As we approach the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, Townhall plans to honor the lives lost and the lives forever changed with our "Heroes of 9/11" series. Every day from now until September 11, we will highlight an American hero. This year, most especially, we wish not simply to commemorate an event, but the character of exceptional men and women who demonstrated the best of humanity in one of its darkest moments. More than that, we want to educate younger generations for whom September 11 is little more than a historical episode so that we embody what it means to "Never Forget."
Sgt. Jason Thomas was still adjusting to civilian life on September 11, 2001. He spent eight years in the Marine Corps and left in August of that year, just a month before the terrorist attacks in New York.
But old habits die hard and Thomas, who still kept his Marine uniform in the trunk of his car, didn't hesitate to leap into action when he heard what happened in Manhattan. He took his daughter to his mother's home in Hempstead and put on his uniform. That small action made it easier for him to get through the checkpoints on the way to Ground Zero.
"I did not want to feel that someone needed help and not help them," Thomas would later say of that day.
🇺🇸 25 Heroes of 9/11 You Don’t Know: #20 Jason Thomas & Dave Karnes
— Barnaby Breaks History 🇺🇸 (@BarnabyHistory) August 22, 2026
Two former Marines. Two different lives. One instinct that morning.
Jason Thomas was 27. On September 11, 2001, he was dropping his young daughter off at his mother’s house on Long Island when the news hit. He… pic.twitter.com/8YFSSfUinP
He was not alone. His decision to head to Manhattan would put him in the path of his fellow Marine, Staff Sgt. David Karnes. Despite both serving, the two had not met before that morning.
For Karnes, the first thing that struck him that morning was the smell. "It really upset me because I knew a lot of people were burning to death, cooking, in the debris I was walking on," he said.
Karnes had been a Marine for 20 years. Like Thomas, the moment he heard about the terrorist attacks, Karnes put his Marine uniform back on and headed to Ground Zero with his rescue gear. He said he prayed when he learned of the attacks.
“I just had a very powerful awareness that God laid on my heart that I was to go down there and look for survivors, that he would lead me to people in need of rescue," Karnes said.
Both Thomas and Karnes decided to search for survivors, despite the risks. "I do remember so much noise," Thomas said. "The ground hadn't settled with all the debris; you could tell things had not settled completely."
While Karnes and Thomas were crawling across a steel beam, Thomas heard a voice.
It belonged to one of two Port Authority officers trapped in the rubble. They were both alive.
Those two officers were William Jimeno and John McLoughlin.
William J. Jimeno was a Port Authority Police officer who survived the September 11 attacks. He was buried under the rubble for a total of 13 hours, but survived, along with fellow Port Authority officer John McLoughlin.
— Mike Netter (@nettermike) February 21, 2026
At the time of the attacks, he was a rookie cop assigned… pic.twitter.com/SAX8TsVvGw
Jimeno was a rookie assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. On September 11, he saw the shadow of the plane that hit the North Tower and headed to Ground Zero. Sgt. McLoughlin had been on the job for 21 years and was leading a group of Port Authority officers when the South Tower collapsed. Another officer, Dominick Pezzulo, survived the initial collapse and died when the North Tower fell.
While trapped, Jimeno and McLoughlin yelled for help, but mostly they talked: about family, feelings, their children. McLoughlin radioed for someone to deliver a message to Jimeno's wife, Allison, who was seven months pregnant. "Officer Jimeno requests that his baby girl be named Olivia." They'd gotten no response to previous radio calls, but McLoughlin hoped someone would get that message.
Then they heard Thompson and Kearns crawling over the rubble. Jimeno and McLoughlin yelled for help and Thompson heard them.
"Buddy, I’m not going to leave you. We’re coming to get you," Thompson said.
Thompson and Karnes dug for hours with other rescuers. Officer Jimeno was the first to be freed; Officer McLoughlin was freed next. The story became the focus of "World Trade Center," a 2006 film by Oliver Stone.
Thomas returned to Ground Zero for nearly three weeks; Karnes worked there for eight days, then reached out to his recruiter to talk about reenlisting. According to his Wikipedia page, he ended up serving another 17 months in Iraq and the Philippines.
President Trump also praised Thomas and Karnes for their bravery.
Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas had just retired from military service when the 9/11 attacks happened.
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) September 11, 2020
But in the hour of need, he rushed to Ground Zero, calling out "Is anyone down there? United States Marines," searching for anyone to rescue from the rubble. pic.twitter.com/ruubDpcr6Y
"At Ground Zero, he found a fellow Marine, Dave Karnes. Together they began to call out, 'United States Marines! United States Marines! If you can hear us, yell, tap, do whatever you can do. We're the United States Marines," the president said. "Two police officers were trapped beneath 20 feet of rubble. Jason and Dave dug for hours knowing that at any moment, the rubble could come down on them, crushing them alive."
"At one point, someone told Jason to stop," President Trump continued. "Jason replied, 'I'm a Marine. I don't go back, I go forward.' That day, Jason helped save the lives of those two officers."
For years, Thomas didn't speak of what he did on September 11. But he and Kearns were heroes. Officers Jimeno and McLoughlin are alive because of the bravery of Marines John Thomas and David Karnes. They both stepped up on September 11 and went to Ground Zero to help.
One of the things that carried him through that day, Karnes said, was rooted in his military training: "Don’t leave your brother behind. That really stuck with me."
This is part of the American Heroes of 9/11 series. To read more about the American Heroes of 9/11, click here.
Editor's Note: We must never forget those lost on 9/11 and the American heroes who sacrificed their lives to save countless others.
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