Captain Brink of WTFD visits Allentown High School to talk about 9-11-01
Story by: Cynthia Koons, Staff Writer, Messenger Press
http://www.messengerpress.com
ALLENTOWN
— They wanted to know what it looked like, what it felt like and what we will
have learned from it 10 to 20 years down the road.
"I don't even have words to explain how bad it was when we got there," Capt.
Kevin Brink of the Washington Township Fire Department told high school students
on Monday at an assembly commemorating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"We went up the New Jersey Turnpike and there wasn't a car on it," Capt.
Brink said of his drive to New York as part of emergency response crews. "It was
an extremely eerie feeling — and then to get up to the airport and there wasn't
any noise.
"All we could see was that big black column from New York getting bigger and
bigger."
When Capt. Brink began work at Ground Zero, he was equipped with three days
worth of necessities. As the days progressed, volunteer groups arrived to
replenish supplies and feed the crews, creating a support system that U.S. Rep.
Chris Smith, R-N.J., said captured the essence of Sept. 11.
"Nine-eleven has brought out the best in America," said Mr. Smith, who also
addressed students at the assembly. "It united people in ways unprecedented.
"How many people did you hear say how awestruck they were when they were
going out of the building, at the firefighters going up into the building?" Mr.
Smith said.
Capt. Brink said his work at Ground Zero was motivated by the hope of
bringing closure to the victim's families.
"Some of the things that we faced when we were down there were very
emotional, knowing we had family back home," he said.
He was working underground, as far as seven stories below to where the trains
stopped, in search of victims.
"The unknown is a big problem," he said. "There are so many people that were
not able to move forward."
For women who lost husbands, moving on has meant a number of things, Mr.
Smith said. Some have become more politically active in an attempt to keep 9/11
at the forefront and push for greater accountability when dealing with terrorist
threats.
"They've channeled much of their grief to try and make sure this doesn't
happen again," he said.
"The war on terrorism, it may take years, it will be won," he said.
In looking toward the future, Mr. Smith said America will have a different
perspective on terrorism than the view held today.
"The legacy 10 to 20 years from now is that this cancer in the world has been
done away with."
News and happenings from Allentown High School
By: Pamela Koharchik
http://www.messengerpress.com
For the
rest of their lives, Allentown High School will be the common denominator of
those students who were here when last year's 9/11 attack occurred. Just like
the assassination of JFK, they will vividly remember where they were as the
events unfolded.
AHS remembered the events of 9/11 in an assembly held Monday in the
auditorium. The guests included (from left) members of the Hope Fire Company,
Upper Freehold Township Mayor David Horsnall and speakers Capt. Kevin Brink and
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith.
Capt. Brink is a paid firefighter in Washington Township, the chief of East
Windsor Fire Co. No.1 and a rescue specialist for the New Jersey Task Force
1-Urban Search and Rescue. Capt. Brink was dispatched as soon as the first tower
was hit at the World Trade Center, and then spent the next 10 days and nights
doing rescue-and-recovery missions. Capt. Brink spoke to the student body of his
role in the mission, about how it was mass chaos for hours, and how the citizens
of the United States came through with supplies, food and love when the rescuers
needed it most.
He emphasized how important it was for him to bring closure to those family
members who were waiting for definitive word on their loved ones, especially
because he, too, was cut off from communicating to his own family almost as soon
as he was dispatched to the then unknown situation. The ride into NYC was
described as eerie — no planes flying, no traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike;
only two burning towers, whose black smoke was growing by the minute. For 10
days he rescued no survivors, but recovered what little was left of those caught
in the tragedy.
Mr. Smith, a Robbinsville resident who is a graduate of Trenton State College
and father of four, has been an elected congressman for 10 terms, having been
elected first in 1980 when he was only 27 years old. After expressing his
condolences to the students over the loss of junior Nadia Zendacki — who died
recently as the result of a car accident — Mr. Smith told the student body where
he was when he heard about the tragedy (Washington, D.C.) and how his thoughts
turned to his brother, Tom, who is an American Airlines pilot sometimes assigned
to the Boston route.
He spoke of the heroism displayed by the emergency workers and of Rick
Rescoria, head of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter and a decorated
Vietnam hero who figured prominently in the memoir "We Were Soldiers Once." Mr.
Rescoria saved 2,000 employees before losing his own life when the buildings
fell. Mr. Smith also highlighted the strength of the widows of 9/11, and how
their grief has turned into demands of accountability for the tragedy.
Most importantly, he impressed upon the student body the need for "caring and
citizenship," the 2002-03 school theme. Volunteerism is important both in the
community and within the school, because bonds are what get people through
tragedies like these, he said.
In a question-and-answer period, Mr. Smith said reconciliation is needed,
although we must aggressively go after organizations responsible for terrorism
in the world. Part of that process is to help rid the world of poverty and
pestilence. He would like to see a perpetual memorial placed at Ground Zero,
rather than another target for aggression.
At the conclusion of the assembly, Principal Chris Nagy presented Capt. Brink
and Mr. Smith with AHS pennants, coaching T-shirts and varsity letters.