Articles Continued

Articles    Articles Page 6    Articles Page 7    Articles Page 8    Articles Page 9    Articles Page 10

*Source: unknown on-line news source

As we have already heard, Angel, the winner of Murder in Small Town X, was among the firefighters that went into the World Trade Center but have not come out. He is still officially listed as missing, but new details have come out about his acts of heroism in those final moments before the building collapsed. (Picture at right shows Angel's family among those holding photos of their missing loved ones.)

In the past couple weeks an amazing thing has happened. The United States of America has come together like never before, and the genre of reality TV is no exception. While there has been much discussion concerning the treatment of the Big Brother contestants in the wake of the events of September 11th, CBS' summer flagship series was not the only show touched by the disaster.As was reported last week, Angel Juarbe, the winner of Fox's reality show Murder in Small Town X, is one of the hundreds of missing firefighters who responded to the tragedy in the World Trade Center on that fateful day. In the past few days, there have been myriad requests for an update on Angel's status. I'm sad to say that there is no change. Angel Juarbe of Ladder Company 12 is still missing in the rubble of the World Trade Center. What has become far clearer, however, is the depth of Angel's heroism and sacrifice. What follows is an account of the events which led up to the separation of Ladder Company 12, as told to Joe Garcia, Angel's friend and regular contributor to Fox's MiSTX message board.

Ladder 12, it seems, was not one of the first to arrive at the disaster in the WTC, as was reported last week. Instead the firefighters from Chelsea arrived just after the first tower fell. With the second tower still standing but leaning, Angel and his company entered a hotel connected to the Trade Center. There he and his fellow firefighters slowly made their way up the levels of the hotel, escorting people down out of the building and onward to safety as they went. When some people on one of the higher levels needed actual physical assistance, the firefighters knew that they needed to become less encumbered. They elected to discard some of their emergency equipment. This included the entirety of their supply of rope.

Sometime later, when the team was rescuing people from the 14th floor, the call to evacuate was given. As Company 12 made their way down the stairs of the assaulted hotel, the building lost much of its structural integrity. The building began to groan under the stress, and the stairwells began to evidence this. When Ladder 12 was on about the 4th floor, the stairs below them began to collapse. (This apparently split the company, as some of the firemen were already out of the building.) When the stranded rescuers realized that they were going to need to rappel down the now ravaged stairwell, it became evident that they were going to need their supply of rope. Angel and another of the firefighters in his company were quick to volunteer.

As the two brave men began the long trek back up the stories of the hotel, they came into contact with another firefighter who was in trouble. Angel radioed back to the stranded men on the 4th floor that there was a firefighter who needed assistance. In response, a lieutenant from Ladder 12 left the 4th floor and began his own journey up the stairs of the hotel. At this point, the unimaginable happened. The World Trade Center's north tower collapsed. This was at 10:28 AM.

Amazingly, the firefighters stranded in the 4th floor stairwell all survived and are now accounted for. Apparently the stress caused one of the walls in the stairwell to collapse before the building proper, allowing the firemen to fall to the street below. Four stories, but all are apparently okay. Sadly, Angel and the two other rescuers from Ladder Company 12 are still unaccounted for. They were willing to pay the ultimate price for their firemen brothers, and they may have done just that.

The story of Angel Juarbe is like so many of the other heroes of September 11th. (Although I'm sure, like Angel, they would be reluctant to call themselves by that title.) It is a story not of one man's heroism, but of a strength of spirit that was shared by all of the rescuers on that day. It is a story that did not end with the deaths of so many Americans, but has merely begun. It is the prelude to a country's story, made up of such men and women who will defend that spirit with a resolve that the world has never before seen. In short, it is only the beginning.

And so, as this nation remembers all it has lost, I ask the same from all who might be reading this. Send in your thoughts, prayers, songs, impressions, and anything and everything else which has been touched by this humble fireman from New York. Tell us what Angel has meant to you. Above all else, do not lose hope. Miracles can happen, and Angel may very well be alive. It may seem like a longshot, but then again so did William Lambert. My thoughts and prayers go out to Angel and all of the rescuers and their families. May they know in their hearts that their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

September, 2001
Shock, Loss, Sorrow, and Determination: Puerto Rico Shares With the Rest of America
The US Council for Puerto Rico Statehood supports this web site as a means of sharing information about Puerto Rico and its people, and to explain our firm conviction that if the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico choose to petition for statehood, the rest of the nation should support it. The close involvement in our national life of the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, and of the many Puerto Ricans residing in other parts of the United States, has been graphically and painfully illustrated by the terrorist attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center and on the Pentagon in Washington, DC. We believe that the examples outlined below taken from news reports from both mainland US and Puerto Rico media tell the story best. We will add fabric to this story as events transpire. Not only were U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican origin lost at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon, serving their country, but Puerto Rico has responded by providing aid in search and rescue operations. Young men and women from Puerto Rico, who have served valiantly in the armed forces of the United States in all international conflicts of this Century, are now being mobilized for the war against terrorism that we all now face. At the moment of this writing, reservists from Puerto Rico are being called up, as they are in every state of the Union. Puerto Rico’s National Guard has been placed on alert, as have all the state National Guards across the United States. Puerto Rico is an important part of this great nation, and we are glad and fortunate that they are so. Impact of the September 11, 2001 Tragedy and Puerto Rico There are over 1,000 Puerto Ricans reported missing at the World Trade Center in New York. The missing include members of the fire and rescue squads that responded to the call the morning of September 11. The missing also include a number of Puerto Ricans working in the WTC restaurant and offices. In Washington, DC, Sgt. U.S. Army, First Class Jose Orlando Calderon, a native of Fajardo, PR, is among the reported missing at the Pentagon crash site. Puerto Rican firefighters in Manhattan, Dennis Mojica and Angel Juarbe, are among the confirmed dead firefighters that were inside the World Trade Center helping in the evacuation when it collapsed. Sonia Morales Raices from the Municipality of Lares, PR was confirmed dead in the terrorist attack. Ms. Morales was aboard American Airlines flight 11 from Boston that crashed against one of the towers. Waleska Martinez Rivera from the Municipality of Caguas, PR was confirmed dead in the United Airlines crashed in Pennsylvania. Lourdes Galleti Diaz from Peñuelas, PR, an executive secretary working for an investment firm in the WTC was confirmed among the dead. A member of the New York City’s port police Richard Rodriguez Morales from Villalba, PR rushed to the disaster site to help in the evacuation and is reported among the missing. At least 6 Puerto Rican paramedics working for the city of New York are reported missing. 40 emergency rescue workers from Puerto Rico arrived on Wednesday, the day after the tragedy to help in the rescue efforts. The group of rescue workers is composed of firefighters, state emergency rescue personnel, municipal and state police. The US Armed Forces Reserve in Puerto Rico has been placed under alert. About 170 volunteers and military reserve groups from the 65th U.S. Army Regional Support Command, units 311 and 246 are mobilized and are in Washington, DC assisting with the rescue efforts at the Pentagon. These units are experts in cadaver search and mortuary services. The government of Puerto Rico has allocated $1 million dollars to the rescue efforts. Puerto Rico has established a fund to collect donations to aid the families of the victims. Donations will be collected through 500 bank branches throughout the island.