CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — For Chuck Wehrli, firefighting is in his DNA.
"I'm a fourth generation firefighter. I'm retired now, captain. When I retired, I was a volunteer for six years, full time for 29," he said.
Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, after he learned of the terror attacks, he jumped in the car, drove to Missouri and before he knew it, he was on board a C-130 on the way to New York City.
"I was driving up to Arlington Heights fire academy to teach a class, I called my task force in Missouri not even thinking we'd go. An hour later, they paged me and told me they needed me to go down there. No question I was on the way," he recalled.
Wehrli was at Ground Zero for 10 days to oversee 35 rescuers, including structural engineers, rescue specialists, canine specialists, and medical personnel, after the Twin Towers fell.
"We landed in New Jersey the next morning. We were shuttled over to the Javits Center to set up our operations," he recalled. "We were hoping to find someone alive. We went underground, we went down five levels in the parking garage. All the cars were burned up. Walking in there, seeing the 16 acres of destruction, it was overwhelming. It was like a movie set, that's how I can explain it."
Even though everyone wore respirators, toxins were all around him.
“Sixty-something chemicals in the dust. Since that time, over 500 fireman and policemen from New York died from the dust, 5,000 others in the last 20 years,” Wehrli said.
In 2012, Wehrli was diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer. Later, he would learn it was aggravated by his work at Ground Zero.
"We didn't realize at the time, with all the cancer causing dust in there, we were all wearing respirators, but we were also breathing in people," he paused. "I never thought about that until a couple of years ago, but there were people in that dust because they were all pulverized."
Wehrli had visited New York City several years earlier and rode with the FDNY Rescue 1 crew. While he was there, he would find and mourn friends he met back then.
"Seven years ago, when I was in New York City, I met a guy from Rescue 1, I got to ride with them during my visit. The guy, Joe Angelini Senior, gave me his firefighter patch, he ripped it off his shirt and gave it to me. I treasured that patch. Fast forward to 2001, I was at Ground Zero. I saw a body that was recovered, just bagged. I saw three rescuers and I offered to help. I lifted up the bag. I found out later that that was Joe Angelini Senior who gave me that patch. He and his son both died there. The hardest part was seeing the policemen and firemen who survived, walking around looking for their sons, brothers, and friends," Wehrli said.
That day, 343 New York City firefighters died doing their job. Additionally, 37 police officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department and 23 police officers of the New York City Police Department also died.
After 9/11, Wehri spent many years traveling the country teaching Incident Command classes for the National Fire Academy and talking to Naperville high school students about his experience at Ground Zero, but he said those high school speaking engagements have dried up.
"I used to speak to high schools all the time. Now, I barely get any requests anymore. The world has changed. It really has in the last 20 years. I don't want this to be forgotten," he shakes his head.
The retired fire captain said he will continue telling his story to anyone who will listen and on this 20-year anniversary, he said it's up to the next generation to keep the memory of that day alive.
"We used to be united, rooting for this country. It's not that way anymore. This day needs to stay in the history books. They talk about the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, all that. This has gotta be included. This is the worst attack in this country. We can't forget," Wehrli said.
Wehrli said September 11, 2001 will always be a part of who he is, and despite his cancer, and the gruesome images burned into his brain, he said he wouldn't change a thing about how he and his colleagues responded and reacted that day.
"We'd all go back in a minute. We'd go back right now if we had to," he said.
Related
