William Jimeno

William Jimeno and John McLoughlin (http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0469641/01587.jpg)

Heroes can be really important, especially when you need a friend or just a companion to get you through life. Everyone has at least one hero in some way, shape, or form. Heroes are people who help you when you need it, comfort you when you’re down, and inspire you constantly. The best way to find a hero is to ask yourself does that person care about me? Is that person someone I would like to model my life after? Will that person think of others before her or himself? In order to be a hero the answers to all these questions should be yes.

One hero that I find inspiring is William Jimeno. He is one of the survivors that was dug out of the rubble on September 11, 2001. Will was a Port Authority police officer with a wife (who was pregnant at the time) and a young daughter. Even though it seemed like a regular day, he had no way of knowing that that day would change his life and the lives of others forever. When the planes hit the World Trade Center he was sent down to the scene with John McLoughlin and other officers to help evacuate people from the building. William and John volunteered to go into the tower right after it was hit by a jet plane. Although he was afraid, he only had one thought: save the people.

No one thought that the tower would come down after it was hit. As Jimeno and McLoughlin walked though the basement level of the tower they heard and felt a sudden shake. Then, everything started to collapse around them. “Run!” John shouted. They ran for the elevator shaft but both got buried before they could even reach the door. Jimeno at first couldn’t feel or see anything. He then felt the almost unbearable pain. As his eyes adjusted he found a slab of cement from the building lay flat on him from his chest to his feet. With a raspy voice, William called out to his boss, John, and asked if he was all right. In a very faint voice, he replied that he couldn’t move but was ok for now. For hours, they talked and tried to keep each other from falling asleep. They also kept telling each other, “If you don’t make it, I won’t make it”. As the hours passed, Will started to doze off. He then had a vision of Jesus with a bottle of water which He offered to him. He was tempted go to Him, and find peace, but once again he thought of his wife and family and his friend John. He then woke up to flashlights shining in his face from high above the rubble over head.

Both Will and John were rescued that night by Dave Karnes. Dave was an ex- marine from Wilton, Connecticut that had left work after seeing the towers fall. After much prayer, he went to the World Trade Center, to help with recovery and was the one who found Will and John twenty feet below the surface of rubble. They had been trapped down there for roughly nine hours but it took four hours to free Will and eight hours to free John because he was further down than William. They almost had to amputate Will’s leg to free him but fortunately, didn’t have to. Will had eight surgeries in thirteen days and John was put into a medically-induced coma for six weeks to allow for twenty-seven surgeries. They are now retired from active duty and live with their families in New York and New Jersey.

I think William Jimeno is a true hero because he showed bravery, perseverance, and selflessness by going into that building and risking his life. Two thousand seven hundred forty-nine people died that day. Three hundred forty-three were New York City firemen, eighty-four were Port Authority employees of whom thirty-seven were police, and another twenty-three were New York City police. Only twenty people were pulled out of the rubble alive. John and Will were the very last ones they found. There were hundreds of heroes that day but I chose William Jimeno as my hero because it took a great deal of courage to survive in that condition. His physical and emotional recovery inspired me as well and is something that I will never forget.