"Death is nothing at all" and misc. quotes from fire and rescue workers...some that didn't return

Reader's Digest

[Sir Gawain]

Death is
nothing at all.

      I have only slipped away into
the next room.
      I am I, and you are you,
      Whatever we were to each other,
that we are still.

      Call me by the old familiar name.
      Speak of me in the easy way
which you always used.
      Put no difference into your tone.
      Wear no forced air of solemnity
or sorrow.
      Laugh as we always laughed
      At the little jokes that we
enjoyed together.

      Play, smile, think of me,
pray for me.

      Let my name be ever the
household word that it always was.
      Let it be spoken without an effort,
      Without the ghost of a
shadow upon it.

      Life means all that it ever meant.
      It is the same as it ever was.
      There is abslolute and
unbroken continuity.

      What is this death but a
negligible accident?
      Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?
      I am but waiting for you,
for an interval,
      Somewhere very near,
      Just round the corner.

      All is well.

                       -Henry Scott Holland

"It's my calling."

--CAPT. TIMOTHY STACKPOLE, Division 11, Brooklyn. Severely burned and near death after a 1998 fire, he insisted on returning to full-time duty. Perished in the Twin Tower collapse. New York Post

"Every fire is scary. That's the way it is. You're a damned liar if you say you're not scared."

--LINCOLN QUAPPE, Rescue 2, Brooklyn. Perished. New York Times Magazine

"We'll see things today we shouldn't have to see, but listen up, we'll do it together. We'll be together and we'll all come back together."

--ANONYMOUS FIRE LIEUTENANT. New York Times

"Guys, be very careful, because firemen are going to die today."

--CAPT. DANIEL BRETHEL, Ladder 24, Manhatten. Perished. New York Times

"I saw a piece of metal the size of a football field coming at us..."

--RICHIE MURRAY, Engine 205, Brooklyn. Men's Journal

"We were greeted by a frantic mass of people, covered in gray soot, fleeing the city. Many of them reached out to touch our coats, and a woman said, 'God bless you and may He watch over you.'"

--DANIEL BIVONA, Ladder 84, Staten Island. Staten Island Advance

"I was praying to die fast."

--RICH PICCIOTTO, Commander, Battalion 11, Manhatten. Survived collapse of North Tower. Times Herald-Mirror, Middletown, N.Y.

"Sometimes in this job, good-bye is really good-bye."

--RAY DOWNEY, FDNY Chief. Missing. New York Post

"Anyone who had any hand in this should go straight to hell."

--JIMMY CANHAM, Battalion 31, Brooklyn. Albany Times Union

"Most guys want to be here. If they can find one person--cop, civilian, it doesn't matter--it's worth it."

--ANONYMOUS FIRE MARSHAL, Manhatten Base. U.S. News and World Report

"I said to myself, Oh my God, they're all in there. All the firefighters are in there. This can't be happening."

--ROBERT CHYRIWSKI, Engine 3, Manhatten. Men's Journal

"They killed all my friends, guys who I grew up with. We were all kids together."

--LT. BRIAN GILLEN, Ladder 34, Manhatten. Philadelphia Inquirer

"I know I will probably relive this every day of my life."

--BILL SPADE, Rescue 5, Staten Island. Saten Island Advance

"I said 'Thank you' to the volunteers. 'Thank you' to the skilled ironworkers and wreckers. 'Thank you' for all the firm handshakes and the much-needed hugs."

--DANIEL BIVONA, Ladder 84, Staten Island. Staten Island Advance

"In the first one hundred years we filled a wall with the names of fallen firefighters. On the eleventh of September we created a new wall."

--KERRY KELLY, Chief Medical Officer, FDNY. Opening Statement to U.S. Senate

[MeekOneGOP]

"Death is nothing at all" and
misc. quotes from fire and rescue
workers...some that didn't return

You know, my Dad is retired Air Force. He served 27 years, almost all of that was in "Crash Control" on the flight line. That means that they were protecting the planes when they were coming in. If one was in distress, they rolled the trucks out "just in case." He was lucky they never had a major disaster on his watch - the planes always landed safely or with minimal problems. Funny how something like September 11th changes your outlook of things. I guess I never really thought about how dangerous that work really was. . .
Thanks for the post, Sirgawain. . .and for the ping, ST!

---

(((PING))))))
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[MeekOneGOP]

We just cannot EVER forget this. EVER. Honest to goodness, sometimes I still cannot believe my own eyes.

---

It's amazing, isn't it? I read one post a while back about that FReeper's perspective that in a day or two the shock wore off. My experience was it took a week or more, and still when I see that pile of debris I can't believe it. I heard that they now estimate it will take until June to get all the rubble cleared out. NINE MONTHS of hauling away the debris from the damage caused. The helicopter pictures of the scene a day or two or three afterwards is incredible - beyond anyones capacity to write about it. IMHO, this truly is a case of a picture being worth a thousand words (or perhaps more, in this case). . .

[Happygal]

Ping!

[SusanUSA]

Tribute

Dedicated to the men, women and children who lost their lives;
all those who sacrificed their lives;
And to all the Heroes that responded to the emergency 11 September 2001

[SusanUSA]

Enya-Only Time

Who can say
Where the road goes,
Where the day flows?
Only time
And who can say if your love grows
As your heart chose?
Only time
Who can say why your heart sighs
As your love flies?
Only time
And who can say
Why your heart cries when your love lies?
Only time
Who can say
When the roads meet
That love might be
In your heart?
And who can say
When the day sleeps
If the night keeps
All your heart?

Night keeps all your heart

Who can say if your love grows
As your heart chose?
Only time
And who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows?
Only time

Who knows? Only time
Who knows? Only time

[SusanUSA]

Thank you and a return ping to #'s 24 and 25.

[harpseal]

Remembering.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you and a return ping to #'s 24 and 25.

---

Beautiful - thanks!

[harpo11]

The picture you posted moves my soul. To me it is the embodiment of standing tall proud defiant courage and overwhelming love for mankind.

[harpo11]

PENTAGON--SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

[harpo11]

Thank you for posting your beautiful post. I know that for many as the days move into months away from the horrific September 11, 2001 murder of innocent men, women and children it is easy to lose sight of the images of that gruesome violent day. The mainstream media has worked very hard in erasing these images from our view so as to not inflame the passions of the American people. So hard in fact that we have been protected from the stark brutality of this heinous cowardly terrorist act upon a freedom loving people.

It is however, IMHO more important to remember with clarity and purpose September 11 so as to harden our determination and resolve to see that terrorist scum are removed from this earth and shoved into the deepest bowels of hell.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

It won't do it all, but that photo (now my wallpaper at work) is a good start.

[SusanUSA]

LOL! Btw, You're supposed to click on the picture in reply #24. It's not just an illustration...

#25 is the words to the song they used.

[RichInOC]

"In our department, no one is invincible; at all ranks we contribute, and at all ranks we're vulnerable."

--Peter J. Ganci, Chief of Department, FDNY, at a 1999 memorial service. Perished 9/11/01.

[MeekOneGOP]

You're supposed to click on the picture in reply #24. It's not just an illustration...

---

Oh! So you do. Yes, that is my favorite "collage" of the WTC/Pentagon/Pa Attack. When you see the pictures of some of the actual folks that were killed, it's NOT just 3,300 (a number) - it's REAL people that had family and friends. . .
Thanks!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up! And thanks for the story about your dad!!!

[Travis McGee]

That NYC skyline photo really is incredible.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thank you.

To me it is the embodiment of standing tall proud defiant courage and overwhelming love for mankind.

Well said.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thank you, Susan. Very nice post.

[Sir Gawain]

bttt