NY firefighter, OU alumnus says thanks

Editor,

As a 1973 graduate of Ohio University and a chief with the New York City Fire Department, EMS Command, I read with great interest Ohio Today's coverage of the events of Sept. 11. While the events were the most devastating in New York’s history, the public support from all over the globe gave us great strength and renewed our faith in our fellow man.

Possessed with the (over)confidence that we can handle anything, New Yorkers are relatively incompetent at asking for assistance. But even without asking for it, help came in all forms — from children's posters and counseling services to fire trucks, immediately following the disaster, and for months following. From the first day, no one in uniform could turn around without being offered something to drink or eat or given a clean pair of socks (shifts frequently lasted well longer than 24 hours at the site).

If no one has yet thanked the 57 students from Ohio University and Ohio State University who volunteered their assistance, I would like to take the opportunity to do that now. We could not have survived without you.

New York already is well on its way toward physical recovery. Emotional recovery might take a while longer.

–Jim Martin, BFA '73
New York City