By Jim Marot, Acushnet Building Inspector
Special to the Neighb News
There is no question that folks are more likely to remember where they were and the exact circumstances of life around them when tragedy strikes. As mentioned so often, this is particularly true of the events which occurred on 9/11/2001.
I was building a house in South Dartmouth at the time. There were moments that day when it seemed that most of this country just stood motionless and quiet, but the impact on the nation, myself and my co-workers over the years has resonated more loudly than the impact on the twin towers.
Though we stop to remember those lives lost each year, the impact was greater on our society than just those lives lost and continues today, but is so often forgotten through the cultural impacts of more current political events.
Statistically 34,000 service personnel were called in to respond to the event within 45 minutes of the South Tower being struck. They consisted of firefighters, police, hospital professionals, paramedics, military and other public safety personnel who have dedicated their lives to the needs of others. Though we honor those who died that day, and rightfully so, we often forget the others who responded so quickly, who unquestionably put their own lives at risk, and those professions which continue this service today.
One of my co-workers that day was a young man taking classes to become an EMT. As we watched the towers collapse he knew the consequence, and yet he continued his education to become like those dedicated individuals who ran to the site that day in the service of innocent life. Today he is the senior paramedic/firefighter for the Town of Acushnet. He is a son, a husband and a father, and at a similar age to most of those firefighters and police who gave their lives that day to rescue others in the line of duty.
What impresses me most is this. Each of the planes which hit the twin towers that day were fully fueled as their intended destination was Los Angeles. Each was carrying over 17,000 lbs of jet fuel, and a fire fighter’s education would have made them aware that before entering those towers the loss of life might include their own. Still they responded as did the police, the military, paramedics and medical professionals who knew they would be needed despite the risk to their own lives.
I remember years later as the memorial was being constructed in Acushnet, that firefighter, who has become like a son to me, returned from New York with the piece of the steel now displayed as the centerpiece of that memorial. He was somber and yet honored to have made the trip, explaining the site and conditions before release of each piece. Giant airplane hangers were used to house the debris from the towers, while forensic pathologists scoured every inch for DNA evidence before allowing each piece to be removed. This of course brings much greater reverence to the memorial for me as it bears a resemblance to those tombs in Arlington for unidentified soldiers lost in the great wars of this country.
As I write this my eyes well with tears thinking of their courage and the courage of all our service personnel who would respond still today in a situation where others’ lives might be in jeopardy. This is what we expect of our firefighters, police, military and medical professionals. But we so often do so without the respect they deserve. They are the backbone of this nation, the protectors of our lives and our freedoms and I would hope that each day we remember this and honor them as they should be.
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