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*The identity of an African American U.S. Marine who helped to locate two police officers buried in the crumbled World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, has finally been revealed, reports the Associated Press.
Jason Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, was watching a TV promo for the new Oliver Stone film chronicling the events, “World Trade Center,” when he noticed two Marines with flashlights hunting for survivors atop the smoldering ruins.
"That's us. That's me!" thought Thomas, who lived in Long Island during the attacks and now works as an officer in Ohio's Supreme Court.
For years, authorities have wondered who the mystery man was that swooped in to assist in the recovery efforts – eventually helping to free Port Authority police officers Will Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin – then took off, never to be seen or heard from again. The producers of “World Trade Center” were also unable to locate the serviceman, who had given his name only as Sgt. Thomas at the time. In the film, unaware of his identity or race, producers cast a white actor, William Mapother, to play Thomas in the movie.
After the television promo, Thomas, 32, hesitantly re-emerged last week to recount the role he played in the rescue of the officers, who were buried beneath 20 feet of debris when the twin towers collapsed.
As proof of his identity, Thomas provided the AP with photographs of himself at ground zero. Also, the movie's producer, Michael Shamberg, said Thomas and Jimeno have spoken by phone and shared details only the two of them would know.
Thomas had been out of the Marine Corps for about a year when he was dropping his daughter off at his mother's Long Island home on Sept. 11, 2001, and she told him about the planes crashing into the towers. He retrieved his Marine uniform from his truck, sped to Manhattan and had just parked his car when one of the towers collapsed. Thomas ran toward the center of the ash cloud.
"Someone needed help. It didn't matter who," he said. "I didn't even have a plan. But I have all this training as a Marine, and all I could think was, 'My city is in need."'
Thomas happened upon another former Marine, Staff Sgt. David Karnes, and the pair decided to search for survivors. Armed with little more than flashlights and an infantryman's shovel, they searched through the heavy chunks of debris, skirting dangerous crevasses and shards of red-hot metal, calling out "Is anyone down there? United States Marines!" It was dark before they heard a response. The two crawled into a deep pit to find McLoughlin and Jimeno, injured but alive.
Shamberg said he apologized to Thomas for getting his race wrong in the movie. Filmmakers discovered the mistake after production had already begun. Thomas laughed and gently chided the filmmakers, then politely declined to discuss it further.
"I don't want to shed any negativity on what they were trying to show," he said. As for his story, Thomas said he is gradually becoming more comfortable telling it. "It's been like therapy," he said.