A Chinese-American Hero saved by the
Grace of God in the World Trade Center
On the Second Anniversary of the Terrorist Attack on America the Fox
News TV Channel showed an interview with Police Officer David Lim of the New
York and New Jersey Port Authority that owned the World Trade Center. After guiding hundreds down the stairs and
out of the World Trade Center, David Lim, the 24-year police veteran, found
himself in a deluge of steel and concrete as Tower One collapsed around him. He
managed to escape from the wreckage, along with one civilian and members of
Ladder Company 6 of the New York Fire Department. When asked about his survival David Lim said: “I am still alive
by the grace of God.” One firefighter
acknowledged their narrow escape “was truly a miracle.” Another firefighter
said. “God willed that we made it through the collapse.” These heroes believe and have strong convictions in God's guiding hand in their survival.
David Waymond Lim is a
first generation Chinese American. He
was born in New York City's Chinatown on September 2, 1956, more than a decade
after his parents immigrated to the United States from the Toison province of
China. When they arrived the Lim family
opened a restaurant and began forming their new lives in America. Inspired by the
cops who frequented his parents’ Chinatown restaurant, he determined at an
early age that he wanted to become a police officer.
By 1980, his dream had become a reality, as he worked at the World Trade Center
beat for the Port Authority police department. Spurred by the 1993 bombing, he
joined the K-9 patrol in 1997, clearing VIP areas and checking trucks for
explosives with the help of his dog Sirius.
Here is what Police
Officer David Lim described on what happened to him on the morning of September
11, 2001.
"I'm
not very articulate, so bear with me. It was 08:45 hrs when the first
plane struck the North Tower. I locked my dog, Sirius, in his kennel and
proceeded to the Plaza of #1 WTC to assist in evacuation. I noted a body that had either jumped or was
thrown out a higher floor. I had never
seen anything like this in my life.
While calling in the DOA, another body landed 50 ft from the first. I was advised of multiple aided on the upper
floors and proceeded up the "B" staircase. I stopped on the 27th floor to assist and sat with FDNY
to rest before we continued. They were wearing full bunker gear & hauling a
lot of equipment. I called Diane (my wife) and told her I was all right.
I
made it to the 44th floor skylobby and while I directed people to the stairway,
I saw the 2nd plane strike the South Tower.
I was knocked off my feet by the concussion. I quickly gathered the
remaining people and the firemen, and headed back down the stairs. On the way
we encountered some elderly & physically handicapped persons. The fireman
began dropping their equipment and carrying them down. On the 21st floor I saw three other officers
and was advised of the collapse of the South Tower. We assisted another aided
and kept moving down. On the 5th floor
I found a Battalion Chief trying to help an injured woman. I stopped to help
and we got to the 4th floor when the North Tower collapsed on top of us.
Myself, six firemen from Ladder 6 and Josephine survived, only suffering
minor injuries.”
In today’s (9/11/03) interview
with Fox News TV Channel Police Officer David Lim of the New York and New
Jersey Port Authority that owned the Twin Towers said: “I am still alive by the
grace of God.” David Lim and the firefighters were on the fourth floor of the World Trade Centers Tower One when
it began to collapse.
They were saved when they stopped
to help a woman, Josephine Harris, down a stairwell. When they were
rescued nearly five hours later, the stairwell, which had formed a protective
“pocket,” was the only part of the building left standing. Of the 15 members of
Ladder Co. 6 trapped that day, 14 survived. One of the firefighters D’Agostino said
that had they not encountered Harris in the stairwell that day, they would have
been killed. She had stopped out of exhaustion. “A minute later, and we
wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Lim said. “It was truly a miracle,”
Butler said. “God willed that we made it through the collapse.” The men
recounted their escape, during which they crawled through rubble, walked on
I-beams, and descended four stories via a rope.
At one point, they were forced to
retreat when a Secret Service ammunition depot exploded, discharging bullets.
“I thought somebody had landed on the beach,” Lim said. “I was wearing one of
those old leather helmets,” Butler said. “I remember wondering if a leather
helmet can stop a bullet.” Asked whether life can ever return to some semblance
of normalcy, Butler replied, “Nobody’s ever going to get back into the routine.
You have to ask yourself, ‘What is normal?’ You never forget the guys who were
killed that day, or the people you tried to get out.” “For me, this is the new
normal,” D’Agostino said. “My life has been changed drastically.” “We can’t
describe to you the devastation,” Meldrum said. “As bad as it looked on TV,
pictures don’t begin to do it justice.” The Port Authority, which oversees the
city’s public transportation system, lost 37 officers that day, including Lim’s
canine partner, Sirius. 
One thing is very clear to David Lim and the firefighters. They know that because they had helped one woman in distress on that day of September 11, 2001 their lives had been spared. They also know it is the work of God.
“This is a faithful
saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have
believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
(Tit. 3:8)
“And let us not grow
weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose
heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
(Gal. 6:9-10)
May God bless You
First public hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States
Statement of David Lim to the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
March 31, 2003
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing1/witness_lim.htm
This article is the research project of Paul Wong
for publication in the ARK Forum on September 11, 2003.
For
comments please write first to [email protected]
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
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