9/11 survivor’s message to the Miami community

The first 911 calls reporting the collapse of the Champlain Towers condo in Surfside, Florida, have been released. One of them describes the scene as “almost like the Trade Center.” That visceral image resonates deeply with Genelle Guzman McMillan. She was the last person pulled alive from the rubble of the attack on the World Trade Center 20 years ago. She had been trapped in a stairwell on the 64th floor when the building collapsed. She remained conscious through the whole ordeal, unable to move, her head, legs, and arms wedged between slabs of concrete and steel, when a rescuer grabbed her hand and pulled her to safety 27 hours later. In the years since, she has learned to draw upon her faith to keep those painful memories at bay and to appreciate her second chance at life. She hopes that faith may also provide some measure of comfort to those whose loved ones may never return from the Surfside catastrophe. McMillan sat down with Doug McKelway for this exclusive Washington Examiner interview.

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