Dr. L. Ray Matthews could easily write a book about his frequent brushes with history.
His twin sisters, who were the first conjoined twins to ever be separated and both survive, were born in Indianola in 1955.
While working one night in the emergency room at Grenada Lake Medical Center in 1996, Matthews received a patient who was severely injured in a car accident on I-55.
That patient turned out to be then Gov. Kirk Fordice, who was in critical condition after a passing trucker pulled him from his burning vehicle.
A few years later, while working as a surgeon at then Kings Daughter’s Hospital in Greenville, Matthews was attending a medical conference in New York City.
The date was Sept. 11, 2001.
“I remember 9/11 very well,” Matthews said. “It was seared in our conscience forever. I was attending a medical conference less than 10 miles away from the World Trade Center.”
Matthews told The E-T back in 2001 that he had planned to tour the Twin Towers after the conference was over, but that never came to be.
Instead, Matthews found himself, along with other doctors at the same conference, helping those injured as a result of the attack.
“Early morning on 9/11, several New York state police interrupted our conference, stating that they needed our help,” Matthews said. “The WTC had been attacked. They gave over 90 surgeons approximately 30 minutes to grab a few things out of their hotel rooms and meet them downstairs.”
Matthews said the group of medical professionals loaded onto several buses and headed for Ellis Island, site of the Statue of Liberty, to take care of the walking wounded.
“I remember seeing F16 aircraft flying overhead and the armed police officers,” Matthews said. “We could actually see the Twin Towers burning from Ellis Island. It was a sunny and hot day.”
On the 17th anniversary of 9/11, Matthews found himself in Washington D.C., the site of the third target hit that day, The Pentagon.
Later this month, Matthews is set to address the United Nations on the subject of Vitamin D and its benefits for optimal health.
In a twist of irony, two of the men Matthews helped on 9/11 had connections to the UN.
“I remember taking care of two young Secret Service agents, who ironically guarded heads of state at the United Nations where I will be speaking later this month and in October,” Matthews said. “It’s amazing that I have now been invited to speak at the UN.”
Matthews said the two Secret Service agents had concussions, bruises and contusions but nothing life-threatening.
“We were on Ellis Island from approximately 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., treating the walking wounded,” Matthews said. “We were taken back to the hotel.”
Because all flights were grounded across the country, Matthews stayed an extra five days and witnessed the days following the attacks.
“There were armed security everywhere,” he said.
Though Matthews admits he rarely talks about his experience on that day, he remembers it vividly, and his upcoming addresses to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 27 and Oct. 12 will hold special meaning as he returns to New York City 17 years later.
