An updated repost. There is a line from a Paul Simon song, “these are the days of miracle and wonder.” One might not think to apply that lyric to the events of 9/11, twenty years ago today, and yet for at least part of that strange and horrible day, they fit. The great New York boatlift was part of the “miracle and wonder.” The wholly unplanned, boatlift was the spontaneous maritime evacuation of an estimated 500,000 people trapped in Lower Manhattan in less than 10 hours. The boatlift has been under-reported by the media, which is all the more reason to remember the mariners of New York who stepped up to perform what has been called the largest sea rescue in history.
To me, the attacks of 9/11 do not seem to be 20 years in the past. Everything remains too vivid to be that long ago, and yet the evidence of the time slipping by is all around me. My sons are now 29 and 25. They were 9 and 5 when I picked them up from their school, directly across the water from where the towers had stood that morning, but by noon were a billowing maelstrom of flame, ash, and smoke.
I recall vividly the phone call from my wife, telling me something terrible had happened at the World Trade Center. She had been on the mezzanine level when the first plane hit. I went outside, stepping into that beautiful September morning, and turned the corner of my block, to see from across the river, the incongruous site of a black gash in the upper floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center The gash was rimmed with orange flames and a long gray-black plume of smoke streamed out on the Northwesterly breeze. Minutes later I saw a huge orange blossom flame erupt from the South Tower as the second plane hit.
My wife made it safely to her office, only to be trapped by the dust, debris, ash and smoke that filled the streets when the buildings came down. Then, several hours later, she heard that boats were running on the East River. She and her colleagues wrapped towels around their faces and walked down Wall Street to the river, where boats waited to take her home. I will always be deeply grateful for everyone involved in the amazing boatlift.
Here is a wonderful short documentary that captures a sense of the boatlift. If you have already seen it, it is worth watching again. See also our review of American Dunkirk, The Waterborne Evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11 by James M. Kendra and Tricia Wachtendorf.
Rick – Thank you for sharing that. I am a former colleague of your wife and also experienced 9/11 from lower Manhattan. I had never know all this about the boatlift, and it is a moving and uplifting story.
Oh, Rick.
I don’t think I knew that Karen was there that day too. I am so glad she made it out safely and that a tug took her safely home to you and your family.