John McLoughlin: It was different. We knew it wasn’t a good situation, but we didn’t think we were going to lose our lives or be seriously injured. In order for those rescue men just to crawl over that pile with holes that were 90 feet deep, fires burning, smoke, unstable, their shoes melting on metal beams … We faced death, but we didn’t have a choice. Those men faced death, and they had a choice.
McLoughlin: I pretty much remember most of it.
Jimeno: We were conscious the whole time. I was trying to go to sleep. I had made my peace with God, and I closed my eyes and I just wanted to go to sleep. But if John heard me not talking, he’d yell at me and vice versa. We knew that at any moment maybe we could hear someone. And if we’re not awake, we’re dead.
Jimeno: Would you rather have a story be told incorrectly or correctly? I don’t think there’s any easy getting around this issue. John and I respect the [Pezzullo] family. But as police officers, our first line is to remember our fallen comrades. When Dom was dying, he said, “Willie, don’t forget I died trying to save you guys.” And I said, “Dom, I would never let that happen.” This film is a way to honor him. We’re not the heroes of the film. I want America to know this: Dominick’s for real, he was a real person. He was a schoolteacher who became a cop, and his heart was big, and he ran into those buildings. If you don’t show what actually happened that day, what’s the use of making this film? In America, we need to be honest with ourselves. People died that day. And many people in uniform and in civilian clothes died doing the right thing. We’re just one small slice of thousands of stories.
McLoughlin: I was in for four months.
Jimeno: I was in just under three months.
McLoughlin: For our wives, us being buried was easier than what they went through in the hospital.
Jimeno: They had to watch the suffering. John was in a coma. I can’t even start to tell you about the pain. It seemed like every other day we’d go into surgery.
McLoughlin: At one point the doctors had asked Donna to bring the kids in to see me for the last time–they didn’t think I was going to make it. But she held off, and things changed.
Jimeno: We’re very lucky to have two great women. The movie poster doesn’t show our wives. But I think that’s what people, especially women, are going to say about the movie: “You know what? Those are strong women behind those men.” I love my wife, Allison; I love her to death. And Donna … since John was in a coma, she would come over and care for me when Allison wasn’t there.
Jimeno: You live life . I call them when I’m doing better, when I do things I thought I would never be able to do. Lately, I’m running 45 minutes on the treadmill five days a week.
Jimeno: I didn’t watch much of it. To this day I still have problems watching excessive news coverage of violence and bad things.
You’ve paid your dues .
Jimeno: Right, it’s time to watch something else.
McLoughlin: The blood wasn’t circulating–that’s what caused most of our problems. Tissue started dying. And, um, as a result of removing a lot of that tissue–that’s what left us with, you know, our legs crippled up. My lower legs don’t work from the knees down, and a good hunk of my upper legs have been removed. My quads and my hamstrings give me the power to walk. That’s what I have to work with. But I’m up and around.
Jimeno: There was a long time when I had difficulties. I was only on the job for nine months–and that’s all I ever wanted to be. I missed helping people. I missed the camaraderie. But when I speak at academies, I can show them the reality: you could get hurt and your career could be over. The challenge is, how do you pick up the pieces? In my heart, I’ll always be a cop. I miss it. But I can still talk to the guys–and I still have the boss. Things are good.
McLoughlin: He won’t let me live it down. He called me Sergeant for years!
Jimeno: I love this man. In that split second when that building was collapsing, I saw a fireball, and I didn’t know where to go. When John said “Run!”–that’s years of experience. He tried to get our whole team out, and unfortunately it was beyond human capability. I love this guy.
McLoughlin: I didn’t know much. I had to ask him what his first name was when we were in the hole. I didn’t want to have to keep on calling him Jimeno.
