By Keith Herbert
Newsday (New York)
NEW YORK — The calendar says Christmas, a time of giving. But these Long Island residents give their time and experience for free, all year long.
They say their acts of giving at Ground Zero allow them to enjoy a feeling that’s linked with holiday gifting; the realization that it’s better to give than to receive.
Take retired firefighter Daniel Williams of Bellmore. As a volunteer, he leads tourists around the perimeter of Ground Zero, where on Sept. 11, 2001, he lost two men under his command.
Talking about what he witnessed, and survived, helps him come to terms with Sept. 11. “There’s catharsis going on,” Williams said.
He is one of about 240 tour guides with Tribute WTC Visitor Center. As a guide, he leads groups of 20 people around the perimeter of Ground Zero, telling of his personal experiences during the terrorist attack. Nearly half of the guides, all volunteers, are from Long Island, according to Tribute Center staff.
Williams, who dove to the floor of a loading dock on West Street when the North Tower collapsed, admits that for a long time, he kept much of what he witnessed that day sequestered in his mind.
However, for the past year and a half, he’s been talking about his Sept. 11 experiences three or four times a month in front of dozens of people. “For a long time, I thought it was this post-traumatic stress disorder,” Williams said. “But, yeah, I must have been affected.”
The Tribute Center is across Liberty Street from Ground Zero, now a construction site where preparations for the Freedom Tower are ongoing. The Sept. 11 Families’ Association operates Tribute Center, a collection of artifacts and histories of the terrorist attack, and offers the tours to the public.
The Tribute Center averages about 1,700 daily visitors in the last three months. That’s up from an average of about 1,500 visitors, said Lee Ielpi, Tribute Center co-founder. Tribute Center’s goal is to educate the public with “person-to-person” stories told by those most affected by Sept. 11, said Ielpi, 64.
His son Jonathan, 29, a city firefighter, died at Ground Zero. “I cry every time I talk about my son,” said Ielpi, of Great Neck, who said he conducts two tours each week.
Fred Sager, 48, a volunteer firefighter from Great Neck, sifted through Ground Zero rubble after the attack looking for survivors. He found none. Last week, he guided a small tour group through the World Financial Center building. “It’s almost like a form of therapy,” he said. “It has the opposite effect of what it was like when I was coming down here digging. When I walk away, I’m hyped up. I feel great.”
Another former city firefighter, Tom O’Brien, 47, of Bellmore, give tours for Tribute Center. He says he experiences “survivor’s guilt” because on Sept. 11, 2001, he switched shifts with another firefighter, who died. He has an image of Ground Zero rubble tattooed on his left arm with the words “Never Forget.” “I feel I have to come down here,” said O’Brien, who retired two years ago. “It’s painful, but I’m proud of the fact that I can share it.”
Bryan Tello, 35, of Milwaukee, was part of a tour group lead by Sager. A full-time firefighter, Tello said he liked how the tour was “unscripted” and filled with personal stories.
On his hour-plus tour, Williams said he makes certain his message isn’t all bad. His favorite story is about a group from New Orleans who drove to New York to feed rescuers jambalaya. “I always try to end on a good note,” he said. “Yeah, it was bad. There are no words to describe it. But there was more good than bad.”
Copyright 2008 Newsday, Inc.