September 11: A Memoir

Some days define history. Others define the people who lived through it. Captain William Groneman III never expected September 11, 2001, to become one of those days.His morning began quietly on the shores of Jones Beach. Then five words drifting from a nearby radio shattered the calm. A plane had struck the World Trade Center. Within moments, everything changed. For the nation, for New York City, for the Fire Department of the City of New York... and for every person whose life would forever be measured by the events of that day. As Captain of FDNY Engine 308 in Queens, Groneman knew exactly where he needed to be. Racing back to his firehouse, he joined thousands of firefighters who answered the call without hesitation, stepping into a crisis unlike anything the department had ever faced.