NEVER FORGET MEANS NEVER STOP TELLING THE STORY: GARY MARLON GERE ON 9/11, RECOVERY & RESILIENCE What does “Never Forget” really mean 25 years after September 11, 2001? On this episode of Peace, Love, and Bring a Bat, Uncle Dave welcomes Gary Marlon Gere, New York City playwright, actor, screenwriter, and civilian volunteer who spent seven months working at the World Trade Center site after 9/11. Gary did not arrive as a firefighter, police officer, journalist, or photographer. Like thousands of others, he simply wanted to help. That decision placed him inside one of the most devastating chapters in American history—and ultimately changed the direction of his life. In this episode, you will discover: • Why Gary volunteered at Ground Zero • How he learned to search and sift for human remains • Why photography was heavily restricted at the site • The powerful honor guard ceremonies that moved him • What Gary discovered inside the abandoned PATH subway tunnels • Why one collapsed subway car convinced him never to return underground • How workers emotionally survived what they witnessed • Gary’s experience with PTSD and the World Trade Center Health Program • Why Reverend Myddys de Champlain became a source of strength • How Gary’s journals eventually became the play Recovery • Why authentic Ground Zero equipment was used in the stage production • Gary’s frustrations with the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund • How his experiences inspired the screenplay Below Zero • Why he believes a new generation needs these stories now more than ever SHOWING UP Gary says he was no different from countless people after the attacks. Some donated supplies. Some cooked meals. Some supported firefighters. Gary asked: “How can I help?” Through a friend in the fire department, he was eventually given the opportunity to work alongside recovery crews. What began as volunteering became seven months of digging, searching, witnessing, listening, and learning. FROZEN IN TIME Months after the attacks, Gary was granted access to PATH subway tunnels beneath the site. He describes discovering a train frozen in time from the morning of September 11—newspapers, coffee cups, personal belongings, and signs that passengers had fled suddenly. When Gary returned one night, a train he had previously walked through had been crushed by a structural collapse. His reaction was immediate: “If I was on that train, I’m dead.” That was his final underground visit. YOU LEARN TO COEXIST WITH IT Gary explains that surviving Ground Zero emotionally often required shutting feelings down temporarily. Later came PTSD treatment through Columbia University and the Mount Sinai World Trade Center program. Gary says PTSD no longer controls his life. But it does not simply disappear. You learn how to coexist with it. RECOVERY Gary kept extensive journals during his time at Ground Zero. Those writings eventually inspired Recovery, his off-Broadway play centered on an FDNY lieutenant struggling with survivor’s guilt after losing his brother on 9/11. The production incorporated actual clothing, helmets, and digging tools loaned by people who worked at Ground Zero. For Gary, it was never simply theater. It was preservation. It was testimony. It was memory brought back to life. BELOW ZERO Gary is also developing Below Zero, a feature screenplay about a journalist who enters Ground Zero searching for the story of a lifetime, becomes trapped beneath the site, and suddenly becomes the story himself. The fictional story grew from situations Gary personally witnessed and locations he explored. NEVER FORGET Twenty-five years later, an entire generation knows September 11 primarily through history books, videos, and stories from others. That makes firsthand testimony even more important. Gary believes writers, survivors, recovery workers, families, and witnesses need to continue telling these stories. Because Never Forget cannot simply be something we say once a year. It requires remembering the people. Remembering the sacrifice. And remembering what happened. SEED FOR THE MAGIC GARDEN Gary’s journey leaves us with a powerful message: Show up. Tell the story. Keep the memory alive. You may not consider yourself a hero. You may simply believe you did what needed to be done. But sometimes showing up when people need you most becomes part of history. #PeaceLoveAndBringABat #GaryMarlonGere #September11 #NeverForget #911 #GroundZero #Recovery #PTSD #FirstResponders #NewYorkCity #Resilience #Storytelling To support us: https://davidchametzky.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@davidchametzkyNOW https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-love-and-bring-a-bat/id1552738547
