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One of West Reading's firefighters, Jim DeAntonio, was interviewed by the Reading Eagle about his decision to become a volunteer firefighter and the events that followed. That interview was printed on Wednesday, October 9, 2002, during Fire Prevention Week. Click on the image of the article at left to see an enlarged, readable version. Use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.

September 11, 2001 WE WILL NEVER FORGET Terrorists attacked two targets of great significance to the United States; the Pentagon, headquarters building for the entire US Military, and the "Twin Towers" of the World Trade Center in New York City, home to many influential corporations and symbol of the free enterprise system on which our country was founded. Over 2,000 civilians, 343 New York firefighters and over 30 officers of the NYPD and NY/NJ Port Authority PD died in New York. Over 120 civilian and military personnel were killed at the Pentagon. The terrorists' weapons of choice were airliners. Jumbo jets bound for distant destinations, fully loaded with fuel for their long trips and carrying innocent passengers and crewmembers, were hijacked. The terrorists took over flying the jets themselves, probably after killing the pilots, and crashed one into each of the two towers and one into the Pentagon. A fourth jet, Flight 93, creashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Phone calls made from that flight indicated that it, too, had been hikacked, but the passengers and crew decided to fight back against their captors. They paid the ultimate price, but may have prevented an even greater tragedy. It is believed that jet was intended to be crashed into another target in Washington, D.C., possibly the White House or the Capitol building. A few hours after the two jets were crashed into the twin towers, both buildings collapsed. Over 300 New York firefighters, plus officers of the New York Police Department and the Port Authority Police Department, were inside those buildings rescuing as many innocent victims as they could, when the collapses happened. (The buildings wre owned by New York's Part Authority.) Two of the tallest, proudest structures in the world were reduced to rubble. A total of over 3,000 people were killed in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the crash of Flight 93.

Investigations revealed that Osama Bin Laden, a career terrorist and leader of the Al Qaida terrorist network, was the mastermind of the attacks. Bin Laden's base of operations was discovered to be in Afghanistan, an Asian nation controlled by a cruel totalitarian regime known as the Taliban. With the aid of some troops from other nations, the American military attacked Afghanistan. After some time, the Taliban was removed from power and replaced by an interim Afghani government which would be democratically elected in the future. The Al Qaida terrorist network suffered major disruptions of its operations and losses of its most valuable leaders. Unfortunately, as of April 6, 2004, Osama Bin Laden has still not been found, and American troops in Afghanistan to keep the peace are still coming under fire from pockets of Al Qaida resistance. As courageous individuals like those in our police departments, fire departments and military risk their own lives to save others from the scourge of terrorism and other criminal activities, as well as natural disasters, our thoughts and prayers are with them.