Marine, Chief Warrant Officer 2, Jean Poitevien (Class of 1982) Experiences Ground Zero First Hand

On September 11th, I was on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge listening to the radio as the terrorists struck and wondering whether it was all a dream. On the 12th, myself and a small group of Marines decided we would go to "Ground Zero," and help with the recovery effort.
____It was mass devastation, like something out of a movie, but you knew it was real, because of the acrid smoke, your eyes burned, and you could not breathe without a mask or respirator. It was extremely hectic, because you had people literally digging debris out with their hands.
____Emergency vehicles were crushed all around you, and the dust was piled as much as three inches high. The amount of work was tremendous, and nobody knew where to exactly start. There was so much work to do, you could see the exhaustion on everyone's faces, but it wasn't the time to stop. The volunteers actually had to be pulled off of the "Bucket Brigades" in order for them to get some rest.
____I made a lot of friends there. Police Officers, Firefighters, Social Workers, everyone was there to help.
____Afterwards, I was sent to Pier 92/94 by the Intrepid Museum, to help with the Security Detail, checking IDs, and passes. There was also a lot of activity there as the families would come in for assistance, financial or emotional. I have never seen such a dedicated diverse group of people work together. Everyone was represented: Muslims, Christians, Jews...everyone, just trying to contribute.
____It's unfortunate it takes a catastrophe like this to bring people together, but you also see there's a lot of good in the hearts of people, and I hope God blesses everyone who helped in this effort.

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