The incredible story of Sergeant Jason Thomas, a retired Marine who put on his old uniform and raced to the Twin Towers on September 11th to help search for survivors.
Thomas, who had been out of the Marine Corps for about a year, was dropping his daughter off at his mother's Long Island home on the morning of 9/11 when she told him planes had struck the Twin Towers.
He retrieved his Marine uniform, then sped to Manhattan and parked his car when one of the towers collapsed. Thomas headed directly into the fallen rubble and cloud of ash.
"Someone needed help. It didn't matter who," he said. "I didn't even have a plan. But I have all this training as a Marine, and all I could think was my city is in need."
Thomas ran into another former Marine, Staff Sergeant David Karnes (who was also wearing his uniform), and together the pair searched for survivors. Carrying little more than flashlights and an infantryman's shovel, they climbed the mountain of twisted structure, skirting dangerous crevasses and shards of hot metal, calling out for anyone in need.
It was dark before they heard a response from two fallen police officers that were pinned under the debris. The two Marines crawled into a deep pit to find officers McLoughlin and Jimeno, injured but alive.
Thomas returned to Ground Zero every day for another 2 1/2 weeks to help in any way he could. His identity remained a mystery until Oliver Stone’s 2006 film “World Trade Center” chronicled the rescue of the officers, and finally Thomas stepped forward.
After 9 days of helping at Ground Zero, Sergeant David Karnes returned to Connecticut, and reenlisted. Later he served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Never forget 🇺🇸