9/11 Up close and personal

[JFischer]

Many of you may have firsthand experiences with 9/11/2001 whether a person, a place or a memory.   Here's one for you.

Joey Rivelli, Ladder 25, and other members of his ladder company, where some of the first on-site and similar to many others, were last seen going up while others were coming down.  He had called his wife, Cheryll, a schoolteacher in Manhattan three times since the first plane hit so she knew where he was headed.  She could see the towers from her job and when the south tower came down, she knew her life would never be the same.

My wife, Julie, met Cheryll in about 2006 or 2007 at Julie's Pampered Chef Show.  They clicked immediately and have been the best of friends ever since.  Over time, Cheryll, who is not bashful nor unwilling to talk about it, has shared different things about that day and the days, months and years that followed.  She shared the details noted above but then added this gem.  

Joey's body was found in a different area than some of the other members of Ladder 25.  He was also found alongside a civilian male.  The belief was that he had diverted to help one man down while his team went ahead.  That was a common theme throughout the day for many first responders. Eventually, some in Ladder 25 got out in time, others did not.

Cheryll explained that as time passed, many people from around the country and the world would come to try to help.  They would knock on her door or call her.  They were all just trying to help.  One organization sponsored trips for the widows and families, so, she took her children to Colorado and while there, a woman kept staying in close proximity throughout their stay and offered ski lessons for the kids.  When Cheryll finally stopped and asked her why she was so interested in only her family, she gave up the goose.  The civilian Joey was found next to was her brother.  She just wanted to express gratitude for Joey's efforts to help him down and out of the building.

God bless those first responders.  They run to the fire.

[Michael M]

I enjoyed reading that. Thank you. Sometimes we find little rainbows in stories of tragedy. That was certainly one.

9/11 is a particularly difficult day for me. It’s the day I lost my mom. No, not in 2001... a couple of decades later.

My mom was an RN and a volunteer EMT. As a first responder herself, I find a measure of comfort in knowing that this is the day she passed. I guess that’s my little rainbow.

This is only 8 minutes. I promise you will appreciate those 8 minutes. No spoilers, no clues - just watch it.

I saw it 10 years ago, and I looked for it again just now.

Many of you may have firsthand experiences with 9/11/2001 whether a person, a place or a memory.   Here's one for you.

[KA4D]

Here's another perspective on 9/11. It's a long read, but IMHO worth the time. It comes from Pete, NL7XM, via the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) mailing list.

If you're short on time or know the details, the last section, "A Legacy for Amateur Radio," sums our purpose well.

When Communications Failed: Amateur Radio and September 11, 2001

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States faced a catastrophe unlike anything it had experienced before. As the attacks unfolded at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., followed by the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in western Pennsylvania, emergency responders faced not only destruction and loss of life, but an enormous communications challenge.

In the hours and days that followed, Amateur Radio operators — many associated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and local radio clubs — volunteered their equipment, skills, and time to help fill communications gaps.

“This Is Not a Test”

For Amateur Radio operators accustomed to emergency drills and simulated exercises, September 11 suddenly became the real thing.

Commercial communications in the affected areas were severely disrupted. Telephone networks became overloaded, cellular systems were overwhelmed, and infrastructure was damaged. In New York, the destruction of the World Trade Center also destroyed communications equipment and broadcast facilities located in the complex.

.'s New York City-Long Island Section Emergency Coordinator, Tom Carrubba, KA2D, had been preparing radio amateurs for an upcoming Simulated Emergency Test. Instead, operators found themselves responding to an actual national emergency.

Amateur Radio did not replace the sophisticated communications systems used by police, firefighters, the military, or federal agencies. Its value was different: radio amateurs could quickly establish independent communications using their own radios, antennas, repeaters, batteries, generators, and technical knowledge without depending upon the public telephone network.

New York City

The largest Amateur Radio response occurred around New York City.

Radio amateurs supported organizations including the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, emergency-management officials, shelters, staging areas, relief facilities, and other locations involved in the enormous response to the destruction of the World Trade Center.

Within days, Amateur Radio operators were working long shifts. A September 21 . report described two dozen or more operators per shift supporting communications and logistics for the American Red Cross and supplementing communications for the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

A multi-purpose ARES/RACES network operated through the 147.000 MHz repeater in Manhattan, providing a communications link among locations involved in the response.

The scale eventually became remarkable.

The New York State Legislature later formally recognized more than 800 Amateur Radio operators who provided emergency communications following the attacks. According to the legislative recognition reported by ., these volunteers contributed more than 15,000 hours of service over more than two weeks.

Radio amateurs helped staff more than 30 shelters, including facilities serving people displaced by the World Trade Center destruction and travelers stranded by the shutdown of U.S. air traffic.

Amateur Radio also provided something particularly significant: HF communications between New York City officials and state agencies near Albany when conventional telephone service was unavailable.

The response was not simply about transmitting dramatic emergency messages. Much of emergency communications consists of routine but essential logistical traffic: personnel assignments, supplies, transportation, food, equipment, shelter needs, and coordination between organizations. These messages allowed relief organizations to function when their normal communications systems were overloaded or unavailable.

The Pentagon

Amateur Radio operators also responded following the attack on the Pentagon.

Virginia ARES organized communications support for The Salvation Army's relief and recovery operation. At the peak of the activation, approximately two dozen Amateur Radio operators were staffing six radio stations near the Pentagon.
Their primary mission was logistical communications between Salvation Army personnel working near the Pentagon and the organization's headquarters in Arlington.

The Salvation Army was operating mobile canteens and feeding facilities supporting military personnel, firefighters, investigators, recovery workers, and others working at the site. Amateur Radio provided a means of coordinating those operations.

A portable repeater was installed near the Pentagon, allowing operators to use handheld radios at relatively low power and conserve batteries. An Amateur Radio net was also established using a local 145.17 MHz repeater.

Conditions were difficult. Operators dealt with extremely high ambient noise from generators, heavy equipment, vehicles, and recovery operations, along with a challenging RF environment.

More than 100 Amateur Radio volunteers reportedly served the Pentagon operation between September 11 and September 18. As conventional communications became adequate for the Salvation Army's needs, the Amateur Radio operation stood down.

Amateur Radio also supported communications among civilian hospitals in Montgomery County, Maryland, where RACES operators had activated following the Pentagon attack. The telephone and cellular networks in the Washington area had become heavily overloaded.

Pennsylvania

Amateur Radio emergency organizations were also placed on alert or activated in Pennsylvania following the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville.

The documented Amateur Radio response there was considerably smaller than the enormous operations in New York and Washington. Contemporary . reporting nevertheless specifically identifies Pennsylvania radio amateurs as part of the nationwide response following the attacks.

It is important not to exaggerate this portion of the history: the strongest documentation of large-scale Amateur Radio deployment following 9/11 concerns New York City and the Washington/Pentagon area, rather than the Flight 93 crash site itself.

Radio Amateurs Were Victims, Too

The Amateur Radio community also suffered personal losses on September 11.

Among the radio amateurs killed at the World Trade Center was Robert D. “Bob” Cirri Sr., KA2OTD, an . District Emergency Coordinator for Hudson County, New Jersey, and a Port Authority police officer. Cirri was helping evacuate people from the World Trade Center when the buildings collapsed.

Radio amateurs working professionally at the World Trade Center were also among those lost, including broadcast engineers whose workplaces were associated with the extensive television and radio transmission facilities atop the towers.

Their deaths are an important reminder that Amateur Radio's connection to September 11 was not limited to the communications response afterward. Members of the Amateur Radio community were themselves among the victims and first responders.

Why Amateur Radio Mattered

The experience of September 11 demonstrated one of Amateur Radio's fundamental strengths.

An Amateur Radio station does not necessarily require a cellular tower, Internet connection, telephone exchange, commercial network, or functioning electrical grid. A trained operator with a transceiver, antenna and independent power source can establish communications directly with another station. Repeaters can extend that range, while HF radio can provide communications across hundreds or thousands of miles without relying upon terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure between the two stations.

That independence becomes valuable when conventional systems are damaged or, as happened extensively on September 11, overwhelmed by extraordinary demand.
Just as importantly, Amateur Radio brought trained human operators with the equipment. ARES and RACES members had practiced net procedures, message handling, deployment, portable operation, and working with emergency-management organizations before the attacks occurred.

September 11 also demonstrated why spontaneous volunteers cannot simply arrive at a disaster carrying radios. Access to sensitive disaster areas was tightly controlled. Contemporary reports specifically noted that some volunteers could not be accepted because they lacked the necessary organizational affiliation, credentials, training, or authorization.

The lesson was clear: effective emergency communications requires preparation before the emergency happens.

A Legacy for Amateur Radio

The events of September 11 occurred at an interesting point in communications history. Cellular phones were already commonplace, and some questioned whether independent Amateur Radio emergency communications were becoming obsolete.

September 11 demonstrated otherwise.

Amateur Radio was not a replacement for public-safety radio systems, cellular networks, satellite communications, or government communications. Instead, it provided a resilient additional layer — one capable of operating independently when portions of those systems failed or became overwhelmed.

Hundreds of operators brought their own equipment and volunteered thousands of hours. They staffed shelters, relief centers, emergency-management facilities and field locations. They passed logistical traffic, supported organizations such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, and helped maintain communications during one of the most difficult emergency responses in American history.

For today's Amateur Radio community, perhaps the most important lesson of September 11 is not simply that radio worked when other systems did not.

It is that equipment alone was not enough.

The successful response depended upon operators who had trained beforehand, participated in emergency-communications organizations, understood directed nets and message handling, maintained usable equipment, and were prepared to serve within an organized emergency response.

Twenty-five years later, September 11, 2001 remains both a solemn day of remembrance and one of the clearest demonstrations of Amateur Radio's public-service mission:
When normal communications are disrupted, trained Amateur Radio operators can still provide an independent path for information to get through.

[KA4D]

This is only 8 minutes. I promise you will appreciate those 8 minutes. No spoilers, no clues - just watch it.

Love Mike Rowe. I miss "The Way I Heard It." Always a good story.