GROUND ZERO
September 11, 2001 The worst day of our lives?

"How could they do this to my city?" New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Was this the worst day of my life? I think so. I have had personal tragedies and pain; physical and emotional. Most adults have experienced things that had a direct personal affect: Loss of family or friends, illness, etc. But never in my life has an event that had no direct effect on me been so emotionally overwhelming.

I live about 50 miles from New York City, so I might feel it more than most, but I believe I speak for many.

I know I'm not alone. It is still September, as I am writing this. I break down in tears about 5-10 times a day, whether doing a service call, driving, watching CNN. I don't know anyone who is missing, but so many people around here work in the city, that we will all have some connection.

After Vietnam. I was sworn off of war & killing. But we have no choice. I have four children in their 20s, and a lot of other kids who I know and love and hopefully someday I will have grandchildren. I don’t want to wave a flag and send them to war. But when something like this happens, they are not safe anywhere.

Our lives are changed forever. It can never be the same after this.

Security and anti-terrorism is now a growth industry.
Just as we have to learn new things here and there, so it will be with these subjects. There will be Sky Marshals again. That will add a few hundred or a few thousand jobs to the economy; for those people willing to carry a gun and fly around the country.

Actually that doesn’t sound like such a bad job. I wonder if they will be allowed to go places, or just get back on a plane. I wonder if they will be new people, or retired law enforcement officers. They will have special training of course. They have to be inconspicuous, or maybe they are more of a deterrent if they are conspicuous. No, not for this type of hijacking. These hijackers will attempt to spot them and they would be the first casualties, depending on how good the Sky marshal is.

If only Robocop were real. If this sounds discouraging, I don’t mean it to. Sky marshals would make it incredibly more difficult to repeat the events of 9/11/01. Maybe not impossible, but far less likely to happen.

More Sky marshal thoughts. Assuming the Marshals are armed with a firearm, this might be a special new type of weapon. I have heard of them being supplied with Tasers, which are the electric shock weapons (like cattle prods, or the opening scene in the first Jurassic park movie.)

As far as I know, those require direct contact, which would be a drawback. Another possibility is a handgun of a shotgun type. This would be far less likely to puncture the aircraft, which could cause depressurization, or damage hydraulic flight control lines. And of course, the Sky marshals would know what they could and could not do.

Right away? They say it will take 6 months or so to recruit and train Sky marshals. For the time being, what about the military? Say, two on each plane, fully uniformed and armed, in different sections of the plane.

Not shootouts, but prevention. The idea of Sky marshals or something similar is not to shoot or handcuff hijackers. Their presence will almost guarantee that these incidents don’t happen.

Job opportunities? I believe that security, private policing, bodyguards, private investigation, etc. will all be growth industries. I suspect that restaurants, bars, amusement parks, school functions, athletic events, movie theatres, concerts, parades, etc. may want to provide added security. In the past there was always some need for security guards, bouncers, and private investigators. I think this will greatly increase.

We already have the head of the FBI advertising nationwide for translators for government work. It stands to reason that this new crisis will require more people in the FBI, CIA, local and state police departments. Gun stores are one of the few segments of our economy who has seen an increase in business. I am only stating these facts and possibilities because it may affect some of us and our children.

Security and surveillance will need more people in the future. Some of these will require college graduates (such as the FBI and many police departments.) Some will want big dumb brutes. As a general rule, most of the surveillance and detective work, even in national agencies and local police departments, involves research and is non-violent. Our children, if pointed in that direction, might have safe and interesting careers.

Bear in mind, that on the morning of September 11th, it turned out to be safer to be a border guard in a combat zone, than it was to be sitting at a desk in the World Trade Center. I am not trying to make a joke. I really mean this. I am very serious. There is nothing funny about any of this, or its consequences.

Aircraft changes
The most obvious is the sealed cockpit. The idea is that it could not be broken into, and could only be opened from the inside. However, if someone is slashing and otherwise torturing the people in the cabin, how can we expect every pilot to be able to ignore this just because those are the rules? A possibility is a cabin that is totally sealed and cannot be opened. An even more extreme possibility is no direct communication between cockpit and cabin. All messages go via radio through the ground. Thus, in a situation such as hijacking, the ground could keep the pilot unaware. They could tell him merely to land. He would not know if there were a major problem, or possibly a medical problem on board. The ground could make the decision objectively. A crisis could immediately be put in the hands of some hard nosed S.O.B on the ground who "follows orders" without worrying about the people on the plane. Sounds pretty brutal and horrible, doesn’t it? It is. It has to be, doesn’t it?

Pilots carrying guns? Bad idea, in my opinion. I know that everyone is talking about it, but the fact is that an amateur is an amateur. Just because a pilot wears a gun does not make him or her into a warrior, even with some training.

A detective I know says that citizens with guns are more likely to have the gun taken away by the bad guy, and are in more danger owning a gun than being unarmed. I see the same thing for pilots. True, Israeli pilots are armed, but they are all military veterans, and I believe are active reservists, and, probably most have had combat experience.

Local security
I am sincerely concerned about potential "minor" attacks. I feel that once security at large institutions is beefed up (as it is now) terrorists will attack small unprotected targets. Less casualties but better chance of success. I am especially concerned with school & children situations; auditoriums, class rooms, soccer fields, etc. I have no desire to have alarmists pulling their kids out of school or sitting in the parking lot with a gun (not that those things don’t occur to me personally!)

I also realize it is not possible to have police or other professionals at every situation. However, can some form of security be increased? Such as having off duty & retired cops on the payroll in more situations. Possibly even one inside each building during school hours? And can we truly enforce only one entrance per school, preferably to be opened only from inside? Of course, there is practically nothing that will protect a football crowd, but at least we can cut the odds.

Airports
No more minimum wage rent-a-cops. It has been suggested that a new federal agency be formed specifically for this purpose. That makes sense, but again, it is not only airports. I would expect them to also patrol train stations, ballgames, conventions, etc. It is also possible to use the military in these situations. The military is a very expensive institution to support.

When there is no war going on, it has to spend much of its time practicing, staying ready, etc. Much of the public feels it is a waste of money. If some of the military was rotated through these security situations, they would be effective, and they would be appreciated, and speaking on behalf of the GI, it would be rather pleasant work. They would be kept alert by the officer of the guard, just as in standard military guard duty that is performed every night in every military installation in the world. They would be rotated through often enough that they would not become complacent or too comfortable in any one situation. It has also been suggested that such security be handled by US Customs, or by the US Coast Guard. The new Homeland Defense Agency will have the answers shortly I imagine.

Airport security workers have been compared to McDonald's employees, and at least one radio personality then apologized to McDonald's employees. I would say that if you are an unemployed airport security person, you should find something else to put on your resume. That might be unfair, but that is the perception.

In the air

I suppose we can expect to see a fighter jet or two circling every airport and city from now on. I believe we can be certain that if we are on a hijacked jet, it will be shot down. There is no choice. The lives on the plane number less than the building it might be aimed at. Falling aircraft pieces and debris will pose a problem and danger to people in the city below, but still less than hitting an office building, school, packed athletic stadium or an apartment complex. Air Force pilots will have to be screened very thoroughly to be sure they are capable of shooting down a plane full of ordinary people.

On the ground
Security may require that we arrive at the airport about 3 hours before flight time. This will put certain flights out of business. Why would someone wait for 3 hours to take to take a one hour NY to Boston shuttle, when they could make the same trip in 4 hours by car? I don’t know if it evens out, but it seems that the dollars will merely transfer into different transportation means. Limo services, rental cars, buses & private cars will make more trips. Motels and restaurants along those routes will gain much of the business lost at the airport locations. I believe this is more energy inefficient than air travel, but I could be wrong. Maybe we will take energy needs more seriously than in the past.

Airlines
They are taking the biggest financial hit. They are appealing to the federal government for money. I don’t know if they deserve it or not. If it was mismanagement that put them in financial trouble in the first place, and this crisis pushes them over the edge, than they are bad business people; plain & simple. If they charged too little, and had air fare wars, poor service and poor security, that should not be everybody else's problem. The executives should experience some pain, not just the poor working stiffs who get laid off. Of course, the execs will just move into other industries that pay them more, and may be replaced by people with less ability. There can be no doubt that they have to lay off with the incredible decrease in passengers that they have now.

The security issue probably should never have been their responsibility in the first place. It is clear that the airport security is inadequate, now that is too late. We don’t expect a supermarket to protect us from gunmen, so why should we expect an airline to be any better at it? Even if we expect it, why should we expect them to be good at it?

More government bureaucracy? Yup. Bureaucracy is not a dirty word. It describes an organization of people who support and serve the public. Who else could guard airports and airplanes? We can't have hundreds of contractors, each with their own hiring and recruiting standards. There has to be some standardization. That can only come from the feds. They will have the ability to do security checks and so on.

Dollars and sense
They say that the economy needs money to be spent to avoid a recession, or at least to minimize it. The recession that seems to be coming will be enjoyed by the terrorists. That is why it is our responsibility to try to avoid it; actively. Companies that sell high tech security stuff, private security agencies, etc. might be a good investment. Maybe you can even make some money while doing your part. But, mostly, think of it as a contribution to your country, so you can't lose that way, no matter what happens. You might lose money, but it will be worth it. You might even make some money while you're doing some good for your country. If you want some personal advice, find out what I do financially, and do the opposite, since whatever I do will certainly lose money!

We were heading for a recession anyway, so you crummy terrorists didn’t cause that. You are just trying to take credit for it!

Not to read for the squeamish
I spoke to a local volunteer fireman who was at Groundzero during the first week. His truck and crew were assigned the job of lighting the streets with their spotlights. One was in on "rescue" operations. There is water leakage into the ruins, or it might have had to do with the ashes and cinders that are inches deep in that part of New York City. This area of the country is coastal and many people make a side living crabbing. They have been using crabnets to search for body parts.

I have a friend who is a NY City fireman for 19 years. (a former copier technician.) He was away on vacation on September 11th . When this happened he came home and went to the site to help, still on vacation.

A horrible concern: It seems likely that captured terrorists, in combat situations might have explosives meant to take out their captors or the transport helicopter that they would be transported in. It seems not beyond belief that these guys would swallow some c4 in a condom, drug mule style, to be ready for this. I don’t know how they would detonate it; maybe electronically. I'm not sure if a cavity search would do much good, but I know I don’t want our guys having to do it. The possibility of them ingesting something to kill their captors is, I think, quite likely. I also believe the first one who tries it, will find that the amount of C4 he can ingest can do an awful lot of harm to him, but probably not to those around him.

I don’t expect to be consulted by Colin Powell, and I won't' be insulted if he doesn’t call. I think Powell is absolutely fantastic. He handles the reporters questions quickly, cleverly and flawlessly. He doesn’t stand there and think up an answer. He always knows the answer. I believe he will make an excellent President in a few years.

Viewing history
My daughter goes to Fordham University in midtown Manhattan. She came home on Wednesday 9/13, since classes were canceled. She could see smoke and smell some of the devastation over 100 blocks away (that’s about 5 miles in non-New York City terms.)

On Sunday, September 16 my wife and I drove her back into the city. We did not go near Groundzero. However, without planning it, we came upon the Javits Center, a huge convention center on the West Side of midtown Manhattan (36th street & 11th avenue.) I have been there in the past for industry trade shows, and for the automobile show. This was being used as a staging area and gathering point. The sight was incredible. It brought tears to my eyes (which is not at all unusual these past few weeks) while I was driving. Both of sadness and of pride in Americans.

The area was a combination of a fire base, a cookout, and a convention of police, rescue workers and construction workers. There were barbecues set up, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the workers and rescue people. There were hundreds walking around with hard hats and gas masks. There were all kinds of police uniforms that I have never seen in New York City; State troopers, out of town cops from towns that have far less people than either one of the trade center towers, sheriff's departments, cops from other states. There were military vehicles, soldiers in combat gear. It was a sight to see. It is terrible that it came about, but I feel privileged to have viewed it personally. I was looking at history.

At Groundzero
I strongly feel that that section of Manhattan should forever be known as "Groundzero ." People should always be reminded of what happened. When someone asks what it means, the point will be driven home. No one will forget. If we cover it over and just put up a statue, it will be no more memorable than all the other statues in New York City. I believe that that piece of vertical wreckage that we see in all the TV pictures should remain and be used as part of the memorial that will exist at Groundzero.

Our visit to Groundzero
On September 23rd, my family and I had a reason to go to NY City. We decided to visit Groundzero. On the subway, a stranger started talking to us and thanking us for coming to visit. She, like many of us, came to tears, and just wanted someone to talk to. Neither of us had lost anybody, but it felt like we were both the next of kin at a wake, consoling each other.

We saw Groundzero. Not morbid curiosity, but because it is history. There were thousands of people, passing within a few blocks of the spot. Tired and dedicated Police wearing construction hardhats (not riot helmets) were herding us along.

People were staring at what you have seen on TV. They were not pushing and shoving as is usual in NY streets. We were drifting with the tide of people, staring, a few crying. The limited view of Groundzero showed a pile of rubble and ash hundreds of yards wide. We saw the remains of the structure with the American flag on it.

Everything smelled like charcoal that has been wet down, dried and dumped next to you. The windows, walls and ledges of every building in the area were covered with ash. Some people were wearing those little paper dust masks. Some had more elaborate masks. We avoided touching anything with ash on it. That ash and that pile of rubble includes the pulverized remains of nearly 7000 people.

In addition to the reported missing, there were probably 100 or so homeless people, living in the subway caverns beneath. There may have been some runaway teenagers whose parents will never know what happened to them.

There were pictures of people taped to buildings. A fire truck drove by and as it passed the crowd applauded and cried. The cops were stern, unsmiling and in far more pain than the rest of us. Unlike a typical NY city crowd, nobody complained.

Should the twin towers be rebuilt?
Good question. The cold hard fact is that real estate in New York City is too valuable to be left vacant. The developer who owns the property has already announced rebuilding plans. Those 50,000 or so people still have to go to work, including the replacements for the 7,000 or so who no longer exist. The work has to be done, the world goes on, and New York City goes on. They can't suddenly move to Maine or Wyoming, or some other less crowded place that people used to think was safe. Remember, no place is safe until we solve this problem.

Some World Trade Center tidbits
In 1974 the King Kong movie was filmed there, featuring the towers, as the obvious replacement for the first version, which featured the Empire State Building (34th street and 5th Ave. A beautiful building, inside & out; 102 floors.) The Empire State Building is now the tallest building in NY again. It, along with the Statue of Liberty still stands tall. Kind of like an older athlete who is suddenly needed and steps back up to the plate when the superstar is injured. The team's strength is its depth and its people, just like New York City and the USA.

I don’t remember the year. I will guess 1979. Someone climbed the building. Ground level to roof. He fashioned and machined gizmos that hooked into the window-washer scaffold tracks, and climbed it like a mountain with machined rappel spots instead of rock. TV had cameras on him all day. When he got to the top, the NYPD arrested him. They changed their mind, let him go, and I believe the Mayor gave him the key to the city later the same day.

During the 80s or so, a high wire artist walked from one building to the other across a wire over 1000 feet above ground. I don’t know if he had the city's permission or was another "hot dog" like the climber.

The elevators would take you to about the 40th floor at an average speed of something like 75 mph. Then you would take "local" elevators to the higher floors. I remember that I could get to the 40th floor in that building faster than to the 5th or 6th in many others.

In 1980 I brought my 5 year old and 3 year old into the city the day before Christmas Eve. They fell asleep on the floor next to a copier while I did an emergency service call and we all watched a giant puppet show in the lobby when I was done.

Below the buildings were many levels of basement. There was a subway station and the equivalent of a shopping mall. When I regularly worked in that building in the 70s, I remember thinking that you could probably live your entire life in that building without ever stepping out of it. Everything you might ever need was there.

I remember that my company had a technician who practically never left the building. We had so many accounts in the towers that we used to say he had an "elevator territory." I am reasonably sure that there are some technicians who will never order from us again, because they were doing their first service call at 9AM on September 11th.

I have an image in my mind of the twin towers being replaced with a similar structure. However, on the roof, I am picturing a battery of anti-aircraft missiles. Does that sound any more unbelievable than what happened on September 11th?

"You cannot stop terrorism. You can only minimize it." Issac Yeffet; former head of security for Israel's El-Al airlines.

"Lets Roll."  Todd Beemer. Flight 93; as they overwhelmed the terrorists. I feel that that is now an American battle cry, in the same way that "Remember the Alamo" was 165 years ago.


Thank you for your time.

Jim Intravia

Back to Article Index