story10854.xml

story10854.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-10

I worked on the 25th floor of the WTC Tower One in 1999 for a bond broker. In the summmer of 2000 i took my old job back at Merrill Lynch across the street while a lot of my coworkers took jobs at Cantor Fitzgerald. I remember all my coworkers saying you can make more money at Cantor why are you going back to Merrill. I went back because I like the working environment at Merrill and I was close to my old boss, Tom Sasso. Tom was a good neighborhood guy from Brooklyn and grew up a lot like i did in Jersey City, NJ. That decision saved my life, who would have thought. I got off the ferry from Jersey City on 09/11/01 and heard a loud explosion and then the fireball. Since I came in from the Jersey side I didn't see the plane, just the explosion. Then what looked like snow almost coming down in droves, it was actually all the paper and glass and other things. As i got closer to Merrill building in the WFC debris was falling all around, body parts, plane parts, everything. I bolted into the Merrill building for cover and went up to my office. As we were talking about the explosion and what happened we watched in horror as the second plane came in. After that plane hit we knew it was an attack. Me and Tom were the last guys to leave the floor after telling everyone to get out. Once outside we hung around and couldn't believe what we were seeing. People were diving to their deaths, some holding hands others just leaping. It was the worst thing someone can watch, you felt so hopeless not being able to help. I was a cop for a short period of time and US Navy Reserves six years and for me not being able to help will haunt me the rest of my life. I managed to get one of the last ferries out of NYC before the towers fell. I was walking from the ferry to my car when the first one went down, it will be in head for the rest of my life. Not one day goes by when i don't think about it. I bolted home, checked on grandfather, pounded a bottle of scotch and went down to the waterfront to volunteer. The JCPD and JCFD were all their waiting to go over and help. I helped load ferries full of food and water and helped people off the ferry that were hurt. I went over to NYC to help in the rescue attempt but I didn't save or find anyone alive. As time went on and I started to find out who didn't make out i became very angry and depressed. I went to 22 funerals and wakes over the months and hated life. I got into a battle with a street gang in my niehgborhood that came over from NYC that was causing havoc on the block. They would run on my roof every night so i couldn't sleep and follow all over town. This is while i was going back to the WTC site and at work at Merrill. We move back to the old building one month after the attacks. One week after the attacks Merrill Lynch aske if I would retrieve important information from the WFC and i did. It took me 14 hours but the firm needed to get back on it's feet. I always liked Merrill Lynch and what they stood for. As time went on the gang continued to harasss me and i put my house up for sale and moved down the shore and commuted into NYC. Eventually i couldn't sell the house and lost it to foreclosure but not before running up credit card bills to pay for the mtge and living down the shore. I don't know what was worse sometimes, being in 09/11 and burying 22 buddies or battling this street gang. As time went on things got back to normal for me minus my house and credit rating, things that shouldn't have happened to me. Let's just say the three years after 09/11 have been three years i would like to forget ever happened. Maybe one day years from now i will be back on my feet and can hold my head high. For i battled evil in 09/11 and afterwards and will continue to do so. Evil shall never overcome good, it can't.