As a professional firefighter and paramedic, it is hard for me to express the combination of sadness, and anger I feel right now. I watched on live television as thousands of Americans were murdered. My thoughts are with the fallen victims, and the loved ones they leave behind, and although I am thousands of miles away...A part of me is there in New York with the FDNY, and law enforcement agencies who have suffered horrible casualties in the brave execution of their duty.
All firefighters, no matter where they work, are part of a brotherhood....And we have a special relationship with police officers, who we work closely with on call after call.
Seeing those massive buildings collapse, with the knowledge that hundreds of my brothers and sisters were in harms way, put a knot in my stomach, a lump in my throat, and a tear in my eye.....all of which are still there.
At this time, we can only make assumptions as to exactly how many lives have been lost in the cowardly acts of terrorism in New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania, but the statistics are sure to be staggering and [b]ONE AMERICAN LIFE IS TOO MANY[/b] Hopefully all of those responsible will soon learn what Admiral Yamamoto of the WWII Japanese Navy realized shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.....[b]"They Have Succeeded only in Awakening a Sleeping Giant"[/b]