It is surprising to me that the author of this piece is apparently unaware that the 2006 Nicholas Cage movie, “World Trade Center” is based on this story.
She misses the point about the Marine Corps as well.
They are not soldiers. They are different: they are Marines.
And, the Marine Corps has a glory machine second to none.
A great story, nonetheless.
Paterfamilias (proud father of a Marine and a soldier)
I’m not familiar with the film.
As an addendum:Thomas said he returned to Ground Zero every day for another 2 1/2 weeks to pitch in, then walked away and tried to forget.
“I didn’t want to relive what took place that day,” he said.
Shamberg said he apologized to Thomas for an inaccuracy in the film: Thomas is black, but the actor cast to portray him, William Mapother, is white. Filmmakers realized the mistake only after production had begun, Shamberg said.
Thomas laughed and gently chided the filmmakers, then politely declined to discuss it further. “I don’t want to shed any negativity on what they were trying to show,” he said.
As for his story, Thomas said he is gradually becoming more comfortable telling it.
“It’s been like therapy,” he said.