Oakland County Sheriff Bouchard reflects on helping 9/11 response: 'Horrific but inspiring'

FOX 2 - Friday marks 25 years since 9/11 as America reflects on the tragedy, heroism and sacrifice.

The backstory:

Among those reflecting closer to home, is Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. In 2001 he helped lead an emergency response team days after the terror attack.

Bouchard says what he witnessed when he arrived will stay with him forever.

He says the extraordinary courage, sacrifice, compassion and unity of all the first responders helped show him the true meaning of selfless service.

Bouchard reflects on Ground Zero

What they're saying:

"Team worked at Ground Zero. We assisted on the rubble pile initially looking for survivors and then ultimately looking to recover any one that we could," he said. "We also helped the FBI on one of the days looking for any potential remnants of a black box that may shed light on some of the evidentiary issues."

Bouchard called the experience horrific but inspiring.

"When you see the worst of humanity, you see the best," he said. "You saw people that were wanting to help people of all walks of life you when we would go into Ground Zero past the barricades, people were standing at the barricades."

The sheriff said that random people from all walks of life pitched in to help, in different ways.

"I saw a massage therapist with kind of like a neck rubbing chair," he said. "That's what her job was, that's what she was good at and she wanted to help any first responder that was hurting and sore. Everybody was doing whatever they could because they all wanted to make a difference."

Sheriff Bouchard also saying that he hopes we can once again find the unity and sense of common purpose that brought the nation together in those dark days.

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