Posted: 8/11/2002 7:20:51 AM EDT
| I want to start off by saying hi to everyone. Its been a long time since i posted anything and i am sure there are quite a few members who do not know me.I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by Don Ross, he wanted to know how i liked my rifle. The rifle i am talking about is the one that the members collected the money to buy for several members of the board. Everyone calls them the HEROS RIFLES, but i dont. Please do not be offended by this. My reason for this is that i do not consider myself a hero. I dont think i did anything that anyone else would have done. Anyway, back to thanking everyone. When i told Don i did not hear anything more about it he was upset. He put me in touch with Tim Green, who was also upset. Well yesterday my friend called me and told me it arrived on Friday. I picked ip up yesterday. I cant begin to tell you how i feel. I will try to get a picture of myself with it as soon as i can. There is not a day that goes by that i dont think of Sept 11, or the 5 months i was working at Ground Zero. I cant believe its been almost 1 year already.There are many night that i stay up thinking about everything, and to be honest, it very hard to get some of the things out of my head. Sorry for rambling on. Again, i want to thank EVERYONE for what you did. I will treasure it forever. Please Stay Safe . SEMPER FI................JOHN |
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Ronin, I will try to give you a call sometime this week, if I forget, dont hesitate to harass me about it! And keep your ears open, I think I talked EdSr into coming with me on my trip to NYC/NJ and will make our plans public soon so we can schedule a diner and small gathering. [=)] |
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Welcome home John. You along with probably every other person involved in the rescue/recovery operation at Ground Zero think you did what anyone else would have done and that is cool. However, your family here and the rest of the world know different. The city of New York and the United States are very fortunate to have people like you,edpmedic,Wave,Hunduh,longislandshooter and anyone else I may have missed. Stay safe brother. |
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Thanks for those kind words Striker, Thank You to ALL for the kind words and of course thanks for the Rifle (I havent received it yet, but it should be soon!!!) John, you should try to make it out to Calverton this Sunday, I havent seen you in a while. Goatboy, make sure you keep us updates on that NYC trip/mini gathering!!! Lastly, hello to Beekeeper!!! How have you been buddy? I havent spoken to you in a while. Steven |
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I feel that there's some things everyone should know about John and his role in the Search and Rescue operation on 9/11 . To begin with it gives me alot of pleasure in seeing someone get such a worthy reward , John did'nt do traffic duty or perimeter security he is the real deal and risked his life countless times to save others . Not like some wanna be heroes that are telling some tall tales. John was actually with me at the outdoor range when the Tangos hit us , he immediately mobilized and was at the towers within hour , from that moment John spent the next 8 days straight w/o sleep and rest never leaving the S&R operations . John was an integral part of a 10 man ESU rescue Team charged with confined space rescue. These are the guys that go INTO and UNDER the pile , John repeatedly rappeled( his specialty )deep down into the bowels of that inferno with the hope of finding someone alive. He did this for FIVE months 12 hours a day 6 days a week , today we were looking at the newspaper and John got kinda quiet and when I looked at the article he was reading it was about a famed ESU Cop who had perished , John was upset not like one of us would be reading such a tragedy . You see John was the guy who found that famed ESU guy pulled him out of that waste and returned him to his family. He is unfortunetly haunted by so many horrible images like that...... One day about a month after John and his team had been pulled out of the hole they had rappeled down into because they had hit a spot where the temperature was 1200 degrees fahrenheit ( one month after) so here was john and his team in the assembly / rest area getting water and looking like a monster out of the deep when a little boy of about 9 years old walked away from his mom ( she was a firemans wife and was so desperate she came down to the site )this little boy came up to John and looked at him and said " Mister can you please find my daddy " I know as John's friend that he lives with those haunting words every day of his life . So when you talk about the Heros of 9/11 I can firmly tell you all that John led the way above and beyond...... |
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I want to start out once again by saying, THANK YOU, to everyone. I am still shocked at the fact that there are still so many supportive posts and responses. A few months ago I had recieved quite a few phone call from alot of people who i only know by name. I cannot begin to tell you how much the calls as well as the e mails and all the supportive post have done for me. I can still remember each message word for word. That is something i will have with me forever. I would also like to say how very sorry i am that i did not make the BRC,(it tore me apart not being there). I look forward to the next one so i can finally meet and thank everyone who gave so much support. I hope you dont get tired of hearing it but, Thank you all once again.As always, STAY SAFE. Your Friend......JOHN |
| RONIN45, great to see you posting again. You are the 'force recon' of the LE world, and a hero in every sense of the word. To begin with not many people could do your job especially under the circumstance in which you were thrown into immediately after the attacks. Thank you John, enjoy the rifle, it is our privilege to have you and all of our heroes as part of our family here. |
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thats what makes a hero a hero, they don't think theyre really heroes. but we all know better. if i had known about this hero rifle thing i surely would have added my 2 cents, (not shure i could have afforded more) if i ever get the time off to do so, i would be honored to meet you and all the other "HEROES" of that tradgic day. godspeed, you will never be forgotten. the_survivalist |
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Quoted: I feel that there's some things everyone should know about John and his role in the Search and Rescue operation on 9/11 . To begin with it gives me alot of pleasure in seeing someone get such a worthy reward , John did'nt do traffic duty or perimeter security he is the real deal and risked his life countless times to save others . Not like some wanna be heroes that are telling some tall tales. John was actually with me at the outdoor range when the Tangos hit us , he immediately mobilized and was at the towers within hour , from that moment John spent the next 8 days straight w/o sleep and rest never leaving the S&R operations . John was an integral part of a 10 man ESU rescue Team charged with confined space rescue. These are the guys that go INTO and UNDER the pile , John repeatedly rappeled( his specialty )deep down into the bowels of that inferno with the hope of finding someone alive. He did this for FIVE months 12 hours a day 6 days a week , today we were looking at the newspaper and John got kinda quiet and when I looked at the article he was reading it was about a famed ESU Cop who had perished , John was upset not like one of us would be reading such a tragedy . You see John was the guy who found that famed ESU guy pulled him out of that waste and returned him to his family. He is unfortunetly haunted by so many horrible images like that...... One day about a month after John and his team had been pulled out of the hole they had rappeled down into because they had hit a spot where the temperature was 1200 degrees fahrenheit ( one month after) so here was john and his team in the assembly / rest area getting water and looking like a monster out of the deep when a little boy of about 9 years old walked away from his mom ( she was a firemans wife and was so desperate she came down to the site )this little boy came up to John and looked at him and said " Mister can you please find my daddy " I know as John's friend that he lives with those haunting words every day of his life . So when you talk about the Heros of 9/11 I can firmly tell you all that John led the way above and beyond...... Wow. And just when I thought I was done getting misty-eyed over that tragedy. John, God bless you. You are truly a man among men. MIerinMD [i]The real democratic American idea is not that every man shall be on a level with every other man, but that every man shall have liberty to be what God made him, without hindrance. —Henry Ward Beecher[/i] |
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John Mere words can not express my gratitude to you and the other people that have given more that anyone has the right to expect of a public servant. I can only say from my whole family we THANK YOU and the others like you. Please pass it on to those who are still suffering thru the aftermath of rescue and clean up efforts John aka baddog |
| Thanks again to everyone for all the supportive posts, and TRUE concern. Its means a hell of alot. Like i said before, i truly cant wait for the next BRC so i can meet as many members as possible, and be able to say thanks to all of you in person. As always.....STAY SAFE......JOHN |
| I am almost speechless after reading these posts, but it would be wrong for me to not say thank you for what you went through. My 3 sons (all under age 9 when 9/11 happened) prayed for all of you rescuers nightly. It brought tears to my eyes every time to hear them. You are who they have heard about for all these months and who they look up to as their heros. Thank you. |