NEW MARKET, Tenn. — It’s a day of remembrance and a day that’s difficult to forget.
“The odors, the sounds, everything was mingled together,” said retired Knoxville Police forensic scientist, Arthur Bohanan. “It was almost unbearable at times.”
Bohanan and his colleague Knoxville Police Department Lt. Steve Tinder worked at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“With dignity and respect, we would try and identify anything we could, trying to narrow that search down.”
The two men, among hundreds of other first responders, spent the next several weeks working around the clock, digging through rubble, trying to identify victims and bring families devastating closure.
For Bohanan, those memories don’t fade.
“Little things trigger flashbacks that you can’t get out of your mind, you can’t," Bohanan said.
But now, it’s not just memories that linger. Bohanan said he has six certified health issues from working at the World Trade Center with his best friend, Tinder, being diagnosed with cancer.
“He was just a good, good soul,” said Bohanan.
Tinder passed away in March. Despite the health issues Bohanan has from working at Ground Zero, he said he has no regrets.
Bohanan hasn’t been back to Manhattan since, but a part of him will always be there.
“I’ll never go back. I’ll never go back. I gave my all there," Bohanan said.