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A feature story on 9/11TRANSCRIPT
America under attack ▲ A decade later
Local pilotstraveled the skies
BY COURTNEY FLYNNASSOCIATE EDITOR
As the country watched the World
Trade Center crumble to the ground onSept. 11 in disbelief, two Air NationalGuard pilots stationed at Selfridge AirNational Guard Base were flying in the
skies. ANG Lt. Col. Rolf Mammen waspiloting a United Airlines internationalflight to New York from London whileANG Lt. Col. Doug Champagne was
heading back to the Harrison Townshipbase with a faint understanding of whatwas unraveling.
Their stories:
“Nineteen hijackers came into my office andmurdered eight colleagues of mine. The 19
hijackers then turned my office into a missileto harm another 3,000 Americans.”
- Lt. Col. Rolf Mammen
“We need to make sure as Americans, wenever, ever, ever, ever forget. They tried to
steal our freedom, they haven’t done sothough.”
- Lt. Col. Doug Champagne
during the 9/11 attacksLt. Col. Doug ChampagneLt. Col. Rolf Mammen
INSIDEDeaths . . . . . . . . . . .3Opinion . . . . . . . . . .6Police News . . . . . . .4Sports . . . . . . . . . . .12Target . . . . . . . . . . .15
Vol. XXVIII, Issue 36Contact us: 586-716-8100
1-800-561-2248www.voicenews.com
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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BY COURTNEY FLYNNASSOCIATE EDITOR
Prior to 9/11 the Department ofHomeland Security did not exist. But inits aftermath this civilian-based federalagency has gained a strong presence atSelfridge Air National Guard Base with anumbrella of agencies that once neverexisted and enhancing the size of others.
“Right after 9/11 we had to quicklydecide how we were going to operate,”U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionUnited States Border Patrol Chief Patrol
Agent Randy Gallegos said.Gallegos said the U.S. Border Patrol
was fully mobilized within 36 hours ofthe attacks; but the Department ofHomeland Security, established on Nov.25, 2002, did not become fully developeduntil about two years later.
At the time of the attacks Gallegosoccupied a federal post in Washington,D.C. He was moved to Selfridge inOctober 2004. About a year prior to hisarrival Immigration and NaturalizationServices, which included Border Patrol,and U.S. Customs, were combined to
formthe U.S.Customs andBorderProtection, or CBP,agency. Members of the U. S.Department of Agriculture also becamepart of the newly-formed agency.
As new the agency was forming andgrowing, with new additions such as theCBP Office of Air and Marine, Gallegos
saida new strategy was alsodevised in 2004. This focus was based
Photo provided byU.S. Border Patrol
The north-ern borders,such as thelocal waterways, arepatroled more
h e a v i l ynow.
Are you OK?Mammen, who joined
the ANG in 1994 afterbeing active in the mili-tary years before that, wastraveling the same routeback to New York as hehad dozens of timesbefore. However, as theaircraft was approachingthe Canadian coast theroutine trip began to takea turn no one was expect-ing.
A message, which
Mammen described assomething like a text mes-sage, came through thecontrol system asking,“Are you OK?”
Mammen remembersthinking it was odd, espe-cially as everything wasOK at that time in theflight crew’s minds.Another came shortlyafter informing the pilotsthat a plane had crashedinto the north tower of theWorld Trade Center inManhattan.
“My reaction wassomeone in a little Cessnagot lost over Manhattan,”Mammen said.
While people acrossthe country turned ontheir televisions to watchthe catastrophic commo-tion unfold, and seeanother unexpected planecrash into the south towerof the WTC at 9:03 a.m.,Mammen, his co-workersand passengers still hadno idea of the tragedieshappening below them.
He said when the crewreceived the second mes-sage about the secondtower being hit they stillthought it was just anaccident.
“Hijacking was not onour realm of possibilitiesat that point,” he said.
Once Mammen and hiscrew became aware thathijacking could become apossibility on their flight -especially as two of theaircrafts used in theattacks were United
Airline planes - precau-tionary measures began togo through their minds.
“Now we’re thinking,let’s plan for the worst,”Mammen said.
One of the first stepshe said they took was toisolate the passengers.This meant shutting offthe radar that showedtravelers where they weregeographically located intheir travels and notallowing passengers toleave their seats. The
cockpit was also lockeddown as not even flightattendants couldapproach the flight deck.
Mammen said he sat inthe third pilot seat, whichis located by the door,with the emergency ax inhis hand.
As the plane continuedto travel through interna-tional air with the crew onlock-down, Mammen saidthey were soon notified
See PILOTS on page 8
Northern border protectionincreases since 9/11Civilian cooperation needed to strengthen protection
BY JERI PACKERVOICE STAFF WRITER
“All the plans went right outthe window.”
That’s what Edward Wallace,director of forensics training, saidabout the first hours, days andweeks of what is now called 9/11.
The retired New York policedetective works as the director offorensic training at the New YorkCity Office of the Chief MedicalExaminer.
“Before this, no one everdreamt that something like thiscould ever happen,” he said.
St. Clair County DrainCommissioner Bob Wiley took atrip to New York to hear first-hand Wallace’s experience atground zero at a seminar aboutdeath investigation last year.
New York had one of the finestteams of first responders and anabundance of resources availablewhen the towers fell, but none ofit meant anything with what theyfaced that day.
“They learned as they went,”Wiley said.
He and the rest of his class satfrozen in their seats when thesessions ended. The story of amake-shift morgue and bodyparts collection narrated bysomeone who really knew, saidWiley, really drove it home.
“The training opened my eyesto the war we are in,” he said.“What if our bridge collapsed?What do you do with 3,000 bodiesafter a massive structure comesdown? I still can’t imagine being
Lessons learned through 9/11 still taught by New York’s finest
Submitted PhotoLeft to right: Det. Thomas Forte, Sopranos Actor Tony Sirico
and Wallace, after the 9/11 disaster. See NEW YORK on page 2
See BORDER on page 4
BY JERI PACKERVOICE STAFF WRITER
Several groups ofadults in the Marine Cityarea may be seen lookinga little suspicious after 5p.m. on Sept. 10, but,before you call the police,make sure to take a sec-ond look.
They may be the teamsparticipating in the annu-al St. Clair County StumpJumpers Road Rally.
The road rally has goneon since at least 1987,according to the winner’sname plates secured allover the odd-lookingmodel-car trophy. MarineCity Chamber of
Commerce PresidentGeorgia Phelan has beenpart of the fun for manyyears.
Phelan said somemembers have been in itfrom the beginning andothers have joined in later.All that’s needed is aninquisitive mind and a fewprops listed with the cluesfor this year. That wouldbe something like a phonebook or compass. Teamscan also bring anythingelse they can think theymight need. Cell phones,smart phones or access tosomeone who has a com-puter by phone are allallowable helps.
The cost to participateis $22 per person, whichincludes dinner andprizes. New this year is aspecial free raffle limitedto new participatingteams. New teams aresupplied with the rulesand helpful hints for play-ing the game. The winnerscome home with a cashprize and a very odd look-
ing trophy.Phelan’s team won last
year, so they also get toplan out the next year’sclues.
Phelan said first-timersrarely win because of thelearning curve, but, whynot take the challenge tobe the first new team towin?
Randy and JudyHeather go to the annualroad rally regularly. RandyHeather said it’s a greatway to meet people orcatch up with local folksyou haven’t seen for awhile.
“Depending on howmany family members weget,” he said, “the guys willgo against the girls. It’svery enjoyable.”
Heather said some ofthe clues are tougher andshorter and some arelonger and quicker. A cluemay be written out withthe alphabet as a num-ber’s code, but, to make itmore difficult, A, B, C isnot 1, 2, 3.
“You usually hit your-self in the head when youfinally figure it out,” hesaid.
When everyone gets tothe final destination fordinner and drinks, eachteam will have a story totell.
“We always go back tofirst time, when weopened up our first clueand we said, ‘oh my!’” saidHeather.
Phelan said peoplewho enjoy puzzles willlove the rally.
Contestants come fromall parts of the county andusually range in age fromabout 20 to 60 years old.Phelan advises groups tomix it up a little to givetheir team an advantage,as one question might beeasy for a baby-boomerbut it might stump some-one in their 20s.
For more informationor for a registration form,call (810) 765-3665 or goto the Stump Jumperspage on Facebook.
Contact Jeri Packer at(586) 716-8100, ext. 302 [email protected]
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put in that situation.”Wallace said one of the
main things he tries toleave with law enforce-ment and emergencyworkers is to never say itcouldn’t happen in yourtown. Michigan had itsown scrape with whatappears to have been aterrorist attack when theChristmas Day bombertried to detonate a deviseon December 2009 atDetroit Metro Airport.
“What if the bomb haddetonated before landingand the plane came downin sections of Michiganand we did not haveenough personnel to dealwith that?” Wallace said.“Even if you’re not the tar-get, they may be makingthe bomb there, and theterrorist could accidental-ly release it in your juris-diction.”
The other vital piece ofknowledge, too late forhundreds like Wallace, isthe need for hazardousmaterial training. Withoutthe proper gear, firstresponders can end upbecoming casualties.
Wallace got sick breath-ing in toxic particles in theair while he worked. Hehas lost three sections ofhis lung and has comedown with a host of otherdiseases, including a com-promised immune system,he said.
His job at ground zerowas to help locate and col-lect documents of victims,evidence weapons, air-plane parts and the blackbox, if there was anythingleft of it.
At the Stanton Islandlandfill, they set up a placeto organize human bones,teeth, tissue and organs.Working with a forensicanthropologist, they triedto identify the victims.Families brought in sam-ples of hair found onbrushes or tissue on ashaving razor to matchwith the samples uncov-ered at ground zero. Theywere able to identify abouta half of the victims.
Wiley was grateful forwhat New York firstresponders, “learnedthrough trial and tribula-tion.”
“They tried to perfect itso they could now pass iton,” he said.
As September ushers in“National PreparednessMonth,” St. Clair CountyHomeland SecurityPlanner Jodi Simpson isreminding county resi-dents to remember thelessons of 9/11.
“Sept. 11 taught us allthat disasters can happenanytime, even when total-ly unexpected,” she said.
Residents can help outtheir emergency workersby simply not needingtheir help in the first 72hours in an emergency.
“Office of EmergencyManagement andHomeland Securityencourages all residents toprepare to be self-reliantfor at least three days,” shesaid. “Major emergenciescan quickly overwhelmessential services.”
In St. Clair County,there are about 800 emer-gency responders for163,000 residents.Everyone should have anemergency preparednessplan, said Simpson. Tolearn how to make one,visit bereadystclaircoun-ty.org or call Jodi Simpsonat (810) 989-6965.
Contact Jeri Packer at(586) 716-8100, ext. 302 [email protected].
continued from page 1
NEW YORK
Submitted PhotoThe winning team
gets to take home theofficial Stump Jumperstrophy.
Annual road rally sendsteams on race against timePrizes,dinner, awaitcontestantsat the end Submitted photo
NYPD Det. Ed Wallaceat ground zero.