Will Jimeno

Infobox police officer
name = William J. Jimeno


caption = Will Jimeno of the New York/New Jersey PAPD
born = Birth date and age|1967|11|26
placeofbirth = Barranquilla, Colombia
nickname = "Will"
"Willy"
department = Port Authority Police Department (PAPD)
serviceyears = 2000 - 2004
rank = 2000 - Commissioned as a Police Officer
awards = Port Authority Police Department Medal of Honor
relations = Married, 2 children
laterwork =

William J. Jimeno (born November 26, 1967) is a Port Authority Police officer of Colombian origin who survived the World Trade Center attack on September 11. He was buried under the rubble for a total of 13 hours, but survived, along with fellow Port Authority officer John McLoughlin.

Jimeno, a rookie cop assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, saw the shadow of the airplane that seconds later hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He rode to the WTC site with 20 other Port Authority police officers in a commandeered bus. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/sept11/2002-09-05-miracles-usat_x.htm USATODAY.com - Miracles emerge from debris ] ]

Jimeno and 3 other Port Authority officers, led by Sgt. McLoughlin, were trapped under the Concourse between the twin towers by the collapse of the South Tower. Only Jimeno and McLoughlin survived, with another officer, Dominick Pezzulo, surviving the initial collapse, only to be subsequently killed by the collapse of the North Tower while trying to free Jimeno.

A USA Today account observed:

Sometimes they yelled for help. But mostly the 46-year-old sergeant, a 21-year veteran, and the 32-year-old [sic] rookie talked intimately, sometimes revealing personal things — about kids, families, feelings — that they had never shared with anyone. Jimeno asked the Sergeant to deliver a message over the radio to his wife, Allison, who was seven months pregnant. They had received no response earlier, but he thought maybe their radio call would be picked up on a police tape recording. "Attention," Sgt. McLoughlin announced, "Officer Jimeno requests that his baby girl be named Olivia." His wife had liked the name. He hadn't been so sure. Now, as he prepared to die, he wanted to think of his baby girl, Olivia.

The two men were subsequently located and extricated after U.S. Marine Corps Sergeants Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes heard their cries for help. Both men, especially Sgt. McLoughlin, were severely injured and required several surgeries and months of hospitalization.

Jimeno's entombment and rescue were portrayed in the 2006 Oliver Stone film "World Trade Center" by Michael Peña. The film received widespread critical praise, but has come under criticism for not accurately portraying the rescue of McLoughlin and Jimeno. The film was criticized for incorrectly identifying some of the personnel who dug out the two men, omitting key participants in the rescue, and understating the amount of time and effort required, and danger and difficulty involved in extricating the two police officers. [ [http://www.slate.com/id/2147350/nav/tap1/ How the 9/11 rescue really happened. - By Rebecca Liss - Slate Magazine ] ]

Personal

On Wednesday, January 2, 2008, Jimeno appeared on the television game show Deal or No Deal and won $271,000.

See also

*John McLoughlin
*Dominick Pezzulo
*Dave Karnes
*Jason Thomas
*"World Trade Center (film)"
*Michael Peña

References