From cadet to first responder in six hours

REMEBMER 9/11 | TESTIMONY

On the morning of 9/11, I was among the brand–new cadets at the Salvation Army’s College for Officer Training (CFOT). We had finished the morning chapel service and were on our way to the lecture hall when we heard that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.

Administration canceled classes for the day. A group of us decided to walk over to the Good Samaritan Hospital to see about donating blood. The lines were too long, so we planned to go back in the afternoon.

Upon returning to the CFOT, we were told that The Salvation Army was looking for cadets to help at Ground Zero. We were told to wear epauleted shirts, caps, and good sneakers or boots.

By 4 p.m., we had three, 15–passenger vans full of cadets from the Believers and Crossbearers sessions. The vans followed a canteen truck down the Palisades Parkway and into New York City.

However, when we reached New Jersey, the state police had stopped traffic. Large dump trucks served as highway barriers on the parkway. Only emergency personnel were allowed onto the George Washington Bridge into the city. So, they let us through.

When we got to the bridge, military personnel blocked everyone but emergency responders from entering Manhattan. Again, they let us through.

It was strange to see all the traffic on the bridge as it exited Manhattan, but see only us go in.

While on the bridge, we could look right down the Hudson River and see the large plume of smoke rise from the lower Manhattan skyline.

We got as far as we could on the West Side Highway before a barricade stopped us, just past Canal Street. That day, our first action as EDS workers was to unload a large trailer truck of bottled water.

When that was done, we grabbed a case of water as instructed and walked towards the smoke until we found one of several Salvation Army vehicles that were scattered around the World Trade Center site.

Cadet Dan Brunelle helps operate a canteen two blocks from Ground Zero.

A few of us found a Salvation Army canteen about two blocks up from the World Trade Center on West Street. Their crew had been there since the morning. We relieved them and, for the next five days from 4 p.m. to midnight, we served until The Salvation Army could mobilize forces to replace the cadets.

For these first few days, it was a rescue mission. We saw hundreds of firefighters and first responders march in formation past our canteen down West Street towards the smoldering ruins in an effort to find survivors.

Many hours later, we saw them struggle back up the same street. Dust, exhaustion, and shock covered their faces. We were humbled to offer them something to drink, something to eat, and a place to stop and sit and begin to process what they just experienced.

At the end of our shift, around midnight, our 15–passenger vans returned to pick us up and take us back to the CFOT. As we traveled towards the West Side Highway, hundreds of residents formed a line on West Street. They held lights, candles, and signs, and they cheered. It made me emotional to see people offer encouragement and gratitude to us.

During the first five days, we saw The Salvation Army in action. What started as a rush of available responders and assets turned into an organized response. As a cadet in my first deployment for EDS, it amazed me that the police and fire and military personnel let anyone in a Salvation Army uniform through their blockades and checkpoints. It made an impression on me to see the power of the Army’s reputation.

Many of us worked on canteen trucks, some of us worked in the morgue, and a few of us went on top of the rubble to help search and rescue. After five days, our deployment was over. The Believers and the Crossbearers went back to college.

The big welcome ceremony planned for my session was canceled. Instead, we had an intimate ceremony in the college gymnasium. As we marched in, the band played “America the Beautiful.” My tears flowed.

Our session pin has a blue figure of a Salvation Army soldier who faces an American flag. His raised hand holds a Bible. A white EDS hard hat is on his head. It replaces the traditional Salvation Army cap, in order to commemorate our deployment to Ground Zero.

Psalm 34: 18 states, “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” The experiences of 9/11 showed me in real life that this is true.

by DAN BRUNELLE