The Following is an excerpt from My Buddy’s a Hero – And I Didn’t Even Know It by Kristie Kiernan Bouryal. Available Now.

Chapter 2

Tyler, Olivia and Sophia were shocked. They were surprised this was the first time they were learning so many details they hadn’t heard before.    

“Grandpa, what did you see when you got there?” Tyler asked curiously. “I saw plumes of dust clouds and smoke from the fire that had taken over the buildings earlier,” Grandpa explained. “I remember it was eerily quiet,” he continued.  

“There were no planes in the air, no helicopters overhead – it was nothing like it would have been on a normal day. There were random pieces of paper flying in the air. Caked debris was everywhere, but the streets of downtown New York City, which we also refer to as Manhattan, were desolate,” he said.

“When I started to get close to the site where the buildings fell, I started to see firemen,” Grandpa shared. “Some were slumped over sitting on the street curb. Some were walking without direction. I could tell they were devastated and in shock. They had never experienced anything like this before,” he said.

“What did you do next, Grandpa?” Olivia asked, looking concerned. “I saw some firemen I knew, so I walked towards them and then I put on the fire coat, helmet and boots that I carried with me,” he said.