Story Behind the Story: Local 9/12/01 Photo at WTC Site

White Plains Fire Department shares image for the first time

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It was already evening on Sept. 12, 2001, after many hours of excruciating work at the World Trade Center site, when White Plains firefighter Pete Lasher discovered the intact body of a middle-aged Long Island woman inside the horrifying pile of burnt building and human remains. 

It’s important to the rescue workers there that day that we, in the general population, remain cognizant of the gruesome details.

Thanks to former Lieutenant John Donahoe, I was able this week to share the role the White Plains Fire Department played in the search efforts, including the incredible follow-up efforts of Pete’s brother to meet the family of the Long Island woman his unit discovered and excavated.  (Check out this link for my full article about a never-before-seen picture of the local contingent).

One of the most common questions we receive from readers involves how we hear about various local stories. And for whatever reason, the stories behind stories always seem to fascinate people. 

The genesis of this piece features a particularly gratifying beginning.

As many of you know, our motto is Small News Is Big News. So When Donahoe contacted us a few weeks ago, seeking coverage for a new, unique White Plains summer sports academy, it was a no-brainer, assuming we had a staff member available. 

Thankfully, Rick Pezzullo, one of our news editors, had time to report and write the piece, and it even cracked our Aug. 30 White Plains print cover. 

After seeing the newspaper article about the academy, Donahoe messaged us again, noting how the piece received “rave reviews” in the community. We earned his trust to share an important piece of his history, of our local history. Unsolicited, he emailed us a photo he’d never before shared with the public and asked if we could publish the now-historic image. 

For my generation, it’s tough to fully process the span of time that has passed since the wrenching moments captured in Donahoe’s photo.

When I was six-years-old, in 1984, I was just starting to vaguely learn about some 1963 assassination of a U.S. president.

The adults in our orbit discussed how they all remembered where they were when the earth-shaking news erupted in Dallas.

That must be how many young kids today absorb the 9/11 history, when learning it in school or at home. With the terror attacks now 21 years in the rearview, it’s the same length of time away as the JFK assassination was for me when I was starting elementary school.

When you’re little, the slaying of Lincoln and Kennedy are both just stories you learn about from the dusty olden days, with little to no sense of the timeline, even when your parents or grandparents can almost reach out and touch certain relatively recent history from their own past.

In fact, that general sentiment contributed to Donahoe’s decision to reach out to us, and by extension reach out to you, hoping to keep the history as present as possible in our hearts.

“I want my grandkids to understand,” he told me.

And, of course, your kids and grandkids.

In honoring the 9/11 anniversary today, here again is the link to my article, our website share of Donahoe’s historic local picture, and more on the story behind the image.

Donahoe now realizes — after so many years of keeping the picture and some stories private — that for future generations to truly never forget, he and his fellow first responders must actively share what they witnessed.

-Adam Stone is the founder and publisher of Examiner Media.

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