The first thing I try to do every morning when I wake up is ask God what it is He will have me do for him. I pray that I will be a light for others so that through me they can see that He is present and I pray that He will use me to plant seeds that will bring others to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
September 11th started out just like an ordinary day. I got into my office on Water St. at about 9 am and was greeted with a phone call from my friend Brian Mclaughlin. This was not our daily discussion call, instead he informed me that a plane had collided with a World Trade Center Tower. At first we thought it was probably just a small aircraft that lost control but then my building began to shake (I work for AIG about 5 blocks east of the Towers) and I looked out the window and saw people staring up in disbelief as both towers were on fire. I hung up on Brian and ran to the elevator. Knowing that my older brother had worked in the Towers only months before but still arrived daily underneath them on the subway, without hesitation I began to run about 8 blocks toward the buildings as my co-worker Chris Murphy ran with me in support.
At this point so many things ran through my head as we got closer. There were 100’s of shoes strewn all over the streets from women who literally ran out of them. As we moved toward the towers we were met by 1000’s of people running away in our direction. But we were determined to keep going. At one point there was nothing between us and the towers except 2 police officers preparing to block the street entrance but they were too late as we blew right past them and got within 200 ft. of two burning towers. It was as if we were part of a movie. It didn’t seem real. We had to position ourselves beneath a structure as debris was hitting the ground all around us. At this point Chris decided to leave and made his way uptown and knowing that there was no possible way I would be able to know if my brother was in any part of the towers I could have followed but I stayed.
I was now standing in what seemed to be a war zone. There were scattered police and firefighters all around the streets. It seemed that I was one of only a handful of civilians so I had to pass myself off as a security agent as I was determined to stay and help. I was now outside the Bankers Trust (130 Liberty St.) building approximately 100 ft. or so away from the entrance of the main tower. I could hear objects hitting the ground around me so I decided to work my way around the back of the building and now I had learned what had happened.
I was standing in the middle of what were the remains of a passenger aircraft. There were seats and engine parts smashed through car windows everywhere. What seemed to be an engine was embedded into the sidewalk and body parts were strewn all over the street. Then I looked down to my feet and picked up a passport. It was a Saudi passport. It was green with Arabic writing and as I opened it and saw the man’s face inside it and I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of someone that may have been part of the terror that I was witnessing around me and I later learned that I was right as I passed it off to an FBI agent that was standing a block away on West side Hwy who immediately took it from me. He then instructed me to leave the area but before he could notice I ran back to the side of the Bankers Trust building determined to help find survivors that may have been hurt in the streets or in the cars. Then my life was changed forever.
I moved closer to the towers and was now about 100 ft. away when I approached a man that was huddled in a corner of the building. As I approached him he directed my attention to the remains of a person lying beside him. At this point I was numb to the horror around me and the man told me he had just come up to visit NY for the 1st time from Virginia. I was amazed at his courage as we started to plan our next move. Within seconds we were approached by 5 firefighters. They took shelter with us as they hooked up oxygen tanks to their backs to bring into the towers and I remember they were waiting for another fireman to catch up with them. Then I looked up as the towers were burning fiercely. And I saw a man that seemed to be floating in mid air. His hands were stretched out to his sides as if he were tranquil and within seconds he had hit the pavement below. He had jumped to escape a worse death by fire. I could not believe this was happening.
The firemen then proceeded to move toward the tower. They got about 30-40 feet away when without warning a person’s body landed between them with such an impact they were thrown to the side. The woman had also jumped from the building but she had landed on top of one of the firemen, killing him instantly. I watched as they dragged him away toward us. At this point I needed to find a phone to call my wife Mary and let her know that I was ok. My heart told me that somehow she knew that I would work my way down to the Towers to try and help and I was right. My cell phone messages were piling up as I watched them pass 10 but there was no reception within miles as the tower’s antenna’s were completely destroyed disrupting all cell phone usage in the area. I had to get inside a building so I entered the back of the Banker’s Trust Bldg. that I had positioned myself against outside.
I was then greeted by about 8-10 security personnel. I immediately passed myself off as building management and headed right for the security phone in the front lobby that was looking out to the entrance of the main tower. I was able to call my mom and my wife and assured them that I was ok. I explained to them that I was drawn to this place for a reason and assured them I was safe. As I hung up the phone I turned to the man next to me and we watched as dozens of police and firefighters began to make their way into the entrance of the tower. I remember telling him that my wife informed me that the Pentagon had been hit when all at once the ground shook violently and it sounded as if a bomb had been dropped.
I ran about 10 feet toward the back and positioned myself with another man behind a large concrete pillar in the middle of the lobby and then it hit. There was a wind of black smoke and soot that seemed to be moving at a catastrophic speed. Steel and concrete was being tossed around us and passed us tearing open walls and breaking glass. The ceiling seemed to have collapsed above us as debris was landing all over. All I could think about was that I just got off the phone with my wife Mary and told her I was ok but now I was about to die and she didn’t have any idea where I was. I found it harder to breath as my lungs were being filled with dust particles. At this point I had accepted the fact that I was about to die and prayed it would be quick but then I remembered that Mary had reminded me that our 9 month old daughter Sarah was waiting for her Daddy to come home the way she does every night and I knew I couldn’t disappoint her. I remember thinking that I couldn’t die. Not like this.
All at once it was over and I was still standing. I was gagging as I was spitting up dust and I was blinded by the heat and force of what I thought was a bomb. I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt and felt the man’s hand next me. He was alive.
It was pitch black and we could not see anything so we began to yell for the others. Our voices and someone with a flashlight led us to each other but I can only remember that there were only 5 or 6 of us left that gathered together. I knew where we were in relation to the back exit and it seemed that the front entrance was completely destroyed and covered. As we held hands we felt our way toward the back slowly trying to avoid the glass that was hanging everywhere. We found the exit door but it would not budge. We knew at this time that something was against it and I was getting the idea that we were now buried alive but then I felt a step.
We made our way down a flight of stairs and noticed lights heading our way. It was more people, some women, climbing up from what seemed to be a basement shelter. And then I saw that God had provided us with what we needed. We were on a loading dock and right in the middle of the dock was a full pallet of soda and water and a soda truck was parked in front of it. I immediately began ripping open cases as we started to wash out our eyes and mouths. Now I was able to see those with me but all I could see were their eyes. Everyone was covered head to toe with dust but at least now there was some relief.
About 3 of us decided to search for exits as the others huddled together on the dock All the doors were jammed shut from the outside. I remember thinking to myself, “”what is out there”", “”what hit us”"? I had no idea that the tower had fallen and much of it had landed on top of us destroying so much of the building we were in. And then I saw bay doors that opened up and down to let trucks in. I figured that if we could open them the debris would not hinder it going up and then found a security booth with electronic buttons along the wall. I hit every one of them until the door began to open. It was as if another wall were behind it though.
There was building debris all along the outside. I saw the street that I had been standing on prior to going into the building but now it was hardly noticeable. There were fires all around as cars and trucks burned throughout the street. But then a crazy thought hit me. I remembered watching the Poseidan adventure when I was a child and recalled Gene Hackman yelling at people to move up toward an exit and not just sit waiting around so I ran back to the dock and urged people to leave. I knew if we could get to West side Hwy we would be able to make our way down to Battery park and away from danger and the threat of tall buildings falling. Only 3 people came with me as I grabbed a flashlight and some water from the dock.
The rest may have been scared or left soon after or even thought it best to wait for help but I knew there was no help, at least not right away. Most of the firemen and police within a 4 block radius had either worked their way into the tower before it collapsed or they were standing in the street and were injured or killed by the force of th
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