We often forget the scope of the rescue work in which the city engaged in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. While the day itself will forever be memorialized, the weeks after the Towers fell saw thousands of people sacrifice their time, energy and health to participate in the rescue mission. Allan Rosen, writing at Sheepshead Bites, discusses the ceremony and praises the MTA and its employees who went above and beyond during the trying weeks after the attacks. He writes: “From the MTA employees who guided people to safety to the heavy lifters searching for survivors and later for bodies, to the bus drivers shuttling rescue workers and victims’ families, each did their part exceedingly well. As one of the speakers put it, there was no one giving orders, and if you paid these people a million dollars, they could have not worked any harder.”
Rosen attended a small ceremony earlier this week for those at the MTA who put themselves in the line of duty on the day of and the days after the attacks. He talks about the people who were driving trains south of Manhattan when the planes struck and urges us all to remember how “in times of crisis, the agency excels.” As the ninth anniversary of the attacks passed last Saturday, it is well worth a minute or two to salute those who did their all to help cope with the aftermath and keep casualties as low as possible.
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