Dave Karnes
David W. Karnes | |
---|---|
Born | December 12, 1958 |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | 3rd Marine Division[1] |
Battles/wars | Persian Gulf War War on Terror
|
Awards | Iraq Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal[citation needed] |
David W. Karnes (born December 12, 1958) is a
Career
2001: September 11 attacks
Karnes, an
According to a Slate magazine profile, Karnes drove to a local church and asked the pastor and parishioners to say a prayer that God would lead him to survivors. A devout Christian, Karnes often turned to prayer when faced with decisions.[3]
Having spent 23 years in the Marine Corps infantry, he got a
According to a Defense Department profile of Karnes:
As we were walking we were yelling at the top of our lungs 'United States Marines, can anyone hear us?'" Karnes described. 'As we approached the depression of the south tower I thought I heard something. Indeed it was some muffled call for help, I assured them that Thomas and I were both looking for them so keep yelling so we can find you.'
Karnes instructed Thomas to position himself on some high rubble for visibility and to guide any responding rescuers to the trapped men. To which he found an operating engineer with a flashlight, who climbed down and spoke with Will, one of the officers. After that, the operating engineer climbed through the rubble, and summoned the FDNY.
After Karnes called his wife and sister on his cell phone with instructions to relay to the authorities his whereabouts, he and Thomas were able to find two survivors.[2]
The three men found
In popular culture
In the 2006 Oliver Stone movie, World Trade Center, which tells this story, Karnes is played by Michael Shannon. Karnes did not cooperate in the making of Stone's World Trade Center movie due to Stone's antipathy towards U.S. President George W. Bush. Some critics took issue with the portrayal in the film. Rebecca Liss of Slate magazine observed, "The film seems to overplay his zeal without conveying his motivations and reasoning." It notes he is unfairly portrayed as "a robotic soldier of Christ—a little wacky and simplistic."[4]
See also
References
- ^ "David Karnes: Always A Marine, Defending Our Country". Veterans Advantage. Archived from the original on 3 March 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b Libbert, Ryan D., Cpl., USMC. "U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. David W. Karnes: Marine Recaps 9/11 Experiences in New York". Defend America. Consolidated Public Affairs Office, USMC, Okinawa , Japan. Archived from the original on 2006-08-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Liss, Rebecca. "An Unlikely Hero: The Marine who Found Two WTC Survivors". Slate magazine. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011.
- ^ Liss, Rebecca. "How the 9/11 Rescue Really Happened". Slate magazine.