I Was There: Boston Marathon Bombings - Bill - HISTORY

Knocked down by the first blast, 78-year-old Bill Iffrig and his orange running jersey became an iconic image of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

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After completing the 26.2 mile race, trauma surgeon Dr. David King found the energy to operate on victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Reporter David Abel was shooting a documentary about the first woman with dwarfism to run the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off.

Personal tragedy brought Carlos Arredondo, "the man in the cowboy hat," to the finish line that day, but his spontaneous act of heroism helped save a life and change the course of the investigation into the attack.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Laurence “Noodles” Nettles’ training was put to the test as he and fellow Guard members were forced to adapt their ocean rescue tactics to save thousands of stranded victims from rooftops and rising floodwaters.

When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days later with a truckload of people and video documentation of history.

Robert Green lost his mother and granddaughter when his Ninth Ward home was lifted off its foundation and floated down the street in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After rebuilding several years later, Green has made it his life’s mission to bring the Ninth Ward residents back and rebuild their historic community.

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