JOHN 15:13 says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Many movies have a scene that is intended to touch members of the audience. Inevitably, one of the main characters, an individual developed over the course of two hours, finds that his or her friend is in imminent danger. The character takes his life in his hands, and the friend is saved. Such a scene has played out in so many television shows and theatres that one might justifiably call it cliched. After the events of Sept. 11, the actions of hundreds of brave people have lent true substance to the general idea of sacrifice.
As the fires raged in the World Trade Center, hundreds of New York City firefighters and police officers rushed into the buildings. Some worked to put out fires. Others feverishly worked to move as many of the thousands of the buildings' occupants as possible onto the seemingly-safe streets.
Despite the obvious danger attached to entering a flaming, enormously heavy structure, the officers and firefighters worked feverishly. Ultimately, the danger manifested itself, and the towers fell. Hundreds of firefighters and police officers' lives were extinguished.
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New York City Fire Chief Ganci was among the men at the scene during the building's collapse. According to the men who last saw him, Ganci ordered his men to safety. Contrary to every normal human impulse, he then ran into the disaster scene to locate other firefighters who might need assistance.
In a similar fashion, the fire department's chaplain, Mychal Judge, worked courageously amidst the surrounding dangers to give last rites to his men.
Both men were buried Saturday. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, in reflecting on the bravery of the firefighters, stated: "I am always amazed at how these men walk into fires, when the rest of us run from them" ("Bravery Rests as Funerals Begin," The Washington Post, Sept. 16).
Todd Beamer was one of the 38 passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93. Huddling in the back of the plane with a group of passengers, Beamer talked with a GTE operator via one of the plane's in-flight phones.
As the conversation took place around 9:45 a.m., the operator knew what had happened with the other hijacked airplanes. She told Beamer of his grim prospects. Realizing that their plane might be used for further mass destruction, Beamer mentioned that a group of passengers would try to stop the hijackers. He recited the 23rd Psalm with the telephone operator, asked her to tell his family of his love, and spoke with his passengers: "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" ("Flight 93 Hero Heard Before Crash," Associated Press, Sept. 16).
The flight, seemingly headed in the direction of Washington, D.C., crashed shortly thereafter in western Pennsylvania. As in the other flights, no survivors emerged from the wreckage.
People who die in movies and in video games often are presented as one-dimensional characters whose death, although sad, likely wouldn't alter too many lives. In contrast, the people who died in the fashion of the New York firefighters and the passengers of Flight 93 probably all had family members. They probably all had loved ones whose lives will be altered irretrievably because of their bravery. Children will not have fathers or mothers, and some parents are faced with the pain of having outlived their children.
The people they saved also likely have loved ones and family members. These children and parents, friends and neighbors, are people who will be eternally grateful for the heroic actions of a few.
Ganci's actions seem amazing because of the images of a leader truly taking charge and taking risks on the front lines of his occupation. Beamer's actions are amazing because of his nondescript qualities: He had a wife, two children and a conventional office job. He saw the obvious danger put before him, and he acted accordingly.
The actions of the hundreds of firefighters and police officers who ran into the buildings to save innocent workers were equally amazing. Sadly, only a few of the public servants' bodies have been located. These brave men and women truly sacrificed themselves and rushed headlong into a fiery form of anonymity, one in which the only tangible representations of their lives would be the actions they performed.
In the coming months and years that follow this horrible event, may we not forget these individuals' selfless acts.
(Seth Wood's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at swood@cavalierdaily.com.)
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