My 9/11 Story

My earliest memory of my Grandfather was of him taking me to see my Uncle Charlie at the firehouse on 101 St and Jamaica Ave in Woodhaven (FDNY Engine 294 & Ladder 143). He held me up and I slid down the firepole. I thought it was such a cool place and when I grew up that's what I wanted to be. As I grew up I would play handball with my Father at 105 St in Rockaway or at the Elks Club on Queens Blvd and a lot of the guys were firemen. I trained with my good friend from grammar school, Jimmy Young, whose Father was a Battalion Chief. In 1983 I was in a bad car accident and needed to get surgery on my knee. This meant I would miss the window to take the Fireman's test and my dream of being a Fireman ended. One of the first people to visit me in the hospital was Jimmy. He talked about what a tragedy it was and how I couldn't be a Fireman. I said I guess it just wasn't meant to be and how I would have to figure something else out. Jimmy went on to become a Fireman and on March 28, 1994 he died in the Watts Street Fire. On 9/11 Rudy Giuliani became America's Mayor, but I will always remember what he said at Jimmy's Funeral Mass. He talked about the courage that Jimmy had and asked, "Where do we find these men," and I remember thinking that you find them right here, at St. Thomas the Apostle in Woodhaven, Queens. The morning of September 11, 2001 was just an absolutely beautiful day. Perfect. The sky was a bright bright blue, the temperature was in the low 70s with no humidity. I took the NJ Transit in to Hoboken from Summit, NJ and took the ferry going to the World Financial Center with my friend from town who also worked on the floor.

As it was such a beautiful day we sat up on the top deck which was open to enjoy the view and the day. As we were approaching the dock I started to hear people gasp and scream, then I heard a loud bang and at first I thought something had hit the ferry but I quickly looked up and saw the smoke coming from the World Trade Center. It's amazing how in just a few seconds so many thoughts can race through your mind. We could now see that a plane had flown into the Tower but at first we assumed it was an accident. When we docked the Captain announced that if anyone wanted to stay on the boat back to Hoboken it would be no charge. Working on the NYSE Floor you had to make the opening so my friend and I got off, again thinking this was just an accident, but as we were walking I looked up and saw how clear of a day it was and realized this could not be an accident. We normally cut through the Twin Tower area but instead we walked around it to the south. As we crossed West Street we could start to see the carnage all around. At first it was a few car accidents but then I noticed the Millennium Hotel near the World Trade Center was heavily damaged. Then as we kept walking we saw the real human carnage everywhere. At first we didn't know what we were seeing or maybe we couldn't believe what we were seeing. I don't want to describe it because it's too brutal and graphic. But it was horrible and still gives me nightmares 25 years later. We walked a block or two in a kind of shock when I heard the loudest explosion in my life. We were across the street when the second tower got hit and it was now complete bedlam. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I told my friend to run because it was raining debris from the Tower and the people on the ground were getting hit. I started running as fast as I could to the south. I remember thinking I might have to throw up but said to myself that if I did to also keep running. I got separated from my friend and when I was a few blocks away I started to loop back around to the NYSE. The building was on lockdown with no one allowed to enter or leave so I walked down Wall Street to the JP Morgan building at 60 Wall. It was open and I went up to the trading desk on the second floor. I sat down with a few of the traders and told them what I came through and then I tried to call my wife. My hand was shaking so bad that I couldn't dial the number so one of the traders dialed for me. I left a message for my wife about what happened and that I was fine and then I just sat there in a kind of shock. There were a lot of people on the desk that had loved ones in the Trade Center and everyone was so upset. I felt so bad for them. After a little while a few of the Long Island guys left together to try and make it back home. Within minutes they came running back in, as the first Tower had fallen and they were covered in dust. When the Tower fell you could hear it pancake on each floor, with a steady cadence of boom, boom, boom … It was a sickening sound. At this point we knew we were under attack and had concerns that JP Morgan or the Federal Reserve Building up the block could be potential targets. Soon the second Tower fell and the plume of black smoke once again drifted past our building. There was an announcement made on TV that the US had fighter jets up and that the sky was secure and so we got into groups based on where we lived to figure out a way home. One of the New Jersey guys had his car parked in Jersey City and the ferries were running out of the Wall Street pier so about 6 of us left together. I went into the bathroom and took off my tee shirt and ran the water over it and covered my face as we made our way to the pier. I didn't know what to expect or how long it would take but I had an incredible need to be with my family. The people at the ferry did such a great job of getting people off Manhattan that day. They were organized, efficient and extremely kind in the face of an unimaginable disaster. The ferry left Manhattan from Pier 11 which is on the east side, and as we turned around the south bend of Manhattan we could see for the first time the remains of the Towers. It was shocking. We just stood on the boat looking out with our mouths open. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It wasn't until we docked in New Jersey that I once again could see the sun and was reminded of how beautiful the weather was. We walked over to the Exchange Place parking lot where my friend had parked. There was no one there, it was so weird to see such a busy place so empty. We packed into the car and started to go but quickly realized we would have to take the back streets home because most of the main bridges were closed. My house was the first stop and when we pulled into the driveway my wife was on the front porch with a few of the neighbors. It felt like I was returning from war. The other guys came in and called their wives and cleaned up a little then went on their way. I went up to shower. I took everything I was wearing and put it in a garbage bag and threw it out. My kids had a full school day, my oldest was in 1st grade and my 2nd was in Kindergarten; the others were at home. When I got up to the school I felt a little guilty knowing some Dads would not be coming home.