It's sad, that no one tried to get in touch with the others after they were all saved.
I enjoyed the story. Associating the present with the past using that retrospective line is a strong backbone. If done well it's very well accepted most of the times. In my opinion you did it excellent. It's now jury's turn.
My assumption is that most people would want to forget that moment, especially if they acted in a manner that doesn't coincide with how they view themselves normally. If you think you're a good person and then under such pressure you act in a very not-good way, that's a hard truth to face. I guess most people would rather ignore that fact.