Gunnery Sgt. Krystofer M. Rivers, 31 — Brooklyn, New

Gunnery Sgt. Krystofer M. Rivers, 31 — Brooklyn, New York

Growing up, I could see the Manhattan skyline from my room.

Every night, I’d pull the window all the way up and stare out at the skyline until I’d fall asleep. The twin towers were the only two buildings you could clearly distinguish. They were my focal point. I could see them from my bed, or when I was outside playing. I would just stare at the towers for hours on end. Whether I was thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, or even when I was just pissed off at the world. They were always there.

On September 11th, I was a junior in high school. From my school you could see all of Manhattan. Someone came in and told the teacher that one of the towers had gotten hit, so naturally we all turned around and looked and we saw all the smoke.

We were just sitting there staring for what felt like three hours, but it was probably about 15 minutes. TVs on carts were getting wheeled into the classrooms, and no one really knows what’s going on. We’re sitting there staring at the skyline, and then, the second plane hits the south tower.

You see it, but it’s not real to you. You don’t really get the gravity of what was happening.

The smoke started falling and all of Manhattan disappeared. Police started locking down schools, public transit, the shuttle. All of the students are starting to go crazy thinking of their family members at home, there’s people running in the hallways. “My dad’s in there, I can’t get in contact with him!”

Everybody knew someone that was in there or worked down the road.

My father worked in the city, and when he got home, he was just covered in this soot. He had on a blue suit and it was just covered, his face was wiped clear. You could tell he tried to clean himself off.

This haze covered the city for two days. You couldn’t really see the sun.

Being able to do something that could help all of my friends who lost someone or all of my family members, it definitely played a part in my joining the military.

Enjoy your life. Don’t waste any moments with the people you love, because it’s an ugly world out there and we never know when something could happen again. I just woke up and went to school, never thinking that anything was going to happen.

No one ever thinks they’re going to be at ground zero.

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09/09/2016

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