SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The USS Midway Museum is lit up in red, white, and blue as San Diego marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks — attacks that changed the lives of Americans forever and spurred one former New York City firefighter into action.
Robert Allen is a proud New Yorker who served as a firefighter in his hometown for 8 years before an injury forced him to retire. He eventually moved to San Diego, where he currently lives.
24 years after leaving the job, Allen remembers the moment he watched the terror attacks unfold from across the country.
"I was driving a school bus here in San Diego," Allen said. "It's unbelievable that it could be 25 years."
After learning about the attacks and witnessing the harrowing scene on television, Allen and a group of fellow FDNY retirees returned to New York City. For 10 days, they helped in what would be months-long recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
"I had to. It's just I didn't in my head, I didn't have a choice. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I couldn't go back," Allen said. "Every day we called and every day they said, "We'll fly tomorrow. Don't worry about it. We'll fly tomorrow and nine days later, [the airlines] are flying."
In the midst of a horrific scene at Ground Zero, what stuck out the most to Allen as he worked the recovery efforts was the effort from the active firefighters, going through the rubble and working for 12+ hours a day.
"I had to take it easy compared to them, and I felt really less, to tell you the truth. The energy these guys put out, it was absolutely incredible," Allen said.
Allen says being a firefighter is like being a part of a brotherhood. It's that camaraderie he built with his crews in the '70s that took him back to New York to help after the attack.
San Diego, National City Fire and other organizations will join Allen and other retired New York City firefighters at the USS Midway Museum for today's 25th anniversary ceremony. The ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. Admission to the Midway will be free from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. for people attending.
