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American Morning
Interview of Larry Connors
Aired December 25, 2001 - 08:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR, ATLANTA: Someone else I want to talk with this morning. He's a 29-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department.
Larry Connors just returned from Afghanistan. He was among the contingent of firefighters and New York City police officers who delivered an American flag to troops there.
The flag had been at ground zero. They delivered, in fact, a lot more than that. And Larry Connors joining us from New York this morning.
Larry, thanks for joining us, Chief, here on this Christmas morning. We really appreciate it.
LARRY CONNORS, NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, thank you. Merry Christmas.
KAGAN: Merry Christmas to you. We mentioned the American flag, but clearly the idea of this mission was a humanitarian, and you took over a lot more stuff than just the American flag. Tell us about that.
CONNORS: Yeah, the mission was conceived by Guinness (ph). They had some experience in humanitarian airlifts before.
They brought along rice, cooking oil -- particularly cooking oil -- 35,000 pounds, I think it was, which is real important to the Afghanistans -- Afghanistan people -- during the winter season.
KAGAN: And what's the message here that you were trying to get to the Afghan people?
CONNORS: Well, you know, we obviously, we're on a quest for justice against the criminal network that committed the attack on America -- but just not on America, this attack was against humanity.
And I think the message here was that despite this, our society is showing the world that there's a humanitarian piece to this, and that we're going to help those who are innocent victims, such as the orphans over there in Kabul.
KAGAN: So, you got to meet some of those people, also, to see some of the U.S. troops. Can you tell us about any of the folks you were able to visit with? I know it was a pretty quick trip.
CONNORS: Yes. In terms of visiting the orphans, I know my first impression was, as I looked at their eyes, it was sort of a sadness.
But we started placing our hats on the tops of their heads, giving them candy. And just like any kids, all of a sudden, they just bloomed with big smiles. And it was a certain sense of satisfaction out of that.
But I guess I was most impressed by our soldiers. I can recall being on the ground not but a few minutes, and a soldier tapped me on the back and asking if I would come up to the top of the hangar on the roof, that there are a couple of soldiers up there who couldn't leave, and that they would like to take some pictures with me.
So I stuck a couple of Fire Department hats in my turn-out coat, and I climbed to the top of this hangar.
And on the top of the hangar, I figured out pretty quickly that these two soldiers couldn't leave, because there were actually snipers in a ...
KAGAN: Oh, my goodness.
CONNORS: ... sniper position there on the top of the hangar.
And as I put my arms around them, and they started snapping the camera, I realized that -- how young they were. It was like I was putting my arms around my own son, who now is 16 and will be 17 in a month. And they were really doing a man's job.
And I also realized when I got home, all of us who had been in the service many years ago, we were their age, too.
KAGAN: When -- as you were telling that story, we were showing some pictures. It was -- we saw this American flag that we mentioned before. Tell us more about the flag.
Also, as you're posing for these pictures in this video, you can see, also, people posing with a photograph. Who is in that photograph and what's the significance of that?
CONNORS: Could you run that again? I ...
KAGAN: Yeah, can you -- are you -- do you have a monitor where you can see? Can we run that tape one more time so Larry can see it?
Here it comes. Can you see the pictures now?
CONNORS: Yes.
KAGAN: OK. Now what is that?
CONNORS: That ... KAGAN: Tell us what we're seeing here.
CONNORS: Well that's fireman Joe Higgins (ph). He lost his brother during the Trade Center disaster.
He's -- he accompanied with him, he brought some concrete from the Trade Center and a bracelet with his brother's name. The soldiers there had dug a pit in the ground where they're going to bury the bracelet with Joe Higgins' (ph) brother -- Timmy's (ph) name on it, and also pieces of concrete.
KAGAN: From the World Trade Center site.
CONNORS: From the World Trade Center, yes.
KAGAN: And even on this Christmas morning, the work still does continue there, and your fellow firefighters still working.
Any thoughts about them and for them on this Christmas morning?
CONNORS: Well, I tell you, the fact that they're working there on Christmas Day says it all. And God bless them.
KAGAN: And we see the live pictures, there, from ground zero.
Larry Connors, thanks for bringing your pictures and your stories, and your thoughts on this Christmas morning. We really appreciate it.
I don't know that happy holidays is fitting this time around, especially through everything you and your fellow firefighters have been through, but we do wish you the warmest of holiday greetings.
CONNORS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Thanks for being with us. Larry Connors from the New York City Fire Department.
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