WEBVTT - Made with VTT Creator 00:00.500 --> 00:04.800 What is a plane go? In that. Just exploded? I just 00:04.800 --> 00:13.200 saw another plane coming in from the side. In Hoboken 00:13.200 --> 00:18.500 said it appeared to bank sharply and smash directly 00:18.500 --> 00:26.500 perhaps purposefully into, oh my goodness. Oh my 00:26.500 --> 00:29.600 goodness. There's another one. This seems to be on purpose. 00:29.600 --> 00:36.900 All my goodness. On 9/11 I was 21. I was a police 00:36.900 --> 00:41.200 officer with the NYPD emergency service unit. I was 19 00:41.200 --> 00:46.200 during the date of 911. I was actually in high school 00:46.200 --> 00:51.800 in Manhattan. I was employed the time as in the 00:51.800 --> 00:53.600 police department. I've been a police officer for 00:53.600 --> 00:58.000 21 20 years that year. I came on in 81. On the morning 00:58.000 --> 01:00.800 0f 9/11. I was actually off duty as a paramedic and 01:00.800 --> 01:05.100 I was at home at a, at a car dealership, trying to get 01:05.100 --> 01:09.600 a vehicle serviced and started seeing the news reports 01:09.600 --> 01:12.600 come in. I was assigned to the New York City Police Department 01:12.600 --> 01:14.700 Lieutenant with the technical assistance Response 01:14.700 --> 01:19.400 Center in Queens. I was stationed in Philadelphia, 01:19.400 --> 01:31.200 the station. I had my phone ringing non-stop, I 01:31.200 --> 01:36.900 woke up. It was my mom and she told me that the buildings 01:36.900 --> 01:43.300 are being attacked. On arrival, the south tower had already fallen. 01:43.300 --> 01:48.700 When we arrived at the corner of Vesey Street West. It was, it was just 01:48.700 --> 01:52.100 it was abstract. Because where my high school was, you 01:52.100 --> 01:54.200 can literally step outside on the corner and see 01:54.200 --> 01:57.300 straight down to a lower Manhattan and actually 01:57.300 --> 01:59.500 see the clouds of smoke and everything like that 01:59.500 --> 02:02.500 before before it actually, they actually came 02:02.500 --> 02:10.500 down. I got home, got changed into a uniform and said goodbye to my wife and my daughter and 02:12.600 --> 02:17.700 Headed into to Queens to load up on an ambulance. My 02:17.700 --> 02:22.400 immediate unit. We lost Paul Talty and Tommy 02:22.400 --> 02:25.700 Langone. Two cops, that I had worked with. 02:25.700 --> 02:30.600 The 14 police officers that the NYPD emergency 02:30.600 --> 02:33.800 service that will lost, I knew them all and worked with them 02:33.800 --> 02:38.900 all at given times. Also to one of our Coast Guard 02:38.900 --> 02:42.100 reservist Vincent Danz who is also a member of 02:42.100 --> 02:45.500 Emergency Services Unit he perished that day as well as a firefighter 02:45.500 --> 02:54.900 from rescue 5, also a Coast Guard reservist, here at Coast Guard Activities New York, Jeffrey Palazzo perished. 02:54.900 --> 02:58.700 Fleets of ambulances, I guess that they had hired, private company ambulances 02:58.700 --> 03:02.100 and not New York City ambulances. Were coming 03:02.100 --> 03:05.300 across town in just waves. We were helping people flush their eyes 03:05.300 --> 03:09.500 and just seeing people come from Lower Manhattan, 03:09.500 --> 03:13.000 covered in dust. I'm trying to get away from the scene 03:13.000 --> 03:15.600 you what was going on. Yeah. A lot of people were in 03:15.600 --> 03:18.300 full-blown panic, lot of people crying in hysteria, 03:18.300 --> 03:20.900 you know. Seeing the tower like that. It was just complete 03:20.900 --> 03:30.800 shock. You couldn't believe it. It was almost like a nightmare. You looked up and I could see the north tower, I could see 03:30.800 --> 03:35.500 the antenna slowly moving to one side and falling 03:35.500 --> 03:39.200 inside the building collapsing, collapsing, and 03:39.200 --> 03:41.100 the building was pancaked. It was doing that. 03:42.000 --> 03:44.700 As I came down, there was a cloud of dust and smoke 03:44.700 --> 03:49.000 and debris and it was like a tsunami. It has influenced my life 03:49.000 --> 03:52.200 in many different ways. One with me joining the service 03:52.200 --> 03:54.200 and the training that we received. You know, I'm 03:54.200 --> 03:57.900 on a constant head on a swivel, you know, always looking 03:57.900 --> 04:00.600 for exits. It's always, you know, things like that 04:00.600 --> 04:03.800 because we're again we're in New York City. On September 04:03.800 --> 04:09.400 14th the Coast Guard reached out and called me up on, on title 10 04:09.400 --> 04:13.900 orders. I know many members of the Coast Guard that 04:13.900 --> 04:19.100 have joined because of 911 know, a number of folks 04:19.100 --> 04:22.200 that went on to become cops and firemen the their 04:22.200 --> 04:25.900 children, because they were little kids, they went 04:25.900 --> 04:30.300 onto to get into the service of others because of 04:30.300 --> 04:33.200 911. My experience. that's the number one reason why 04:33.200 --> 04:36.600 I still serve and if they let me I will serve as long 04:36.600 --> 04:42.600 as possible but I came in for other reasons, and 9/11, 04:42.600 --> 04:46.900 put it all in perspective. Events of 9/11, definitely 04:46.900 --> 04:50.800 motivated me to work with the Coast Guard. 04:50.800 --> 04:53.200 You know what I was told I was going to get activated. 04:53.200 --> 04:57.100 I welcomed it, to do something for our country. We need 04:57.100 --> 05:00.900 to never forget stuff like this. Events, like 9/11, 05:00.900 --> 05:02.900 you know, that the First World Trade Center attack 05:02.900 --> 05:07.900 other major events that have happened. We need to 05:07.900 --> 05:11.000 never forget our history and never forget the people 05:11.000 --> 05:13.600 in the sacrifices that were made to guarantee our 05:13.600 --> 05:15.900 way life. People want to forget things. Sometimes 05:15.900 --> 05:19.600 it's that's the way they cope with it. I put it behind 05:19.600 --> 05:22.800 me, but I always, It's always in my mind. I think 05:22.800 --> 05:27.200 it's important to remember what happened to remember 05:27.200 --> 05:29.500 those folks, what they 05:29.500 --> 05:33.400 did that day. I mean, September 11th, has put things 05:33.400 --> 05:37.100 in perspective for me that you know, that life is 05:37.100 --> 05:42.000 precious and life can stop on a dime, and you never know when.