lc_story240.xml

lc_story240.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-01-12

Prior to 9:00 a.m. that morning I was in lower Manhattan at a restaurant on the corner of Church and Chambers Streets, about five blocks from the WTC. I was in town from my home in Virginia, to do genealogical research in the NYC Archives located at 31 Chambers Street. I spent the previous night in Staten Island and had come into Manhattan on the ferry early on the morning of 9/11/01. While eating breakfast, I heard and felt the explosion from the first plane and ran outside into Church Street where I could see the upper floors of the North Tower on fire. At that point I thought it might have been a bomb explosion although other bystanders were saying an airplane had crashed into the tower. I went into another nearby restaurant to listen to the news on a television. Very shortly after entering, a local TV station showed live coverage of an aircraft flying into the South Tower. Again, I ran into the street where I had a clear view of the fireball coming out of the north side of the upper floors of the South Tower. At this point I was convinced both buildings had been struck by planes and that it must have been a planned act of terrorism. Fire engines could be heard all over the area when I went into 31 Chambers Street and started doing some research in the first floor archives. Not long after, around 10:00 a.m. we were told to leave the building since one of the towers was starting to collapse. Once in the street I was greeted by numerous people running away from the direction of the WTC with a large dark cloud following them. Policeman in plain clothes were in the crowd directing everyone to head uptown. At Foley Square I turned and actually saw the North Tower implode. At first I thought it was just the communications pole on the roof coming down but very shortly was able to see the entire tower had collapsed. I spent the remainder of the day walking uptown along the Hudson River to 42nd Street, then across town to the East River, and eventually back downtown to the Staten Island Ferry. With stops for clls home, food and drink along the way, I estimate that I had walked about 10 miles over a period of 7 hours. I was on the 5:00 p.m. ferry back to Staten Island when I heard another roar from the site of the WTC disaster and looked to see one of the smaller towers also collapse.

The surreal sight of the North Tower going down and watching fighter aircraft circling the city when I reached midtown.

Made us willing to take the offensive against terrorists at home and abroad and have the moral stamina to do what is necessary to destroy them and protect the United States.