Editor’s note: Because we received so many responses to our request for stories of where readers were on Sept. 11, 2001, we could not fit all of them into the printed paper. We wanted to include as many as we could, so the following are the stories that did not appear in print.
“We planned to spend the day in Houston and return that night. As I was entering the security checkpoint at the airport, my cell phone rang. My son, who was living in Washington, D.C., called to let me know that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. Concerned, I observed a few visual images on the televisions of various airport restaurants, but continued onto the flight. Before boarding, my son called back and told me that a second plane had struck a second building at the World Trade Center.
“Still concerned, but not yet shaken, we boarded the airplane. My phone rang one more time. This time it was my wife, who described the events at the Pentagon. I repeated her message to my business colleague. A man sitting in a seat directly in front of us overheard my message, turned and, in a boisterous, loud way, said, ‘No way! There’s no way that they could get a plane into the Pentagon!’
“Not more than 10 seconds later, the pilot came on the intercom and told us that the flight had been canceled. He explained that the FBI had shut down the sky. He said that a third aircraft had just struck the Pentagon. Not surprisingly, the gentleman in the seat in front of me shrunk below the level of the seatback. The pilot concluded by telling us that we would all remember where we were and what we were doing when we got this news. He reminded us of the Kennedy assassination.
“In eerie silence, we passengers de-boarded the flight. We returned to our cars, not sure what was happening, or what might happen next. As I was leaving the airport, I decided to stop at the fueling station just in case I needed to drive to Washington, D.C., to retrieve my family to the relative safety of Western Pennsylvania. While fueling the car, I looked up as several military jets scattered from the Pittsburgh airport. A man standing next to me said that he was a DEA agent, and that he had been deployed from the airport to the U.S. Steel Building for additional security. Then he shared the news that yet another aircraft had been hijacked and was flying low over Western Pennsylvania.
“I traveled directly to my office in downtown Pittsburgh, and oversaw the evacuation of our firm. Again, in eerie quiet, everyone left, having watched the unreal events of the World Trade Center unravel before our eyes by way of television coverage. First prayers, then tears, then outrage and anger. How unimportant my business trip seemed at the time and, 10 years later, it remains the same.
“As a footnote to all of this, I will relate that just two weeks later, Sept. 25, 2001, I walked past the grim remnants of the World Trade Center on my way to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A settlement conference was scheduled on that day for a case arising out of the Pittsburgh crash of US Air Flight #427. I recall receiving a telephone call a few days earlier from Judge John F. Keenan. He asked if I wouldn’t mind coming to New York and helping get the courthouse ‘back in business.’ It was a privilege and honor to do so.
“I vividly recall staying at the Regency Hotel on Wall Street the evening before the pretrial. I was told that there were only two other guests in the hotel. The next morning, I walked through the gray, ash-covered streets, and noticed that the once proud New Yorkers were moving slowly and silently. The atmosphere was sobering and devastating. The powerful buildings of the financial center of the world were covered with soot, broken glass, boarded-up windows. The air had the acrid smell of fire and smoldering wood and plastic. The walk uptown to the new Federal Courthouse gave me a sense of tragedy, fear and hopelessness.
“The courthouse building was heavily guarded; bags and persons were inspected, both by dogs and security. The halls were empty and the courtrooms dark. I recall the dignity and diligence of Judge Keenan in persevering over the obvious circumstances of Sept. 11, and working to secure a settlement of our case. For me, that judge single-handedly removed the fear and hopelessness, and started putting the system back to work.
“Those are the remembrances of one lawyer recounting the worst day in American history.”
— William Pietragallo II, Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, Pittsburgh
“I was working in the Lincoln Building, 60 East 42nd St., on the 42nd floor. I had gotten to the office very early because we were having an all-day client meeting with visitors from North Carolina.
“As I was preparing for the meeting, another attorney told me the World Trade Center had been hit by an airplane. His office was next to mine and had a clear view of the Twin Towers. I saw Tower 1 right after it was hit. I was hoping it was a mistake, but thought it was more likely an attack. This was confirmed when the second plane hit. Looking at Tower 2 as soon as it was hit, it was obvious that Tower 2 was going to come down quickly.
“The rest of the morning I periodically left the meeting to watch the progression of the destruction of the towers and listen to the news. I saw Tower 2 come down.
“Finally, we ended the meeting and closed the office. Unable to get home, I went to stay with a friend in Manhattan. Her husband worked in the World Financial Center, but was not working that day. However, his colleagues told everyone without a place to stay to go to my friend’s apartment. Several of the people who stayed over did not know my friend.
“That day, this country learned it was vulnerable to attacks in a way other countries were. Initially, everyone came together in New York and the rest of the country. However, since then we have given up areas of our privacy and freedom in ways that do not really provide any additional protection.
“After the first attack on the World Trade Center, it was clear to many people it would happen again and it did. In New York, we are rebuilding, putting everyone who will be working there at risk again. On a personal note, this anniversary, because it is the 10th, is very meaningful.”
— Janet B. Linn, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, White Plains, N.Y.
