REVIEW: 9/11: One Day in America, Episode One: First Response

"And at this extraordinary time in history, those little moments of caring for another were the differences between life and death." -Joseph Pfeifer, Chief Battalion NYFD

National Geographic and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum officially collaborated on what may be the most comprehensive documentary to date. It had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021.

This documentary tunnels through the fateful day of 9/11 with such great details that it is unimaginable to believe that someone's loved one endured these measures of pain.

I remember this day as if it was yesterday. Over 800 miles south of the explosion, our teacher rolled in the tv on wheels and said to us, "This is the pearl harbor of your time."

I had no clue what that meant.

To date, more than 60 documentaries and films have been produced to try and reimagine and recapture the details of September 11, 2001. Many have done a fantastic job of conveying the heroism that first responders displayed to attempt to stop the fresh rip in the country's seams. This documentary, directed by award-winning director, Daniel Bogado has, as of the 1st episode, seem to have gotten it so right.

The first episode centers around the first response to the reports of the initial crash. It shapes the day with audio footage of top news stories, including Michael Jordan's announcement of his return to the NBA.

Reportedly over 1,000 hours of archival footage, seen and unseen, and over 234 hours of interviews with 54 people went into this documentary.

New York Fire Batallion Chief Joseph Pfeifer and his men were about 14 blocks from the Towers responding to reports of a gas leak in the area. It wasn't long after the leak was detected that the first plane, American Airlines, Flight 11 slams into the North Tower.

Businessman Ron Clifford recalls what he expected to be an exciting day. He would be visiting the towers after colleagues changed his business meeting location last minute. Clifford would later find himself in the thick of the blast, praying with a woman whose eyes were burned shut from the first blast, all while the second plane is crashing into the second tower. The plane on which, unbeknownst to him, his sister and niece were aboard.

There were parts in the film where I had to pause and regroup. Notably, the harrowing accounts and actual footage of LIVE humans falling from their grips on the building to certain death. Firefighter Ed Fahey, visibly shaken nearly 20 years later, recalled seeing a man falling from the sky saying, "[It] sticks with me every day, I can't imagine being in those peoples' shoes, having to make the choice of burning to death or jumping and knowing you're dying. Poor people."

What was even more harrowing of his account was the cut from the footage outdoor to the firefighter's point of view inside the lobby, hearing the thuds of lives being lost and essentially being helpless to those.

Reportedly over 300 firefighters lost their lives on that day. The jet fuel of the first plane completed blew out the elevator shaft rendering them to the stairs as the only source of elevation from one floor to the next. 110 flights. They carried out a rescue mission, afraid, brave, scared, and confused with their gear on up 110 flights.

The accounts of survivors, including Lynn Simpson, a survivor from the 89th floor, the crash proximity, referred to them as "Angels."

She was among a group trapped on a floor that had all but given up hope. They had started calling love ones and saying their goodbyes. The audio of one man, in particular, was captured of him telling, presumably, his wife, that he loved them and to tell the kids to keep this voicemail forever. Simpson and her group were saved by four firemen who she said: "could have gone done to save themselves but didn't." They continued up the fiery ruins to save others and sadly perished in the process.

There was massive loss of life and devastating tales of pain, but many moments were shown where individuals took personal responsibility for the fallen man or woman next to them. So many rose to the occasion with no consideration of anything further except that there is someone next to me hurting and I can help. I will help.

The amount of information divulged in this documentary is vast and renders you speechless. It indeed sheds light on the day that held the heaviest burden of a tale of despair, faith, and humanity.

9/11: One Day in America is streaming on Hulu.