September 2001
During the American Civil War, underage boys would show up at enlistment offices to enter into the Union army. Many of them had slips of paper with "18" marked on them, in their shoes. That way, when the suspicious enlistment officials asked, "Are you over 18?", they could truthfully respond, "Yes."
A Western Suburbs RFC Old Boy fullback, John "Iceman" Cooper, did something like that in response to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, when Muslim terrorists caused the destruction of the World Trade Center towers and part of the Pentagon. A trained rescue specialist, Iceman realized that if he merely volunteered his services he would probably get turned away. So, on Wednesday the 12th he drove to New York City, parked his car about four miles from Ground Zero and walked to the site wearing his equipment. Meeting a supervisor, he asked some questions about where a unit was currently deployed and was allowed in, where he began work.
Having entered by the use of Old Boy guile, he worked 20 hour days from Wednesday to Sunday the 16th, when he returned home to his concerned wife. As you might expect, his stories told to me after rugby practice described a perfect hell on earth: the wreckage of tall buildings, a choking dust, great herds of rats crossing the streets at night, building collapse alarms, smouldering debris and the smell of death - everywhere. He also recounted stories of catching sleep in abandoned buildings and in chairs outdoors, until rained upon. There is much that the national media has not reported, and we can appreciate that one would have to actually be there to fully understand.
Iceman's supervisor encouraged him to take some photos of Ground Zero, to retain the image of the great destruction wrought upon New York City. I have scanned them and have provided an index; some of the photos are captioned by Iceman. It is my hope that these photos convey not only a sense of the wreckage of what was once a major center of commerce, but also of the heroism and determined work that Iceman and his co-workers displayed. We have known all along that there is great evil in the world, but these events prove that there is also selfless nobility, patriotism and public-spiritedness among Americans when the need arises.
We're proud of you, Iceman.
A Western Suburbs RFC Old Boy fullback, John "Iceman" Cooper, did something like that in response to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, when Muslim terrorists caused the destruction of the World Trade Center towers and part of the Pentagon. A trained rescue specialist, Iceman realized that if he merely volunteered his services he would probably get turned away. So, on Wednesday the 12th he drove to New York City, parked his car about four miles from Ground Zero and walked to the site wearing his equipment. Meeting a supervisor, he asked some questions about where a unit was currently deployed and was allowed in, where he began work.
Having entered by the use of Old Boy guile, he worked 20 hour days from Wednesday to Sunday the 16th, when he returned home to his concerned wife. As you might expect, his stories told to me after rugby practice described a perfect hell on earth: the wreckage of tall buildings, a choking dust, great herds of rats crossing the streets at night, building collapse alarms, smouldering debris and the smell of death - everywhere. He also recounted stories of catching sleep in abandoned buildings and in chairs outdoors, until rained upon. There is much that the national media has not reported, and we can appreciate that one would have to actually be there to fully understand.
Iceman's supervisor encouraged him to take some photos of Ground Zero, to retain the image of the great destruction wrought upon New York City. I have scanned them and have provided an index; some of the photos are captioned by Iceman. It is my hope that these photos convey not only a sense of the wreckage of what was once a major center of commerce, but also of the heroism and determined work that Iceman and his co-workers displayed. We have known all along that there is great evil in the world, but these events prove that there is also selfless nobility, patriotism and public-spiritedness among Americans when the need arises.
We're proud of you, Iceman.