Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

[Vikes1]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

I had just gottten home from work (I was on nights at the time) and a friend and I were playing Madden. Wife called from work and said turn on the TV.
We never finished that game obviously.....

Never Forget...

Nearly the exact same way I found out too, Sky. [except for the Madden part]

By the time my wife called, both towers had been hit. Turning on the tv and seeing what had happened just seemed unreal. And then the first tower fell. My heart dropped into my guts seeing that. It had been a while since I cried...but that did it. I can't even begin to imagine the horror...and incredible bravery of those who tried to help others.

[kingkilla56]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

The one thing that always brings me to tears is watching the men and women who jumped from buildings to survive the attack only to have their lives end. I was in a 6th grade science glass when the teacher came in a broke the news. A girl's father worked at the TC and she instantly became hysterical. Thank goodness her father was stalled in traffic and missed the tragedy. My heart skipped 50 beats until I remembered my mother had off from work that day. I remember seeing the clouds of smoke in the sky from the B17 bus in the heart of Brooklyn. When I got home my mother was hysterical and I had never seen her cry before or since that day.

I couldnt grasp what was happening at 11 years old but just thinking back to that day now gets me in tears. God bless the victims and their families, the men and women who sacrificed their lives and safety on that day to help total strangers and the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces to protect what this country stands for and it's people.

[kodiak]

Knight, major credit for having the courage to post these. These along with all the shows Nat Geo has been showing really stir the emotions.

As for that day, I was living in the mountain time zone, in an apartment with my best friend. I did not have to be to work until 9AM my time, 11 eastern. My friend was eating breakfast, I was getting ready for work while my fiancé, now wife, was still asleep when the phone rang. It was my best friends dad and all Rick said was turn on the tv. We asked what channel and he said any channel and hung up. What we saw next will never be forgotten.

The images that stick out the most from that day are watching people forced to choose between burning or jumping nearly 1000 feet to their death, and one news channel showed all the celebrating going on in the middle east. That infuriated me beyond belief.

To those that serve and protect in any capacity, Fire, Police, EMT, Military, CBP, and Coast Guard, a million times thank you.

To those affected on a personal level, thoughts and prayers to you and yours.

Never forget


Sent from.....

[Bullit]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Thanks for posting these Knight, sometimes time just seems to get away from us. I look at my 15 year old daughter now and remember that she was 5 when all of this happend. We talk about it together now and I try to explain how the nation felt and what life was like during that dreadful time.

Again thank you and bless you all

[Knight165]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

I don't mind sharing these with you guys.
Like I said. O.S. is like family.

Like some of you guys posted. I had actually just gotten home from a 24 hour shift. My wife was in the kitchen making coffee breakfast and I walked into the living room to see the first tower burning. My wife came in and we started watching. Then the second plane hit I said to my wife "we just lost a ton of guys"(from the channel I was watching, I thought the other plane struck the first building again.) She was in the kitchen again at the time and I left the house without even saying goodbye to her.(she never lets me forget that.)

I think I've said this before, but sitting in my car one little decision saved my life. I lived just 15 minutes from lower Manhattan and could easily have been there for the first building coming down. But I thought to myself. "I need gear and I bet a lot of guys are going into Manhattan and just going to a firehouse and grabbing what they need". So instead I turned left to go to my firehouse(20 minutes in the other direction) to make sure I had MY gear to work in.
In the interim the first building came down right in front of my eyes(I was on the Grand Central Parkway and the Towers used to be right in line with it as you drove through Astoria). The group I went in with and I were walking down West Street(we could only go so far in the van we took...I think it was Chambers Street they stopped us) and were several blocks away when the second tower came down. I'll be honest...I stood there mesmerized when I finally dove to a building. It was right after things "settled" and I could see and breathe again that I remembered to call my wife. I had to find a pay phone that worked(and I did!). The first few hours were the strangest in my life. It was so surreal.

Since then there has been a lot of talk of knowing about the buildings coming down(trust me....we never would have thought it)...and now that we do know building will come down what to do.
In a terrorism class a captain was asking what we would do if we knew a building was coming down in 15 minutes.
Someone said "that gives us 14:30 to get people out".
The cap was an old timer and said "you're leaving yourself a lot of time, what are you gonna do, comb your hair for the cameras? But I like you're answer lad....you're in the right direction."(I"m paraphrasing here)
Crazy thing...I agree with them.
I guess that's the nature of us idiots. Nobody said we were even sharp as marbles.

M.K.
Knight165

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Having met you several times, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. Not to mention you are a damn hilarious dude. Always have me laughing most of the long days testing the game.

And seeing these pics just brought tears to my eyes. I was 23 at the time, and I remember everything I did that day. So the past 10 years rushed through my head just now and flashed before my eyes.

The way you are describing things, and having met you in person, I almost feel like I can see this through your eyes. And I hope you all stay safe, especially the damn threat levels just released. You know if you need anything, just shoot me a text or e-mail. And I will be there ASAP.

Again, thanks for sharing this stuff. While it hurts seeing it, it is still a form of therapy.

Bless you man!

I don't mind sharing these with you guys.
Like I said. O.S. is like family.

Like some of you guys posted. I had actually just gotten home from a 24 hour shift. My wife was in the kitchen making coffee breakfast and I walked into the living room to see the first tower burning. My wife came in and we started watching. Then the second plane hit I said to my wife "we just lost a ton of guys"(from the channel I was watching, I thought the other plane struck the first building again.) She was in the kitchen again at the time and I left the house without even saying goodbye to her.(she never lets me forget that.)

I think I've said this before, but sitting in my car one little decision saved my life. I lived just 15 minutes from lower Manhattan and could easily have been there for the first building coming down. But I thought to myself. "I need gear and I bet a lot of guys are going into Manhattan and just going to a firehouse and grabbing what they need". So instead I turned left to go to my firehouse(20 minutes in the other direction) to make sure I had MY gear to work in.
In the interim the first building came down right in front of my eyes(I was on the Grand Central Parkway and the Towers used to be right in line with it as you drove through Astoria). The group I went in with and I were walking down West Street(we could only go so far in the van we took...I think it was Chambers Street they stopped us) and were several blocks away when the second tower came down. I'll be honest...I stood there mesmerized when I finally dove to a building. It was right after things "settled" and I could see and breathe again that I remembered to call my wife. I had to find a pay phone that worked(and I did!). The first few hours were the strangest in my life. It was so surreal.

Since then there has been a lot of talk of knowing about the buildings coming down(trust me....we never would have thought it)...and now that we do know building will come down what to do.
In a terrorism class a captain was asking what we would do if we knew a building was coming down in 15 minutes.
Someone said "that gives us 14:30 to get people out".
The cap was an old timer and said "you're leaving yourself a lot of time, what are you gonna do, comb your hair for the cameras? But I like you're answer lad....you're in the right direction."(I"m paraphrasing here)
Crazy thing...I agree with them.
I guess that's the nature of us idiots. Nobody said we were even sharp as marbles.

M.K.
Knight165

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

I work a few blocks away from there and it's amazing to see those pics.

Takes a lot of juice for you to post them man and share your story. Much respect.

[lilloreo]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Hey Knight...

Thanks for posting all those pics. Like others have said, they have brought back tons of memories and emotions from that dreadful day. I have many different opinions about that day since it happened but that is another story for another day.

I have a question for you Knight...one that you may be able to answer since you were closer to the situation when and since it actually happened. What is the reason that #7 actually collapsed? We all know the Towers came straight down so the didn't appear to hit it(I think?).

I'm not trying to start anything by my question, I just thought that you may be able to provide legitimate insight into my question.

Thanks again for laying your life on the line for us!!!

[wwharton]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Hey Knight...

Thanks for posting all those pics. Like others have said, they have brought back tons of memories and emotions from that dreadful day. I have many different opinions about that day since it happened but that is another story for another day.

I have a question for you Knight...one that you may be able to answer since you were closer to the situation when and since it actually happened. What is the reason that #7 actually collapsed? We all know the Towers came straight down so the didn't appear to hit it(I think?).

I'm not trying to start anything by my question, I just thought that you may be able to provide legitimate insight into my question.

Thanks again for laying your life on the line for us!!!

Those buildings coming down is like an earthquake. It would (and did) effect other structures around them. There were a lot of buildings with damage, but were lucky enough not to fall.

[Knight165]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Hey Knight...

Thanks for posting all those pics. Like others have said, they have brought back tons of memories and emotions from that dreadful day. I have many different opinions about that day since it happened but that is another story for another day.

I have a question for you Knight...one that you may be able to answer since you were closer to the situation when and since it actually happened. What is the reason that #7 actually collapsed? We all know the Towers came straight down so the didn't appear to hit it(I think?).

I'm not trying to start anything by my question, I just thought that you may be able to provide legitimate insight into my question.

Thanks again for laying your life on the line for us!!!

I'm no expert on building structure or collapse, so no I can't really give you any answer other than this...

There was a ton of structural damage to the building from the North Tower collapsing into it....
It was free burning for hours as well and there were entire floors that burned so completely that they actually burned themselves out.(Now...there have been buildings that have done that and not collapsed but the combo of structural damage and burning may have been the key)
You can see a few of the middle floors like I just described in this photo...


One thing I can say is that a few hours before the collapse I and a lot of other guys were searching that building. I saw nothing out of the ordinary other than getting my *** kicked while searching a building that was en fuego with horrific smoke throughout and me having no Scott Pak(our air supply). We made it pretty high up in that building as well.
We were told not to go in that building after awhile, but nobody really was there to stop us if we wanted to.....so if "anyone else" went in there after us we would have easily seen them.
They thought the building was coming down and I was right around the block when it did.
All I heard was what sounded like a train coming down the tracks...I turned around and saw a wall of smoke and dust coming towards us.

That's all I got on that.

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Having met you several times, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. Not to mention you are a damn hilarious dude. Always have me laughing most of the long days testing the game.

And seeing these pics just brought tears to my eyes. I was 23 at the time, and I remember everything I did that day. So the past 10 years rushed through my head just now and flashed before my eyes.

The way you are describing things, and having met you in person, I almost feel like I can see this through your eyes. And I hope you all stay safe, especially the damn threat levels just released. You know if you need anything, just shoot me a text or e-mail. And I will be there ASAP.

Again, thanks for sharing this stuff. While it hurts seeing it, it is still a form of therapy.

Bless you man!

Thanks EN...
I'm glad you get my New York/Firehouse humor!
For a lot of people it can be quite abrasive!
But thank you all for the kind thoughts on this weekend.
It's definitely effected everyone in the country somehow.

M.K.
Knight165

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Knight, words can't express my own gratitude. Thank you.

[12]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Speechless.

Thank you, Knight.

[iamthepro]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

First Knight, thanks for sharing these, we all appriciate what you and your fellow firefighters did.

I was only 4 at the time, but I will remeber that day forever. It was the defining moment of our generation.

EDIT: Its amazing the amount of people I know who have relatives that worked at the Trade Center and didnt go to work that day or were late to work.

[Pared]

Re: Photos from a Tuesday morning(and some time after)

Appreciate you sharing.

If you could, you may want to share with a news outlet - quite honestly these are some of the most heart wrenching images I've seen; I don't like re-living the day but others need to understand the severity of what went on. It truly was something I'd never like to experience again.

Either way, thanks.