David W. Karnes | |
---|---|
Born | December 12, 1958 |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1978–2007 |
Rank | Staff sergeant |
Unit | 3rd Marine Division [1] |
Battles/wars | Persian Gulf War |
Awards | Iraq Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal [ citation needed ] |
David W. Karnes (born December 12, 1958) is a United States Marine, who with fellow U.S. Marine Jason Thomas located and helped rescue two police officers of the Port Authority Police Department trapped in the rubble from the September 11 attacks after the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001.
Karnes, an accountant by profession, left his office at Deloitte and Touche in Wilton, Connecticut, after witnessing the attacks on television. Karnes said to his co-workers, "You guys may not realize it, but this country is at war." [2]
According to a Slate magazine profile, Karnes drove to a local church and asked the pastor and parishioners to say a prayer that God would lead him to survivors. A devout Christian, Karnes often turned to prayer when faced with decisions. [3]
Having spent 23 years in the Marine Corps infantry, he got a regulation hair cut, put on his Marine Corps camouflage utility uniform, and obtained equipment that included rappelling gear. He drove from Connecticut to the World Trade Center to assist with the disaster. At the site, he ran into another Marine, Jason Thomas, and walked with him into the rubble. At the time, he only knew his fellow Marine as "Sgt. Thomas". His full identity was not discovered until five years later.
According to a Defense Department profile of Karnes:
As we were walking we were yelling at the top of our lungs 'United States Marines, can anyone hear us?'" Karnes described. 'As we approached the depression of the south tower I thought I heard something. Indeed it was some muffled call for help, I assured them that Thomas and I were both looking for them so keep yelling so we can find you.'
Karnes instructed Thomas to position himself on some high rubble for visibility and to guide any responding rescuers to the trapped men. To which he found an operating engineer with a flashlight, who climbed down and spoke with Will, one of the officers. After that, the operating engineer climbed through the rubble, and summoned the FDNY.
After Karnes called his wife and sister on his cell phone with instructions to relay to the authorities his whereabouts, he and Thomas were able to find two survivors. [2]
The three men found Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin, a pair of police officers buried in the rubble. Karnes spent a total of nine days at the site before returning to his office. Upon returning home, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and went on to serve in the Philippines and Iraq. He served for 17 months, including two tours of duty in Iraq.
In the 2006 Oliver Stone movie, World Trade Center , which tells this story, Karnes is played by Michael Shannon. Karnes did not cooperate in the making of Stone's World Trade Center movie due to Stone's antipathy towards U.S. President George W. Bush. Some critics took issue with the portrayal in the film. Rebecca Liss of Slate magazine observed, "The film seems to overplay his zeal without conveying his motivations and reasoning." It notes he is unfairly portrayed as "a robotic soldier of Christ—a little wacky and simplistic." [4]
The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited a large response of local emergency and rescue personnel to assist in the evacuation of the two towers, resulting in a large loss of the same personnel when the towers collapsed. After the attacks, the media termed the World Trade Center site "Ground Zero", while rescue personnel referred to it as "the Pile".
Joseph John Rosenthal was an American photographer who received the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima. His picture became one of the best-known photographs of the war, and was replicated as the United States Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took them as hostages. The hostages were held for 444 days, from November 4, 1979 to their release on January 20, 1981. The crisis is considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations.
James Terry Conway is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Among his previous postings were Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commanding General of 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force, taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the First Battle of Fallujah.
Harlon Henry Block was a United States Marine Corps corporal who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
John McLoughlin is one of two Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officers who survived after being trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. His rescue and that of William Jimeno are later the subject of Oliver Stone's film World Trade Center in 2006, in which McLoughlin was portrayed by actor Nicolas Cage.
World Trade Center is a 2006 American docudrama disaster film directed by Oliver Stone and written by Andrea Berloff. The film is based on the experience of a team of New York City police officers during the September 11 attacks, in which they were trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center. The film was shot between October 2005 and February 2006, and theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on August 9, 2006. It was met with generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $163 million worldwide.
The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is the official emblem and insignia of the United States Marine Corps. The current emblem traces its roots in the designs and ornaments of the early Continental Marines as well as the United Kingdom's Royal Marines. The present emblem, adopted in 1955, differs from the emblem of 1868 only by a change in the eagle. Before that time many devices, ornaments, ribbons, and distinguishing marks followed one another as official badges of the corps.
William J. Jimeno is a Colombian-American author and retired Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department officer who survived the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was buried under the rubble for a total of 18 hours, but survived, along with fellow Port Authority officer John McLoughlin. He has written two books regarding the experience.
Jason Thomas is a United States Marine who located and rescued people in the aftermath of collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City after the September 11 attacks in 2001. With fellow U.S. Marine David Karnes, he helped find a pair of Port Authority Police officers buried in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Henry Oliver Hansen was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was a member of the patrol that captured Mount Suribachi, where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. He was killed six days later.
Gerald Carthrae Thomas was a United States Marine Corps general who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1956 with more than 38 years of distinguished service which included duty on four continents, spanning two World Wars, Haiti and the Korean War. During World War I, he fought in major offensives, including the Battle of Belleau Wood, and was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
Ernest Ivy "Boots" Thomas Jr. was a United States Marine Corps platoon sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism while fighting for and at the base of Mount Suribachi. Two days later he was a member of the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. He was killed eight days after that.
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Charles W. Lindberg was a United States Marine Corps corporal who fought in three island campaigns during World War II. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was a member of the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on the island on February 23, 1945. Six days later, he was wounded in action.
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