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Sept. 19,2001 -a..,, PHOTO BY JIM BARCUS/KRT CAMPUS A military helicopter leaves the Pentagon in the days after a hijacked plane hit the building. PHOTO BY CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT CAMPUS People attend a memorial service for the military and civilian workers who were killed at the Pentagon. PHOTO BY CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT CAMPUS Workers put the finishing touches on reconstruction of the most severely damaged areas of the Pentagon. Ground Zero CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Conditions where damage was greatest were marked on a three dimensional map. Some areas were destroyed, and others just “needed cleaning," in what Davis called a huge understatement. In some cases, emotion took over at Ground Zero. According to Davis, if the ge ographical photos weren't cur rent, the rescue teams would say, “Our boots are melt ing, and the fire is shifting, and you’re giving us 10 hour-old • data.” Working in the center of the destruc tion, Davis saw firsthand the buildings that survived the attack. The buildings were draped with red to prevent bro ken glass from spilling onto workers. He said teams of iirengnters rested under awnings of buildings with in frastructure constantly dan gling overhead. At night, Davis said, Ground Zero was “lit up like a stadium” so that workers I could continue efforts until the sun clocked back in. But the American attitude was what stood out in Davis’ mind. As family members con stantly posted messages about missing loVed ones on police doors, emergency workers handed out food and water to all working at the site. When the workers did finally break, they were presented with the utmost adoration. “Any time you exited Ground Zero wearing a respirator or some indication that you were working there, there were 50 peo ple celebrating you,” Davis said. Davis said the federal re sponse plan didn’t operate as designed because New York City took the lead. In some in stances, he said, expertise was questionable, as those directing the effort were very connected to the situation. Davis thinks better communication could have saved more lives, espe cially after the first tower fell. Despite all the death and de struction surrounding the scene, Davis said the focus of Ground Zero was life. “If a worker heard a noise, all engines were turned off, and everyone stood frozen until the all-clear was given,” Davis said. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com “Anytime you exited Ground Zero wearing a respirator or some indication that you were working there, there were 50 people celebrating you.” BRUCE DAVIS use ALUMNUS niwiu 01 juiuii1! i nn i 111.0/ iiil on ivi lv/uv/ r\ USC alumnus Bruce Davis of NASA speaks at USC Wednesday afternoon about remote sensing at Ground Zero. Warning CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 eral buildings and more inspec tions and searches. Americans should use their common sense and be more alert to possible threats, Ridge said. “Be wary and be mindful,” Ridge cautioned. Ridge had spoken earlier Tuesday with governors and then staffs, preparing them for the new alert, said George Vinson, the anti terror chief in Gov. Gray Davis’ administration in California. “New information has become available very recently,” includ ing information provided to the U.S. intelligence community by a senior al-Qaida official, Ashcroft told reporters. He added that the intelligence that led to the new warning came within the last 24 hours. The plans are believed to be linked directly to al-Qaida. rather than one of its affiliates, said another official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The al-Qaida leader that provid ed some of the information has been in U.S. custody for several months, the official said. Ashcroft said intelligence has - concluded that “the most likely al-Qaida targets are the trans portation and energy sectors.” Ridge added that U.S. sky mar shals would be out in force over the next few days to foil any pos sible new hijacking attempts. Bush, speaking with reporters after a visit to the Embassy of Afghanistan, said the new threat * level “means our government will Tbe providing extra security at key facilities and that we’ll be in creasing surveillance.” “Americans need to go about their lives. They just need to know that their government, at the fed eral and state and local level, will be on an extra level of alert to pro tect us,” he added. Meanwhile, the General Services Administration, which operates and provides security for most of the government’s build ings, immediately alerted federal agencies and put in place nevv se curity procedures. The agency de clined to specify changes, citing security concerns. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta was op erating 24 hours a day, said spokeswoman Von Roebuck. The FBI had issued a warning that became public Monday ask ing operators of computer net works, utilities and transportation systems to be wary during the an niversary observance. Since the administration creat ed a five color coded threat system in March, the government had kept the warning at code yellow, signifying an elevated condition of alert and a significant risk of terrorist attacks. At the Pentagon, security was already heightened. A mobile sur face-to-air missile launcher — part . of an exercise announced Monday — was parked several hundred yards away Tuesday morning. And U.S. Navy officials in Bahrain issued a warning to ship pers Tuesday following uncon firmed reports that al-Qaida may be planning attacks on oil tankers. Each week, collect a piece of the puzzle. Put it together to WIN! 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