re: Pan Am Flight 759 Crash

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That was terrible. The news broadcast the aftermath live. People floating in the river, blinded jet fuel and hanging onto blocks of ice. I vividly remember watching that guy jump in and swim the freezing cold river to save a lady who was losing her grip on a life ring and slipping under the surface. She survived. What a hero that guy was!

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I remember the passenger in the water who kept passing the helicopter's life ring to other people in the water. Sadly, he didn't make it.

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I was part of the medical team that transported that baby to East Jefferson Hospital. Indeed, the baby bed and crib had miraculously protected her- the rest of that house had disintegrated into small pieces when the jet cartwheeled through it.
I was blessed because I was able to help, in some small way, a survivor. The rest of it was mostly just picking up the pieces. Literally.

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I don't know how Gabe made it through that ordeal, but I guess having Melissa survive gave him reason to go on.
I knew several Firemen that needed therapy for quite a while after this event.

Personally, I was in AIT at Fort Gordon, GA and had just gotten back to the Barracks that night and someone asked, "aren't you from New Orleans?" I said "NOLA area, yes." the guy says, "Oh, they had a Plane crash there today."
I had no details at first on where the crash occurred, but Knowing that my parents lived in North Kenner near the lake, my grandparents lived on the first block of Roosevelt Blvd north of West Metairie and my girlfriend (now wife, no pics) can look out her front door and see the North South runway, I was scared. I had a rough night sitting in a phone booth trying to get through to anybody. Finally got through to my brother in Lafayette who told me everyone was fine.
Had a locker inspection first thing in the morning and I didn't wake up, lol. First Sergeant was about to tear me a new one, but was told that I had been up all night because of the plane crash.