Posted by Dennis C
on 9/12/2009, 3:40 pm
Yesterday, New York City became the target of a Terrorist Attack that we must never forget.
I know I haven't. On that date, the attack hit home when my ex-wife called me and told me that her sister was working in the World Trade Center. I didn't think I could have been in more shock then the terriable site that was on TV and watching the Twin Towers burn and fall. When I heard the news of her being there, my heart stopped. I knew in my heart that she could not have survived. Shortly after she called, the phone rang again and I dreaded to pick it up for fear of bad news. I did pick it up and heard my oldest daughter saying, "Hi Dad, I'm OK!!". It turned out that, unknown to me, she had to be in Washington DC that day on a business trip. She was staying in a hotel directly across from the Pentagon Building and was now telling me that there was a tremedous fire burning across the street. She heard the plane come directly over her building and heard the explosion.
Her hotel was under lockdown by US Marines carrying Semi-auto rifles. She was very upset about the fire but was concerned about what was happening across the country.. After filling her in on the info I had, I told her (She was single then) to look around for a young, handsome Officer and introduce yourself. Hey, you never know!!! That broke the tension and we had a laugh.
Only late that night, I learned that my sister-in-law was in Tower 1 on the 34th floor.
When the plane hit her tower, it actually shook her floor and plaster dust started to fall down. A supervisor came out of his office and told the folks , "That sounded like an explosion, let's everyone drop what you're doing and evacuate this building, NOW !". He had been in the towers in 1993 Terrorist attack also. He knew what an explosion sounded like and wasn't waiting for orders to evacuate. It took a long time to go down the narrow staircases. When she got out, there were bodies dropping, debris & fire dropping around them,cops yelling to "RUN, RUN DON"T STOP", people screaming as they were running for several blocks. Then she heard the roar of the buildng coming down. It was shear terror. She ended up walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of other stranded workers, attempting to get out of Manhatten. She arrived home way after midnight on Long Island. She then started to call her family to let them know she was alive. Being in a state of shock,she never called her home office and 3 days later she went to the Long Island office and when she walked in, the workers there were planning her memorial service. No one could say a word when they saw her. Then hugs and cries of joy.
Our family is lucky that we didn't have loved ones lost that day. Sadly that was not the case for 3000 other families that must relive yesterday, every year.
RIP and NEVER FORGET!
214
Message Thread:
« Back to thread