WEST SENECA, N.Y. — James Raymond of West Seneca enlisted in the military five days before 9/11.
He was first stationed in Fort Drum, New York but eventually ended up in Afghanistan, where he trained with the Tenth Mountain Division.
"The Tenth Mountain Division specializes in cold weather environments," Raymond said.
That training was just what Buffalo needed during one of our area's worst blizzards.
"I understood what the driving conditions would be like. I knew how to take care of myself personally with the right gear," Raymond said.
On Friday, December 23, Raymond was listening to police and fire scanners, realizing first responders couldn't get to people needing help.
"That night, I looked at my wife and I told her that I had to do something to help some of the people that were stranded," Raymond said.
Raymond first helped a truck that got stuck near his home in West Seneca and then turned to social media for some good.
He asked if anyone else needed help on the Facebook group 'Buffalo Blizzard 2022.'
"From that point, it sort of became a bombardment of tags to me on social media directly to be able to help people that were in the city," Raymond said.
"It's almost like I took over as another first responder on social media."
It brought him all over the city, bringing groceries, medicine, and just about anything to anyone in need.
Raymond even bought groceries for about 200 people at Vive Shelter and at Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry.
He checked on people stuck inside, and also cleared their vents full of snow.
It's also thanks to Raymond and another Buffalonian, who helped dig Raymond's truck out of the snow, that a stranger could get to the emergency room after being bitten by a spider.
On the holiday weekend, even his two daughters and son understood that their dad was giving other families something you could never find under the tree.
"My kids during that time said daddy, you need to go out and save more lives," Raymond said.
"I didn't take a look at any of them and think I was saving lives; just giving back and helping people that were in a desperate time of need."
Spoken like a true hero.
"A lot of people did a lot more than what I actually did. I just hopefully made a small dent. But hearing the stories, you knew you were going to hear them. It's Buffalo," Raymond said.
But then again, that's just the kind of people Buffalonians are.
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