Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Never Forget

 
The video below is Kevin Cosgrove's 911 call for a plea for help. The video is running in real time to his call. I only recently saw this, and had to share. It feels almost a personal duty to share, even though it is a bit late, a type of therapy, a way to work through my sadness to find a sense of peace. I know there are a lot of videos out there from this day. A local documentary was being filmed in the area at the time and got much footage, the sound of bodies pounding on the rooftop as the camera rolled. But I have never seen one from an insider's voice. I listen and wish I could have been the one on the phone with him


Kevin Cosgrove
1-6-1955 - 9-11-2001

                         
                    

For many of us, Sept 11 is a distant memory that brought the nation together for a short time, spawned many terrorism speeches from Bush, then people started forgetting and it is always good to have a reminder... a face, a voice of one who lived it.

I was getting ready for work when it happened. I remember the news and the media wondering how a plane hit the first tower. Was it an accident, did the plane lose control, what happened to the pilot? We were all so terrified, then all of a sudden, I see a second plane. Then we knew it was no accident.

I remember thinking, no screaming inside "NO!" right before I witnessed the second plane hit on live tv. I don't remember if I cried or not from the shock, but I do know I cried later. And now. A friend had an aunt who was a passenger on the plane. She never heard from her again. A roommate's father had an office in the Pentagon that got demolished by the attack. Fortunately for him, that part of the building was under renovation and so he was safe. Many many people were lost that day, many living massively effected by those losses.

 
  
 
I was an assistant manager at a shop in the mall. I could barely make it to work, but life had to continue... though the mall was quite non living that day. No one came in, no one left, we were all glued to the tv screen watching in horror as the events unfolded. No information on the attacks were known then, but I still remember seeing Rudy G. walking through those ashen streets, reassuring the masses. We only watched to see volunteers come together, searching for survivors, falling in cave ins, the 343 firefighters that "answered their last bell"...

 

I only hope that we never forget this day. This terrible event that unfolded, that took so many innocent lives. Not only those 2,189 innocent people who died from the immediate events, but also the responders who are dying now from the exposure, debris from Ground Zero and inner turmoil from that day. That breeding hate does not make one a hero, nor a god, nor any other sort of power to be respected, not in this country. Not for true Americans and allies. Those families are in my heart and my prayers and I know that God will prosper and lift them up in their tears. I love the video on how one man survived and transformed his life through the love of Christ. My little brother is now serving in the Army, and we pray that he, and others will be kept safe and in peace as well. I can honestly say I have a profound love for these people and treasure their sacrifice immensely.

 
scott gries/history channel 
  

6 comments:

  1. That video is just...it's made such an impact on my heart this morning. Like I'm feeling the initial shock all over again. My story sounds so similar to yours concerning 9/11. I was 19, I had no concept of evil...I mean not really. And to think that was done in the name of God...

    I think it's going to be a quiet morning for me.

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  2. That is an unbelievable video. Oh it is terrible.
    I agree with Anne. It's like living that day all over again. Such desperation of a single person--and you know that all of the those people had similar experiences. It is almost too much to bear to think of all of them, their families, each story.
    My we never, NEVER forget.
    Thank you.

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  3. Hi Lisa,

    I knew Kevin's brother Joe and I've heard this tape many times and every time I bawl like a baby. This is one example of the desperation so many people felt that day! I for one will NEVER forget. Thank you for posting this!

    Hugs,
    Karyn

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  4. Thank you Karyn, I found the video on your blog, and I truly felt compelled to post it again.

    I had already written one 9/11 post earlier in the week about a surviving man's story and finding faith through it, but after seeing the video, I knew I had to tell both sides.

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  5. Hello Lisa, and thank you for visiting my blog... more important, thank you for this beautiful tribute to the victims of 11 September 2001... Bisous... Julie Marie

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love reading what you all have to say.