Reflections from a New Yorker and Army Officer twelve years later.
The last time I was home, I did the Tunnel to Towers run. I remember jogging slowly out of the crowded, dank tunnel and looking up at the Freedom Tower, two-thirds full of glass, gleaming against a bright blue sky. The air was calm and cool. The whole thing felt over. Finished.
Wow, look at all the flags, I said to my dad as I looked out the window of his truck, watching the suburbs of Queens go by in brilliant red white and blue. We were driving home from LaGuardia airport. I just finished basic training. It was September, 2001.
Son, everything is different now.
The first time I came back to New York my dad took me to Ground Zero. He insisted. It was a week after the attacks. He worked for the New York City Fire Department and I was the Army's newest infantryman, so to him, it was a necessary pilgrimage. He wanted me to know. He took me to Engine 10 Ladder 10 across the street. Firefighters twice my age shook my hand and asked me if I was ready. I said yes.
I know I saw the rubble and carnage, but the only thing I can remember from that day are the boxes and boxes of drinks, energy bars, and packaged goods stacked inside the firehouse - all donated by companies and people who wanted to do something - anything. I've racked my brain for years trying to remember what else I saw, but I can only remember all that bright, shrink-wrapped packaging.
The world was hitting me faster than I knew how to process it. Both of my grandfathers passed away while I was in basic training and my parents waited until I got home to tell me. They didn't want to distract me.
I joined the Army earlier that year, in April, when the thought of going to actual war was only a fantasy. Now, suddenly, I was nineteen and trying to come to terms with the rest of my life.
When I got to Fort Bragg a few days later, I saw this little cartoon printed on a scrap of paper taped to the cage where I drew my rifle. It was of a large, noble soldier taking the American flag from a New York City Firefighter knee-deep in the rubble. The caption said, I'll take it from here. Yeah, I thought, That's me.
I told my platoon-mates about New York. I was The New Yorker. I told them about the time my parents took me to the top of the World Trade Center and how I pressed my face and hands against the thick glass, looking down at the city, afraid that I might fall through. How as a teenager I used to get off at West 4th Street and look for the Twin Towers to lead me to Chinatown. Or about how in January 2000 I convinced my then girlfriend - now wife - not to wait in the long line to go to the top, that we'd go some other time.
I told them how amazing New York is and that they really should visit when they get the chance. I felt a special responsibility to communicate to them how terrible the whole thing was for New York. I was worried that they wouldn't understand. I didn't want our mission to be this abstract thing to them.
We trained for the war in Afghanistan but my unit didn't go. I wouldn't be the guy in the cartoon.
In November, 2002 I returned to New York for a long weekend. A friend was getting married, and the reception was in a swanky place downtown. I partied hard and stayed in a hotel close to Ground Zero. The next morning, hungover, and still in my dress uniform, wrinkled and loose, I walked briskly in the cold air past the site to meet some friends on the other side. I looked like shit, but was confident no one in the area knew anything about Army uniform regulations. Tourists were everywhere, gazing into the large holes, snapping pictures of the holes, and then of me, making a connection. I felt angry and walked faster, refusing to look at them or the holes.
A few months later I fought in the invasion of Iraq. I wrote love letters home for a year about how all I wanted was to get out of the Army and go back to New York and be a cop.
I fantasized about New York for years until I finally got out of the Army and came home for school. New York did not disappoint.
In college, I organized a fundraising walk for veterans from City College in Harlem to Battery Park. We stopped at sites of military significance, like the 42nd Street Recruiting Station and the Lexington Avenue Armory. We didn't stop at Ground Zero, but mentioned it as we passed by.
I left New York for London for graduate school. I drank a beer quietly in a pub when they killed Osama bin Laden.
I finished school and came back to New York, just in time for the ten year anniversary. That's when I did the Tunnel to Towers run. A few weeks later I left again to rejoin the Army. I decided to become an officer. I'm already planning my next trip home and I can't wait. I miss New York and want to enjoy it. I don't plan on stopping at Ground Zero, but I might pass by and look up at the completed Freedom Tower. Or maybe I'll just slow down a bit, and take a quick look around.
Don Gomez is a New Yorker and Army officer. He blogs at Carrying the Gun.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Reflections from a New Yorker and Army Officer twelve years later. 
