u/newnoadeptness

Former Marine Jason Thomas is shown in September 2001 at the World Trade Center site, where he helped in the rescue effort following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Thomas helped rescue Port Authority Police Officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno.

Thomas, who had been out of the Marine Corps for about a year, was dropping his daughter off at his mother's Long Island home when she told him planes had struck the towers. He retrieved his Marine uniform from his truck, sped to Manhattan, and had just parked his car when one of the towers collapsed. Thomas ran toward the center of the ash cloud.

He bumped into another former Marine, Staff Sgt. David Karnes, and the pair decided to search for survivors. Carrying little more than flashlights and an infantryman shovel, they climbed the mountain of debris, skirting dangerous crevasses and shards of glowing hot metal, calling out, "Is anyone down there? United States Marines!"

It was dark before they heard a response. The two crawled into a deep pit to find McLoughlin and Jimeno, injured but alive.

Jimeno spent 13 hours in the pit before he was pulled free. Thomas stayed long enough to see him come up, but left due to exhaustion before McLoughlin, who remained pinned for another nine hours, was retrieved.

Where were you on 9/11?