Witness to Tragedy
By Ricky Flores
Staff Photograher,
The Journal News
December, 2001
I replay the events on 9/11 over and over again in my mind. I
remember the phone call from my wife telling me something was
going on at the World Trade Center and that I better turn on
the TV. I remember the shock as I watch the smoke bellowing
out of the towers and how that second plane made its way into
the shot just before it hit the second tower. Bits and pieces
came out of the dust that I haven't stop to consider since that
day. I clearly remember the horrifying broadcast from 1010 WINS
of a woman who had a view of the Twin Towers from her window
and the absolute horror in her voice and she describe the collapse
of the first building.
I was on the Bronx-Manhattan bridge crossing trying to get past
cops who were redirecting traffic away from Manhattan when the
first tower fell. I finally found one who let me pass and as the
second building fell and overwhelming sense of despair and shock
began to set in. Around Canal Street NYPD had already begun to
setup some sort of perimeter to the site.
I was able to park and find a way in. I remember the utter chaos
around the perimeter, with a host of emergency vehicles making
it's way down towards the World Trade Center. I also remember that
past that point somewhere between that perimeter and the actual
site that the streets were completely empty and silent and covered
with this chalky white dust.
As I got closer the dust got higher and was mixed with office
paper. On the floor I noticed a logo of a butterfly -- the logo
of Empire Blue Cross / Blue Shield, where my wife worked. I broke
down and started crying. In a mere 24 hours she would have been
in that building and could have very well perished with all the
others.
Through the debris and the choking dust that seemed to permeate
every expose part of you body you can seen individuals walking
from the scene, a lone firefighter, a cop, or a nameless person
and that overwhelming silence dominating everything. As I got closer
the noise would get louder, most particularly the noise of firefighters'
motion alarms that go off when they're not moving. I would hear
an occasional car, store or building alarm in the background, always
in the background.
 At the scene, it didn't matter if you were a hardened street cop
or a veteran of the fire department or EMS, a hardcore photojournalist,
or someone who was there just to help -- there was a look of shock
and disbelief on every face. I was overcome with a brutal sadness
and rage as I took in the devastation before me.
I remember thinking that I'd better shoot -- shoot anything --
just so I could try to work past the overwhelming despair that
seemed to be choking me. I knew then somehow that what had happened
was beyond anything that I have covered in the past, beyond anything
that anyone has ever covered at all.
When I took the photo of the Firefighters raising the flag in
front of the World Financial Center from a second floor window,
it felt like it was the bare glimmer from the rescue workers that
they were beginning to get a grasp and a comprehension of what
had taken place. I knew that what I saw was different from everything
else that I saw that day, but if you had asked me if it was the
most significant that day, I would not have been a been able to
give you an answer. I called the office and gave a description
of all the images that I shot that day and I remember that my editor
fixated on my description of the flag picture. I felt annoyance
and just plain numb to give him a coherent answer.
Once back at the office they were pushing to see this one image.
An image that, in my mind, was just a small part of the story.
My laptop was soon surrounded by a large grouping of writers, photographers,
designers and editors as they began to see my photos for the first
time. I sat there feeling ambivalent and overwhelmed by their response.
They saw something that at the time, actually for several days
afterwards, I could not see.
The response since then has been overwhelming. What brought it
home to me was a phone call from a recently retired NYPD officer
from Florida who just wanted to express her appreciation for the
photo. That was quickly followed up from a Oklahoma City Firefighter
who did the same. In the ensuing days we have received calls from
around the country wanting to purchase or just express their thanks
for our coverage of that horrific day. I'm just simply a witness,
a modern day bard if you will, testifying to the bravery of simple
men and women, of flesh and bone, rising to an extraordinary challenge
and giving the very best of themselves. I simply documented the
tomb of others who died needlessly at the hands of a cowardly band
of men. This I did so that my children and all those that follow
our generation will hopefully never have to experience this in
their lifetime.
Source:
http://www.skfriends.com/wtc-firefighters-raising-flag-flores.htm#Schulte
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