kept them.” Asked when things began to feel like the worst might be behind him, White said, “When human remains were found, they were put in a red bag. When the last red bag was taken out of there, that felt like hope. When the funerals stopped, it began to feel like the end of this tragic time might be over. There were two to three funerals a week, with most of those being for multiple people. It felt like the funerals would never end. It was unimaginable, that grief.” Today and every day, we remember that catastrophic tragedy. We celebrate the resilience of our first responders, our nation and our communities. We believe in the hope of a better tomorrow. Never forget. months that followed, I never got used to the smell.” White recalled it taking a few days to get a routine going before eventually having an actual system to the madness. Vehicle checkpoints were in place, and construction crews were sifting through the rubble while the assembly line of buckets filled with debris were passed along and meticulously sorted through. “You have to remember,” White explained, “this was a crime scene. Every piece of that pile had the potential to be a clue. Whenever the remains of a first responder were found, a whistle blew and the relentless drone of the construction noise halted. Silence followed – until the body was extracted and removed. Then a second whistle would blow, and everyone would get right back to work. It was like flipping a switch. Even the construction workers stood silent, hands over hearts, until the second whistle and we’d all go straight back to the work and the noise, the fire. That fire never went out. If it did go out it would get reignited very quickly from the construction trucks and equipment scraping against some remnant.” There was such an abundance of volunteers, supplies and donations that in the weeks following the tragedy, volunteers were being turned away. White recalled, “The supply donations were overwhelming. Help was coming from all over the country. People were being so kind. The sense of community and the acts of kindness – like driving on the West Side Highway and people holding up posters and banners thanking us, the police officers! We worked 12-hour shifts with no days off for months. The restaurants were not open for business, but they fed us. First responders, sitting in a five-star restaurant day after day, eating in these amazing restaurants because the owners wanted to express their gratitude for the work we were doing.” The seemingly never-ending work continued for months with Thomas and Mindy working opposite 12-hour shifts. The aftermath of 9/11 brought one sorrowful moment after another. White recalled, “People, family members, would come up to us and ask if we’d seen their loved one. I always told them I’d keep an eye out, and I also always took the flyer. There were so many flyers of missing people. I’d fold it up, put it in my pocket and when I got home at night, I’d unfold them and place them on the table. It felt disrespectful to throw them out, so I just 13 IslandVibesIOP.com FEATURE From Page 12. Sgts. Thomas and Mindy White Book your Spring Family Session, Today! E-mail Rachel Basye at cooperriverphotography@gmail.com. Timeless Family Moments, Framed by the Beauty of the Island! FOR MORE, VISIT COOPERRIVERPHOTOGRAPHY.COM WWW.IOPESCAPES.COM 843.456.4606 IOP ESCAPES IOP ESCAPES DRIFTWOOD DREAMS | 105 FOREST TRAIL 5 BED | 4.5 BATH LUXURY CHEF KITCHEN PRIVATE POOL & PUTTING GREEN NewListing! NewListing!
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