Do You Remember?
I sure do like it was yesterday. I’d encourage you to take some time today and reflect on those events and how our world has changed. A lot of families lost loved ones and I’m sure today is a bit harder with the focus on the anniversary.
I think about it a lot, maybe because of the years I worked rescue and I know if I was there I’d of ran in with the many brave rescue workers that day, maybe because I have had friends in the military that have had to go over seas in response, or maybe it’s just because part of me died that day when I saw the horrific brutality a group of religious fanatics could unleash on people who don’t share their same views.
Whatever it is I know I’ll always remember.
One of the things I did shortly after the attack was I got a memory bracelet of one of the fallen heroes of that fateful day. The name on the bracelet I wear is Captain Daniel Brethel of the New York Fire Department. I know very little about him but from what I’ve read, he is a hero, he was a great leader to the men he commanded.
Daniel Brethel, captain of Ladder 24 on West 31st Street in Manhattan, had had some close calls: His neck and ears had been burned when he was holding his helmet over an injured firefighter who was lying on the street; once he had required a skin graft. Arriving at the World Trade Center after both jets had hit, he shouted a warning to his men: “Guys, be very careful, because firemen are going to die today.”
He had been off duty at 9 a.m. His wife, Carol, hearing about the attack at their home in Farmingdale, hoped he was already on the train and knew nothing about it. On Tuesday night, they came to the house and told her they had found his body. Captain Brethel, 43, had grabbed one of his men as a building started to collapse. They dived under a firetruck. Both were crushed.
Today like many others I reflect on the sacrifice this man made for his fellow man along with the many others on that day and it reminds me that at our darkest hour there is always hope. My prayers as always go out to Capt Daniel Brethel’s family and loved ones. We as a country owe your family a debt we can never repay so the least we can do is to remember the sacrifice that was made. God Bless all of You.
Cool story brotha. Wish you could have got one, after all the head ache. T.
Thanks for the post; well said
Comment by lisa — September 12, 2006 @ 7:52 am
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