The unsung heroes of 911

Long after the 911 attack the men and women who now are part of The Hazardous Materials od The World Trade Center Relief Organization worked long hours in Ground Zero. First, along with the NYC Fire Department, NYC Police Department and the many volunteers from all over the country these workers labored with the hope of rescuing survivors. When hope was gone and reality sunk in they assisted the NYC Firemen and Police Officers who always insisted, rightfully and proudly so, that only them had the right to dug up their fallen, paying the highest respects.

They became our heroes.

They always will be.

The members of today’s HMW of the WTC also dug up remains of the fallen, body parts, personal items, working in the midst of air polluted with chemicals.

Just like many of those firefighters and cops, the men and women of the HMW started suffering the physical effects of those months years later. Today most of them are unable to work. Most have lost their savings, their homes, their marriages. And find themselves without protection from NJ law.

On September 11, 2008 the City of Union City presented these honorable New Jersey residents with a proclamation. The organization’s founder, Humberto Yepe, was supposed to accept the citation. He couldn’t. While the ceremony went on he was fighting for his life less than a mile away, at Palisades General Hospital. His lifeline is a breathing machine. Other members of the organization have lost their lives. Most are eager to tell their story. It seems like the government have turned their backs on them.

Now they have placed all their hopes in New Jersey State Assemblyman, Brian P. Stack, who’s fighting for them at the NJ State Senate.

They have become the unsung heroes of 911.

Heroes non the less.

NJ State Senator, Brian P. Stack, has raised his voice in the State Senate on behalf of the members of The Hazardous Materials Workers of the WTC Relief Organization, the men and women who are now struggling and struggling due to the effects of the contaminated site where they worked so hard made a point of making sure that we wrote about their gratitude to Stack for his interest and action in their case.