911 - Remember - 20 years on. Lest We Forget

[cyvideo]

I was in the studio late in the evening, 11 PM Sydney time and was running off TC window dubs from SP to VHS to drop off at a producer's house around midnight. While the dubs were going through I was having a coffee and watching a Spike Lee doco on Muhammad Ali when a lower third crawl came across the screen announcing that a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. A few minutes later they broke the transmission to say we are going live to New York. I'll never forget the next couple of hours. Like many others who witnessed that day of infamy.

I took the VHS dubs around to the producer's house and said I'm sorry I'm late but I've been glued to the TV with the WTC attacks. "What attacks?" he asked. Apparently, I had just woken him. He and I sat for the next two hours watching the nightmare of 911 unfold. I finally got home and had to wake my better half. It's a brave person who does that! She abused me and said why the hell do I want to watch a movie now. "Honey this is no movie this is happening while we watch," I said. She spent a lot of time in the US and loves the place and its people. She has driven some 36,000 miles around every mainland state in her time there. She ended up in tears watching that day of infamy.

For some of you younger guys, this may only be an older person's memory. I will guarantee though that whoever witnessed it will have it burnt into their lives forever. How it must have felt to be a New Yorker on that day I have no idea and never will. I can half imagine the scenes though as I have covered fresh war zones just after mass bombing and shelling has stopped. The sights and more powerfully the smell of burnt concrete and death is something that will never leave you.

What it does show me though is that in these troubled times our American cousins, some of who need masks yet once again can be totally non-partisan and can pull together like virtually no other country in existence when necessary and can take on almost any threat and challenge. Here's looking to better times ahead.

Anyhow. About two weeks later after 9/11 somebody from NY posted a Flash file on a message board. I grabbed it. It originally had Enya's "Only Time" track accompanying the images. I posted it to Youtube after converting it to an MP4. It sat there for years. Last year I got a takedown notice as the video was considered offensive to some. Go figure!?

Here is the video again but now with an instrumental cover of Only Time and a couple of the "more offensive" lines of text removed.

Stay safe all.

Chris Young

 

[say_doyster]

Thanks for posting this, Chris. I, for one, appreciate your effort. For me, it is especially powerful because of where we are 20 years later. To each their own personal thoughts.... Bill

 

[Doug Jensen]

My memories of 9/11 actually begin on the evening of 9/10, and then all the events for the next couple of weeks become somewhat blurred because there was so much going on.

On the night of September 10[SUP]th[/SUP] my audio tech and I (who later became my wife) did some sit-down interviews backstage in the greenroom at the Fleet Center in Boston with the all the members of the Backstreet Boys (heard later that some people associated with the band were on one of the planes that left Boston then next morning). We didn’t get out of there until pretty late and then had to drive back home to Rhode Island where we got a few hours of sleep and then turned around had headed back to Boston first thing in the morning on 9/11 to shoot a trial for Bill Kurtis’s American Justice show at the Federal Courthouse.

We heard about the first plane on the radio while we were driving but figured it must have been a small private plane. No big deal. We parked 5 levels down in the parking garage at Post Office Plaza and hauled all our gear into the courthouse about the time the second plane hit. Immediately the courthouse was evacuated and it was chaos on the streets of Boston with people going everywhere. After we loaded all the gear into the van in the garage it was obvious it was going to take a long time to get out. So I left my audio tech to inch the van out one step at a time while I went up to the street level where I could get cell phone service.

It didn’t take long for clients to start calling and within an hour every shoot for the following two weeks was cancelled one after another. So ,when I got the call from a satellite company to head to NYC it was easy to say yes because the schedule was already cleared. We’d be doing live coverage for the EBU and BBC just as soon as we could get there and meet the satellite truck, which was already on it’s way from Boston.

It took about 2 hours to get the van out of the garage and then we drove back to Rhode Island as fast as possible. Dumped out all the gear we knew wouldn’t be needed in NYC and loaded up a whole different set of gear plus clothes, etc. for an extended stay on the road.

The pitstop took about 20 minutes and then we were flying down I-95 in the early afternoon. I remember we made the normally three hour drive in less than two hours. All the major bridges and tunnels were closed. I knew that there were ways into the city on smaller bridges in the Bronx that I’m sure would have been open, but the satellite truck didn’t want to risk it, so we went to Liberty State Park in New Jersey instead and started broadcasting standups and liveshots with ground zero in the background for any EBU correspondents who could reach our location.

At some point late into the night we took a break and there were 8 of us that got a couple of rooms at a cheap local motel someplace in Jersey to take a shower and kind of re-group. I don’t recall anyone having time to sleep, but we may have. I can’t even remember which motel it was or even what city. Well before dawn we saddled up and caravanned over to Brooklyn and got into Manhattan through the Midtown tunnel and made it across the city over to the West Side highway. There were roadblocks that kept most traffic from going farther south than 13[SUP]th[/SUP] street (??) -- or somewhere around that area. Again, the details are foggy.

But once we got south of the roadblocks it was like being in a whole different world. There was hardly anyone on the streets and virtually no cars or trucks. A ghost town. There weren’t even any cabs so the few people that were inside the zone were hitching rides with whatever was moving. We gave rides whenever we could, but I recall Tina Brown, editor of the New Yorker flagging us down but I had to tell her we were completely full. There was no need to obey stop lights, one-way strees, or pretty much any traffic rules because there were really no other vehicles or people around.

We found a good location on the West Side Highway few blocks north of ground zero and setup camp, where we would remain for the next week mostly doing standups. About once a day I’d walk down to ground zero with my gear and get some fresh b-roll of whatever was going on. I was never at risk and had no reason to go any further than a couple hundred yards from the rubble. I do remember we were always watching the smoke and hoping the winds would never shift and send it north to our location. It never did. And later, having heard about all the cancers and medical problems that afflicted the workers at ground zero, I’m sure glad we never got a taste of it.

After a couple of days I had by second camera package brought down to me from Boston by a freelancer friend and then we were able to take shifts or do two-shots.

Another strong memory is all the heavy excavators, cranes, front-end loaders, and fire trucks from other cities and states streaming down the West Side highway towards ground zero in the first few days. By then a lot of civilians had found there way into the zone and it was like a parade with everyone cheering the workers as they came to help with the recovery.

Believe it or not, I never saw any footage of the planes hitting the building or the buildings collapsing until two days later. There was just never any opportunity to see it until one day I was in the satellite truck and they were doing a recap. We were right there a couple of blocks away, but probably some of the last people in the world to see the video.

We stayed at a small boutique hotel with shared bathrooms somewhere in SoHo (no TV) but I couldn’t tell you which one it was, or even which street it was on. By the time you got done with your shift you just wanted to eat and sleep. Food was interesting, too. Since there were hardly any people in lower Manhattan the restaurants insisted on feeding us for free. They wouldn’t take our money. They knew we were just media and not doing anything to actually help with the recovery but I think it was their way of joining in to help with the effort.

Another thing I remember is how beautiful and clear the skies were. With no planes in the air and no contrails to form clouds, the skies were just gorgeous the whole time.

After about a week we’d had enough, and other work was starting to come back online so we got released and packed up and went back to New England. My 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] camera team stayed for another week. And they were very happy to get released when they finally got out of there.

All in all it was an interesting experience. I wish I’d taken the time to write everything down right after it happened because I know I’m forgetting a lot of stuff now. I was sure that I’d remember all the details for the rest of my life, but I don’t. Much of it has become a blur.

 

[cyvideo]

What a tale DJ. Something that will stick with you. Those kinds of happenings are so out of the norm I'm not surprised you can remember every detail. I can believe you when you say you never saw vision of a plane hitting till days later. When you are buried in it you don't really have any perspective or know the whole picture of what's going down. You can only observe and cover what is unfolding in front of you.

My first real disaster coverage was Aberfan in Oct '66. Three days in rain and mud over my knees with an Arri 16s and 100 ft daylight loads. I and my assistant were the first in there. The police had closed off the valley that ran into the village. The only way we could get in was to drive up the next valley and then climb over the mountain in the mist and rain humping our gear for about three miles. Tripping over sheep and getting tangled in five stand wire fencing along the way. When I was out of power later on day one I had to revert back to the trusty old Bell & Howell DR70. A clockwork windup for those of you who aren't familiar with the DR70. It wasn't until I got pulled out when fully equipped relief crews arrived three days later did I see any of the footage. The authorities tried to keep the media out but it just became too big a story. That's why we were stuck there for three days. Until the media embargo was broken. That was the point in my life when I realised how puny we were as humans. We hadn't landed a man on the Moon at that point but had gone into space and yet for all of the ingenuity of mankind it took to do that we were totally incapable of moving two million tons of coal slag and tailings of that village and rescue all the kids who got buried 100 foot under it. The Netflix series "The Crown" covered the Aberfan disaster in Ep 3 Season 3. They recreated the disaster very well. Fits well with my memories, chillingly well. I was one of the cameramen at the Presser shown at 6:50 in the following The Crown clip. The Presser recreation was goosebumps eerily close to perfect.

It's ancient history now but no story I've ever covered has hit me as hard as that one. I think it's because the loss of so many young children wiped out a generation of that village. Anyone who may be interested can find the back story here:

One of the still shots I took on day one.



Chris Young

 

[cyvideo]

Thanks for posting this, Chris. I, for one, appreciate your effort. For me, it is especially powerful because of where we are 20 years later. To each their own personal thoughts.... Bill

Understood my man. These things affect us all in different ways for different reasons. Over the years I've found being close to others grief can be a very humbling experience. We should never forget the disaster that shape the lives of many for years to come.

Chris Young

 

[Doug Jensen]

My first real disaster coverage was Aberfan in Oct '66. QUOTE]

Chris, I didn't know you were that old!
I have to admit that I knew nothing about Aberfan until I saw it on the Crown and then I had to look it up to find out more about it. That must have been quite an experiencing covering that tragedy, espeically with the ordeal you had to go through. I think that would leave more of an imprint on my, had I been there, than 9/11 because of the children. It is good to hear that Crown's portrayal gets a thumbs up from you.

About a year and a half after 9/11 we had the Station Night Club fire that killed 100 people only four miles from my house in Rhode Island. I never heard about it until hte next morning, but then I was on it for a couple of weeks. That was a tough one too. I had only lived in Rhode Island for a couple of years so I didn't personally know anyone killed, but over the next 15 years I lived there I sure met a lot of people who lost family and friends.

I'm glad I was already busy when the calls came for Sandy Hook. I think that would have been very difficult and I feel fortunate to have missed it.

 

[cyvideo]

Old? Never with a name like Young.

Seventy-five and was still shooting live rugby for Stan Sport until ten weeks ago into the season when Covid Lockdown paralyzed Sydney this June.

I was a B grade cameraman back then in Aberfan. Got promoted and was then the youngest A grade cameraman covering the Six-day war in the middle east in '67. Was embedded with the 181st Tank Battalion when they took the Golan Heights overlooking the Sea of Galilee. One of the most ferocious things I've ever covered. Tank warfare, the most brutal mechanical thing one can witness close up. A Jordanian I went to school with was a nephew of King Hussein the then King of Jordon. I only found out that Bor Bor, that was his name, was a tank commander in that battle and was killed. Talk about 6 degrees of separation?

I then covered the Paris riots in May '68. That scared me more than anything as you didn't know who was who and the riots were very fluid. At one point when rioters broke the police lines my soundie and I had to run for our lives. Both of us running flat out while trying to disconnect the Arri's sync pulse cable from the Nagra. Later that year I covered the Russian invasion of Prague in August of '68. This invasion was what ended "The Prague Spring" soft revolution. That was horrific in as much as it was civilians fighting tanks in the city streets. A no-win contest for the Czech public. Found myself shaking uncontrollably a couple of times after a couple of coverages when realizing that we had been very close to some very dangerously out of our control situations. After that was based in S.E. Asia covering the Vietnam conflict. Specifically, the US bombing of Cambodia when it commenced in March of '69. Also covering R&R deserter stories from the conflict when they deserted in Bangkok and were making their way to Canada and Sweden. Neither of those countries would repatriate them back to the States. In fact, they offered them asylum. Was offered big money to cover Gulf War 1 in '90 but declined. Was married and had kids by then so the answer was no. The danger to myself then would have been greater from my better half had I said yes

So yes still going strong shooting and editing when the work is there. Not much of either at the moment. If I didn't enjoy what I do I wouldn't still be in the business.

Chris Young

 

[Doug Jensen]

If I didn't enjoy what I do I wouldn't still be in the business.

Yeah, that about sums it up for me too, but I went in a different direction.
You've had some amazing experiences that I'll bet very few shooters could even think of matching. You should write a book.

One of my favorite lines from Breaking Away comes to mind, "No, I don't feel lucky to be alive! I feel lucky I'm not dead. There's a difference."

 

[cyvideo]

Yes, a few of the family say write a book. Being lazy I'll most likely dictate something and get it transcribed.

The first 17 years of my life was growing up in India and travelling and living all over. Due to my father's work as a consultant to the Indian government. So I never thought of my early life being anything unusual until I went to England to enter the Royal Air Force and train as a fighter pilot. Turned out I was slightly short-sighted and they said too short-sighted for aircrew. One of the positions I was offered training for was as an aerial cameraman/photographer. I was about to sign up when my girlfriend at the time said you don't have to sign up to do that you can go to college to study film. That's what I did. During the college holidays, I worked for the Daily Mirror shooting stills. The regular 9-5 job was not my desire. In my third year of college, I was lucky enough to get selected by the BBC as a trainee cameraman which opened a whole new world for me. That set the path that led me to where I am today. The long and the short of it was I ended up with my own production company in Australia. Amongst many other productions, I produced fifty OB sports shows a year for Fox Sports. Plus we had good long contracts for training films for the Navy. A whole bunch of corporate work. Years of doing commercial TVCs for various local and international corporations and businesses. Even produced Australian based TV series for UK TV. So can't complain really. What never ceases to amaze me is the incredible changes I've seen in the industry. Keeping up with those changes is what keeps the grey matter ticking over. I just enjoy watching others learning their trade and craft in this industry. I guess that's what keeps me turning up on some of these forums.

I like your "No, I don't feel lucky to be alive! I feel lucky I'm not dead. There's a difference." As the old saying goes "You're a long time dead." So enjoy it while you can DJ.

Chris Young

 

[Doug Jensen]

So I never thought of my early life being anything unusual until I went to England to enter the Royal Air Force and train as a fighter pilot. Turned out I was slightly short-sighted and they said too short-sighted for aircrew.

Wow, our stories are not too different. Not long after I graduated from college and was just getting started in TV (1984) I decided I wanted to switch gears and become a pilot in the USAF. Not necessarily a fighter pilot, but some kind of pilot. I passed all the written tests with flying colors and then I went for the flight physical. Turned out I have some color blindness and could not see 90% of the hidden figures in those flash cards with lots of dots. I had no idea. So that was the end of that. It was a lot like that scene in Little Miss Sunshine, but not as dramatic. I have learned to rely on scopes and charts to make up for my deficincies in judging colors when grading, white balancing, setting up monitors, etc., but sometimes I have to have my wife or colleagues check my work.

 

[agcohn]

I remember I was in 11th grade of high school, and I had to hear about it via the rumor mill from other students, as apparently the high school decided not to make an announcement for the students after they had caused a panic in the next door middle school. It was only several hours later… after the towers had already fallen… and the school finally realized that all of the students had already learned about what was going on… and hundreds of parents were showing up to pick-up their kids early… that the high school finally made an announcement and ended school early.

 

[cyvideo]

I think for all of us there are events in our lives where we will always remember where we were when the event took place. I was a mad keen motorcyclist when young... and older. I had just ridden from Exmouth in England to the Clock Tower Cafe in Exeter on my '63 Norton Dominator where all us lunatic boy racers used to hang out. Expecting the normally raucous noisy cafe on entry only to be met by a deathly silence. Every eye in the place was glued to the TV. The breaking news was that of President Kennedy's assassination. Will never forget that!

Chris Young

 

[cyvideo]

I passed all the written tests with flying colors and then I went for the flight physical. Turned out I have some color blindness and could not see 90% of the hidden figures in those flash cards with lots of dots. I had no idea. So that was the end of that.

Likewise. Like you I passed all the psychological grilling, passed all the entry exam material, passed all the physical other than the eyesight test. Always wondered what my life would have been like had I got in. Two of my school buddies were both pilots in 809 SQN flying Sea Harriers during the Falklands war so who knows. The wheels of fate can indeed be pretty vagarious in determining our futures and fates.

Chris Young

 

[Visunion]

This day changed the earth! Made some kind of a "reset" in the hearts and souls of mankind. So sad! ;(

 

[Publimix]

Another thing I remember is how beautiful and clear the skies were. With no planes in the air and no contrails to form clouds, the skies were just gorgeous the whole time.

I had the flew and was in bed with high fever. It took some time before I realized what happened.

Maybe out of context, aviation smog still is a problem. After the Covid Lockdown we recieved 2,5% more light in the Netherlands. Contrails and contrail cirrus is a huge problem no-one-seems to notice. This 2,5% less light equals nine days of total darkness. Imagine what that does to: solar energy, farming, climate change. (Contrail cirrus block outgoing infrared/heat).

The worst part? We don't see it or we don't care.
This is the ultra short version from a documentary I made.