TAMPA — Standing in front of the 9/11 Memorial outside of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Damon Plonczynski thinks back to September 11th, 2001.

“It brings back a lot of memories, it really does. Especially the gray," he says noting the color of the statues in front of him. 

The gray color of these first responder statues matches what first responders looked like as they sifted through the rubble after the World Trade Center Twin Towers fell. Plonczynski was 22 then, with one year under his belt as a New York City Police patrolman.

“It wasn’t until the second plane hit, that I was completely overtaken by the thought, ‘Alright ya know, this isn’t just an accident. I have to get to work. I have to respond. I have to help,'" said Plonczynski.

He and thousands of other first responders answered the level four mobilization call that went out that day. When he arrived to his precinct, both towers had already fallen.

“It was in black and white, because the dust was that gray. That pulverized concrete and it stuck to everything. The only thing that really had color was some of the awnings on the buildings and the fires that were there," said Plonczynski.

For the next several weeks, he not only worked to find survivors, but assisted at the morgue and helped with the sifting and sorting on Staten Island.

“That was kind of stressful in itself. My position was the last position on that belt. So if it had gotten passed, if a ring or a shield or any type of identifiable material had gotten passed the last four people on my side, I was really your last chance of being identified, before that debris was taken in pile and was take to be buried," said Plonczynski.

On each September 11th since, he thinks back to those first hours and days.

Damon Plonczynski was 22 on Sept. 11, 2001, with a year under his belt as a NYC police patrolman.

“Each anniversary I kind of flip through the pictures in my head. One of them that sticks out a lot is just the walls of the missing posters," said Plonczynski.

Posters of faces some never saw again. He lost a lot of fellow officers that day too.

Now 20 years later, he works to train the next generation of law enforcement at HCSO. He has been a training specialist for four months now in Tampa. One thing he always makes sure they understand is the sacrifice the job of law enforcement requires.

“Your career choice at this point, is not just about you. It’s about service. And you have to realize that there can be a cost for that service. It’s can be an extremely noble thing, but it can be an extremely dangerous thing," said Plonczynski.