Local former Marine shares his experience at Ground Zero in the days following 9/11 | Top Stories

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – On Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001, former Marine Manny Padilla tells News 4 Tucson he knew he had to do something. 

“I was so upset about the situation,” Padilla said. “I knew I had to get into the fight someway, somehow. It just so happened there was the World Care Organization. The World Care Organization was reaching out for volunteers under the category of explosive experts and demolition, I figured this would be my opportunity to get into the game.” 

Padilla went to lower Manhattan and to Ground Zero in the days after 9/11 in hopes of finding the missing. 

“The immense destruction of those beautiful towering buildings coming down, it broke my heart to see them coming down, but there was a unity,” Padilla said. “Everybody was working as one. Even though there was mad chaos, we all had a job to do and we were trying to find people who might be buried under all the debris. It was very moving, very trying.”