Copyright © 2001 NY Daily News
NY Daily News, November 23, 2001
No Holiday at WTC Site
Recovery Crews Stay on Grim Job
By Greg Gittrich Daily News Staff Writer
The day began like almost every other one since Sept. 11.
Gregg Nolan, a heavy-machine operator, got out of bed at 4:30a.m., grabbed his gear and got into his truck. But he didn't go to Ground Zero alone.
"My wife and daughter came with me so we could spend Thanksgiving together," Nolan said, standing near a memorial for firefighters and cops who died in the terrorist attacks.
"Everyone would like to have the day off," said Nolan, 46. "But this is something we need to do."
When Mayor Giuliani announced that the around-the-clock recovery effort at the World Trade Center wreckage would not stop for Thanksgiving, scores of firefighters, cops and construction workers stepped forward for holiday duty.
Overnight, four bodies were pulled from the still-smoldering piles of debris. The body of Firefighter John Burnside of Ladder Co. 20 in SoHo was found yesterday morning, a Fire Department spokesman said.
Burnside, 36, was a police officer for two years before joining the FDNY seven years ago. His family held a memorial service for him last week.
More than 3,300 people are still missing.
"Today's the day you really hope you can find someone, to find a way to give back to the families," said firefighter Michael Crowell, who spent his holiday digging for remains.
While most of the cranes stood still yesterday, heavy grapplers and excavators heaved across the jagged landscape clearing concrete and steel.
Around noon, some workers paused to eat a Thanksgiving meal at an American Red Cross center in the Marriott Financial Center Hotel on West St., which is still closed to the public for repairs.
Up a curving staircase decorated with greeting cards from students in Corona, Queens, and Readfield, Wis., cops, firefighters and engineers sat under chandeliers, eating turkey off disposable plates some of them served by the mayor.
"Is that too much?'" Giuliani asked, spooning stuffing onto Police Lt. David Rosen's plate.
A more seasoned server on the line, Julie Jakolat, knew the answer. "You can never have too much stuffing," she said.
Four blocks up West St., past the charred skeleton of the World Trade Center's north tower, Police Officer Elba Henriquez, 25, sat alone in an NYPD van.
Balanced on her lap was a plate piled with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries and carrots.
"My son is probably stuffing his face right now," Henriquez said. "But I'm having a pretty good day. I've got food, and it's sunny."
"I just hope they keep finding more people."
All around Ground Zero, there were more than enough people willing to lend a hand yesterday. But come today, Steve Rosenthal, executive director of Cross-Cultural Solutions, which coordinates volunteers for many charitable agencies at the disaster site, said he will be desperate for help.
"We went from turning people away to having a real need for volunteers," Rosenthal said. "We are putting out the call. We need help."
©2007 Cross-Cultural Solutions. All Rights Reserved.
