The Survivor
by Mort Crim
(Republishing it in honor of 9/11)
Terrorist attacks put national spirit through yet another historic test
In the early hours after terrorists took down New York's World Trade Center, an old man was pulled from the rubble, wounded and in shock, but insisting he'd make a full recovery from that living hell.
The man carried no identification, but as he brushed debris from his clothing, some people began to recognize him The white beard should have been a dead giveaway but soot had turned it a dirty gray And the force of the first explosion had knocked off his familiar hat.
"This isn't the first time they've tried to kill me," the old man told a reporter.
"You think you were the target of this unspeakable deed?" she asked. “Oh, no doubt about it," he said. "All those thousands of dead and missing, the terrorists consider them collateral damage. I'm the one they were really after.
"My enemies have been trying to kill me ever since I was born back in 1776. When I was only an adolescent, they tore me apart with a civil war. But they have never understood a strength that comes more from ideas than from armies. They're always mistaking liberty for weakness.
"I remember back in 1929, when I was so broke and hungry even friends were writing my obituary. But I came back from that Great Depression so rich and strong I became the envy of the world."
"In the early 1900s, I finally enlisted in a war some thought would end all wars. Oh, I was reluctant at first. Figured it wasn't my business. But in the end, I recognized that making the world safe for democracy is everybody's business.
"Now 1941, that was different. That year, they hit me in my own back yard. Killed more than two thousand of my own family.
"Well, there's nothing that galvanizes this old man like an attack from someone who wants to destroy my way of life. That's never going to happen. No way!
"Why ma'am," he said, his voice growing stronger, "You have no idea how many times they've thought I was too timid, too stupid or too badly hurt to recover. Every time they've been wrong.
"I've survived Korea, Vietnam, city riots, campus turmoil, assassinations and impeachments. I've endured so many fights within my own family I can't even count them.
"And tinhorn terrorists think they can bring me down? These murdering cowards who kill children without conscience, they honestly believe they stand a chance of winning?
"Maybe they think because I'm old, I've grown soft. Just be patient Then look around and you'll see how tough this old man is.
"You'll see kids playing soccer again. The malls filling up again. Teachers teaching. Doctors healing. Investors buying. Factories producing. You'll see America's finest young people fanning out across the world to catch these criminals and keep America safe as a beacon of democracy and hope.
"Oh, we know the road back will be long and difficult. And we can't ever become complacent. But we'll remember Sept. 11 just as we remember Dec. 7.
"I think we'll also become more thoughtful about the world. More aware of the poverty, injustice and hate that breed terrorism. More committed to helping those who suffer".
"Just one more question," the reporter asked. "Are you a religious person?"
The old man laughed.
"Why ma'am, my motto is 'In God We Trust.' That's another thing they don't understand, these folks who want to kill me.
"You see, I don't wear my faith or my patriotism on my sleeve. But they're always there, down deep, and in times of crisis they shoot out like a volcano.
At that moment, a rescue worker handed the old man a crumpled top hat. "Sir," he said, "I think this is yours."
The red, white and blue were barely visible beneath the dust. The brim was singed around the edges. But the old man straightened it out, brushed it off, and placed it proudly on his head.
"We're all going to be just fine," he said. "Tell them that."
As word spread throughout the area that Uncle Sam had survived the attack and was expected to recover, rescue workers planted a big American flag right in the middle of the devastation.
So the whole world could see. So the whole world would know.
