09/10/2021
Incredible reflection on 20 years after 9/11 and service at Ground Zero. Thank you Chief!
9/11 My Reflections 20 Years Later
"It was a crisp sunny September morning with a smell of fall in the air along with the sweet aroma from gum balls being produced across the street from Akron Central Schools at the Ford Gum factory. The students were all settled into their new school year routine and life was good. That morning as I passed through the halls of Akron Central, I was told of a plane striking the world trade center. Without much concern, I returned to the bus garage and turned on the news. At that time, I learned of the second tower being struck. Soon after there was word of a plane striking the Pentagon and a plane crashing in Pennsylvania. It was clear to me that our country was under attack. My first thoughts were of disbelief and fear. How could this happen, why did this happen and is there more to come?
The following day a message came across our fire company pagers seeking volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians to respond to the need in New York City. Without hesitation I requested time off from work and received full support and encouragement from Ron DeCarli, our Superintendent of Schools. With the uncertainty of what may still be to come, it would have been much safer and easier on my family to stay home. However, Mary and my two girls Kate and Emily knew that was not an option for their husband and father. On Sunday September 16, the Newstead Fire Company selected a crew which had gathered at the fire hall to prepare for departure. That particular day we were holding the fire company’s annual sportsman’s raffle. With an unusually somber group of 250 plus people gathered at the hall, the fire company halted the events to offer a prayer for the victims of the attacks and for the safety of our crew. As I was leaving the hall and about to board the ambulance, I was stopped by one of our firefighters. This was a man I had always thought was insensitive. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he said “John I will be praying for you guys”. You see, it was a new day. We then departed for the Erie County Training Center for a briefing and to meet up with the 7 other ambulances and their crew from Erie County. Also accompanying us on this journey was our county Chaplin Father Joe Banes. It was a very quiet ride on the thruway to the city, as we anticipated what might lie ahead. Once we reached the Ground Zero staging area along the lower Hudson River, we were ready to go to work. It was then that we learned that the operation had been downgraded from a search and rescue to a recovery mode. We all felt helpless and discouraged, but our work now was to treat and transport injured recovery workers and cover calls for the FDNY.
On September 11, 2001 Americans were brought to their knees by the series of horrific events that would change our lives forever. For the first time since the bombing of Pearl Harbor we realized the vulnerability of our nation. But more significant, Americans were brought to their knees in support of mankind. We witnessed people turning to prayer as a means of comfort and hope, as well as individuals treating others in a more respectful and supportive way.
On the way to the city, we stopped at a rest area along the thruway, a place where people are always in a hurry to get on with their trip and daily lives. That day was different. As the eight ambulances were parked along a split rail fence dividing the traffic from the sidewalk, a crowed began to gather. As we disembarked from our respective ambulances, applause broke out from the crowd of 50 plus people. Only two words were spoken across the fence in both directions, those words were “Thank you”. We were thanking them for their support and I believe more importantly they were thanking us for what we do on a daily basis and for those hundreds of brother firefighters that had paid the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001. You see, it was a new day. In Manhattan, where folks are often labeled as inconsiderate and snobbish, those people were preparing food in their homes and passing it out to the workers. Upscale restaurants were donating food and businesses were donating supplies by the truck load. You see, it was a new day.
What I was prepared to face as a first responder was to treat injured people, because that’s what we train to do. What I wasn’t prepared for, were the people with tired, distraught looks on their faces, holding up pictures of loved ones and asking if we had seen them. They were clinging to hope that their, husband, brother, sister, mother, father, child may still be alive. That along with the hundreds of make shift memorials with pictures of men, women and children were almost too much to endure.
In the weeks and days that followed September 11, 2001, we witnessed a huge increase in volunteerism across our nation. People giving of themselves for the good of mankind. Americans returned to a new normal, going about their daily routines and eventually some losing sight of that day.
There are several lessons that we must take from this event.
• Remember those who gave their lives that day and those who subsequently succumbed to illness from the horrific events,
• Treat our fellow man the way we did in the days following September 11, 2001
• Pray for our country’s leaders
• And in the midst of terror and death, life must go on, if not evil has won.
Reflecting back to 20 years ago, today is a new day and we will never forget September 11, 2001.
In honor of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice."
John Wideman
Past Chief Newstead Fire Company
Akron, New York
