Written for RDP where Lou asks us
to get creative with the word “fleet”.
The flotilla of ferries and boats on September 11, 2001, was a spontaneous, makeshift armada that carried out the largest maritime evacuation in history, rescuing an estimated 500,000 people from Lower Manhattan in less than nine hours.
After the World Trade Center towers were struck, the U.S. Coast Guard broadcast a VHF radio call for “all available boats” to muster at Governors Island to help evacuate stranded civilians.
Hundreds of mariners answered. This makeshift fleet included commercial NY Waterway ferries, the Staten Island Ferry, tugboats, fireboats, private yachts, and fishing boats.
Boats pulled right up to the seawalls of Lower Manhattan. Crew members and captains pulled frightened, dust-covered people on board and transported them safely across the harbor to New Jersey and Brooklyn.
New York City is my hometown; I still live in New York. There’s a respectful quiet in my city today.
We will never forget
NAR©2026
This is “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning” by Alan Jackson
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 