Heroes of the 88th Floor

14 years ago

Just a heads up, in case you're interested.

TLC will be showing this show in the coming weeks. It will be on Sunday night, 9PM EST with several airings to follow.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. One of the men profiled is someone I went to high school with. Frank De Martini, one of the architects who worked on the rebuild after the truck bomb. He was a year or two behind me, but we knew each other because we come from a small town and we both participated in the same sport. He was a good guy, and from the stories I've heard about him on 9-11, a TRUE hero. He was out of the building, but went back in to help, and gave his life so that others could escape.

It's going to be a very hard show for me to watch, but one I'm planning on not missing. He deserves to have his name known.

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Comments (16)

suzieque
14 years ago
I'll keep an eye out for it, Azzalea. Thanks for letting us know.
dotmom
14 years ago
I've been seeing the promos for the show and am looking forward to seeing it. Your right, Azzalea, his name should be kept in the fore-front. Thanks for the heads up.
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Gosh this bring back memories... When I was six months pregnant with my now 18-year old son, my husband and I were enjoying a day at a lake in Calif. We had hiked in about 1/2 mile to a secluded spot, and so were the only ones there. Late in the afternoon, we were both sitting on the blanket and I thought I heard, "Help!" Looked around but couldn't see anything. A few minutes later, we both heard it, and then saw a boat drifting in toward shore. My husband waded out to keep the boat from hitting a rocky point, and I was standing on shore trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Suddenly I saw a head bob up from under the water, squeak out "Help!" and disappear again. My husband was in the boat, and I was closest, so I grabbed an air mattress and started out toward the guy. My arms and legs were burning by the time I got close to him. He was down so long between "Helps" that I was screaming at him that I was almost there, in hopes of helping him hang on a few more sec's. I cannot really describe the panic I was feeling. As I got to within about ten feet, his head was above water, we made eye contact, and then I was overcome by the smell of alcohol. For a fleeting second I thought, "You Son of a...." But then I dismissed that thought and finally made it to him. He had gone under again, but as soon as he came up, I grabbed his arms and held him on the air mattress (we were facing each other). Oh my God, he just reeked and was barely conscious. It took awhile but my husband and I got him to shore, where he passed out. He was breathing, so we just watched him. After an hour or two, he started to wake up a bit. The story was he had been drinking alone in his boat, had tossed a tube off the side of the boat to float around a bit, forgotten to anchor the boat, and then chased the boat half way around the lake. I wasn't feeling honestly all that sorry for him given the stupidity of the situation. But then after he slept a bit, and gained a bit more energy, he was just blubbering and crying about how stupid he'd been and how he had kids and how upset they would be. And so then I felt, okay, that was worth it, if just for the kids. Two things have stayed with me from that ordeal. #1, Always, always, always have an inflatable or other flotation device handy when swimming. Without the air mattress, my husband and I could not have saved this man. He was a big, big guy, and we were not -and he was just dead weight of course. A cooler or spare tire can be used in an emergency. #2, You'd think that a 'hero' must just feel so great, but at least in my case what happened was I kept replaying the last few seconds of the rescue when I wasn't sure I was going to get to him before he went down for the last time. My arms and legs were burning in a way that I have never felt, from paddling so furiously (he was quite a ways out). For many nights I woke up in a cold sweat with those last seconds pounding through my brain. So I can imagine that the hero in the OP's story might be having a tough time emotionally too.
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maire_cate
14 years ago
That should be a very interesting show. Even though the subject is terribly sad I'll tune in.
User
14 years ago
I'll watch for it too. I remember hearing about him. I'm sure I will get very emotional. But that's a good thing. Our country's heroes deserve our tears and attention. We are attacked in so many different ways. I think we need to stand up and salute them at every opportunity. Thanks for telling us. His family will appreciate it too. You are doing what you can.
dex215
14 years ago
I don't think I can watch it. The word hero is sometimes used too much, but in this case they were all real heroes. God will surely bless each and everyone of them.
michelle_phxaz
14 years ago
I want to see it but on TLC that night all my DTV comes up with is a lot of episodes of "What Not To Wear". Any other ideas to find it? Thanks!
dotmom
14 years ago
I had a hard time watching it last night. Several times, I tuned to something else, but had to turn it back on. I told myself, if these people had to go through this horror, the least I can do is learn about it. It is really impossible for me to totally realize the horror all of those people experienced, and the courage of these two men!!! Part of the horror for me was, THIS REALLY HAPPENED, IT WAS NOT FICTIONAL I Pray, please, don't let anything like this happen again. I don't understand why we can't have Peace.
heather_on
14 years ago
I watched it last night. Those heros will be embeded in my mind forever for their selfless actions. What a tribute to them!
breenthumb
14 years ago
I fell asleep watching the "preshow" before it then saw bits of it. Glad to know they are going to repeat it. It seemed to me, in my sleepy state, that some of the people were the actual ones who were involved. Could that be? Not sure I could do that even 10 years later.
kittywhiskers
14 years ago
I just checked TLC's website and it is being shown again on Sat. Sept. 10 at 9.00 PM and Sun. Sept. 11 at 12.00 AM.
Kittywhiskers
User
14 years ago
I watched it and said "No, don't go up, go down. Look how many people you have saved. Save yourself now"
They just didn't know how close the fire was.

Has that Titanic story element to it.

Thanks for telling me about it.
goldy
14 years ago
It was a show I vowed not to watch.it was too soon.I watched it.Good show.I don't know what happened to the secretary that was badly burnt.The hero's the executive and the common worker both died shows you how we can all work together for the good of all.will never forget that awful day.god bless them all.
azzalea
Original Author
14 years ago
The secretary--it said at the end--spent months in the hospital then was released. The woman with asthma didn't make it out.

Many of the people interviewed WERE the actual people who were saved, but I believe the dramatizations were actors.

I was on the verge of tears for the entire two hours last night. To know that that was someone used to know... It was both incredibly sad and unbelievably uplifting.

The show was a little different than the story that circulated around town 10 years ago, but I'm assuming his wife's accounts were more accurate than the town legends are.

I thought they did a good job on it.
linda_in_iowa
14 years ago
I enjoyed watching it but it was very sad.
goldy
14 years ago
A friend of mine was on that floor or the one above.To this day she does not know how she got out.it's all a blank.This story was well done and sad.When it first hit the tv you could see people jumping out of the buildings.I pray to God that the wind knock them out as they fell.It was the worst day of my life.My country America is too easy .They should watch more closely and what ever it takes to keep this from happening again they should.If it means profiling and waterboarding go for it.God bless america
teapot100
14 years ago
I just watched this the other night and was riveted even though it was way past my bedtime!

Was the name of the asthmatic secretary in the documentary Josephine Harris? If so, she and the 6 firefighters who happened upon her in the stairwell all survived. They were among the 14 people trapped in stairwell B who miraculously made it out alive after the tower collapsed. The stories sound similar - well, the part about the heavyset secretary sitting on the stairs and the 6 firefighters - but there were some inconsistencies between their story and the documentary's account. Ex. from the news articles I've read there is no mention of Ms. Harris having asthma, but she did have a bad leg from an accident months earlier which is the main reason why she had such trouble walking and the firefighters said they found her sitting alone, not with the guy in the documentary.

Heroes of the 88th Floor

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