2001: September 11 attacks

On September 11, 2001, Thomas was dropping his daughter off at the home of his mother on Long Island when she told him planes had struck the towers. The 27-year-old Thomas, having left active duty in August 2001, quickly put on his Marine uniform (camouflage utilities), sped to Manhattan, and had just parked his car when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.^[1]

Thomas told the Associated Press:

"Someone needed help. It didn't matter who," he said. "I didn't even have a plan. But I have all this training as a Marine, and all I could think was, 'My city is in need.'"^[1]

Thomas ran into another Marine veteran, Staff Sgt. David Karnes. Thomas presented a plan for a search-and-rescue mission of the area, and he and Karnes tried to enlist other marines and soldiers on site to help. When they were told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves. "I found a couple guys, but it wasn't enough, to them, to start a search and rescue," he said. "I remember myself and Karnes saying, 'We're going to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs us.'"

Carrying an infantryman's shovel, the two climbed the debris, calling out, "Is anyone down there? United States Marines!" They met a retired EMT, Chuck Sereika who crawled down into the 50 feet deep hole where the 2 Port Authority police officers (Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin) were trapped. Chuck began treating Will's injuries, as fire in the hole intensified, threatening the lives of the rescuers, who nevertheless continued their rescue, occasionally climbing out of the hole to clear their lungs of smoke and recover from the heat. After 20 minutes, the 3 rescuers were joined by members of the NYFD and NY Emergency Services Unit. After 5 hours of digging and using the "jaws of life", the two Port Authority Police Department officers were rescued. A 3rd Port Authority police officer, Dominick Pezzulo, was trapped with Will and John, but was mortally wounded by debris from the WTC 7 building collapse, while trying to extricate Will from the rubble. His last act was to fire his service weapon through a hole in the debris to try and signal for help.

Thomas said he returned to Ground Zero every day to pitch in, before attempting to put the events behind him. He did not even tell his five children about his rescues. He had identified himself to Karnes and others only as "Sergeant Thomas".

Thomas is now serving in the United States Air Force as a medical technician since 2006.^[2]

Thomas was portrayed in Oliver Stone's feature film World Trade Center by William Mapother.^[3] This portrayal by a white actor generated controversy, and the producers stated that they were unaware that the real Thomas was black until they had already started filming.^[4][5]

On February 11, 2007, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition aired a special two-hour episode about Thomas and his family. Following the attacks, Thomas and his wife had moved their four children from New York to Whitehall, Ohio. The house they bought began to deteriorate and the show intervened to help them.

On September 2, 2013, Channel 4 detailed Thomas' involvement in the rescue operation following the collapse of the towers in the UK broadcast The Lost Hero of 9/11.^[6]