Written by Jade Hornick
On the morning of September 11, 2001, David Villanueva, a New York City Police Officer during that time, started what seemed like an ordinary day on duty.
He was assigned to a local high school just about ten minutes from the World Trade Center. His shift began at 4 o’clock that morning, as part of security for the primary election that New York City was holding.
Within hours, that ordinary morning turned into a day no one would ever forget.
David Villanueva first heard the news through his police radio, there was a plane that had struck one of the towers.
Like so many that morning, he initially believed it was a tragic mistake, an accident, until moments later when it was heard that there was another plane heading towards the Trade Center that was off course.
That’s when they knew it wasn’t an accident.
Shortly after, the city went into red alert and started having all first responders heading towards New York City. Villanueva did not believe that the attacks were over, nor did New York City as there were bomb threats coming in for hours.
They closed all the bridges and tunnels and did what’s called bomb sweeps. The threats turned out to be false, but the atmosphere had shifted completely.
Villanueva remembered a view that he will never forget. When he began running towards the towers, people started running past him in the opposite direction.
At that moment, all he could see were victims.
“You cannot tell gender, you cannot tell race, because everybody was filled with white soot from head to toe, and everyone looked confused, everyone looked lost,” said Villanueva.
Despite the uncertainty of the situation, people were looking for guidance. Villanueva knew action had to be taken, he knew he had to act.
He brought people into the high school so they could make phone calls to their loved ones and wash up, but it got crowded fast, so they began to use other buildings to keep people until they could get them out of NewYork City.
Even in chaos, his focus was on helping others find safety and connection during the panic.
The effects of 9/11 did not end for Villanueva when that day was over. Even after all these years, the memories of the event remain with him along with some aftermath effects. He’s picked up a lot of allergies, hearing loss due to the crashes, and a lot of smells now give him headaches.
“I’ve had many of my friends who have passed away since 9/11 because of either cancers or illnesses due to 9/11,” said Villanueva. “I still have to get checked out once a year for any illness.”
This is something that will affect all the people present in the city that day that were exposed to the chemicals used in the attacks until the day they die.
Other than the physical toll, the experience itself has changed the way he sees the world, knowing that anything can happen at any moment.
“For the rest of my life I will always carry that with me and at times, out of nowhere, you close your eyes, and it brings you back to that day, but there’s nothing you can do, it’s part of life,” said Villanueva.
“You have tolive life as if it was your last day on Earth because you cannot live in fear. Things can happen at any moment, so you have to enjoy life every single day.”
“We lost a lot of good people. We lost a lot of innocent people. We just can never forget, and we always have to remember 9/11,” added Villanueva.
David Villanueva was a former New York City Police Officer who was a First Responder during the attacks of 9/11. Today, he works as a manager at Plaza Auto Body Shop.