Share your story
To raise awareness of 9/11 in younger generations, we are compiling personal anecdotes to be shared as an online collection. To help, share where you were on September 11, 2001. How did you hear about what happened, and what were you feeling at the time? Spread the story of friends or family who were lost that day, and help preserve their memory for posterity. Please include as many details as possible.
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9/11: First Person
Why should you share?
​​Oral history is a way to spread not only information, but feelings. There are many facts available about the attacks of 9/11, but facts fail to encompass the terror of that day and the personalities of those who were lost. It is important to share your own story so that not only the facts will be passed on to younger generations, but the true essence of an event that shaped today's world. But over time, details can be forgotten. By sharing your story with us here, whether you were at the World Trade Center or on the other side of the world, you will preserve a lesson for posterity. Join us in passing down history, and help the world to never forget. Interviews below were taken by Brie Haverstick as a part of her Girl Scout Gold Award.
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You can help by sharing your story.
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Below are the stories of others who keep the memories of 9/11 alive:
"I remember sitting in my office, filling out paperwork, when a co-worker came out of his office and said a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I imagined it was a small two-seater plane, the kind amateur pilots sometimes fly, and assumed it was a tragic accident caused by an inexperienced pilot. More co-workers and the clients they were with started coming out of their offices. At that time, we didn’t have TVs, and the internet was nothing like it is today. I turned on the radio, and the only station I could find broadcasting was Howard Stern. I remember him telling his co-workers to go home, but he was staying to report what was happening. The only thing I remember clearly from that broadcast is the sound of his voice as he reported that the first tower had collapsed. I gasped so loudly that people ran into my office to listen. I immediately tried calling my friend who worked in the towers, but with so many people trying to use the phone lines, I couldn’t get through. I remember the day being beautiful and sunny, and for some reason, that detail has stayed with me. The next morning, as I drove to work, I was overwhelmed by all the flags hanging outside people’s homes. I had never seen so many flags before, and as I sat at a red light, I started crying."
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"I was working at home with the television on when the newscaster said there was breaking news. A plane had struck the Twin Towers. I immediately thought the pilot had a medical issue and went off course for such a tragedy to happen. Then the newscaster continued to report that a second plane hit the second Tower. I stood frozen watching the TV with tears streaming down."
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"September 11, 2001, is a day I will never forget. I was at a doctor’s office, and a nurse called the doctor to advise him that an aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center. He (the doctor) then turned on a TV in his office, and we watched the news coverage. I was very concerned when I saw reports that it was a commercial airline because I knew that was almost impossible. As I returned to my car, I turned on the radio and heard a second aircraft struck the second tower. At that point, I knew something was wrong. When I heard about the Pentagon being hit and a plane in PA going down, I knew this was very serious. Four events like this could never occur in such a short period unless they were connected. I could not stop thinking about all these people who went to work that day and would never return home. Later I learned that three people I knew and a friend’s brother were lost when the buildings went down. I spent many years in the Middle East, and later that day, I received a call from a Minister of the Interior from a Middle Eastern country. He expressed his concern and apologized for this act. I questioned him if he knew something about this, and he replied he didn’t but was suspect of some radical Muslim groups. I returned to the Middle East for the next few years, and things were very different."
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"It started out as a normal beautiful September Day. My husband and I caught the train out of Little Silver NJ at 7 am to go to work in midtown Manhattan.
When I got to work one of my associates told me that his wife called to say there was a small plane that hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I thought oh no how could that happen but it was more a news story that I would find out about later- we all went about doing our work for the day. Then all of a sudden someone else’s spouse called into the office to say that another plane had hit the other tower and that it was a big plane and that the news said we were under attack!! Remember there were no sophisticated I phones like there are now. There were cell phone but nobody could text on them nor take any pictures. There wasn’t a T V in our office so a few of us went to another company in our building and crowded around their TV. No sooner than I arrived there to watch then the first Tower collapsed and I started to cry- thinking of all the people that worked in that building. I went back to my office and tried to call my parents on my cell phone and found that I couldn’t get through- (my parents happened to be living with us while my Mom went through radiation treatments nearby) I tried and tried to get my parents on the cell and the landline knowing they would be watching things unfold and I wanted them to know that my husband and I were ok! I finally called my sister in California to see if she could get a hold of my parents to tell them we were ok and not to worry- that phone call went through on the landline but that was it- no more calls went anywhere.
By this time they had closed down Broadway-and all avenues in Manhattan that went south and there was a stream of firetrucks and ambulances going south in front of our building! After a while though, all that stopped and you could stand in the middle of Broadway and see all the smoke in lower Manhattan. We then found out that they closed all tunnels and bridges. Into and out of Manhattan. They closed down the trains in and out of NY as well. There was no way to get out of Manhattan! All the people in my office( including my husband ) decided to stick together and our boss at the time knowing we could not go anywhere out of the city took us all to lunch. It was the most somber lunch that I have ever been to. After lunch ( who could eat?) We went back to our office and gathered up our things and decided to walk to a ferry - any ferry that would get us off the island. A few of our colleagues that went ahead called back to our office saying the line for the ferry was 5 hours long ! We started walking down 7th Ave towards the West side Ferry. At about 3:30 my husband and I were walking past Penn Station to get to the Ferry when we looked at each other and said let’s go down to see if the trains are running yet- One was we got on it not caring or knowing where it was going - any part of New Jersey would be ok. And guess what - it was our train - a North Jersey Coast Line train- it was pure luck. It was packed of course and I remember seeing many people caked in white ash from lower Manhattan-They had walked up the several miles to get away from the horror of downtown. When we finally got home( it stopped at every station on that line) we were thankful we made it home safely but somber and thinking about the great loss of life.We also knew in our hearts that everything was now going to change - our world, our daily life will never be the same.
That night about 9:30 pm there was a brisk load knock at our front door. We all jumped already very much on edge from the events of that day- Standing at our doorway were three uniformed people one an MP( we lived behind the back entrance of Fort Monmouth at the time and it still was an active Fort), a local Oceanport cop and the uniformed head? In charge of Fort Monmouth at that time. They were closing off our street. They asked us how many people were living at our house and how many cars we had. They gave us a sticker for each car and from then on we had to go past a check point show our id that we lived on the street and the they would let us go down our own street!! If we were expecting any visitors at all we had to go up to the check point and get them( including deliveries and workman) It was very unnerving. Although it was not said to us nor our neighbors, our street was the only water access that could go straight into Fort Monmouth and we felt they might be using our street for water access for equipment or perhaps bodies.
After all that happened on that day we were very thankful to see and be with our family and very moved by the fact that so many other people would not be with their families any more. We continue to pray for them."
"My name is Gina (Ferrugio). I was a freshman at college, 17 years old, on September 11, 2001. My roommate woke me up and told me to look at the TV. The sadness, fear and panic I felt that day never quite left me. The story of Ken is near and dear to my heart because like so many others that day, I lost a loved one too. My father, David Ferrugio, was in the North Tower. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and was trapped on the upper floors above where the plane crashed. Sadly, I'll never truly know what happened to him during those final hours, and for me that was the hardest thing to cope with.
A lot of years have passed, but the immense grief and sorrow that followed in the days after 9/11 still finds it way to the surface as if it happened yesterday.
Today, I choose to remember my Dad's smile, his laugh, the love he had for his family and friends, and the time we did have together.
It's so important to continue to share stories about Ken and all the brave souls who lost their lives that day."
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"I was at work in a nearby building. I heard a loud noise and looked out the window. I could see the debris flying into the air. I saw on the news what had happened, although it wasn’t very clear, and quickly left my building. I ran across the Brooklyn Bridge along with many others as terror strikes the city. 9/11 should never be forgotten."
"Having grown up in Rumson, NJ, our proximity to New York City was something I took for granted. I spent my summers at the beach, and anyone from this area knows how beautiful it is on a clear day to look across the water and see the NYC skyline. As a teen I would drive up to the Twin Lights and the scenic overlook in Atlantic Highlands for another beautiful view of the skyline, especially at night with the city lights. I have great memories of taking pictures of the skyscrapers when we were on the ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty. I even had a school dance that took us on a boat ride in the harbor. Of course, the buildings that would grab our attention the most were the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. Iconic. We all wanted to get pictures with our friends with the backdrop of the New York City skyscrapers. I would never have imagined that those pictures would be among the last pictures I took of the Twin Towers.
On September 11, 2001, I was working my first job out of graduate school as the Human Resources Manager for a law firm in the Central Business District of New Orleans, LA. It was a typical morning at work. I remember that I was getting settled into the start of my day and was also getting excited to fly to the west coast to see my husband who was in the midst of a medical school rotation out in Seattle, Washington.
I was sitting in my office on the top floor of the tallest building in New Orleans, right down the street from the Super Dome. A co-worker told me to look at the news because they had heard that a plane hit a building in New York. I quickly searched up the news on my computer thinking a small plane must have lost control. I read the news flash a couple times because it was incomprehensible that a commercial airliner crashed. When I learned that a second plane was involved, my stomach dropped and I picked up the phone to call my husband. I remember waking him up since it was 3 hours earlier for him. As we both processed feelings of shock and confusion, I got really scared. I was scared for people in New York City, knowing so many people from home commuted to work there. And I was confused because people around me at work didn’t seem to have the same reaction that I was having to the chaos that was unfolding.
I then remember feeling unsafe. Noone knew what was happening at the time, but I knew that I no longer felt safe on the top floor of the tallest building in New Orleans. Justified or not, I felt like a sitting target and expressed this to my boss at the time. I don’t think the reality of what was happening hit my co-workers as quickly as it did me. I felt responsible in some ways to tell everyone to leave. However, people were going about their business day and I knew I could not be there anymore. My boss said I should do what I felt I needed to do, acknowledging that this hit close to home. I went home, turned on the news, called my parents and felt helpless as the news of terrorism and devastation unfolded. I was later relieved to learn that Security from our building ended up telling everyone to evacuate and go home.
Planes were grounded for days, so needless to say I never made the trip out to visit my husband in Seattle. I spent the following days and weeks learning other people’s stories. My parents who were still at home in NJ would relay the devastating news of the losses our town and surrounding towns experienced. I learned stories of how people got out of the city and others who were supposed to be in one of the towers but they had an appointment that kept them from going in that day. The stories of loss and heroism were endless.
Years later we moved back to New Jersey and I once again found myself lucky enough to enjoy my summers at the beach. The skyline on those clear days is still beautiful to see, especially when the Tribute In Light shines up from the ground each September 11 in remembrance of a day I will certainly never forget, and should never be forgotten."
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
I remember it well. I was at work and someone came around and said a plane hit the world trade center. At first I’m thinking it was a small plane like a Cessna. As more information came in me and everyone one else found out it was a commercial airline.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
Once we all learned the gravity of the situation the owners of our company set up a TV in our learning/conference center. Back then we didn’t have monitors/TV like we do now. Each department was allowed a few people at a time to go back and watch the news for a little bit and then we rotated taking turns going back to watch the news. That early afternoon management realized no one was calling the office and no-one was getting any work done so they closed the office and let everyone go home to watch the news.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
The most vivid thing I remember is the news showing President Bush at a school talking to young students when someone, I think the secret service, whispered in his ear and him saying something to the students then left in a hurry. I also remember the news saying that the President was one Air Force One destination unknown. I know he spoke to the nation that night(I believe it was that night) saying to the nation “to whoever did this we will find you and we heard from you. Now you're going to hear from us.”
How did the events off 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
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Like many people all I did when I got home from work and watch news constantly. I also knew that the downing of the twin towers would set the world into a rescission. I knew terrorism was a real threat, but after 9/11 I knew we were more at risk m since the terrorists got confidence pulling off something this big. I don’t know if that really answered the question.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
That it was a national tragedy and that’s something every American should never forget. Many people lost their lives including many first responders.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
On September 11, 2001, I was a Captain for the Tarpon Springs Fire Department, Florida, overseeing EMS and Fire Operations. Sara, the department’s Administrative Assistant, advised me of the news. I immediately turned on the TV. I didn’t fully understand what was happening. Moments later the Fire Chief, Harry Leonard, entered my office. We both were just shocked and just stared at the information coming in.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
My initial thought was how many people have lost their lives and if I lost any family or friends. I later found out that my wife’s brother-in-law was in building 7 but fled prior to it collapsing. My next thought was that our entire country would come to a standstill. No access to money, gasoline, food, etc. I was thinking that it was like I needed to prepare for a hurricane with only a days warning.
The fire chief and I immediately started looking into Personal Protective Equipment for our personal so that we could stay operational. We also had to expand the scope to include our police department, city employees, and the citizens of our community. Price tag: $63,000.
As a follow-up. When I did leave work that day, I did buy food, water, gas, and took out cash.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
So many people, buildings, vehicles covered in dust. People walking out of New York. The report of fire fighters in the building at the time of the collapses. How many people will never return home. How many families are forever changed. How our nation and the world will never be the same.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
Terrorism has no boundaries. The United States, like any other country, is vulnerable. We must stay vigilant and take every precaution to protect human life.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
How senseless and evil this attack was. The United States became one. That many people just living their lives perished that day. How so many people worked around the clock trying to rescue survivors. How many rescuers died or are dying because of their heroic efforts following that day. I have a friend who owned a welding company in NY. He personally spent three weeks,18 hour shifts, at Ground Zero. He is currently dying of cancer associated with 9/11. We will never forget.
"I was sitting at my desk at work when I heard that the first plane hit the tower. My coworker's husband called her to to say something was happening in NY. I turned the radio on my desk to a news station, and pulled up CNN on the internet. Everyone just thought it was a small plane that crashed...but then we heard that a second plane hit and that they were large passenger planes.
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Our employer quickly got a TV hooked up in our training room and we all went to watch what was going on. I couldn't believe it was happening here in the USA... then the news showed the plane in the Pentagon. And then the 4th plane in PA.
They closed the office because no work was getting done anyway, and told us all to go home and be with our families, so I went back to my apartment and watched the scenes unfold with my downstairs neighbors. Turns out that my neighbor Mike had a cousin that was working in the towers when the planes hit (we later found out that his cousin died there).
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What I remember most vividly is the disbelief that this could happen on US soil...that terrorism had come to our country from outside and no one had been able to prevent it.
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I am very diligent about watching everything when I travel now. You never know if or when this will happen again, and it may not happen in my lifetime, but we all need to watch out for each other.
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I want the young people to know that, even though this tragedy happened right in our backyard, we as a country have become stronger because of it. We are resilient and we get back up and fight when someone knocks us down"
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
In 2001, I had taken a year off to travel around Europe between finishing university and starting my career as a lawyer in Australia. On September 11, 2001, I was staying on the Greek Island of Paros. It was a stunning hot Summer day and we had spent the day on a moped visiting different beaches around the island. It was like we were on another planet because we had no idea until we got back that evening. After we had dinner we were playing pool next to a large tv and it was showing the Twin Towers with a plane flying through it, then the second plane hitting, then the towers going down. It was unbelievable and surreal, a stark contrast to the calmness and serenity around us.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
I called my family back in Australia. We did not know if it was going to be a global event and happen elsewhere in the world so it was important to know that everyone was safe. I was supposed to travel to Egypt the next week and my parents asked me to cancel the trip, which I did. Three weeks later, I ended up flying to New York to visit a friend I went to Elementary School with back when we lived in Georgia. We could see the World Trade site still smoking from the top of the Empire State Building.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
The second plane hitting. That was when we knew it was intentional. Then the people jumping from the top of the towers. It was incredibly heartbreaking. Then people running covered in dust and debris. Finally, the firefighters who went into the towers and never came out, losing their lives trying to save others.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
Everything changed after 9/11. It made us realize that terrorism could happen anywhere and or at any time. Before that, the U.S. was seen as a superpower that was untouchable. It made the world feel vulnerable. It was also the first time I really understood that people would go to extreme lengths, and even kill themselves, for their religion.
I moved to New York in 2008 and worked downtown. I lived in Battery Park City and my apartment had a view out to the World Trade construction site. I had a number of friends who lived or worked downtown and were there on the day. They lost friends and colleagues. The event broke something inside them. Their home was attacked. Twenty plus years later and they still talk about it with deep pain in their voices.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Learning history helps us understand the present by revealing how past events shaped our world and history also fosters critical thinking, empathy, and a broader understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives. It’s important to remember that there are good and bad people of every race and religion. You cannot blame the actions of some on an entire religion.
It is also critical to treat first responders with respect. Not only did some lose their lives, those who survived suffered multiple illnesses. These people put their lives on the line every day for the people and for their country.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
I was in my freshman year of college at Penn State. I remember being in my dorm room with my roommate and someone coming into our room to say someone had flown a plane into the WTC. Initially, terrorism wasn’t my first thought as to what happened. I thought a small plane had just made a series of mistakes and accidentally hit the building. As we turned on the TV, news reports were flooding in as to what had taken place. Even then, it wasn’t 100% clear that it was intentional. Then the second plane hit and people realized that terrorism was most likely happening.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
Honestly, we didn’t know what to do. Things were happening so fast, it seemed, that we were mostly stunned and frozen watching the TV. I had a class that morning, and not knowing what to do, I went to class. Once we got there, the professor and teaching assistant told us that class was canceled and go be with your friends/family at this sad time.
I don’t explicitly remember calling my mom and dad, but I assume I did to check in, let them know I’m safe and to make sure they were safe.
I connected with some friends and we hung out in the quad just talking and sharing what little information we had at that point.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
When we turned on the news, and after the 2nd plane hit, I remember watching the smoke billowing out of the towers and then it looked like the one tower moved a little. I got up to get closer to the TV and said to my friends, the building is moving, and then it started to collapse. Knowing all the people in and around the building, that were losing their lives in that instant, was gut wrenching. I remember that feeling of helplessness in that moment.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
9/11 made me realize that, as proud as we are as Americans, there are some cultures that don’t appreciate the things we may take for granted. Before this event, I didn’t think much about other cultures around the world. After this event, Middle Eastern culture was talked about more and allowed me to expand my knowledge on things outside of the United States. Having lived and worked outside of the US as long as I have, has helped me work with people from all cultures and have some self awareness that not everyone thinks the US is as awesome as most of us do.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Please do not let the actions of a few bad actors lead you to believe that all people from that region of the world are terrorists. There are bad examples of human beings from every demographic. Feeding that hate is not going to make anything better. 9/11 was a time when the US came together for a common goal and there are some great stories of people helping people. Don’t let this event, or any event, stop you from being the type of person that would extend a helping hand to a person in need.
"I worked at Princeton University at the time of the attacks. While at work our Director went through the office after his wife called him to tell us a plane hit one of the towers. Thinking at first it was a small plane, so sad and terrible. Staff began gathering in the conference room to watch the event unfold on an old TV with rabbit ears and terrible reception. We all watched in horror and disbelief asking how could this be happening in our country?
Two most vivid memories. Thinking it was such a beautiful September day as the world went silent and dark in sorrow. Commuting to work each day took me past the Princeton Junction train station (a train many commuters took into New York). To see many cars sit there and begin to be covered in dust, knowing people would not go home to their loved ones again.
To young people. The range of emotions remain to this day. Anger, fear and great pride in the men and women who put aside their own safety . Amid the sorrow, hurt and anger our flag stood tall and strong as the US and the world came together. Never forget! 🇺🇲"
How did you find out about 9/11 and where were you?
I was standing in front of RFH. I was in my senior year and my one of my best friends came up to me and he was like "they just called me into the office. My dad is in the towers and a plane just crashed into one of them, so they called me in and said that my dad's OK" and I was like "what are you talking about, how did the plane crash?" and he said "I don't know but my dad's OK". So then we went into class together, and one girl behind me was sobbing because her dad was also in the towers. We just turned on the TV. Every single room has the news on and that's just how it was for the rest of the day. We could see the smoke from our school.
It was wild. It felt so surreal. My aunt took the subway through the towers every day, so I ran into the bathroom and snuck to call my aunt but our cell phones weren't working. I think too many people were calling so everything was jammed because people were trying to call their loved ones to see if they were okay. And you couldn't get calls through
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
I think it was just the surreal mess of it all because it had impacted so many people. I lost three neighbors that day.
And it was just so deeply felt because it hit so close to home.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your worldview or like the way you think following that day?
So I would say that my worldview changed because I realized anything can change in a second. And honestly, I think we were all changed that day in perpetuity and it was scary. It was just kind of like everything can change in an instant and after 9-11 I have always felt that and I've known it.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Be brave and still keep doing the things because you can't live in a shell right you can't hide you know we go into the city all the time and my husband commutes in every day. It was scary and memorable, but also I'm not going to be too scared to still do everything. You still need to be brave and live your life. And just know that anything can change anytime.
"I was in class and over the speaker the principal announced that there was an explosion with the towers and that a plane had crashed. And at that time my dad actually worked right over in that area in New York. So I remember I left class and then was calling my mom, and there was just chaos at the time. And then me and my siblings got together in school, and then we could go home and find out if everything was okay with my dad. For my most vivid memory, I have the image of me looking at the speaker in the class listening to the principal saying that. I know exactly what class it was. It was history, I think it was a social studies class. And then, I don't remember who my teacher was, and I remember me sitting in the class and I see the image of the speaker looking at it. This was probably in my sophomore or junior year of high school. Young people should know that tragedies happen. And why, we'll never really know, but the focus should be on taking care of the people that were harmed."
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
I was in the fourth grade at River plaza school in Red Bank. We were in the classroom, and the teacher kind of stood there with a blank face looking at all of us. And she had tears coming down, and we thought that something had happened to the teacher, but she wouldn't say what had happened. And the next thing I remember was them pulling out students one by one. Everyone's parents were coming to pick up their children and everyone kept leaving the classroom, so I didn't know what had happened. I was sitting there, and my mom actually didn't come and pick me up, because the school said that you were safer at the school rather than being home. So I wound up staying in the classroom with a few other students whose parents let them stay. And then when I got home, that's when I found out. We had a TV in our kitchen, and then we saw the airplanes go into the buildings, and that's how we found out.
So what did you do after you learned this was happening?
I had a lot of questions. Why was this happening? What was war? Because I was only in the fourth grade. So you hear in the history books of wars in the past, but to understand it is a different story. It's like, why is this happening? How did we get here? What's happening to all those people? So I had lots of questions when it happened, and my parents sat me down and explained to me that we were under attack and that all those people had passed away, and we saw the videos on the news every single day, every single channel had it. And you just felt terrible. It was terrible, and it was scary. And then afterwards, we drove to the beach and you could see the sky filled with smoke all the way to the city.
What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
Most vividly, I remember the airplanes going into the building and the building falling. I think that was the most traumatic part, is seeing that whole building collapse in hundreds and thousands of people being in those buildings.
How did the events of 911 affect your worldview or how you lived your life?
So after that, the country was kind of in shambles. No one wanted to go on an airplane. Any airplane that would fly low over your house, you immediately panicked, and you would think, "Is it hijacked? Is there something wrong? Are we at war? Are they here?" So, after that, I feel like the security changed everywhere. And everyone was on high guard, and kind of still today. Like Newark Airport, now, the security at the airport is insane. Even perfume bottles, everything you could think of, you can't bring with you want an airplane anymore, which you could before 9/11. And then, I guess, just safety in general. If someone knocks on your door now and you get cautious. You're like, "who's at my door?" Whereas back then, before 9/11, it was kind of like, "Oh, someone's knocking on my door, "Hey, come on in." And now it's kind of changed the way that we look at the world. We're not so trusting anymore. We're kind of more aware.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Although it was a sad time, you know, history repeats itself, so I guess the important thing is to not let history repeat itself. War is kind of a tough one, you know. A lot of sadness, but there is a really nice memorial in New York for those people, if you haven't gone yet. It's actually really nice. It's beautiful. It's a nice tribute that they did, where they shine the lights. It's nice when it's at night and you could just see the lights beaming into the sky. And then, just be safe and just remember all those lives that were lost and those families that are still going through it. And thank all the firemen and the police officers and all the hospitals, 'cause they were packed, and they risked their lives to save all those people and a lot of firemen didn't get out, and a lot of police officers suffered and to this day, a lot of people are still suffering and they were ingesting all the fumes and the smoke and the ashes were everywhere. It was just, the whole thing was terrible. But make a donation, be thankful for what we have, and smile.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
When 9/11 happened, I was seven years old, and I found out on the playground after school. Every day after school, we'd always hang out, my friends and I, on the swing set or the slide. I remember our specifically next to a slide, and my friend's older brother, who was two years older than us, said, "Did you guys hear what happened? A plane hit the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center." I was seven years old, I didn't really understand what that meant. I didn't know what the World Trade Center was. So I was surprised and didn't really know what that meant at the time. I didn't really understand.
What did you do after you learned about this happen?
Not too much. I remember coming home that night, and my dad had a root canal at the time, and I remember he was downstairs in the basement, and he was watching the news. I remember watching and it kept showing the footage over and over again of the plane flying into the World Trade Center.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
How it changed everything. How it changed national security, how it changed how we think about policing, how we think about airplane security. It drastically changed everything, and then the wars that had followed it, it completely changed how we think about it. We went from the traditional idea of war of being between, you, nations or between countries and now it was against terrorism, it was the war on terror. So now, we were in a war against non-governmental entities as opposed to it being between nations. So that was a completely new thought to what people were used to for war.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
I affected my view more in the way of how we think about national security and it completely changed, policing (since I'm somebody who's involved in policing). We take every call more seriously, I would say especially suspicious packages or calls from suspicious people. I can't say that we don't think about that sometimes there could be a threat and you don't know. You know, we've had other acts of terror here in New Jersey since 9/11. So I would say that we definitely have more heightened caution to those kind of calls, to suspicious packages and how we handle those things.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
I want them to know that it's not all bad and also to remember those who did lose their lives trying to rescue others and help others. And how at the time, obviously it was a terrible thing, but it also brought us together as a country. I feel that it united us and that everyone supported our police, our firemen, because they were helping everybody that they could. I also think it's a good thing that we do have better security now, and we do think more about security checks and about who we are going on airplanes and even trains and other things. And also preparing for the future, not forgetting what happened and preparing for other acts of terror that could happen, thinking about other targets and other places in the United States that could potentially be attacked and how we handle security of that. So it doesn't happen again.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
On that day I was living in Atlantic Highlands and at the top of my driveway I had a clear view of the bay and New York city skyline. I remember distinctly on my way to work seeing huge billows of smoke coming off the towers. I didn’t know the details until I got to the office 30 minutes later. We had the news on the TVs with constant reports on what was known at the time. I just remember how horrific is all was.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
I contacted clients that I thought might be impacted. Lots of conversations of concern, fear, confusion.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
Those towers billowing smoke is so vivid. I had clients who had to walk the port authority tunnels looking for structural damage, tampering or anything else of concern. I had clients who luckily made it out of the towers. Their stories left undulable impressions.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
I was more impacted by the resilience of human nature, that people kept going and doing for each other. Pretty amazing!
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
The above, that at the worst times coming together is the most powerful thing we can do.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
I was 27 years old and out on a smoke break with a coworker (thankfully I quit smoking years ago). Someone came out of the building and said “Did you hear? A plane just hit the World Trade Center”. My original thought was, this is terrible. What an accident that must have been. I assumed it was likely a small single engine plan with an amateur pilot. My imagination wasn’t capable of thinking it would be a deliberate act of terrorism.
I headed back to my desk and that was when I realized what had happened and was happening.
What did you do after you learned this was happening? I sat in shock, I honestly could not believe what was developing. When Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon I began to worry about my family as the events unfolded. My brother, was working in DC for Congressmen Martin Frost at the time. I was concerned if the Pentagon had been involved, many other government buildings might be targeted. I tried to call him several times, but my calls were not connecting, which was terribly frustrating and terrifying all at once.
Later that morning, I simply left work went home and watched the news for hours. In complete disbelief of what had happened and confused as to why it happened and who would do this.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
I remember the way it made me feel. I remember the way people in my everyday life reacted. Everyone was either angry or numb to it all. It felt like there was no joy, laughter, and happiness anywhere to be found. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced, it almost felt like I was in a movie, because I couldn’t wrap my head around the reality of it all.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
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Instantly, I felt the most patriotic I had ever felt in my life. I was mad at entire countries and regions of the world. I wanted justice and revenge. Obviously as time goes on, our perspectives change. I realized not everyone viewed the United States the way I had, at that point in my life I assumed every country was envious of life in America, I think it was the 1st time I had given thought to the subject. After living in Bermuda for 18 years and discussing life with people from all over the world, my outlook on the world has changed and refined. With all the conflict across the globe currently, I fear an attack on America may be in planning somewhere. I think without 9/11 I would not feel this way.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
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One thing for sure is how the entire country came together. Everyone was on the same team, regardless of political affiliations, religion, race, sexuality. Everyone was mourning, everyone was an American and everyone had been impacted that day. Given our current landscape of crazy soundbites, being 100% on your political team and dismissing anyone who thinks different from you, I think it should be remembered that we all did come together if only for a brief amount of time, it was amazing.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
I was in the elevator going to my office at 160 Water Street when the first plane hit Tower 1. I could feel it when it happened. When I got to my office, I could see papers flying around my window on the 21st floor and smoke coming from Tower 1 of the WTC.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
I called my wife to see what the news was saying happened. I called my boss to tell him I was going over to see what was happening. Then, I left my office and walked over to the WTC to get a closer look.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
At first, how nobody seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation. Then, watching the people jumping from windows and the sounds that followed. Then, running from the collapsing buildings to get away from the dust.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
It still affects my life. Being there that day is something you can never forget. Just last year a friend of mine passed away to a 9/11 related cancer from working downtown in the aftermath of the event. It has affected my worldview in that it disappoints me that some people would want to kill innocent humans all in the name of hatred.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
On that day, nearly 3000 people were killed. The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 resulted in the largest loss of life by a foreign attack on American soil. Never say Never. Never forget.
When I first heard about the terrorism attack, I was working in my office in Holmdel New Jersey. At just about 9:00 A.M., one of my staff members alerted me that a plane had hit the WTC. The company I was working for had about 1200 employees in the building, and everyone gathered around the TV's throughout the building. Everyone first thought it was a small plane, but later learned that it was a commercial jet. Smoke poured out of the first tower. Several minutes later, a second plane crashed into WTC2. Due to the close proximity to NYC a number of people knew individuals working in the tower as did I. Some had even previously worked for the company. Tears were in many people's eyes as we watched the events unfold with more attacks. It was decided to let all employees go home to their families. 9/11 had a profound impact on my life. Some neighbors died in the attacks, leaving young families. I had always felt attacks of that magnitude or war would never come on U.S. soil, but 9/11 changed everything. About 4 years after the attacks, I actually took a job a few blocks from the WTC site. Many of my new co-workers gave me more firsthand stories about that day. I think the most important thing for everyone is to never forget that day and those who lost their lives.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
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I was in kindergarten, and I didn't have to go that day so I was at my grandma's house. My mom was in New York and my dad was in Florida on a business trip. I'm pretty sure my grandma just kind of told me and had the news on. I was watching it from an extremely young age, around five or six? So, I do remember seeing it on the TV and watching what was happening that day.
What did you do after you learned what was happening?
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I think my grandmother was trying to shield me. I did talk to my mom that night - she was able to get on the phone and talk to me and she kind of said her goodbye because she was stuck in the city. She had to make the choice if she wanted to walk across the GW bridge. She watched the second tower fall and she had to make the choice. There was no going into the tunnel. So she either had to walk across the bridge or go to Connecticut and find a way out that way. Or stay in the city. People were kind of like “what’s happening?” but it really felt like the end of the world and people there didn't know what was going to happen. So she went to a hotel called the New Yorker, where you could see the skyline. There was a line of people who were giving out their keys and a line of people who were waiting to get a key. They were literally just swapping them.
They didn't have cell phones or anything, so she called me from the hotel and kind of said her goodbyes because, like I said, she was scared and she didn't know what was happening. And then I remember her phone call the next morning, saying that she was getting on a train to come back to New Jersey and that we needed to pick her up. I had my nightgown on, I think it was a Barbie nightgown, and I had it on one shoulder, literally half off when my grandma grabbed me and was like “we have to go pick up your mom.”
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What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
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Picking her up from the train station the next day, just because I was so young, and I didn't understand what was truly happening. Obviously, she was pretty upset. We drove another man home and I was like, “why is there this stranger? Why can't he get a ride?”
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And then my dad was supposed to be flying home from Florida, and I still didn't know where he was, and I just knew that he wasn't able to fly. So they actually rented a van and they were starting to drive up. Um, But again, remember, they didn't have cell phones. So we had no idea where he was, if he was okay, anything like that.
Definitely picking my mom up is probably one of my earliest memories. It was just a really unique kind of different perspective. Obviously, because then I grew up always knowing about 9/11 and having someone who was there watching it happen.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
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I mean, I think just the idea that anything could happen at any time. That everything was fine one minute, and even now reflecting back on it, everything was so shaken up that day. It was really terrible. And I think even being further away from it, seeing how it affects so many people in such a way. Again, obviously I'm very grateful that my mom came home safely and wasn't as close to it as she could have been. But I remember the 10 year anniversary and her watching the documentary series and just totally breaking down and getting super upset about it. Which again, I didn't realize because I was so young and it didn't fully click.
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So I think now being older, just recognizing the true impact, like when we're hearing about history, we're hearing about wars, we're hearing about attacks. We're hearing about things going on in the Middle East, like all these different events that happen. This is the closest thing I think I've experienced to some of that trauma and so developing a sense of understanding and empathy from it.
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What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
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There was a lot of faith in that day. Unfortunately, as many horrible stories that you hear, we hear about other people - I have 3 distant family members. One worked at the Pentagon, one was in DC, and one worked at the World Trade Center. And for one reason or another, they were all late to work that day. So all 3 of them were okay when really they wouldn't have been, had they been on their normal schedule. And there's so many people like that, so I think, just hearing those stories of faith. And that there were a lot of good people that day who did things to help who did things to help others in big or small ways. And then also faith in the sense of just people being in the right place at the right time. Instead of being at the wrong place and the wrong time.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
I was in my early twenties, and I was working for The Princeton Review (the SAT test prep company) in Princeton, NJ. My boss' husband worked in NYC, so she was the first to say that she got a message or call from him. (I can't remember if we had texting back then?) He reported that a helicopter flew into the Twin Towers because nobody knew quite what was happening yet. As she got details from her husband, she relayed everything to us.
What did you do after you learned this was happening?
That's a good question because communication back then was so different than it is now. So we were all very confused for quite a while, and we just kept trying to piece details together as we heard from relatives, looked up the news on websites (which were nowhere near as advanced as they are now), and called friends. When we eventually figured out what was happening, we all cried, and we felt this incredible darkness that I haven't felt since. Some of my coworkers and I walked down to the church in Princeton and prayed because that was all we could think of to do.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
I had just moved into a new apartment, and we didn't have TVs yet. So everyone else was glued to the news, and I couldn't really see the images. I went to a restaurant in downtown Princeton where they played some of the images on the TV in the bar, and I remember seeing that and just looking away. It felt very surreal and apocalyptic.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
I had always felt very safe and almost coddled as a US citizen. The first attack in my lifetime on US soil was very shattering to my sense of safety. I had once felt invincible but, after 9/11, I felt like the US was more exposed to the "outside world" than we were before. On the other hand, I was also very heartened to see how many nations joined in solidarity with us as we grieved.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
There were a couple bad people who did this. It was not whole religions or whole nations who inflicted the events of that day upon us. Those actions came from a few sick people, and we should not hold those actions against others who share the same religion, nationality, or background of those people.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11? How did you find out?
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I was living in the city and working in the city at the time. My brother's birthday is actually September 11th, so we were both working really late that night. Our mom kept calling us and then cutting out, and I was like, “why is mom calling us on your birthday?” She knew we both worked until like 3 AM because I worked for Sports Illustrated and my brother worked for MSG.
So I was closing the Sports Illustrated magazine that night. I couldn't figure out what was going on and I just moved into the apartment so I only had a TV and an air mattress. I had no furniture, and I lived right on 6th Avenue and 12th. So basically, if you looked out my window, you could see 6th Avenue. Finally, my mom got through and said one of the towers was hit by a plane. So I said, “oh my god”, so I turned the TV on and I saw it, and then I said to my brother, we better just get dressed and go to the bank and get some money and food and stuff. And then we went out my fire escape. And as I'm standing on the fire escape, I see all these people walking up 6th Avenue. There's no cars, there's tons of people trying to get uptown, because I was on 12th Street, which was further south. I just saw masses of people, and there were all people lining up, and I was like, “what are people lining up for?” When we went downstairs I found out that St. Vincent's hospital was there, so people were lining up to donate blood. Because they knew that people would need it. Well, thought people would need it.
My brother and I got dressed, went downstairs, just got some cash, and went food shopping, because I knew what was going on, and then I saw the plane hit the 2nd tower. And it was just mayhem. After that, they closed off below 14th Street, so it was only emergency vehicles. So for a long time, I had to show my license with my address on it, or they wouldn't let me down below 14th Street. It was just crazy. It was insane. That was it. That was our morning of September 11.
What did you do? For the rest of the day were you just stuck?
Yeah, we were just in the apartment. We'd go downstairs, but it was just mobs and mobs of people walking uptown.
Everyone was panicking about how to get out, because everything was shut down. Thankfully we had power but we were just hunkered down. And that was on a Tuesday. Sports Illustrated where I worked was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those were our days off because we closed the magazine on Monday, so then we went back to work on Thursday and I had to walk to work, from 12th to 50th Street. So I walked the 38 blocks up 6th Avenue, and it smelled forever. You could just smell the burning and the smell was so bad and it just stuck around forever.
It was so depressing and sad. All I heard for weeks was sirens because 6th Avenue was closed so you just heard it was just emergency vehicles up and down and then you heard the fighter jets and the helicopters - it was just so noisy and crazy for so long after.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
People would have signs everywhere. I was in the village and everyone had paper printouts of people's faces, pictures of them, and they would ask, “have you seen this person?” Everyone was looking for their loved ones. And it was just, oh, I could cry right now thinking about it. It was just all over the place, pictures of people that no one could find. And it was just very upsetting, because I could still see it. It was just crazy.
And they were all dead, you know? And they didn't need all the blood that everyone was going to the hospitals to donate because everyone was dead. They either got out or they were dead, so it was just awful, awful. The pictures and the smell was just terrible, and then living there for so long after, like I said, the smell didn't go away. And the pictures, no one wanted to take them down, even though they knew they were dead, so the pictures were still up for I can't even remember how long - it felt like forever. They were rained on and just worn out. It was just awful. It was terrible, still unbelievable.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
Well, in my daily life, I made sure I always had stuff in the apartment in case something bad happened again. I made sure I had tons of cash, and I had food and stuff just in case things went down electricity wise. I was nervous for a while to get it back on the subways, and public transportation. I had just signed that lease at that apartment for 2 years, and I was like, “Oh no, I'm stuck here now, at least for 2 years”. I got nervous, wondering “should I move out?”
You get nervous and then every time you see someone suspicious, then you get worried. And I was in the Time in Life building right across from radio city music hall in Rockefeller Center. So that was kind of scary too, because everyone would say, “ where's the next target gonna be?” They're going to want to hit a populated area. So I knew they weren't going to hit where I lived because they just hit down like a little further south of me. I kept thinking, “are they going to try to hit Rockefeller Center because it's so populated?” You know, because Christmas time is just mobbed in Midtown and Times Square, and so I was always nervous going to work thinking, “what if they do it again and they strike Midtown?” I thought, lightning doesn't strike twice, so I knew they weren't gonna hit my apartment downtown. So I was thinking, oh, it could go uptown to like where it's more populated and touristy.
For my worldview, I went to the Olympics in Salt Lake right after that, in February of 2002 and I was really nervous flying there. I kept worrying about that being a target too. I went to Salt Lake for almost a month and stayed in a hotel because we did a daily magazine there. And I was nervous about going there and flying there.
I actually had to pee, and they had a rule back then that you couldn’t get up the last 30 minutes of your flight because they were afraid someone would charge the cockpit. So they had all these rules in place, and I had to go to the bathroom so badly. There were very few people on the flight, I had one of the guys I worked with with me, and the flight attendant kept giving us wine. So I was getting a little buzzed, and I had to go to the bathroom, and I got up, and they were like “sit down, get down,” and I was like, “oh my god, I'm sorry. I had to go to the bathroom.” That's not an effect anymore, but that was an effect for a while, that you couldn't get up during the last 30 minutes or last hour of a flight, depending on where you were going.
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What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
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The saddest part was all the stories that you heard from all the families because after it happened. They would just interview people, and it was on TV all the time, and you would just hear their personal stories like “my wife was pregnant”. That was so heartbreaking, because, you know, it's heartbreaking as it is, but when you see these faces in pictures all over New York City, and then you see people interviewed and all the people that were on the planes, the one in Pennsylvania that went down and the Pentagon. So it didn't just affect New York it affected the whole country, the whole world.
Young people, you just gotta tell them about it, just to make them aware of what happened and how devastating it was for the whole world, you know?
The power went out shortly after that and scared the hell out of everybody. We didn't have it for a couple days and thank God I had money. I went to a bank, the little glass enclosure where the ATM was, and I sat on the floor to charge my phone. I was always making sure my phone was charged because I didn't have a landline. Back then, we just had the cell phone so I was just making sure my phone was always charged in case God forbid something happened.
I was living there, and I was working there, so it was pretty intense, and the one thing that really bothered me was when we went back to work. We would have a morning meeting on Thursday, and at the meeting that week my managing editor didn't bring it up, didn't say anything about it, and everyone was like, “what? Why isn't he talking about it?” It was just so weird, you know?
I still don't know why he never did, and everyone was mad and angry, and it was everyone just had so many emotions. Everyone was so emotional, upset, angry. It was just a really hard time in the city.
I was living and working about 50 miles from the Towers on 9/11 after having recently been relocated from 6 World Trade. At the time the first plane hit I was at my desk and had a system that had a live TV feed built into the screen. One of my colleagues and saw the news switch over to a special story and watched the coverage move to the first tower. There was not a lot of information, but as we believed most of the rest of the world thought, this was a terrible accident that we were watching play out. Our company had employees in that area across several of the buildings, so we started to reach out to understand if there was anything we could do to help… My colleague had a sister that lived in NY and immediately started trying to reach her to make sure she was ok. As others started to trickle into the office and see what was happening, you could see the concern build. As the second plane hit the mood shifted from trying to figure out how to prepare for something that no one had dealt with before to understanding this was going to be something that was going to impact the world in a much different way. We spent the rest of the day watching the rest of the event play out and making calls to check in on friends and family and trying to figure out how to help. And even though I we were far away, I can still remember seeing the smoke and the smell of the air and seeing streaks of what we felt were military planes flying high above in the sky and feeling unsure of what the next few minutes, days, hours would bring…
At the time, I think my world view was unsettled. Imagining that this was something that could or would happen in the United States was disconcerting. In the days following, seeing the community and world come together to support the recovery and finding ways to chip in gave me a sense of pride and confidence in people. Overall, I think it has made me much more vigilant in paying attention to what’s going on around me, but also much more sensitive to what’s going on with others to try to be thoughtful of the community around us.
What I learned from the events of 9/11 and would pass on is that the majority people are inherently good and caring. Everyone seems to get distracted by what is happening in their own lives and may lose focus on the people around them or reject personal perspectives, but when something so impactful happens, the community came together. There will inevitably be something that happens that will shape the story for future generations, and I hope they are able to come together and respond to the moment.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
I was a commuter and my building was right above Grand Central. So I worked at 420 Lex, which was called the Gray Bar Building. It still is called the Gray Bar Building. It was the Leona Helmsley Building. So Leona Helmsley was a lady I guess was kind of popular in the 80s and 90s. She was kind of the Wicked Witch of the West of New York City. But, it was a Leona Helmsley building.
I was actually on the train on New Jersey transit into the city, and we had just gotten in, and, you know, when you're commuting, this is before cell phones, really. So everybody was sleeping. Somebody had a cell phone on the train, and it went off. I mean, etiquette is kind of out the window with phones, but the expectation was that you kept it quiet. You know, it was a different time.
So somebody's phone went off as soon as we got out of the tunnel, and we were on our way into the station, and somebody's phone went off. Everybody kind of groaned, because they're like, oh, you know, your phone is so noisy. The person just kind of shut it off, didn't pay attention to it.
So we got into Penn Station. I took the subway, and as I was walking into my building, people were just a little weird. People were kind of walking around unsure and uncertain. I went upstairs to my office, and that's when I heard that a plane had hit the tower.
My husband worked downtown. He worked on Wall Street. And he had been late that day. He would have been at his office already.. I can't remember if he slept later, if he just was out late, and he was going in a little bit later, but I knew he was in the wrong place at that time. So I was really worried about him, and I had a cell phone for work. So I happened to have a cell phone, but he didn't. So I couldn't reach him. I didn't know where he was. And so I was really, really worried.
So we kind of stuck around, and we, it was a studio, so there were TVs everywhere. And everybody was kind of following along, and then when the second plane hit, everybody started going crazy, and people were like, “What do we do? We're at war.” Nobody knew what was happening.
And then the buildings came down, and then everybody just kind of cleared out. And most of the people I worked with lived in the city. So, I don't remember who I went downstairs with, 'cause I was on the 19th floor, so, I went downstairs, and I just really didn't know what to do. I walked out to the street, and I just got on a cross town bus. I didn't have any fare. I didn't have anything. And I said to the bus driver, “what should I do?” And he's like, “I don't know, get on the bus.”
The one thing I remember from that day is that there was a real spirit of connectedness, of everybody really helping each other. So I got on the bus, went across town, and somehow I got to the ferry. Yeah, I was at the ferry, but I can't remember how I got there. But somehow I got to a ferry.
And I was gonna try to just get to Hoboken, so I could get on the New Jersey transit train. And I haven't talked about this ever, I don't think. And so I got on the train, and I called my parents. My parents had been watching the whole thing, and by the time I got on a train … I mean, this happened in the morning. It was the afternoon by the time I got on the train. It took a long time to get out of the city and still, I had no idea where my husband was. I didn't know where anyone was.
I got on the train and I lent my phone to a whole bunch of people because they were trying to call their families and they didn't have phones.
And then I got home, and then my husband finally got home, and he was covered. And he stood outside before he got in the door. He took off all of his clothes, shoes, and put him in the garbage can, because he was covered in ash. And then he came in and took a shower.
And then we were in shock. We were just in shock and my parents came over. His parents came over just to see us, and so, it was a crazy experience.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or world view?
Immediately, I was really scared. And I didn't wanna go back to work. And I didn't want my husband to go back to work. Pretty quickly after that burned off, I was just really pissed. I was angry. I was really, really angry.
The anger kind of helped me get over being afraid, and I was angry that going to Grand Central - which is, you know, a big place, it's probably my favorite building anywhere, it's gorgeous. I was angry that the National Guard was standing outside with rifles, that I had to walk past that every day, but I was grateful for them. I was angry that they had to put cement barricades in front of this beautiful building because they were afraid that people would drive up with bombs and drive into Grand Central and that made me so angry that my beautiful experience of walking through New York City and walking through Grand Central, which is just a stunning, stunning place was corrupted by that.
But I think the good things that came out of it were that I had always loved being American, but that feeling of being patriotic and feeling that the world is truly good. Out of this awful evil thing, I felt connectedness to just everyday people, the bus driver, and the people that I helped call their families.
I felt like people are inherently good. And the most important thing, I think, that came out of that, and I don't know why this even came out of it, but my husband and I, we were young professionals, we had just gotten married the year before. We were in our late 20s. I was busy with my career. He was busy with his career, but that day, that moment really made me know that I wanted to have a family.
I wanted to have children and that I wanted to have love inside of me and that we wanted to create a family together. And I don't know, it doesn't really make much sense, right? You're in this awful thing and it's like, why would you bring children into the world, this world? But that was my feeling. That was my instinct.
And I said to my husband, I was like, “we have to have kids.” He was like, “no, thank you.” But when we were ready, we did. It was a couple years later, but we did. But that's kind of how it changed me.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
What I'd really love young people who weren't there to know is that spirit of goodness. That just because something really, really terrible has happened the world isn’t a bad place.
I watch the news now and there's so much division. It can be bottled down to, you know, a 30 second, one minute thing on TikTok that things are really bad and look at this evil stuff that's happening. People are inherently good. I really, truly believe that people are inherently good, and that's the default function of us, as humans, as a functioning human being. We are functioning human beings. And our default setting is good. I really believe that. What I'd like young people to know is that they can really make a difference simply by going back to that default setting. To help when they can. And to push through fear, and if anger helps you, use it. I remember walking through New York City being so scared, but I was like, you know what? And I was probably cursing as I was walking. I was just very angry, but that helped me.
Your emotions are an important indicator of how you know things are going, but they're not necessarily reality. Young people should learn to really believe that goodness can come out of bad things. And not to be cynical. Cynicism is not something to settle into, especially as a young person. Cynicism is something that can be really toxic and it's not cool. It's what I love about this place is that you students are so enthusiastic about everything. Literally everything.
And the one thing I do want to just get on the record, and this isn't really answering your question. But I think that noticing things every day can help bring back memories. I remember, if you talked to other people about 9/11 so far? So I don't know if anybody's brought up the day. The weather, it was the bluest sky. It was a beautiful crisp autumn morning. It slowly got hotter. But that day, and every time, every September, if we have a day, I think there's only been once, maybe twice that September 11th was the same weather. It was an absolutely cloudless day, an absolutely beautiful sky. Which made the plane crash extra shocking for people who were like there’s no clouds, there’s no nothing. But those kinds of things can bring things back.
When something really good is happening, I try to, it's gonna sound crazy, but I try to grab onto something like that, so that if it happens again, I can remember that feeling. Do you know what I mean? So, it's something silly that I do for myself, but, if there's a memory, if there's something really great happening, I just try to grab onto something that will remind me of, of that feeling to bring me back to that day. That's a bad feeling, you know, that blue sky. It really only happens if it's 9/11. Like I said, I think in all the years since then, it's only been one day on 9/11, but if it's September and there's a really crisp blue sky, I think people do tend to remember that “Oh, this is just like 9/11” if they were there.
So anyway, so that's kind of a separate, answer, but, I think young people just like you who are kind of trying to keep the stories alive. You know it was a scare. It was a day that, you know, there was a before and after.
I remember standing, like, waiting. I was waiting for the ferry, and something happened. I don't know if a car had a little pop or something. There's a big noise, and the line scattered. Everybody started screaming because everybody was so jittery. I remember thinking very distinctly, this is the day I'm gonna die. This is the day I'm gonna die.
And I didn't, which is nice. But, you know, some of the memories are so crisp, and, I remember on the ferry, we went right past the buildings, and everything was on fire, and smoking, and stuff. I turned my back to it. I didn't want to watch it because I didn't know if my husband was in there. So I didn't see it up close because I didn't want to. And my husband was fine. He was, you know, he, I mean, he wasn't fine. He was actually in the building. He had just gotten off the PATH train, and he was in the building when the first plane hit.
So he had to run around, and the police were at all of the doors, and they had locked the doors, because they were afraid debris was falling off the building. So they kept saying, no, stay inside because the debris is falling. It might make you injured. Because it was the first plane, nobody really realized what was happening. And he, for some reason, because there had been a bomb a couple years prior. He, for some reason, was like, I gotta get out of here, so he clicked into flight mode, and he ran around, and he finally found a door to get out of, and that's when the second plane hit.
And so he was just kind of standing there, and, I don't think we don't really talk about what happened because he was so traumatized by it. I think he did see some people jump, but he had to run when the buildings collapsed. So he was one of the people that ran.
So every time I see something from 9/11, any footage, I always look to see if I can see him in the crowds of people that are running through the ash and stuff. That was what his experience was, and then after that, it was just, again, it was, escape from New York that day. But he eventually got home. I try to focus on the good that came out of that and my 2 daughters are really the best thing for me and my family.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
So, it was my fourth day, freshman year of high school. So, I had just started high school. I was meeting all new people, and I remember I was sitting in my history class 2nd period. My teacher, Mr. Tessie, I'll never forget his name, Mr. Tessie walked right in, and he started class with “two planes just hit the World Trade Center” and then continued with the lesson.
So, at first, he said the World Trade Center, and I had always called them the Twin Towers. So I was like, World Trade Center, what's the World Trade Center? And then people in my class started buzzing around and they were like, that's the Twin Towers. That's the Twin Towers.
And when I was a kid, we would always see the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center driving up on the highway because we live in New Jersey. It is so close. So, I remember just this feeling of anxiety, but my teacher wasn't really stressed out about it, and they thought at that time that it was small planes. So we thought it was just an accident and then that was it. He continued with the lesson after that.
How did the rest of the day unfold?
So after that, I went to, I think I might have had lunch after that. We had early lunches because we were scattered in lunches and because I was a freshman. We ate super early. So, we didn't have cell phones back then, so some people had cell phones, some people didn't. But they were very primitive. So some classes had seen what was unfolding because teachers had turned on TVs the prior period.
But now I'm at lunch and students are starting to freak out because we live so close to New York City. A bunch of people have parents who work in New York City. I'm trying to go through the Rolodex in my head. Okay, my mom works in a school, she doesn't work in New York City. My dad works in an office here. He doesn't work in New York City, and I'm like, do I have family in New York City?
We're all kind of panicking and some of my friends were calling their families, but they couldn't get in touch because cell service started to go down. We actually had a pay phone, too, in our school, so people were using payphones.
The rest of the day, I just remember this kind of anxiety, fear of the unknown because we couldn't really get in contact with anyone. I realized later that my uncle had walked right through afterwards. So he was fine, but that was scary for me knowing that my uncle was in the city during that time.
But when I got home, I immediately turned on the TV. I got home before my parents, because my mom was also a teacher, and my dad worked in an office as an accountant. I remember calling them, and for some reason, I thought that they wouldn't know anything that was going on. Like only I was privy to the news of the day.
But they knew, and I just remember the rest of the day being sort of in shock and glued to the TV, trying to figure out what was going on. And it was the first time in my life that I had ever heard the word terrorism. So that was a new word to us. We had never talked about terrorism or terrorists, so hearing the word terrorism, it was new to me. I didn't even know what a terrorist was. So that was the beginning of a new learning curve for me.
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And something that was really interesting too, was at our elementary school and middle school, like our feeding schools, where I had friends still in middle school and elementary school, they were really concerned the kids were going to come home and not have parents at home.
So every single teacher got on the bus and dropped off every single kid at their house, and if a kid didn't have parents at home for whatever reason, whether it was work, whatever, they couldn't get in touch with them, they brought them back to the school, and they kept kids at school to make sure that they had family members to go home to.
I actually had a neighbor who was in Cantor Fitzgerald and passed away that day. So just thinking about the fact that I had babysat those kids for years and met and knew the family well. Just thinking of the fear that those kids had when they got home that day not knowing where their family was, was definitely eye-opening for me. You know, it was a weird new experience. It was like the biggest tragedy of our lifetime.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
The thing I most remember is actually the next day. So, that day, it was a beautiful bright blue day. It was the best sky, and then the next day it was also just like a crisp, cool Fall day, and the sun was really bright.
And my dad and I went to get in the car the next day, and it smelled so bad in the air. I just remember looking up and being like, this is kind of graphic, but I was like, “Dad, are there bodies in the sky?” Because of all the ash that had gone over to New Jersey the next day. I think that smell, I haven't smelled anything like that ever since. It just made me so sad to think about the tragedy of that day and then the aftermath of it and how we were all kind of so close to it that we could even smell the smoke from that day.
A lot of the day was filled with sadness and kind of trying to figure out what was happening, but the next day was when it really sunk in, you know?
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
So, after that, like I said, we really learned about the word terrorism. You know, Osama bin Laden was a common home name after that. They were trying to figure out what was going on, and then we went right to war. So my whole high school experience, from my teenage years to my adulthood, has all been shaped by war in Iraq, Iran. I've learned so much. I'm actually really interested in that kind of perspective. So in college I ended up taking a literature-based class on terrorism and learned about the history of terrorism around the world.
It's made me more cautious, you know? We didn't really have to fear, you know, when we were getting on a plane. For years, my family didn't fly after that because we were so scared about something happening on a plane. Security used to be so nonchalant on planes and now it's so extreme.
It definitely helped me to empathize more with the good people in some of those countries, like in the Middle East, because I learned so much more about them and how their countries are corrupt. It's always the good people who take the blame, right?
And even as an adult, when I was teaching, in my first few years teaching, before we really understood that even though people come from these terroristic countries, all the people in the country are not bad. And I remember having students my first few years who always felt like they were a target or that they would be made fun of because of their ethnicity. It helped me to really empathize with them and realize that we need to tuck everyone in a little bit closer and help to raise awareness that not everyone in the world is bad just because you look a certain way. It doesn't mean that you're affiliated with these people, the bad people, that's what they want, right? They want to stand out and that we need to make sure that we still exhibit kindness and empathy for others.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
I would say, I want people to know that kindness matters and kind of sticking together during tough times, and... demonstrating bravery was what so many people in 9/11 demonstrated. We can talk about for days the people who rushed in the direction of the building and went up to save people instead of running away. We could talk about just like the families of people who, their loved ones, now have PTSD or that they lost someone, like how they moved on from that and how they kind of created a new community.
I would say, I want people to know that it has shaped so much of our recent history, so never forget and always honor and learn as much as you can. I've read so many books of so many stories about heroes that day. I think focusing on the heroes of 9/11 is really important to remember.
Remember that people all around us are still shaped by that memory. It's gonna be a whole generation, I think, before people don't have day-to-day memories from that. I mean, people we work with, they were down on 9/11. They were down there during 9/11. I had a friend who lived in the closest apartment building and has had to deal with the health effects of that.
So, I would say think of all the people. It's always important to honor the people who are brave and know that you don't have to be in the service to be a hero and always keep your eye out because you never know when you're gonna be helping someone in need. That's important.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
I was in seventh grade. I was in Miss DeShawn's homeroom class, which was 7B, at St. Joe's Grade School in Toms River. It was homeroom period. We were sitting around, I guess, I don't know, doing homeroom type of things. And the teacher came in and she said, oh, there's been an accident or something in New York City that a plane had crashed into one of the buildings. So she actually turned on the news. And we were kind of sitting there watching it, and, you know, it's roughly, I don't know, like 9-9:30 or something in the morning. We were sitting there watching. At that point, I think that she had just continued on with whatever it was we were doing, but the TV's on in the background and the second plane hit live. You heard these shrieks from the hallway. Somebody came in quick, or Miss DeShawn turned around quickly, and turned the TV off. Then you could just hear wailing and stuff in the hallway. Different teachers were coming in and out of the room, in tears. Cell phones were not nearly as ubiquitous. So it was a lot of “can you keep an eye on my class? I have to go to the main office to try and call my husband, who works in the city, or my daughter, who's a student,” you know, at NYU, or whatever it was. So it was a lot of that. So that's how we found out that something was wrong. I don't think, as 7th graders, we really understood what was going on until that night.
What happened next? What was the rest of the day?
The rest of the day was... You know, this is just a dumb 7th grade boy, right? Like, I gotta be very clear with that. Immediately, the phone started to ring in class and kids started to get picked up early. You know, little Joey Jones go to the office for dismissal. Where's little Sally Smith, go to the office for dismissal.
By lunchtime, I think most kids were still there at school because I remember sitting at the table, the lunch table, with a group of, again, dumb seventh grade boys speculating wildly about what happened, who did it, why they did it and other buildings that were hit. You can imagine the rumor mill with those dumb 7th graders. It was astounding. I remember one kid, my friend Charlie, was like “they hit NYU, NYU is destroyed” as if NYU were one building. We didn’t know. You know, the Empire State Building, the Madison Square Garden, the whole, everything.
And I, in 7th grade, I had this little bit of me that wanted to be in the military, and, and is why I keep saying “dumb 7th grade boys”, because there was a bit of me, and I wasn't the only one, but there was a bit of me that was almost a little bit excited. Like, we're gonna get to go. If we follow our dreams and join the military, we're gonna get to go do something. Isn't this great? Yeah I remember that being sort of an emotional response that I look back on maybe not regrettably, but, you know, it's a lamentation for sure.
After lunch, the pickups escalated. I remember by the end of the day nobody's doing anything in school, by the way. I don't think so. Probably we were coloring, who the heck even knows. I don't think we were doing anything by the end of the day, I was one of maybe two or three other kids left in the class. Oh, my God. Classes were at least 20 kids back then. I feel like I remember them being closer to 30, but as a teacher now, that sounds insane. But, there were a lot of kids, you know, so if it was maybe four or five kids left, myself included left in the class, everybody's getting picked up. And I remember thinking at that point “why do I have to stay and everyone else is getting picked up?” I was annoyed. Again, dumb 7th grade boy, emotions all over the place. You know, wild speculation, excitement that we could go to war. I'm upset that I don't get picked up early. So then the school day ends. Bus ride home.
I have three younger brothers. They're all on the bus. The youngest of whom would have been in, I guess, first grade at the time. So it's me and my three brothers on the bus, and then we had cousins that lived up the street. They were all on the bus, too, but that was it. So, school was empty, the bus was empty, and now it's my relatives who are the only ones on the bus. So now all the Santos clan are the only ones who don't get picked up. Again, I'm like, this is bizarre, this is annoying.
So, when I get home, this is where I really realize that this is not exciting, not fun. This is really bad. Because my father was a firefighter in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and I knew that was close to New York. But firefighters work a very particular schedule where they're on for 24 hours straight, and then they're off for 72 hours. So it's a really cool schedule. You know, my dad was home a lot. He was very, very present, was at every sporting event, everything you could imagine. So, for us kids, the way my dad's schedule worked resulted in a little rhythm to our week.
So my mom was a school teacher. She had to be at school long before we had to be at school. So if my dad was home, then my mom would be off to work before we would even wake up. My dad would wake us up and get us on the bus and off to school. And then he'd be there when we got home.
On days that my dad went to the firehouse, he would leave the house before 7 a.m. to get to Elizabeth on time, and then he would leave the firehouse at 8 a.m. and get home around 9, 9.30. So every three days, there were two days where we had to get up earlier because Dad's not home, so Mom had to get us on the bus.
So, what had happened was Monday morning, Monday, the 10th, was an early morning. Dad had left for the firehouse. Tuesday morning was an early morning. Meaning Dad's coming home from the firehouse. So we knew we had to get up early that morning, and all 4 of us expected Dad to be there to get us off the bus. We get home, we get to the bus stop. Mom's there. Which she never was because her school day also ended later than ours. So she was never home to get us off the bus. If Dad wasn't home, then we would just get ourselves off the bus, and we'd be home for maybe 20-30 minutes before she got home. It wasn't a lot, but then mom was actually at the bus stop, and that was the moment where I said “oh, where's dad?” And I kind of started to piece little things together.
My mom was very upset. She just asked us, do you guys know what happened today? I think we kind of said, “Sorta. Yeah.” And all I remember her saying is, you know, “after today, we will be at war.” That was what I remember my mom saying. And then my dad wasn't home for the rest of the day.
I remember late that night, I don't know how late, late for 7th grader, but members of Congress, I believe it was, were on the steps of the Capitol Building, and they sang, God bless America, all together. It was on TV, live, and they're singing God Bless America, and I remember my mother just bawling her eyes out with this scene on the TV. And that's kind of it. That's what I remember from that day
Where was your Dad?
So my dad was...so Elizabeth as a city, as a department, was alerted for what's called mutual aid. So whenever, and this is kind of standard practice, I guess, whenever there's an emergency that the infrastructure in a particular city doesn't have the resources to respond to. For example, if in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, there's a fire that's too big, they call for mutual aid, meaning any town within a certain radius sends manpower, they send resources, whether it be trucks, generators, water, whatever it might be. So, for New York, New York City is overwhelmingly considered the gold standard, and firefighting and first response, they are the best funded. They are the best trained, they are the best equipped fire department in the world. And this is my father admitting to this, you know, as an Elizabeth guy, he would say this. So, that New York City was calling for mutual aid at all, was like, oh, my goodness, this is really, really big.
So what happened was my Dad got out of the fire department, out of the firehouse at 8 o'clock or so on Tuesday, on the morning of Tuesday, the 11th. He got home, it was about 9:30 then and by 10:30, both towers were hit, maybe one had fallen. I don't really remember the times on that type of stuff. But his chief had called and said, you have to come back because New York just alerted us for mutual aid.
So, Elizabeth, along with Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken, Westchester, New York, you know, trucks and rigs from Suffolk County. Stuff from all over the country started to go to New York to deal with the disaster.
So he was on the pile, which is what they called it. You know, basically the pile of rubble, that's just what it was. If you were working that pile, just digging through rubble, and you're just searching for signs of life. You're desperate for signs of life. That's where he was.
I do remember one specific story. No, you know what? Neither tower had fallen. So, the two planes have hit the towers, neither tower has fallen and New York's already calling for mutual aid. And I know that because my dad told me the story of getting back to the firehouse. His crew is there. They get on the truck. They start driving into the city. And they saw the first tower fall from the rig.
And I know that, I remember that because, remember, New York City, FDNY is the gold standard. So, to those Elizabeth guys, knowing how well the FDNY guys trained and how proficient they are, and how quick they are to respond, by their estimation, there were probably 200 firefighters in that tower when the tower fell, or maybe it was even more, right? I don't remember exactly what the number he said was, but when the tower fell, my father said over the radio to the guys in the truck, “say a prayer because 300 of our brothers just went down with that tower.”
It turned out to not be anywhere near that number because I think they had been alerted like, listen, we got to start evacuating the tower. So, whatever the fear was, 500 firefighters were in whichever tower fell first, north or south, whichever one fell first. I don't really remember. The estimation was way more than what it was. I mean, obviously, it was too many anyway.
So he's in the truck. They arrive in Manhattan. One tower is down. I think the second tower had fallen. It was soon thereafter Building 7 of the World Trade Center had collapsed later that night. He was on the pile when that happened. That was a scary moment.
But basically they worked on the pile looking for signs of life in the rubble for these shifts. I don't know what the shifts were, maybe 2 or 3 hours on and then some time off. I remember one time my dad got in trouble because his allotted time was over and they were trying to be strict. If you're supposed to be there for 2 hours, they want you off after 2 hours because guys will burn out.
And adrenaline's going and these are all heroic people. I don't mean to use the hero complex in a negative way. But these are all people who are gonna keep going until you force them to stop. You don't run into burning buildings if you're not wired that way.
So one time he did get in trouble because he might have told the chief to F off. But he was like “with all due respect, I'm in the middle of something. Blah, blah, blah.” So, I remember he got in trouble for that. That's his story. That's the story that he tells.
And I think each night they would go back to Elizabeth and sleep at the firehouse. Then go back to work the next day. It was a number of days before we saw him again. We didn't have cell phones. And then even the cell phones that you had, the towers themselves were the major cell towers in the area. So when the towers went down, even the limited cell service that existed was now even worse. So it was a lot of pagers. It was a lot of calling the firehouse and leaving a message, then when my dad would get back, he would call the house phone, so a lot of phone tag and stuff.
So we were in communication a little bit. I don't remember how many days it was before we actually saw him again. I don't know if this memory of mine is the first time that I saw him after, but this would have been Sunday September 9th.
I don't remember if this was the first time I saw him, but I have this very distinct picture of my Dad getting home. I didn't know he was gonna be home, wherever I was. I didn't know he was coming home. And his turnout, which is the boots, the pants, the jacket, the helmet, the mask and the tank, that stuff never leaves the firehouse. You know, you don't bring that home. That stuff was in a pile on the front porch of the house, which was odd.
Then I walked in, and I don't know if you have a kind of an uncomfortable chair in the foyer of your house that's just where the keys and the jackets and everything go. No one actually sits in it. But it's just this chair that's at the front of the house. My Dad was passed out in that chair.
So, I don't remember if that was the first time I had seen him. But, it might have been that. It was definitely some sort of transition point where after that moment he went back to his 24 on 72 off kind of schedule. But that's where he was. I don't know how long it was before he got home. I don't know how long it was before the Elizabeth fire department guys stopped going into New York. That I don't remember either. But basically, that's where he was in a nutshell
What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
That lunch table really sticks out. I think it sticks out because it was the beginning of a tremendous change for me. From 7th to 10th, 7th to 11th grade, I saw the world one way. And that was the beginning of a change, I think. So that's why I remember that so vividly, because when I think back to that lunch table, I remember being an angry kid wanting to pick a fight.
And I think I remember that table because I can remember some of the things that dumb seventh grade boys are saying to each other. When I think back to it, it's a little embarrassing, in a way, you know? I'm so not that person. I don't think I ever really was. But I thought I was, or I wanted to be. And maybe that's worse. I don't know.
But that lunch table really sticks out, 'cause there were a lot of emotions and feelings and ideas that I expressed that I'm not proud of. You know? Bigoted ideas, racist ideas, ideas that you expect out of scared, insecure people. And that lasted for longer than I care to admit. Well, longer than I'm proud to admit. So that lunch table really sticks out.
My mom, at the bus stop, sticks out, too. My Dad, obviously, did come home, and we did a little candlelight vigil on the front porch of my house. And my mother wanted to take a picture. It's funny, because I'm the oldest, as a seventh grader, and then there's a 5th grader, and then there's a 2nd grader and a 1st grader. So, she's trying to explain to the 1st grader and the 2nd grader, like look sad. And the picture we have, you know, it's my dad and his sons and a couple of my buddies from the neighborhood, a couple of just neighborhood kids. We're either just not paying attention or looking somber, kind of album cover style. And my two youngest brothers are just cheesing so hard. They've got these big, big, big grins on their faces.
That photo in particular really sticks out. And then, I never really asked my Dad anything about it. I was content to hold on to my anger and my vengeance. Then I got to my senior year of college and I was out of ideas for a capstone project. And that was actually the moment, so eight like almost a decade later, I finally asked my dad what happened. His story turned into my capstone project., My Dad and I got to do a lot of really cool things together because of that project.
We got to present the project a number of times at different universities. We got to go to New York with a group that I had interned with and got to meet a lot of cool people. That's what sticks out in my head and my heart now. It’s the time that I got to spend with my Dad. Not because of it but through it. So that's the memory I hold on to now.
But memories - I just remember feeling justified to be a pissed off little seventh grader, which isn't good, but that's if I'm being honest. That's what I remember.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Oh, my God. That it happened and what happened after. I want young people to learn about the day, of course, but you can't learn about 9/11 in isolation. It can't be our Pearl Harbor. You know what I mean? It can't be this day that's remembered in infamy and memorialized in a variety of ways.
Even today, like Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day, right? Like, you're memorializing but it's the opposite, right? Because obviously today we're celebrating the end of a war. But Pearl Harbor is memorialized as the event that got us in, right? And obviously World War II goes an entirely different way than the American War on Terror went or goes, however you consider it.
But the decisions that we as a country made in the days and weeks and months and years after 9/11. It's an epochal event. It's like the internet. There's the pre-internet and the post-internet age. There's the pre-9/11 world and there's the post-9/11 world. And the post-9/11 world is deliberate. It's the result of choices that we made in response to one of the darkest days, if not the darkest day, in American history.
A lot of these choices need to be understood, choices to invade countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. Choices like to torture prisoners of war. Choices to surveil American citizens in the name of national security. These are choices that we've made as a result and that we justify by pointing to what happened on that day, and that we never want to let it happen again.
So I think the most applicable, the most poignant thing that I want young people to learn is 9/11, of course. And as a poly sci major, the geopolitics that led to that are horrifying and fascinating, and I think they're worth knowing. But for young people, what I think is important to know is that the world that you have inherited, the world that you live in, is a product of those choices that were made after 9/11.
I think I want you guys to know that as the context for the world that you're living in, because if you have any drive whatsoever to change the world, you need to understand that was sort of the turning point. That there were choices that were made that can't necessarily be unmade, but that there are different arrays of choices that can be made going forward.
So all of that is sort of a drawn out way to say the cliche, if you don't learn history, you're doomed to repeat it. I think it's the world after 9/11 that is really worth knowing, because it's the world after 9/11 that you can do something about. Can't do anything about 9/11 now. We can remember it, sure. We can memorialize it and honor it, of course. But it's done. But the world that you've inherited as a result of 9/11, is still very much to be formed, and it's going to be formed by my generation. I'm not that old and you're next. You know, we're very much on the same team.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
I was a teacher. I was teaching at St. John Villa Academy, an all girls high school in Staten Island, New York. This school is right at the foot of the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island. So we have a view of the New York City skyline from our campus.
The campus was comprised of a few different buildings. I wasn't teaching that first period, and I walked into the school office. There was a small TV in the school office. The school secretary, who was married to a fire battalion commander, said, “Look at this. A plane hit the World Trade Center.”
And it was just after it happened. It had just happened. It was before anyone knew what was really going on. So I saw images of the first plane. After it had hit the first tower, and then it was moments later that the second plane hit.
So, I think once we saw the second plane hit, as a school, we realized that something was going on. I think everybody knew something was going on. We started getting phone calls from families. They asked a few of us who weren't teaching about how we should proceed with the day. They wanted us to try and keep things as normal as possible until we had more information for all the students in the school.
But they said that they knew things were probably going to start moving quickly because there had already been some parents who called and said, “I'm taking my children home, I'm coming to pick them up.”
So, we initially went to class. Very quickly they made an announcement and changed gears and brought all the students and faculty into the main high school building.
Two reasons why they did that. A: lots and lots of parents were now calling and trying to pick their kids up. And B: from two of our buildings, you had a complete view of the skyline. There were teachers and students who actually saw the tower fall.
So we wanted to try and minimize that trauma for everybody. So we got everybody together. We talked as much as we could about what was going on trying to keep everybody calm.
Cell phones weren't really working. Everybody was trying to call their parents. Parents were trying to call their children and because all the towers and the cell lines were down, it was really hard for people to get in touch with one another.
At that point, we weren't teaching classes anymore. We were just trying to stay as organized as we could as parents called or showed up without calling so that we had every student accounted for because their safety was our priority. That's what transpired.
My husband was a teacher at a school across the street, essentially, and he and I weren’t in contact until hours later because his school was sort of in the same mode of trying to lock down, but also trying to allow parents the access they needed to their students, but keep everybody safe.
What do you remember most vividly about the event?
One of the things that stands out for me … there's a couple of things. I was recently pregnant with my daughter at the time. It was my first child so once we realized what was going on, I definitely had a lot of reservations about what kind of a world we were living in that I was bringing a new baby into.
But the day after, obviously, schools were shut down. You know, there was just an endless news loop on and it was hard to try and think about “How much do I watch this and how much do I not?” You wanted to be informed, but we still didn't know a lot of information at that point, and the images were really hard.
By this point, I knew that the woman who I spoke to when I first walked into that office, who said, “Look at what happened.” Her husband was missing.
During that day I got a number of knocks on my door from students who lived in the area who knew where I lived. They all apologized for knocking on my door, but they were showing up in small groups to tell me who was missing, who had parents who were missing, either because they worked in the Towers, or because they were police officers or firefighters.
And so those are really tough memories and really difficult moments that I think will always stay with me. But that was probably the most difficult thing to see, the look on their faces. Sometimes it was friends, and, in one case, it was a student herself with a friend to come and say that her dad was missing. It's awful. It was a really tough, tough day.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
I was really fortunate in that my immediate family members who were in New York City on that day were able to either move away from the towers or were in a different part of the city. So, it was hours before we actually knew that they were okay. I was fortunate in that all my immediate family members were safe and got home.
The school that I worked at, that community was not as lucky. There were a number of people or students who had parents, or people I worked with who had people missing. Like Joanne Grislock, whose husband worked for the FDNY or NYPD and was missing.
And so there was just a string of memorial services to go to. So that was really difficult for everyone because there was so much grief. It was hard to see how those losses impacted people that I really cared about.
So while I was grateful for the safety of my family members, too many people I cared about were not that lucky. So that impacted me for a really long time.
In terms of my world view. Oh boy. Like I said, I was pregnant at the time and I think it was difficult for me especially over those next few months to think about where we were, now having to think about keeping another human being safe.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
Oh, boy. That's a good question. I think it's one of those days in our collective history like so many days before: you know exactly where you were when you heard about it, you know so many people who were impacted, whether you knew them exactly on that day, or you met them later on.
Mr. Siller came to speak at Trinity Hall about his brother, Stephen. I taught Stephen Siller, who's the firefighter who ran from the tunnel back to the towers. I knew the Sillers from my parish. They were in my parish, and I ended up teaching two of Stephen's daughters. So they were younger at the time. They weren't in high school, but they came up through high school so whether it was people that I met immediately or knew at the time, or people I met later on, when I came to Trinity Hall, I met students who were babies when their parents died.
So, I think a lot of my lens as a teacher was just how it impacted children. And I think it's important, moving forward, that we don't forget about those events. That we just can honor the sacrifices of all the men and women who ran towards those buildings that day to try and save as many lives as they could.
I think it's an important moment for us to look at and really see heroes. So I think that's important to think about the sacrifices that so many people made on that day. You know, how many of them were somewhere else but ran there as soon as they could. Ran into the burning building and tried to save as many lives as they could. So those sacrifices are just something that we have to remember forever because lots of lives were lost, but a lot of lives were saved by that bravery. So that's amazing.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11, and how did you find out?
Okay, I was in my drama 2 class. So I was a sophomore and I was in the theater at Colson High School. Someone actually ran into the theater from the music room where the music teacher had the news on.
I was in the middle of the theater so we didn't have a TV and my drama teacher actually sent them away because she was not sure what was happening. It was before you'd have phones or anything like that to be able to keep up with the news in real time. So, I mean, we had cell phones but they weren't smartphones.
What happened next?
So, this is official school policy, which I found out later, was not to have TVs on and not tell any of us what was happening, 'cause they didn't really know what was happening, and they didn't want us all to freak out. So all of my teachers followed the directions, and I was kind of half in the dark. So I just kind of kept going to all my classes.
But then not all the teachers in the whole school followed the directions so friends would come and give me little snippets of information. It was kind of one of those telephone games type things where it was like, "Oh, my gosh, we're at war." So, by the time I was at lunch, the rumor was that we were being attacked by another country, and that we were at war.
What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
Okay, so the thing that stands out to me more than anything else, there's actually two things. So on the actual day of 9/11, I do remember when I first heard about it in the theater. And then, when I came home from school, I did turn the TV on and just those images of people jumping from the buildings was horrifying.
And, you know, the images of it falling, I really didn't believe it. And then the thing that probably stands out to me the most out of anything is the next morning. The first time I really believed it was when I was taking a shower, and my window, I had a big bay window in my bathroom and you could see the smoke.
So my bathroom window faced north, and I could see the smoke, and I was like, "That's insane." And when I walked outside, the air literally burned your nose and throat. It was kind of crazy.
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How did that affect your life or world view?
Oh, I definitely was really afraid to fly actually for a long time after that. So I would say as a teenager flying felt really scary. It's probably just because I had the uncertainty of that.
And everything really changed dramatically. So before 9/11 there was security, but it was a minute. Security was just a basic metal detector. And then after 9/11 it was a transition to a new process to fly and it just felt scary.
You know I would say that was something that definitely changed my everyday way of life when I travel with my family. I still went into the city and everything, but I was a little bit nervous for a little while after that. And then eventually, I kind of just got over it.
I like traveling so I kind of ended up flying again and all that kind of stuff. But I would say I still am wary of crowded situations. I don't know, being a sophomore in high school, and the idea that a terrorist attack could happen anytime, anywhere. especially so close to us, than in the city that I would go to with my friends, just made it real.
So, anytime even nowadays, when I’m in big social situations, I'm kind of looking around, figuring out where the exit would be and stuff.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
So, I would say what I want young people to know about 9/11 is that obviously it was absolutely catastrophic for so many people to lose their lives. But what was just as sad is how many people were persecuted in the days and weeks and months and years after, especially members of the Muslim community. My nanny at the time was Muslim, and, for me, I had kind of a unique perspective where I knew someone super well, who was wonderful and delightful, but a lot of people didn't know any of the people, and there was a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment, so hate crimes and violence and prejudice against them. So, I would say just try to remember that anytime anything bad happens, you can't really just blame a group of people. Because that’s not fair.
At the time I was working for Merrill Lynch so I was right across the street from where the twin towers were. When I would commute into the city and take a bus, it would drop me off at the base of the World Trade Center. I would actually walk up through the pavilion and then it was kind of inspiring, a beautiful, beautiful area. There was a big fountain there and it was just a nice open area and I would walk through the base of the towers over to my building, which is just across the street a block away.
I was in my office at the time and you heard this big massive thump and when you're in New York City a lot they're always doing some construction. When they do construction on the street they're always working on the pipes. They can't always finish it in one day or a week so they have these big massive steel pieces of metal that they would put across the street. They would hammer them in with a spike so that cars could drive over them and then at night time they could take the spikes out, pull it back and still continue the roadwork.
Now and then one of those gets loose and if there's like a big truck that hits it or goes over it that the steel vibrates a little bit and picks up and slams. It sounded like one of those and you would hear them from time to time. It sounded like one of those but like ten times that amount.
Then somebody looked out the window and was "oh my God like the towers caught on fire". And that was around whatever it was 8:50 or 8:51 when the first plane hit, so I was already in my office at the time. I was doing work and it was just after 9 o'clock when the second one hit. You heard that one that hit with more force, it was pretty loud. And people just started panicking.
The boss of the whole office came out and started talking to everybody because some people were "should we leave? Should we go?" and he was telling everybody "just calm down no one's gonna leave". Fifteen minutes later, he was gone and nowhere to be found because he had just decided to leave himself and did not communicate that to anybody which I thought was pretty poor.
So after, it didn't take very very long and then the towers came down so then we all had to leave. You were literally engulfed in a dust storm in this town. I saw some things that day that were really, really difficult to get around, but what you don't realize is the heat that those people were experiencing at the time. It forces you out so some people made a choice that day to just get away from the heat. It was very challenging, some of the things that everybody saw.
So eventually the towers came down and we eventually just had to wait for the dust to clear a little bit. It was all through the elevator shaft and coming into the lobby of the building and coming to the lobby of our floor as well. We took papers and taped up the ducts because you wanted to maintain clean air.
After a couple hours, things started to subside. We actually started to push down to the lobby to try to talk to the police or the firemen. We eventually started making our way out of the building and to prepare for that. One of the guys in my office, I'll never forget his name, Benny Florio, went and got some towels and he wet them. Then we put them inside of the plastic containers that you use to ship documents at UPS so when we got outside you could take it out of that and put it over your mouth because you didn't wanna breathe any of the smoke.
I'd say we didn't hit the street until probably around 11:30 or 12. Both of the towers were down at this point and we had to walk. You're basically just walking through what looks like a war zone. Everything is covered in dust, paperwork everywhere, sirens going off. So we had to walk all the way from downtown across the street from where the work centers were all the way up to about 14th St. which is a pretty far walk. It's probably about a couple miles so it took us at least an hour.
And then we finally caught a bus. It took us to the pier on the west side around 39th St. and there were ferries that were coming and taking people out of the city. We were covered in dust at that point so they pushed us to the front and then they put us on the boat. We got to Hoboken and we got off. People were trying their best to liven the mood and they were like "hey we gotta hose you guys down, you don't know what's on you and you don't wanna be breathing anymore in". They literally just took like fire hoses and just hosed us down like open up your jacket, turn around, put your hands through your hair, literally just taking a shower with all your clothes on.
The one guy that I was with, Billy Odell said "I got a suit on". They said "don't worry, go ahead and buy a new suit on me".
We didn't really know where we were going at that point so at this point we're in Hoboken now we're cleaned off so it was me, Billy, and some other guys. Billy said "I have a car". I had no idea how I was gonna get home now because I was living in Freehold at the time with my mom cause I just graduated college.
So we got Billy's car in Jersey City (we had to walk from Hoboken into Jersey City so it's like another mile) and then from there I had him drop me off at my friend's house who lived in West Orange with his mom at the time because I lived in Central Jersey and Billy lived in North Jersey. Billy was happy just to drop me off at my friend's house.
From there I gave my mom a call and she obviously knew what was going on. I think it's probably about 4 or 5 o'clock at this point; hadn't eaten anything, hadn't really drank any water so his mom was just giving me food and stuff.
I made a phone call to my mom and then my friend's mom drove me to New Brunswick and then my mom met me in New Brunswick and drove me home. So I didn't get home until 8 or 9 o'clock at night. It was a long long day and it was a challenging day. I saw a lot of things that were tough to unsee and it was hard.
But the good thing was that you really saw people come together which I thought was really cool. People in my office, people out on the street, people on the bus and the firefighters. There were just a lot of good Samaritans. People were just willing to help out so that was something positive but you couldn't go downtown for two or three months. You couldn't go and work below Canal for many months cause they're still continuing to clean up and there was just a lot of a lot of things you don't wanna be breathing.
So they literally had to go through it building by building, floor by floor to clean out all the ventilation. So I remember the first time I was back down below Canal Street. I think it was the week of Thanksgiving and I was rotating through a job training program essentially so I finally made it back down to the trading floor. I think the only thing open below Canal Street was the stock market, and it had to shut down until Monday which was a mess.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
I was working as a paramedic on September 10, my shift was 7 PM to 7 AM. When we finished our shift I went home to get some food and on the radio they started saying “breaking news breaking news a plane hit the World Trade Center”. As soon as I heard that I knew we were going to get called back into work. Even though I was working in New Jersey, we had an agreement between New York and New Jersey: when something major happens, like major major, we go and help each other out. So I turned around and headed back into work. That's how I found out but we didn't know it was a terror attack until the second plane actually hit - then we knew automatically that it was not an accident that it was intentional.
What did you do after that, what came next?
So basically, a lot of the people that were off duty started coming in little by little. I was one of the first people on duty back in early because I had just left and so all of us that came from off duty, the first group of us, they put us in a conference room and that's when we saw the TV of the second plane hitting, and then New York City called and asked us to send assistance. They mobilized in a bunch of different ambulances and paramedic units and on the way there they diverted us to a couple places, Liberty State Park in Jersey City and then in Hoboken Train and Ferry Terminal Hope because there was reports of people injured coming by boat and train. So we had to divert there first to take care of those people until more ambulances arrived and they did by the hundreds. And then a couple hours later we continued into New York City and embedded with the FDNY.
What were you doing there?
When we got there, everything had collapsed. Everything was on fire, just nothing but toxic smoke all over the place. Debris, I mean, everything was covered. Some of the vehicles were crushed, and concrete was everywhere. There was paper everywhere, and that was not just in one little spot it was literally everywhere, like 10 square blocks of paper. I've never seen more paper in my life. 10 square blocks of ground zero so you can imagine how widespread that is.
We embedded with the FDNY. We basically tried to bring some organization because it was very chaotic because a lot of people were missing. They had no leadership. Their leadership was killed. They didn't know that at the time. So we just filled in the blanks. We brought in more ambulances from New Jersey, organized them into staging areas. Some people went over to Chelsea Piers where the staging area was for ambulances. Some people went to command posts. They didn't even have a command post. We had to actually bring one as it was destroyed. We had to bring a command post vehicle from New Jersey over to New York, where it stayed there for a few weeks and they worked out of that. Basically that is what I did. I was more on the management side. I really was not doing any searching on the pile. There were plenty of people to do that. They needed people to manage and organize things so I pretty much worked in the command post the entire time. I was organizing resources, getting new resources and facilitating shift change for people going home and coming in.
What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
The things in the debris field that you could identify that probably had a story attached to it like a person’s shoe, a picture frame that was burned on the edges and crushed, but you could still see the people in the picture. There was so much dust everywhere. You know when it snows and little kids draw and write things in the snow. Replace the snow with dust and people were just writing messages in the dust. You know, “this person is missing. God bless America. Pray.” Writing all these really crazy, not crazy, but all these very sad messages.
I would say that resonated with me, and then not being able to identify the dead bodies when they were pulling them out as I saw them. That didn't even bother me as there were no whole bodies by the way that I saw. There were only pieces of people. I'm trying to think. Honestly that bothers me as much as I would say the dust. The writings and dust would be the number one and number two things that I can identify as each had a story with somebody connected to it in the debris field.
Then the third, actually which I felt ultimately seeing missing posters started going up all over the place. Early on you saw three or four posters with a face, name, phone number, whatever and you're thinking this person was probably buried in the pile. You came back 12 hours later and it went from three or four to a hundred. Then the next day it went from a hundred to a thousand faces staring at you. It was very disturbing to see a thousand faces of people missing. Those were posters people did on their computers. They printed them out, went down there, and hung them up. I would say that ultimately became number one, but that didn't happen right away. I would say that happened towards the end of the 11th and then it definitely exploded a lot on the 12th and 13th. It was very sad to see those posters.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or world view?
It affected my health because I ended up getting sick from breathing all the crap down there. Remember everything there was pulverized concrete, pulverized furniture, and pulverized body parts. Everything was turned into thin dust. Then there were fires burning within the pile of hazardous materials, etc. Very few people had respiratory protection. No one really was thinking straight at the time. It didn't even matter because the respiratory protection needed, we didn't really have. You needed a very high level one. Not one of these Covid masks. I'm not describing it right but it was definitely not available. I have a severe cough. I have had that all day all night every day ever since then. There's no cure for me right now.
I had some people that survived 9/11 and died of illness years later, including my partner on that day. His name was Ryan and he ended up getting cancer after about 10 years from the dust and he ended up dying. That's what affected my world view.
I think everybody else felt revenge at the time asking “who did this to us? We have to get them back.” That's what everyone was feeling. Of course we didn't do that thank God. We didn't nuke anybody because that's pretty extreme but definitely the retaliation of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda. That was very important to us that directly impacted us just because it's an emotional reaction and I defend it still. I think it was necessary and the right thing to do. These people that are radical have no business living on this earth. They could live amongst themselves on their own little island somewhere if they want to do that but to kill innocent people is just wrong. I would say that would be my world view and how I felt afterwards.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
I want to let people know about 9/12. It was one of the most interesting times. Before 9/11 like today, there's a lot of polarization and a lot of politics. You understand what I'm saying. Some people love Trump, some people hate Trump. Some people love Biden, some people hate Biden. Some people are anti-gay. Some people are supportive of gay. Some people are racist. Some people are not racist. All are different out there. In 2025 the drama is pretty high.
Well, I will say that we did have drama before 9/11 but we didn't have it like today. There was an element of it and what happened on September 12 and the days afterwards that drama disappeared. I mean, literally it completely disappeared. Whoever hated each other for whatever reason whether politics or identity politics was gone. I mean, literally everyone loved each other.
It was the most amazing thing I ever experienced in my life. I would say that the unity of the country was something that I have never seen in my life. A lot of young people only see the news and the drama. There was a time when there was no drama. It didn’t matter where you were from, what you looked like, what you did, and everyone got along.
That lasted for a little while and then, of course, as time went on things sort of reverted back to where they were. It was very very nice. The peacefulness, the camaraderie, etc., that happened afterwards. It brought everybody together and was something that I'll never forget. It’s not captured in history books very well because you had to feel it, see it, and observe it. That's what I want to resonate and say, how everyone got along.
It didn’t matter where you came from, what you did, what you looked like, who you loved, but you knew who you supported. Everyone rallied and it was incredible. Young people have no idea what actually happened. It only existed for a short time.
Also there were US flags everywhere. People driving around with the flags, putting them in schools, and putting them at their business. You could not buy a flag for weeks. There was a black market to buy an American flag. So people started drawing them on paper with crayons and markers because there were no more flags so that was nice. The Takeaway that I have about 9/11 was a horrible thing but can you just imagine no drama for many weeks.
Everyone supported each other. It was just so peaceful. It was almost like being in heaven. I'll be honest with you. It really was and I wish we could go back to that. I don't know but does it take a disaster like 9?11 for humanity to go back to something like that? That's terrible to say that, but maybe it does. It was amazing while it lasted. I'll just say that.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
Well, my husband went into Manhattan first. So I waited to hear from him. They did have an area where if you were a retired police officer or a police officer from another state or jurisdiction within New York State, there was a holding in your area. I was gonna go where he was, and do whatever he was doing. So once I heard from him, I was able to make my way in.
I helped set up the food truck, trying to see what we have to get, what we would need. Water was a big thing, not only for people to drink, but keep rinsing their eyes, rinsing their face. And I just did that for a couple days. I wasn't really there the whole time 24/7 like most of the workers were.
What was your most vivid memory?
I think it was the respect that they showed the bodies that they found. If it was a police officer, if it was a firefighter, they almost really had, like, an honor guard, and you'd have a group of police officers or firefighters, and they would drape the body in the American flag, and escort it out. Like what you see when they bring bodies of the military off the planes. And I was very impressed by the respect that they showed the bodies, even the civilians, if they did end up finding any, that impressed me a lot.
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How did 9/11 affect your life or world view?
I think it made me a lot more aware of what enemies of the United States were willing to do, how far they were willing to go to hurt the United States in some way. If they couldn't do it in their own country, just involving the military, say that they would go to this length where these hijackers took flying lessons in the United States, and that kind of went under the wire. Nobody thought this was a little odd.
And that they just, the people on those planes, the people in the buildings or in the surrounding areas, they just didn't care. It wasn't the same as, say, when you go to war, you have a police action. It's the military, against the military. And here it was hijackers against all these innocent civilians that really had nothing to do with whatever's going on in their country or whatever gripe they had against the United States, that they would just be willing to do that.
I think the one plane that hit the tower they were coming back from, Disney World or something. So there were children, and that's what really struck me, the lengths that people in the world would go to, to hurt another country, the people in that country.
Do you know about the flying lessons? Isn't it that they never learned how to land it? Something like that. They specifically trained in Florida in our own country. We trained them to do it, and they never learned how to land. They never were planning on landing.
There are first responders in law enforcement that died after 9/11 (cancer). That's how bad they really hurt us. The bad guys. They really hurt us bad. And it's just, it's a shame. I hope that the disease, the cancer that these people died from, is not carried on to other children or whatever the case may be. I don't know, down the road, who knows?
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
That there's very bad people in the world. And you can't take for granted that you'll never be affected by them. I'm sure all those people going to work in the morning that day, never would have thought, “I'm not gonna make it home.” Never mind, make it out of the building or whatever. But there's bad people in the world, and you have become a center of that. You can't let your guard down.
And I wish that patriotism was back, the way it was back then. Then it was everybody for America. And we kind of lost some of that. And I wish people would think about that, and maybe it would bring back their sense of one nation under God. Stand for the flag, say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the Star Spangled Banner because it's our country. And not to let anybody else do something like that again.
Where were you when you first heard what was happening on 9/11 and how did you find out?
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Okay, I was at Barbara's house (his wife - see story above). An apartment in Brooklyn. We were in Brooklyn at the time. I was stationed at the World Trade strike at the Woolworth Building, which was about a 1000 yards from the World Trade Center. That's where my office was. We saw it happen on TV. We saw the plane. Yeah, we saw the plane, and then I went in. I was able to get in there before they closed everything off. Barbara didn't come till later. At the time, I was the vice president of the union. I think I was the vice president of the lieutenant's union in the city. So I knew that all my lieutenants were there. So I had to get in. I got in, period. That's where I was. Matter of fact, it's funny. I drove in. We didn't find a car 'cause it was covered in soot for about three or four days. That's how bad it was. So that's where I was.
What did you do next?
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When I got there, matter of fact, probably the best thing to do is to look at the pictures, because most of these pictures I took myself, to document, because I knew there was gonna be a lot of deaths, and there's gonna be a lot of injuries. What I did was I was able to set up a truck with food on it. There were 6 foot heroes and tons of water because everything was closed or destroyed. Then I was trying to get masks at that time. We had no idea that what we were breathing in was not good for us.
Later that day, what was her name? She was... Christy Todd Whitman. Todd Whitman was the Head of the EPA or whatever came out and said, don't worry about the air ..good. As of today, more and more people are dying, first responders and people who live down there are still dying, people who worked down there. People who worked there at the time, nobody knew how bad this was going to be.
I think it was two days ago, another person, another police officer, passed away 20 years later. He was retired and he died of that cancer. Let's see about 23 NYPD. It's in the book how many passed away. Now it's in the hundreds afterwards.
What was your role that day?
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I was right across the street from the mayor's office City Hall. Nobody knew what to do. Fortunately enough, we had Mayor Giuliani, who was a very good leader that day, and a couple of professional friends of mine, who were chiefs, that took over because it was chaos. This has never happened before to anybody.
We had fire trucks, port authority boats, everything going. Somebody had to take it and put it together. And fortunately enough, we did, because we had thousands and thousands of people running down Broadway. They had no idea where they were going. They had no idea communications were out. We didn't know, we didn't know if we were gonna get invaded. Everybody was looking in the air to see if paratroopers were coming down. Bad guys, I had no idea.
When you got close to the scene, and you saw the buildings, what was left of the buildings. You just couldn't imagine this was really bad, really, really, really bad.
Everybody started digging, moving, listening for screams. We finally got the dogs there. We had to put little booties on their feet because they couldn't walk on the metal. It was too hot.
The New Yorkers finally came together. Food came. Water came. Help came. But sometimes it was a burden trying to help the people who were trying to help.
We didn’t have heavy equipment. We didn’t have space for crushed cars and trucks. Fire departments came from everywhere. Police came from everywhere. Off-duty people came in.
The Woolworth building, which at one time was the highest building in New York City actually shifted. It moved, and people got stuck in the elevators. They couldn't get out. So there was a lot of things going on at one time, setting up staging areas for the people.
Recovery, Forensics, and the Aftermath
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We didn't have enough priests that day to go out and hold hands with people who would die. We just didn't have enough. And people needed comfort. We didn’t know what to do.
They had to move all the concrete. Trucks couldn’t get in because of crushed cars. Ferries and barges were used. Everything had to be examined. This was a 24-hour operation.
They set up refrigerated trucks for morgues. Bodies were placed respectfully in body bags. Many were not whole bodies. Sometimes you would see a hand with a ring on it. We bagged everything for identification.
The Staten Island dump became a forensic site. They were finding fingers, wallets, and pieces of clothing. People were calling, searching for loved ones. Photos were posted on boards along Broadway.
Building number seven had its entire facade ripped off. You could see desks, chairs, computers inside — but no people. It looked like someone sliced the building open. It was eerie.
People were putting all those pictures up on them (missing loved ones). There was a Catholic church on Broadway and a lot of people went down there. Somebody came up with an idea and put up plywood to post pictures, people, animals, dogs, you name it, and every day it got bigger. So it went from, like, 10 feet to 45th, 60 feet, right on Broadway, all the pictures.
One day I found the engine of a plane sitting in the street. The first thought was whether there was a body under it.
The dust was everywhere. I found my car, and Barbara had baked cookies for me. Chocolate chip cookies in this piece of tupperware. And I finished the tub and I left it in the front seat. I used the tub to scrape the dust off my car. I have kept the dust in a Tupperware container since 2001. It smelled like aviation fuel and sheetrock mixed together.
Years later, body parts were still being found on rooftops. It was a crime scene for years. I didn't remember any of this, though, until you're talking about. You had to get your car cleaned if you were leaving the site, because of the dust on it.
What do you remember most vividly about 9/11?
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The dust and the amount of body bags. People looking for their loved ones, trying to get into open up the body bags to find people and building number seven with no wall. Looking into offices where people might still be alive or dead. It was like a horror movie.
The tidal wave of dust when the buildings collapsed scared people badly. The entire city went black.
That’s why I kept the books and photos. My grandchildren weren’t born yet. Young people need to know what happened.
How did the events of 9/11 affect your life or worldview?
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I hated certain people. It changed me. War and terrorism don’t solve anything. There are mean people in the world.
It affects you. Finding arms and legs with IDs on them changes you.
What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
People who were there need to talk about it. It shouldn’t be forgotten.
This is the best country in the world. A free country is the best. Young people need to understand history so it doesn’t repeat itself.
Closing Thoughts
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It was a tough time for New York and the country. Leadership mattered. Giuliani was a strong leader. Bush was a strong leader.
People came together. People were respectful. They helped each other. It scared America because it happened here. I’m always alert now. I’m always looking.Young people like you taking over is important.
Where were you when you first saw what was happening on 9/11?
I lived in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, and I had a crystal clear view of New York City. I was also a flight attendant by that time for about 20 years for American Airlines.
I was actually making a bed upstairs in my house in front of a sliding glass window that looked right out at Manhattan. At that time, my first husband was a dentist. Downstairs, he had a patient in the chair.
I looked at the TV, and Katie Couric said a small plane had just hit the World Trade Center.
My head went from the TV to the sliding door, and I went “BS, a small plane”.
You could see it was a crystal clear day, and you knew it wasn't a small plane with the way that it had sliced through the building.
The Immediate Aftermath
Then things just got very chaotic on my street. It had an overlook, and it was packed with people, and they weren't quite sure what had happened, so at this point, we don't know what it is.
I instantly thought terrorism again because I was a flight attendant. We're always trained on stuff like this.
Being it was such a crystal-clear day, you’d think that if they were having any kind of problem, they could've done anything else but go through a major skyscraper. They could've turned the yoke of the plane to go out into the water - the World Trade Center sat two blocks from the bay, and it could've made it there.
Trying to Document What Was Happening
Next, I went to look for my camera (because you didn’t use your cell phone all that much), and I didn't have film, so I ran to CVS, which was a block away.
The highways were already shutting down. Cars were just trying to get onto my street to see what was going on because it was on the TV. I mean, they were recording it right there in front of you, just about.
So I came back with film, and again, my street was just a parking lot of people running everywhere.
Then the second plane hit. And now it's really bad. I just couldn't imagine what was happening.
Fear for Fellow Flight Crews
I instantly got on the phone to my friend to see if she was flying (she was a flight attendant), and she was. I was terrified.
She told me that now they're closing all the airways. They're grounding all the planes in the air. All the pilots are being told, no matter what the airline was, to get on the ground.
They didn't know what was happening, but now we've got two planes that have hit, and the planes were told they needed to land.
Friend’s Experience in the Air
My friend’s story was that she had taken off from Newark, and she was the number one flight attendant.
The captain called her, and he said, “We’ve got a crystal clear day, but something’s weird. There's been a plane accident of some kind at the World Trade Center.”
He told her to take a walk through her aircraft (she was on her way to California on a smaller aircraft than the 767s they used to attack the WTC).
She walked through the plane to the tail, and there were two Middle Eastern men really intent on looking out the window, and she remembered that.
The captain called her again and said, “Get back upfront immediately. They're putting us down in Cincinnati.”
When they landed at Cincinnati and got to the gate, those two guys bolted, bolted off the plane.
So was 9/11 to be bigger than what 9/11 was? is another part of the story. There was another flight attendant who landed in Dallas; she had the same thing where the person took off.
Witnessing the Collapse
Anyway, my husband was downstairs, and he was just getting a man numb for a dental appointment.
I don’t remember if the World Trade Center had collapsed yet at this point, but the patient was frantic because his pregnant wife was on her way to her job at the World Trade Center.
There's so many interesting stories of why people didn't make it there that morning: traffic, they overslept, or they had to go get their kids from school, whatever it was.
She was late that day, so she never made it to the World Trade Center.
As the day unfolded, the buildings collapsed.
I watched the second one implode: the spear on the top just went straight down the middle of it.
It was like having a movie right in front of me because it was so clear.
Going to the Harbor to Help Survivors
I'm also noticing that, since I lived in Atlantic Highlands, they always put ferries into Manhattan. They probably had six ferries, and there was constantly a ferry going one way or the other.
I'm noticing there's no ferries at all on the water.
And then it dawned on me, “Oh my God, they're bringing them out by boat.”
So I ran downstairs to the dental office, I grabbed a big, heavy garbage bag, and I started filling the bag with gauze, gloves, and alcohol.
My husband said,” What are you doing?”
And I said, “I'm going down to the harbor, they're bringing them out on a boat.”
He said, “What do you think you're gonna do?”
and I said, “I don't know, but I'm not staying here.”
Receiving Survivors from Manhattan
I called our police, and the officer said, “Please come down, we've got a boat due at any moment, and we do not know the condition of these people.”
This is the very first boat out of Manhattan.The people got off, looking like something out of a zombie movie.That's the way they were walking. Their eyes were just fixed straight ahead, and they were completely covered in dust.
These were the Wall Streeters, so they're all in beautiful suits, wonderful shoes, great briefcases. They had a few huge, massive garbage bins that they drove over to the harbor, and these guys were just taking their briefcases, pitching them, taking their clothes off, pitching them, taking their shoes off, throwing them, and people were hosing them down.
Suddenly the FBI were in our harbor.
They began showing up, but our local police said, “We've got this”.
They set up a decontamination tent, and people were coming by with food and clothes and other supplies.
My job was to bring them from the ferry boat to the decontamination tent and then from there to a table where they were signing in. You had people signing up to drive them home, wherever they wanted.
They had to go to a convention table that was set up and say, “Who are you? Where were you?” And that's about all you got out of them; they were absolutely stunned.
Extraordinary Acts of Kindness
I spent the whole day there.
The very last person I processed at the decontamination tent was a helicopter pilot. He said, “My helicopter’s on the building across the street from the World Trade Center, and I live out in Pennsylvania,” and a woman goes, “I'll take you home.”
She just put him in the car, and she drove to Pennsylvania at 11 o'clock at night to take this man home. The outpouring of love was just incredible.
Living with the Aftermath
The worst thing for me was waking up; I had that soot from the World Trade Center on my deck.
We were 9 miles away, but that's the way the wind was blowing.
An aircraft carrier was sitting right on the horizon, so I thought, “We're gonna be at war here. They're getting ready.”
They were really getting everything set up in case there were more attacks.
It was heartbreaking.
Those two buildings smoldered from September 11 almost until Thanksgiving. When I would try to go to bed at night or if I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I'd have to cover my face because even with the curtains closed, I could still see the glow of the buildings.
My neighbor immediately left New Jersey because she was running from the building, and she got hit by an arm, and she was really never mentally correct again. She just lost it.
My husband, that I'm married to now, my second husband, was in Manhattan and had planned to go to the World Trade Center that day just to visit it but he lucked out because he overslept and never made his trip to the center.
Returning to Work as a Flight Attendant
Being a flight attendant, 9/11 changed my job forever. It was never the same job again.
First of all, when I went back to work once the airports opened, which was a good week and a half or two weeks before anything was even back in the air again, because they still didn't know a whole lot of what was going on.
I remember taking lids off of pens, making a pot of coffee on the plane and leaving it full for takeoff, putting wine bottles in seatback pockets close to me, and making sure that the ax bracket was loose in case I needed to grab an ax.
I remember one of the flight attendants would have to always go into the cockpit when one of the pilots would have to go to the bathroom, just so there was somebody else in the cockpit.
We started putting carts in the aisle.
I'll never forget the man in the very first row of first class looked up, and he said, “Are you protecting the cockpit? What do you think you’re gonna do?”
And I just looked at him and said, “It's not what I'm gonna do, it's what you're all gonna do if I look like there's something wrong.”
“The most interesting story you’re not gonna hear from anybody else”
Let me tell you the most interesting story you're not gonna hear from anybody else.
I knew a girl who was a flight attendant based in New York. She had the funniest sense of humor, and she transferred to Boston not long before this all happened, and she was on one of the flights that were hijacked.
I don't know how far out it got maybe 45 minutes out where it turned to come back. And they were flying low too.
She peeked out of the business class galley up through business into first class and she sees this guy gets out of his seat and he goes up and he slits the throat of the number five flight attendant. The number five was a position I flew all the time, it was the galley for first class.
And she saying it's so calmly and so mundanely, and just matter of fact, and she said, “I went and crossed the galley and peeked out the left side, looked forward and a different guy in business class got up and went towards the cockpit.”
Just for some reason, she got up, and she sees this happening before they make the turn, and these two guys have now slit both flight attendants’ throats upfront with box cutters. That’s how they killed the flight attendants on 9/11, box cutters, they were the one knife that could make it through security without being seen. And the attackers had been flying around for months, watching what we were doing. They knew flight attendants had keys to the cockpit.
There's no longer keys. It's all coded, and the codes get changed, I think, every six months now, but before that, it was a key, and the attackers knew where we carried them.
We all had these blazers that were worn until after takeoff, and they knew it was in the blazer, and they killed the flight attendant, got the key, went in, and took over the aircraft.
And then they took over the aircraft, then she feels the plane making a big turn coming back.
She's talking to her supervisor at Kennedy the whole time because they're low enough that she's got service, and she said, “Oh my God, I see buildings.” That's the last thing she says, but we know we know about the two hijackers of the Boston plane because of her.
The attackers, though, they would watch the crews, and when we would land, he would follow the flight attendant around different hotels and get whatever he could get, figure out what our luggage looked like, or anything.
And he practiced taking off and flying a plane. He didn't care too much about landing cause knew he wasn't gonna land.
I knew her, yeah, she was a very funny girl.
Yeah, on her plane was a husband and wife flight attendant team, so they went together. Yeah, the stories are just awful that day.
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What do you want young people to know about 9/11?
The way our country pulled together.
You're 16, but I'm sure you see how our country is. If 9/11 did one thing for our country, we became family. We were all family. We all watched out for each other. You knew that whatever you're working on the street, someone on that street had your back.
I mean, there was so much love, and everybody just got along. Just the love everybody just pulled together, and it was great. But I'd hate to have to see our country go through such a tragedy like that to get us back to a place of love and caring and peace and respect. But it was incredible after that.
Final Reflections
After that, I was really terrified to go back to flying. My neighbor, who was a retired FBI agent, said, " Make yourself go back, get past this fear, because if you don't get past this fear, you're just gonna put this fear somewhere else in your life.
So as hard as it is, go back even if you wanna go back for a few months, go back and face this fear."
And I did.
That was so hard. But I did get past it. I loved that job. I did it for 39 years, but it did change severely after that.
Retirement
I worked until 2016, and I would've worked longer, but I had a big scare, and I had a skiing accident and destroyed my shoulder, so I would not have been able to evacuate the plane or give CPR or even close overhead bins, so I had to retire, but I did it for 39 years.
Preserving the Memory
You've got to keep it alive.
So definitely, I applaud you for doing this and keeping it alive.
Because, just like, I think we've lost all of our World War I people. Maybe there's a handful left, and those memories and stories will go with them, but this thing is a get-published, like this will go on, and people can read them.