The Boatlift

“A hero is a man who does what he can.”

-Romain Rolland

Inside each one of us is a hero; a hero who dreams of making a difference in the world, a hero who dreams of touching and saving lives. All of us can be heroes, if we only we would dare to reach out a lending hand to others and help in our own small way. The good deeds you do, no matter how little they may seem to you, are often a big help for others.

An inspiring story which shows us that anyone can be a hero, is the story of the Boat Lift during the 9/11 bombing, as shown in the video. It’s a story of resilience, of how heroes came together and let victims see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s the story of captains, engineers and crew of members of each boat, putting their own lives at risk just to help the unfortunate victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

With just one radio call, boats and ferries came together that day and saved 500,000 lives. Vincent Ardolino, captain of the Amberjack V and one of the boat lift heroes said that in life you make your choice. You can do what you can, or regret not doing what you could do for the rest of your life. He made his choice to help people because he believed that if he can help someone, even if it’s just one person, then that would be one person less to suffer and die.

These were regular people. But on the day of September 11th, they made a choice to be heroes instead.

It’s truly amazing how a dark tragedy can turn into a bright miracle. It inspires people to set aside their differences to be there for each other. It allows people to hope and believe in goodness. It teaches people to be resilient; to bounce back and fight after a sorrowful tragedy. Many lives were lost, but the 9/11 bombing also inspired people to come together as one, to do what they could and become heroes in their own ways.