‘World Trade Center’ omits Black soldier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/Page1.html
Deborah M. Todd
Courier Staff Writer
By Deborah M. Todd
Published on 08/9/2006
Following disasters of historically epic proportions like the attack on the World Trade Center, there are bound to be countless tales of self-sacrifice, heroism and triumph. Some stories, like those told in the movies “Flight 93” and Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” premiering Aug. 9, are made into blockbusters for the world to see. Others are either whispered quietly among family and friends or confined to the memories and souls of those who refuse to speak of them.
Such is the tale of United States Marine Corps Sgt. Jason L. Thomas--in spite of the fact that his story and the one told in “World Trade Center” are one in the same.
THE STORY
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 began like any other for Jason L. Thomas. A student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of City University of New York, he heard about the attack after taking his daughter to his mother’s house in Hempstead so he could attend classes.
“At the time I was saying to myself, ‘That’s an attack’. My mother looked at it as if it was an accident, but one of the first things that came to my mind was, ‘They got us,’” he said.
“Immediately after that, I just got in high gear. I had my uniform in my car, my C-Bag. We just moved into a house, so I had a lot of my personal equipment in my vehicle. I ran out to my car, got my uniform, got dressed and shot to the city.”
After a delay in Queens, which Thomas credits for keeping him away from the collapse of the South Tower, he attached himself to a police convoy and made it to the site within moments of the fall of the North Tower.
“Approaching one of the towers, all I see is one at the time, I see the building come crashing down. It just comes straight down. I park my vehicle and I remember this cloud of smoke and ash just enveloped where I was. I stuck my head down in my shirt and scooted behind my car and got on my knees, but it engulfed the area. So I got up and I just ran in the direction towards Ground Zero.”
At Ground Zero, Thomas immediately began to help by fighting fires, establishing triage sites to help the injured and assisting with the overall evacuation. While his primary focus was devoted to the emergency, he couldn’t help being affected by what had become of his city.
“I know this beautiful city, and now here it is, it’s just rubble,” he said. “There are fire engines on fire, and you don’t see that everyday--you don’t see cars and ambulances on fire. I was just trying to take it in.”
After hours of firefighting, assisting survivors and in some cases, praying over the dead, Thomas ran into another marine, Staff Sgt. Dave Karnes. Thomas presented a plan for a search and rescue mission of the area and he and Karnes tried to enlist other soldiers on site to help. When they were told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves.
“I found a couple guys, but it wasn’t enough, to them, to start a search and rescue,” he said. “I remember myself and staff Sgt. Karnes saying, ‘We’re going to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs us.’”
THE MOVIE
The World Trade Center movie tells the story of the rescues of New York Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno from Ground Zero, as well as that of the men who rescued them. In real life, the officers were rescued by sergeants Karnes and Thomas. In the film, however, they were rescued by Karnes and Sgt. Dave Thomas; a composite character, played by William Mapother, a white actor, who is meant to represent Thomas.
World Trade Center producer Michael Shamberg said that they knew about Sgt. Thomas’s role in the rescue, but were unable to find him when creating the film. He said producers didn’t discover Thomas was a Black man until after they had started the movie. He also said that in spite of the fact that the film was co-written by McLoughlin and Jimeno was consulted for authenticity, no one ever asked them for a physical description of the man who helped save their lives.
“Frankly, we goofed--we learned when we were filming that he was an African-American,” said Shamberg. “We would change it if we could. I actually called him and apologized, and he said he didn’t mind. He was very gracious about it.”
Thomas, meanwhile, didn’t learn the film was about his story until he saw the unmistakable image of two marines peering into a hole at Ground Zero during a commercial for the movie. He said that while he wasn’t angry about how the film turned out, he does wish it could have been more realistic.
"If you're going to tell a story, you should try to get it as accurate as possible," he said. "Some of the things did bother me to a certain degree--I'm an African-American male, and there's a white character being depicted as myself. But I'm not upset. It's bigger than myself-It's bigger than Staff Sgt. Kearns. A lot of people lost their lives. That's what needs to be remembered."
Although a great deal has changed for Thomas since 9-11-he ended up withdrawing from classes at CUNY after volunteering at Ground Zero for more than two weeks--and the film did not include his input, he says he still hopes people see it. He said he believes there is much to be learned from both the movie and his story.
“I think it’s important to know what occurred that day and to remember the fallen heroes that died for our country by doing their jobs. Come see what a small portion of good people, heroes, do and why they deserve the name and title of hero.”
Correction: The World Trade Center movie did not cast a white actor to play the role of Bruce Reynolds, a PAPD officer who died on 9/11. Officer Reynolds is played by Tom Wright, an African-American actor.
Following disasters of historically epic proportions like the attack on the World Trade Center, there are bound to be countless tales of self-sacrifice, heroism and triumph. Such is the tale of Sgt. Jason L. Thomas--in spite of the fact that his story and the one told in “World Trade Center” are one in the same.
WTC movie's unsung hero
 |
| SGT. JASON L. THOMAS |
Such is the tale of United States Marine Corps Sgt. Jason L. Thomas--in spite of the fact that his story and the one told in “World Trade Center” are one in the same.
THE STORY
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 began like any other for Jason L. Thomas. A student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of City University of New York, he heard about the attack after taking his daughter to his mother’s house in Hempstead so he could attend classes.
“At the time I was saying to myself, ‘That’s an attack’. My mother looked at it as if it was an accident, but one of the first things that came to my mind was, ‘They got us,’” he said.
“Immediately after that, I just got in high gear. I had my uniform in my car, my C-Bag. We just moved into a house, so I had a lot of my personal equipment in my vehicle. I ran out to my car, got my uniform, got dressed and shot to the city.”
After a delay in Queens, which Thomas credits for keeping him away from the collapse of the South Tower, he attached himself to a police convoy and made it to the site within moments of the fall of the North Tower.
“Approaching one of the towers, all I see is one at the time, I see the building come crashing down. It just comes straight down. I park my vehicle and I remember this cloud of smoke and ash just enveloped where I was. I stuck my head down in my shirt and scooted behind my car and got on my knees, but it engulfed the area. So I got up and I just ran in the direction towards Ground Zero.”
At Ground Zero, Thomas immediately began to help by fighting fires, establishing triage sites to help the injured and assisting with the overall evacuation. While his primary focus was devoted to the emergency, he couldn’t help being affected by what had become of his city.
“I know this beautiful city, and now here it is, it’s just rubble,” he said. “There are fire engines on fire, and you don’t see that everyday--you don’t see cars and ambulances on fire. I was just trying to take it in.”
After hours of firefighting, assisting survivors and in some cases, praying over the dead, Thomas ran into another marine, Staff Sgt. Dave Karnes. Thomas presented a plan for a search and rescue mission of the area and he and Karnes tried to enlist other soldiers on site to help. When they were told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves.
“I found a couple guys, but it wasn’t enough, to them, to start a search and rescue,” he said. “I remember myself and staff Sgt. Karnes saying, ‘We’re going to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs us.’”
THE MOVIE
The World Trade Center movie tells the story of the rescues of New York Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno from Ground Zero, as well as that of the men who rescued them. In real life, the officers were rescued by sergeants Karnes and Thomas. In the film, however, they were rescued by Karnes and Sgt. Dave Thomas; a composite character, played by William Mapother, a white actor, who is meant to represent Thomas.
World Trade Center producer Michael Shamberg said that they knew about Sgt. Thomas’s role in the rescue, but were unable to find him when creating the film. He said producers didn’t discover Thomas was a Black man until after they had started the movie. He also said that in spite of the fact that the film was co-written by McLoughlin and Jimeno was consulted for authenticity, no one ever asked them for a physical description of the man who helped save their lives.
“Frankly, we goofed--we learned when we were filming that he was an African-American,” said Shamberg. “We would change it if we could. I actually called him and apologized, and he said he didn’t mind. He was very gracious about it.”
Thomas, meanwhile, didn’t learn the film was about his story until he saw the unmistakable image of two marines peering into a hole at Ground Zero during a commercial for the movie. He said that while he wasn’t angry about how the film turned out, he does wish it could have been more realistic.
 |
| TOO SOON—Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas said that once he spoke to producers, they offered to fly him to the premiere of the film but he declined. He said it was a little “too soon” for him to see the film. |
"If you're going to tell a story, you should try to get it as accurate as possible," he said. "Some of the things did bother me to a certain degree--I'm an African-American male, and there's a white character being depicted as myself. But I'm not upset. It's bigger than myself-It's bigger than Staff Sgt. Kearns. A lot of people lost their lives. That's what needs to be remembered."
Although a great deal has changed for Thomas since 9-11-he ended up withdrawing from classes at CUNY after volunteering at Ground Zero for more than two weeks--and the film did not include his input, he says he still hopes people see it. He said he believes there is much to be learned from both the movie and his story.
“I think it’s important to know what occurred that day and to remember the fallen heroes that died for our country by doing their jobs. Come see what a small portion of good people, heroes, do and why they deserve the name and title of hero.”
Correction: The World Trade Center movie did not cast a white actor to play the role of Bruce Reynolds, a PAPD officer who died on 9/11. Officer Reynolds is played by Tom Wright, an African-American actor.