Posted on 11/12/2001 12:59:01 PM PST by Silly
by Monica Nieporte
November 12, 2001
NELSONVILLE -- To a Manhattan financial district worker, the letter was simply a kind gesture for his friends at New York Fire Department Engine 8, Ladder 2. To a Nelsonville fire captain, the letter was an answered prayer.
Paul Klenk of Kew Gardens, N.Y., knew it was a long shot, but if he could at least make an attempt to find the anonymous Ohio fire captain who worked with the station at "Ground Zero" of the World Trade Center disaster on Sept. 12 -13, it might help to boost their spirits.
But the letter that Klenk submitted to several Ohio newspapers not only boosted the morale of his friends, it reunited them with the mysterious Good Samaritan they were hoping to find.
The New York firefighters were looking for Nelsonville Fire Capt. Jeff Williams, one of three Nelsonville firefighters who went to Manhattan immediately after the terrorist attacks, but they didn't know his name or even what city he was from. Williams worked closely with the men of Engine 8, Ladder 2 for two days and was also hoping that one day he'd be able to find some of the men he'd worked alongside during heartbreaking and exhausting hours.
About three weeks after the collapse of the towers, Klenk, whose office is about a block from Engine 8, Ladder 2's station, stopped to chat with some of the firemen.
"Somehow the conversation turned to Ohio, and Steve Riccio started telling me about this firefighter from Ohio they met and were hoping to find," Klenk said.
Riccio provided Klenk with the only details they knew -- which Klenk now says turned out to be "a bit off," since Williams is actually several years younger than described. Klenk said he searched the Internet for the addresses of major newspapers in Ohio and submitted a letter about the anonymous firefighter to The Columbus Dispatch, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer and Dayton Daily News.
To Klenk's surprise, the letter published Sept. 27 in the Columbus paper instantly hit its mark.
Williams was at the fire station when Ronnie Townsend of Ace Tire came in with the newspaper. Townsend showed him Klenk's letter and, right away, Williams knew the letter was about him.
"For two weeks I prayed that I would be able to get in contact with those guys again. When I was there, I just kept repeating `Riccio and Woods' to myself so I wouldn't forget their names because I knew one day I would find them," Williams said.
Williams called the Columbus Dispatch and a staff member put him in touch with Klenk.
"When Jeff called and said he was the guy in the letter, I just couldn't believe it. I wanted to make sure it was really him, though, because I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up that I found him until I was sure. But he knew the nicknames of some of the guys at the station so I knew that he really had been found," Klenk said.
Williams was awed that in the face of so much tragedy, an effort was being made to find him.
"I read it and couldn't believe it. After all these guys have been through, they lost 10 of their own men, here they were hoping to find me as much as I was hoping to find them," Williams said.
Williams said when he called the station, Lt. Tom Woods -- one of the men he worked with -- was the one who answered the phone and he immediately invited Williams back to New York. It didn't take Williams long to accept the invitation. Williams recently spent four days with Engine 8, Ladder 2.
"They bestowed a lot of honors on me while I was there. They put me in their own gear, took me out on calls and treated me like a brother. They let me in and helped me heal. They saved the spirit and soul of another firefighter," Williams said.
During the visit, Williams and some of the firemen were also treated to breakfast by Klenk.
"I never thought it would go this far when I sent those letters," Klenk said. "Everyday I walk past the station, it's on the beaten track to and from the subway, and I see the flowers and things outside. I just wanted to do something for these guys. And then here was this guy in Ohio who was with them at Ground Zero on the second day. No one back in Ohio could possibly know what that was like, none of us can. Jeff needed to be with these guys as much as they needed to find him."
Williams said he has been invited back to ride with the station in the city's St. Patrick's Day parade this coming March.
"I've made some friends there who will be lifetime friends," Williams said.
I learned about this article today quite by accident, having called my new friend Jeff Williams this afternoon.
Thanks, Ohio, for all your generosity and financial support of WTC victims and firefighters. This fire captain is just one of many of you who helped us in so many ways after the 9-11 attack.
By the way, he has now been promoted to Acting Chief of his fire department.
Way to go!
How true this is! None of us can even imagine the horror of being at Ground Zero in those first days.
Wonderful, wonderful story, Silly!!! Thank you!!!
It's really gratifying that you enjoyed this story. I am now on my way to the fire station to drop off copies of the article.
FRegards,
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