Retired NYPD detective recalls 9/11 attack at Carthage VFW

Sep. 11—CARTHAGE, Mo. — On Saturday, James Hand, a retired New York City police detective, spoke to a crowd at the Carthage VFW about his experiences responding to the 9/11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people.

It is the deadliest terrorist attack in history, and among the victims are 320 firefighters and 72 law-enforcement officers. Many present at the attacks or afterward, including numerous first responders, suffer long-term health consequences to this date.

Hand was at Carthage VFW Post 2590 to observe the 21st anniversary of the attack, having been invited by Michael Juris, post commander, to talk about his time serving that day and in the months that followed.

"We don't want anyone to forget why we're here," Juris said. "Vets don't forget. People need to remember there's a lot of people who passed away. It's also about our brothers and sisters who might not have died that day, but have still passed away. It's tragic, and it's still going on with everyone who has health problems from that day."

Hand served in the U.S. Navy 40 years ago with Juris, and they have kept in touch. Hand said he was a bit surprised when he got the call from Juris inviting him to Carthage.

"I was honored Mike asked me to come talk today," Hand said. "I have never really talked about 9/11 too much, not even with my family. This is going to be the first time I've ever discussed in real detail what happened that day. I hope I can keep a straight, level voice when I'm talking up there."

As a kid, Hand said his mom worked at the World Trade Center, and he delivered food there when he was 12 years old. He remembers taking the high speed elevators up the towers, and how his stomach would drop as the cars climbed the floors. Hand also responded to the first World Trade Center Bombing in 1993, helping people escape from the site.

"It seems like yesterday, but it also seems like a long time ago," Hand said of the attack.

'There comes a roar'

On that day, Hand responded as part of a rapid mobilization call after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, when it was first thought to be an accident. As he was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to the towers, the second plane hit, and it became apparent that this was a planned attack. Hand responded to the World Trade Center with his squad, helping evacuate people.

"I don't remember how many minutes, how many seconds everything took after that," Hand said. "We could hear the metal from the building twisting in the wind. All of the sudden, from the building there comes a roar — a roar that I'll never forget. The building starts to collapse, and all you heard was 'Run.' "

Hand ran clear of the collapsing wreckage and took shelter in a doorway. Covered head to toe in dust, he said he and his squad worked at the site until about 2 a.m. before being relieved. Hand said he lost two close friends from his precinct that day, killed together in the subway collapse when the towers fell.

After Sept. 11, Hand was assigned to the morgue for a month and a half to identify bodies through DNA. He described 9/11 as the largest crime scene in history, reaching over three different states. People like Hand had to investigate and identify the victims, and he remembers standing by as they brought in the remains from Ground Zero, saluting if the person was a member of the service, firefighter or law enforcement.

"After the rescue and recovery, the most important thing became to identify people," Hand said. "As a family member, you never want to not know. Everyone wants closure, and we tried to give that to them."

These things have stuck with Hand 21 years later, he said: the sparks flying into the night sky from a welder cutting down the last of the metal facade of the World Trade Center; the bags and the shoes all left behind in the rush to escape the towers; and the smell for months afterward from the decaying bodies at the site.

"Did it get to me? It obviously did, the smell, the bone fragments that we had to voucher and treat as a crime scene," Hand said. "It was disturbing and I really didn't want to discuss that. But people told me to be honest up here and tell them exactly what I did."

Toll still climbing

Hand also said he has many friends who worked at Ground Zero who now have cancer. He said his best friend had a kidney removed from cancer after serving every day at the site.

"You want to know something? I don't even know the exact number of how many people perished that day," Hand said. "I've never really looked that up. All I can say is probably times that number by three, with how many people have gotten sick afterwards. I know the true number is so much more. It's not a one-day total of what we lost, it's a continuum."

Hand said he wants to make sure people remember every hero of Sept. 11, not just first responders but ordinary citizens too. For instance, over the years he's been told about a man in a red bandanna who became known for saving people. Welles Crowther, an equities trader and volunteer firefighter, saved 18 people on Sept. 11 before losing his life.

"It wasn't only the police and firemen, there were hundreds of heroes that we'll probably never know," Hand said. "I want to make sure those people are remembered as well. The only difference between us and a civilian is that we're supposed to run toward danger, they're supposed to run away from danger. Some guys didn't, and they made the ultimate sacrifice as well."

Other events

Other events marking 9/11 include:

—Pittsburg State University ROTC cadets firing a cannon at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:37 a.m. and 10:03 a.m. Sunday to mark the crashing of each hijacked airliner. Cadets will also do a pushup for every casualty. The event will take place at the northwest corner of Carnie Smith Stadium at PSU, and is open to the public.

—Joplin VFW Post 534 will hold a reading of the victims' names from the attacks at 110 Veterans Way in Joplin.

—The Baxter Springs Fire Department Auxiliary will host a stair climb to honor the firefighters and law enforcement officers who lost their lives that day. The first round begins at 8:46 a.m. It will be held at the the Twenty Four Elite 24-hour Gym at 530 South Northpark Lane in Joplin.