August 16, 2006
"I'm Going to Die, Aren't I?"
Almost five years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan, the release of 1,613 emergency calls made under that bright blue September sky are like ripping scars:
"Listen to me, ma'am," that operator told a panicky Melissa Doi during a 20-minute phone call. "You're not dying. You're in a bad situation, ma'am."A portion of Doi's end of the conversation was played for jurors in April at the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Doi asked the dispatcher.
"Ma'am, just stay calm for me, OK?" the dispatcher said. The conversation ended with the operator trying vainly to speak with Doi, a financial manager for IQ Financial Systems: "Not dead, not dead," the operator said to no response. "They sound like deep sleep."
The phone line cut out. Doi never made it out of the World Trade Center.
"Oh, my lord," said the operator, whose words to Doi were previously not made public.
At Hot Air, AllahPundit managed to listen to about 90 seconds of Doi's 24-minute call before he had enough.
I admire him for getting as far as he did.
5 years and STILL no capture of OSAMA BIN LADEN. How will these families EVER have closure if he is never brought back to New York for trial and execution?
Posted by: Mike Meyer at August 16, 2006 06:25 PMHow long did it take to find Eric Rudolph? How long did it take to find the Unabomber? They were in the US... Finding Osama is a bit more difficult. Back to the topic - I don't know how anyone could listen to more than a few seconds of those tapes. I heard bits on the news, and that was enough.
Posted by: Baldy at August 16, 2006 07:40 PMThose 911 operators are some of the true unsung heroes of that day... talking with those people through the last moments of their lives... God bless them. I'm sure many of them needed counseling afterward. I know I would have.
Listening to even the briefest of tidbits of these 911 calls has served to rekindle some of the hotness of my anger and resolve against the Islamofascists who did this to us.
Posted by: GradualDazzle at August 16, 2006 08:51 PMYeah, I guess you're right, we'll just have to wait until he sends his manifesto to the Washington Post, or we catch him dumpster diving.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at August 16, 2006 10:35 PMMy God, what kind of subhuman would see the comments on THIS post as nothing more than an opportunity to spew puerile anti-Bush talking points?
Posted by: zara at August 19, 2006 10:35 PM
