World Trade Center - 11 September 2001

2 weeks before

9:30 AM

11 AM

2 days after

Introduction

When news of planes crashing into the World Trade Center began to spread, a number of people (from several states and overseas) who knew I was working in the financial district e-mailed and called me in short order to check on me. I am grateful for their concern and prayers for me. I was able to send a short e-mail in the evening of Tuesday, 11 September assuring them of my well-being. Below is a fuller account of what I saw and experienced.

Click on the thumb-nail pictures to see a larger view.

Background

On Monday, 16 July 2001 I began work at a bank on Wall Street. I stayed in the Marriott World Trade Center (3 WTC) until Monday, 13 August 2001 when I moved to an apartment on the corner of Fulton and William, four blocks from the WTC. From my apartment, I had a direct view of the twin towers.

On 21 August 2001, I took a picture of the Statue of Liberty from the observation deck of 2 WTC .

On 26 August 2001, I took a picture of the lower Manhatten skyline from the crown of the Statue of Liberty .

On 30 June 2000, the World Trade Center complex looked like this (north is toward the top of the photo): .

On 15 September 2001, the World Trade Center complex looked like this (north is toward the bottom of the photo): .

(I got these two satellite photos from www.spaceimaging.com and edited them by marking buildings and streets in red. These two photos require the following ownership statment: Copyright "spaceimaging.com" Permission is granted to publish in hard copy, broadcast and electronic media, provided proper attribution is given for each and every use.

Thunder and Lightening

On Tuesday morning, 11 September 2001, I was in my apartment preparing to go to work when I heard what sounded like thunder and saw a flash of light through my window shade. Confused because I wasn't expecting rain that morning, I drew the shade up and saw the north tower (1 WTC) burning. I thought, "There must have been a gas explosion!" I turned on CNN just a minute or two after hearing the "thunder" and heard that a plane had reportedly collided with the tower. I thought, "What a terrible accident!"

I called my parents and told them to turn on CNN. As we were talking, I was startled by the sudden appearance of a second plane an instant before it collided with the south tower (2 WTC). I was incredulous and at a loss for words. The scene before me was surreal. It brought to mind the ending of Tom Clancy's novel Debt of Honor (in which a Japanese commercial pilot intentionally crashes his 747 into the U.S. Capitol building, killing the President and nearly every member of the Cabinet, Congress and Supreme Court). The first plane could have been an accident. But the second plane made the intention clear.

My dad asked if I had my camera, but I had left it in California. So, I went down to a little shop across the street from my apartment and bought a disposible camera. I went up to the roof of my apartment building and took some pictures. People were just standing in the street staring at the towers . From my apartment, I could see sheets of paper floating through the air like enormous snow flakes. I didn't see much fire but smoke simply billowed out of the buildings . The metal exterior of the floors immediately below the points of impact was peeled back, giving the towers the appearance of splintered match sticks .

In an effort to get a closer look, I left my apartment and walked to Liberty Plaza, caddy-corner to 4 WTC, where there were even more people . From here, I saw the south tower about 5 minutes before it collapsed . I decided to head toward my client's office. Walking east on Cedar Street, I looked back toward Liberty Plaza and noticed all the paper on the ground that had "snowed" from the towers. Knowing where the paper came from gave me an eerie feeling.

A Third Jet?

I turned right on Nassau Street and then left on Pine Street. After walking about half a block east on Pine I heard what sounded like a jet aircraft coming in for a landing right on top of me. I had a visceral feeling that I was in mortal danger and began to run along with everyone else. I distinctly remember one woman screaming as she ran. Another lady lost her footing and I thought for a moment people would run right over her, but her companion helped her up and they continued on.

I briefly stopped in a doorway and looked back. But when I saw an enormous plume of dark brown debris (at least 15 stories high) barreling down the street toward me, I decided to try to stay ahead of it. I turned right on Pearl Street where a U.S. Postal employee was calling for people to come into the Post Office's garage for shelter. I kept going and turned left on Wall Street. My client's office building was at the next intersection (Water Street). When I reached Water Street, I looked north and saw the plume of debris still coming . It didn't look quite so ominous as it did three blocks and a couple corners away, but I stilled hurried to get inside. I managed to cross Water Street but the plume overtook me before I could get across Wall Street. The dust burned my eyes and made it difficult to breathe. I got through the revolving door, coughed and took a deep breath. I was lightly covered with dirt but it was nothing that couldn't be wiped off fairly easily. My cube was on the seventh floor and by the time I got there, the air surrounding the building up to at least the 20th floor was a murky dark brown. One couldn't tell there was a cloudless, beautiful, clear, blue sky outside. A conference room TV was tuned to CNN from which I learned that the "jet" was actually the south tower collapsing.

Initially, we were told to stay in the building, but within half an hour (and after the north tower collapsed) building security personnel told us to evacuate. So, a fellow Callisma consultant (Paul) and I walked back to my apartment covering our mouths with wet paper towels to make breathing a little easier. Cars on Water Street were covered with a substantial layer of gray dust . As we made our way west on John Street, the dust and debris covering the streets got thicker . It looked like a scene out of "The Day After" (a movie about a nuclear holocaust).

From the roof of my apartment, we couldn't see much of anything except smoke rising from where the towers used to be . (Notice the four long sheets of continuous feed printer paper still flying through the air. The red dashes on the left side of the photo indicate the approximate height of the papers in the middle of the photo. Honestly, the top two could be particles on the camera lense, but the bottom two are definitely paper.) Fulton Street was now largely deserted . On the roof, we found a page from a WordPerfect manual that was burned around all four edges. I brought it back to my apartment intending to laminate it, but the cleaners disposed of it when I was gone.

The Long Walk Out

After about half an hour in my apartment, we realized we couldn't stay there. The cable TV service was out and power and phone might soon follow. So, I put a change of clothes in a backpack and we left everything else in the apartment, not knowing how far we would have to walk (quite a way, as it turned out). All the subways were shut down. So, we walked north out of the financial district. When we got to Chinatown, we decided to go to Brooklyn and try to find transportation there. We walked across the Manhatten bridge shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other Manhatten refugees. From the bridge we looked back to see smoke where there used to be steel and glass towers

It was about 2:30PM when we reached the Brooklyn side of the Manhatten Bridge. We found a Sports Bar to rest in, had some food and then continued on to the Long Island Railroad Station at Atlantic Ave. From there we went to Jamaica Station where we parted ways. Paul continued on the LI Rail to his sister's home, and I rode the subways back to the home of some friends in Flushing (Queens). I stayed there until Wednesday, 19 September, when the apartment was ready for occupancy again.

However, on Thursday, 13 September, I spent 7 hours (round trip) riding subways and walking back to the apartment to get a few more items. The power was off, so I climbed eight flights of stairs in the dark. While at the apartment, I took another picture from an 8th floor hallway window (didn't feel like climbing another 10 floors just to take the picture from the roof!) where smoke was still rising from the WTC . On my way back to Queens I walked up Saint James Place (just north of the Brooklyn Bridge) and was passed by a truck carrying the remains of a car crushed by falling debris .

Union Square

In addition to fire stations all throughout Manhatten, Union Square became a primary focal point for New Yorkers to memorialize the victims. I visited Union Square in the evening of Wednesday, 19 September

. Each light post was surrounded with scores of candles

. This light post was adorned with a large, hand-written thank you note

. Between two posts lay a scroll on which people had written their sentiments

. One woman dressed up as Lady Liberty

. Another light post stood at the center of a circle of candles, flowers and flags perhaps 25 feet in diameter.

. And a "Mural of Hope" was constructed on which people placed pictures of victims

The Lighter Side

During the week of 16 - 23 September, I was temporarily re-assigned to another client who had facilities that were destroyed in the attack. The temporary headquarters for the telecom group was in a large room. Throughout the room were pictures of an eagle

. It took a couple days before the meaning finally dawned on me. A co-worker also sent me an "announcement" from United and American Airlines

Hoax Photo

A friend forwarded me a picture which at first made me a little sick to the stomach

. The email, dated 25 September, claimed: "This was from a camera found in the wreckage of the WTC, developed by the FBI for evidence and released on the net today." But I almost immediately realized something was wrong. After a little reflection, I knew it was a hoax:

The plane is approaching from the wrong direction. The observation deck was on 2 WTC, the south tower. But the picture shows the plane approaching from the north (upper Manhatten is in the background). This doesn't make sense because 2 WTC was hit by a plane approaching from the south. The plane that hit 1 WTC (the north tower) did approach from the north. But from this angle, 1 WTC is to the left of the camera and out of view. Even if 1 WTC were in view, it would have obstructed the view of the first plane approaching south-bound.
It's the wrong time of year. The man photographed is wearing a heavy jacket and ski cap. September 11 was a warm day, even on the observation deck. No one would have been wearing winter clothes. Furthermore, the horizon appears hazy. But, to my recollection, the sky was clear all day.
The picture, nor any other like it, is on the FBI web site. I'm hard pressed to imagine why the FBI would release a photo like that anyway. How would that help the investigation?

Someone clearly doctored the photo, adding the airplane and the date.

Ground Zero

On Sunday, 23 September, I ventured out to see what was left of the buildings. The security perimeter stood at Broadway. From my apartment, I walked west on Fulton toward 5 WTC and stopped momentarily at the corner of Broadway

. The police continually instructed people (there were a lot) using megaphones to keep moving. Most were walking south along the east sidewalk.

I turned left on Broadway. At the next corner (Dey Street) I could see the southern corner of 5 WTC with the far corner of the building hanging down as though part of the wall had been peeled back . At the next corner (Cortlandt), I saw the remains of 4 WTC: portions of outer walls jutting up like a giant's hollow rib cage . From the other side of the intersection, I could see another portion of 4 WTC, plus the broken windows of 2 World Finance in the distance . I made my way back to Liberty Plaza where I had stood just 5 minutes before the south tower collapsed . Notice that all the trees in Liberty Square are now gone.

I walked back to my apartment along Nassau Street which was crowded with more people . Finally, from the roof of my apartment once again, I could see large pieces of debris on the roof of 5 WTC .

Reflection

When tragedy, especially of this magnitude, occurs we call it a senseless loss of life. But, after a moment's reflection, we must acknowledge that it was not senseless at all to the ones who planned and executed the attack. It made perfect sense. In fact, it was almost inspired in its simplicity. Find an intelligent, completely dedicated group of men willing to die for their cause, teach them enough to steer a plane and crash it into a large, prominent building. If it hadn't made sense to them, they would not have invested their money, time and lives in the effort.

When we call it senseless, we are expressing a deep conviction that there is something fundamentally wrong, in a moral sense, with a universe in which this could happen. We ask "How could this happen?" (the question "Why?" is written in large letters near the bottom of the scroll at Union Square). We appeal to God for an answer ("In God We Trust" is written on the "Mural of Hope"). Thankfully, God has answered these questions, but are we Americans willing to hear and act upon God's answers?

The Bible records (at least) two examples of individuals who, in the face of "senseless" suffering, asked God "Why?". Both Job and the prophet Habakkuk asked the same question and received the same answer. To their credit, they also both accepted the answer and found peace. Let's consider Habakkuk briefly.

Habakkuk was a prophet (a person who heard God directly and proclaimed what he heard) in ancient Israel. In his times, Israelite society was utterly corrupted with violence and injustice. Life was so bad that Habakkuk complained: "How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen? Or cry out to You, 'Violence!' but You do not save?" (Hab 1:2). God responded: "Watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians..." (Hab 1:5-6). God said He would use the brutal, ruthless, merciless Babylonians to punish Israel.

Habakkuk, however, didn't like God's answer. He couldn't accept that the Holy God would use an evil enemy to restore justice in Israel: "Why do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" (Hab 2:13). God replies that at the time of His choosing, the Babylonians themselves will be brought to account for their arrogance, theft and bloodshed. God's final word is: "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him." (Hab 2:20).

Habakkuk finally understands that the answer to the question "Why?" is not a reason but a person: God Himself. "Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds...Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of deer, He enables me to go on the heights." (Hab 3:2, 17-19). In Job's case, God passively allowed him to suffer in order to demonstrate Job's righteousness. In Habakkuk's case, God actively directed the Babylonians to punish Israel for its wickedness. In the case of the World Trade Center, we have no way of determining the reason behind God's allowing evil men to murder. Even so, God's answer to "Why?" remains the same.

Habakkuk called God "my Savior". He recognized that not only did the Israelite nation need saving, he himself needed saving. When Habakkuk came to God on His terms, Habakkuk found joy and strength. The same is true for us Americans: we need saving. We are quick to label Osama bin Ladin "evil" and worthy of death for the mass-murder he orchestrated. But we fail to recognize that before God, we are no better than bin Ladin. Jesus made this clear when He said: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca', is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Matt 5:21).

Jesus uses anger (as well as several other examples) to illustrate the truth that our fundamental problem as humans is not that we occasionally commit murder, but that we all have murderous hearts. Jesus put it plainly: "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matt 15:18-19). But Jesus also identified the solution: "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him." (John 3:17). We clearly need a savior, and Jesus said he was the one.

Since 11 September, it has become common to see and hear the words "God bless America". Do we genuinely desire God's blessing or do we utter these words merely as a socially acceptable means of well-wishing? Are we willing to embrace the only One who can save us individually and as a nation, or will we cast aside our profession "In God we trust" as soon as Osama bin Ladin is caught or killed?

I hope and pray that "God bless America" and "In God we trust" become more than mere words, more than a motto for our country. May these phrases mean again what they once meant to our country's Founders who first spoke them. May we come to God on His terms: "If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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