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Hello, my name
is David G. Nadeau and I am from Monroe, Michigan,
hometown of General Armstrong Custer. I am a
paid-on-call Firefighter for Monroe Township Fire
Department and I was at Ground Zero for one week
starting September 12, 2001. Some of my hundred or so
pictures from Ground Zero have been published in EMS
magazines. Newspaper reporters from Cooperstown, New York
and Lexington, Kentucky
call me wanting to publish this story. That is because
someone from the family of the business card I found at
Ground Zero told the reporters this story – a story
about a business card which is just one of a thousand
stories to tell.
I arrived at
Ground Zero on September 12, 2001 with another
Firefighter. After several hours of working at the front
of a bucket brigade on Friday, September 14 – just one
of many bucket brigades -- there came an opening in the
debris pile just big enough for one person to fit in.
With the help of a New York Firefighter holding my fire
boots, I went down the opening with a flashlight. While
down in the hole, everyone up above yelled to be quiet
-- at this time we were still hoping to find survivors.
I prayed to God to let me find a survivor. There was
none. While backing out of the hole with the help of the
New York Firefighter (this hole was very small and
tight), dust and debris in the hole was all around me.
The dust was very thick. The void was around 6 to 10
feet deep, and once in opened to a 20 foot circle. Just
as I was coming out of the hole, something out of the
corner of my eye caught my attention, and for some
reason (I still do not know why), I caught this piece of
paper just as it was falling through the air back in to
the void.
When I stood up,
the New York Firefighter who helped me out of the hole
was standing behind me and saw what it was I had in my
hands. He said "Do you know what you found?"
I said "No, I do not". He asked "Haven't you seen
the news?" I said no -- working these long hours,
there was no time to. He said the piece of paper
is the business card of a man that was the Vice
President of Canter Fitzgerald from the south tower that
lost several hundred employees. The New York Firefighter
said he could not believe the business card survived in
all of this fire and destruction, as we stood on a 25-30
foot pile of debris. The card came from the 104th.
floor of the south tower. It was dirty, but
legible. I asked the New York Firefighter if he wanted
the business card. He said, "No, you came this far
to help us, you keep it brother." That is what
they called me, brother. And the whole time there,
we called each other brother. Firefighters from all over
the country were there, and we called each other
brother, not Firefighter. Firefighters have had
traditions for years, and this is one I will never
forget.
Out of the
million tons of debris, I found the business card of a
man that was working, providing for his family that
horrible September day. And no matter what kind of job
those people had, from janitor to vice president of a
large company, or how much money they made, they were
all there that day providing for their family. Little
did I know how much this business card would affect me
for the rest of my life.
After a week at
Ground Zero, I came home alone. I drove my own vehicle
there. The other 18 Firefighters from Monroe County left
a day and a half earlier. I wanted to stay as long as I
could, but it started to take a toll on my five and
seven year old boys. That was the longest drive of my
entire life. One thing I will never forget while driving
home is the newspaper reporter from the Toledo Blade who
called my cell phone. He heard I was there at Ground
Zero and someone gave him my cell phone number. As
he was asking questions about what I did at Ground Zero,
a song played on the radio. It was. "I am Already
There', by Lonestar (with inserts from the WTC disaster
playing in the background). I was so tired from last
week and driving home alone, and that being my son's
favorite song, I started to cry. Yes, Firefighters do
cry. With the reporter on the cell phone, I told him I
could not talk, hung up, and had to pull over to the
side of the road.
I made it home
and a couple of weeks had gone by, but every day that
did, I could not stop thinking of what I had seen and
the business card I had found. I was watching TV and saw
a program about how families that lost their loved ones
at the WTC were hoping to find something of their loved
ones to hold on to. I got goose bumps when I saw this
show, and even today as I write this, I still get goose
bumps. I knew then I needed to find someone in this
man’s family, even though this was only a business card.
There was a name of a man on this card and I knew he had
a family that was missing him. You see, when I found
this man’s business card and was standing there holding
that business card at Ground Zero, and after what that
New York Firefighter said to me, I had the strangest
feeling come over me. While standing on that huge pile
of debris, holding that business card in my hand,
something told me this man did not suffer. I believe in
God, and believe me, I talked to him a lot when I was
there and I know he had everything to do with this. I
know he had put me there at that time and at that place
for a reason. I know there are better people in this
world, but for whatever reason, God wanted me to be the
one to find that business card.
After a few
phone calls and with the wonderful help of a wonderful
woman from Canter Fitzgerald that I do not know (though
I wish I did), I found this man’s family. This woman
from Canter Fitzgerald got a hold of the wife of the man
whose business card I had found. With the courage of a
million people, this man’s wife called me at my home one
night a couple of days after I had talked to this woman
from Canter Fitzgerald about the business card I had
found. You see, I did not know if I would get a call
back from Canter Fitzgerald about the business card I
had found. The woman from Canter Fitzgerald told me she
did not know how she was going to approach the family
about this business card. I felt she thought I was nuts
after I told her my story about finding it, so I did not
expect a call back, much less a call from the wife of
this man.
She began by
telling me who she was and asked me if I was the
Firefighter who found her husband’s business card at
Ground Zero. When I told her it was me, she began to
cry, and that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever
had to do. I mean, I have to tell many people in my
career as a Firefighter that their loved one has passed
away, but this was the hardest thing for me ever. While
I talked to her the best I could under the
circumstances, I kept as calm as I could. She wanted to
know where I found the card, how I found the card and if
I had any pictures of where I found the card. What I
thought was one of the saddest things (next to my own
seven year old son asking me on the phone while at
Ground Zero if I had found any more bodies) she asked if
I would send her the card and the pictures of where I
found it. I told her, "No problem". At that
moment, I knew God wanted me to find that business card
so I could hold onto it until I could find her. Can you
imagine one day you are kissing your loved on in the
morning before they leave for work, and then you turn on
your TV and see the worst disaster in American history,
knowing your loved one was in there? I cannot imagine
that horrible feeling those people felt seeing that
unfold before their very eyes. You see, the family
of this man heard he had gotten out when the towers came
down and was in the hospital with smoke inhalation
problems. But several hours later found out
differently.
I don’t think
people outside the families that lost loved ones that
day, realize these people will see and hear about this
disaster every day for many years to come. I would take
away the pain for every one of those family members if I
could so they would not have to see or hear about that
terrible day ever again. But, I am just one person in
this world and that is what I have to deal with every
day of my life. Just like many others in this world, I
feel great helplessness knowing I cannot help. However,
I did get to help one family in this terrible disaster.
You hear about all the heroism and people helping each
other -- all the Fire, Police, EMS -- and the loss of
life of a loved one that was taken from this world and
their families on that terrible day. I have not even
come close to comparing it to the courage and fortitude
of those great people because of that cowardice act.
However, it helps me sleep at night to know that on the
saddest day in American history, I got to help one
family that suffered so much. And in whatever way, no
matter how small of a part it was, it feels good to know
that they can start to heal some of the pain.
I sent the
business card and pictures with a letter that I had
written to the wife of that man’s family. And after she
received the business card, pictures and letter, sisters
and brothers of this man have called me. Newspaper
reporters from different parts of the country have
called to say how touched the family was about the
letter I wrote and sent with the business card and
pictures, and they wanted to put my letter in their
hometown paper. When I started this, I was afraid that
by contacting this family it would only hurt them even
more, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. But
like I said, God only knows why he put me there that
fateful day.
The saddest
thing about this whole story is the brother and the
other family members that worked in the financial
district had to run away, and then witness the towers
come crashing down. And the man of the business card
that I had found escaped the attacks on the WTC in 1993
and was a “hero” himself that day in 1993 by helping a
woman get out of the building safely. Nobody will ever
know how that business card survived from the 104th
floor of the south tower for me to find it among all the
debris, but I am glad that I was the one that did. In
April 2002, I met the man’s wife and family members at a
restaurant called Park Avenue Country Club in New York.
They showed me what true American’s do when something so
tragic happens.
They hugged me,
and cried with me, and told me so many people were
touched by my letter. Then they showed me pictures of a
loving father, husband, brother and family member.
Pictures just as I have of my sons and family. The
restaurant refused to let us pay for anything that
night. The restaurant owner treated us like we were
someone famous. When we left the restaurant that night,
the wife of this man came up to me, hugged me, told me
thank you. With tears in both of our eyes, we walked
away. At that very moment, I never felt more proud about
being a Firefighter and I knew that I completed the
journey that God had started for me back on September
14, 2001.
The next day,
the brother of this man gave us a tour of the New York
stock exchange. While there, people came up to us to
shaking our hands and saying thank you. One very nice
man that was introduced to us by his brother told me
that the letter touched the family so much, then handed
me a check for $500, which I gave to my own Fire
Department. While in New York, we were there to give a
check for $31,600 to the New York Port Authority Police
Department. We have given money before to the New York
Fire Department, but after seeing a story on the Port
Authority Police and how little they were getting for
losing 37 of their own, we decided to give the money
that the people of Monroe County, Michigan had given us
in two days from a fire boot and bottle drive.
Just before we left the hotel to
head to Ground Zero to present the check to the Port
Authority Police, one of the brothers from this man’s
family called me on my cell phone. He asked me if he
could go with us to present the check to the Port
Authority Police. On April 5, 2002, we went back to
Ground Zero, with a new friend and a man that lost a
brother on September 11, 2001. During the presentation
of the check, this brother watched and was touched by
what we were doing for the Port Authority Police. But I
knew he was there for a very different reason, he got to
say goodbye to his brother that day. My reason was for
my own closure, and for him......I think he realized
that you can't let them win, you have to carry on.
Whatever the reason, it helped two people come together
from different parts of this country. And all
because of a terrible, senseless act, it helped them
both in so many ways and different levels.
No matter how
small a part I played in this, there are some people in
this world able to face the day once more because God
put me there that day. Though I was there only a week,
this one event has affected me more than anything in my
life. The nightmares are less frequent. I can’t imagine
the people that have been there since 9/11 working
effortlessly day and night. And how the rest of their
lives will never be the same, these are true American
Heroes. And this disaster is about the people of New
York, Firefighters, Police, EMS that gave the worst
price of all -- their lives. I just wanted to say there
were people from all over the world, from small towns
like mine, there to help the people of New York. And if
you ever need us again (God forbid), we will be there --
Semper Fi. The reason I did not say this man’s family
name is I don’t know if they would have liked that.
Who would have
thought that a small business card could have touched so
many lives in so many different ways? The brother that
went with us to Ground Zero was the first of this family
to go since 9/11. He dug deep down inside himself that
day and came with us to represent this enduring,
courageous family so he could say goodbye for them. And
for someone that I have never met before in my life,
this man of this business card had a family that I knew
loved him very much and had touched my life in so many
different ways. To this date, they have not found or
identified this man. This business card may be the only
thing they have left.
God Bless
America and All the Families and the People of New York
that were affected by this. I Salute You and hope some
day the pain is not so strong.
© David G.
Nadeau
If you would
like to contact David after reading his story,
please
EMAIL DAVID.
Also, David is actively looking for any writers who
would be willing
to help him write a book about this experience and
others worth sharing.
If you are able to assist or guide David in the right
direction in order to accomplish this,
please send him a message.
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