 being one of my childhood interests/obsessions, learning the
impact on survivors and heroic people through documentaries and videos on the internet, the
tragedies of the lives lost that day because of evil, and the world reacting to the death of Osama
bin laden there are mixed thoughts and emotions to 9/11. But one thing is clear to me, and
that is that not only we must never forget the evil the world saw that day, but also the good that
came out of that day and afterwards by all the heroes of 9/11, Todd Beamer is my hero.