My friend June who had worked nearby to the horrifying devastation that occurred on 9/11 paused to reflect upon the events of her day, and nineteen years later, has shared her thoughts with me.
“I was living in Westchester County, north of New York City,” she recalled, “and taking the Metro-North commuter railroad to Grand Central terminal on the East side of New York City each day.” This began her trek to work, which she did so often, she could probably do it in her sleep!
It began as a typical work day for June. Buses, taxis, trucks, and cars were out in full force. Shop owners were opening their doors for business, while conversations emanated from newsstands and breakfast kiosks, and the unmistakable satisfying rich aroma of freshly brewing coffee wafted through New York City’s air.
My friend recalled her typical morning, “I would then walk to my office at the Verizon location at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue.” Every day, June naturally took in the day-to-day New York City sights and sounds as she walked briskly to get to work.
Looking south from 6th Avenue, the view was dominated by the twin towers.
Though the daily sights and sounds along June’s commute were pretty much predictable, she remembered that on that particular morning, she had made a point to pause and make a mental note of appreciation of the incredible beauty that caught her eye.
June told me, “As I reached 6th Avenue and approached the Verizon building, I recall looking south, seeing the towers, and thinking what a beautiful day it was. Without a single cloud, the sky was an incredible rich blue.”
Mental note taken, she kept up her swift morning pace and got to the office for what she imagined would be yet another true to form work day.
That striking eye-catching beauty that June had gazed upon earlier and so much more was about to quickly evaporate. As June recalled, “I was on a call, when someone came to my office to tell me that a plane had hit one of the towers.”
Dumbfounded, June went over to one of the offices with a view south and “saw just one tower standing.”
“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion…”
She immediately turned to God. June said, “I prayed for everyone, including friends who were working at the Verizon building across the street.” Within minutes, a second plane hit the other tower. As June watched in utter disbelief, she shared, “The second tower fell.”
She added, “I recall praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for all the souls.”
The Empire State Building is just eight blocks from the Verizon 42nd Street building. “Fearful that a third plane might target the Empire State Building,” June said, “about 11 AM, upper management advised us to vacate the building and head home.” June made immediate arrangements with her brother who was working at the same location. They met in the lobby, along with another worker, who headed out with them. June said, “Because no trains were leaving from Grand Central, we decided to walk to my brother’s home in Queens.”
June deeply reflected and continued to share her experience, “By 11 AM, with almost all traffic stopped and no planes flying overhead, and the hushed tones of other people nearby, midtown New York City was eerily quiet.” She told me that suddenly everything had dramatically changed. There were, “No engines humming, no impatient horns tooting, no boisterous crowd conversations.” None of that was left—it had totally, frighteningly dissipated into thin air, it seemed.
June called to mind, “It was spooky without all the noise of daily hustle and bustle.” She vividly remembered, “With so many walking—heading uptown, walking across the bridges usually filled with vehicles—the visual was like that of refugees walking miles to safety.”
Eerie silence remains vividly in her thoughts
June could not forget. “Everyone was focused on the billowing smoke where the towers had been downtown.That frighteningly eerie silence is still very vivid in my thoughts.”
“We walked about seven or eight miles into the heart of Queens,” June shared. The siblings found a tour bus driver who was willing to take them a few miles farther. June said, “At that point, off the bus, we neared the famously heavily traveled Long Island Expressway.”
June recalled the experience. Even eerier still, “With no vehicles traveling on the Expressway, the only sounds we heard were the booms of fighter jets flying overhead.”
June’s brother contacted a parish priest who is a good friend stationed at a church about three miles from where they were at the time. “The priest had to navigate through police blockades but did reach us about an hour later.” June will never forget that long journey when, amid countless others who suddenly found themselves in the same inconceivable predicament, the three of them kept putting one foot in front of the other to get to safety.
“We started our journey at 11 AM and reached my brother’s home about 4 PM.”
It was a trek that June, her brother, their priest friend, and thousands of others would never forget. June said, “I stayed with my brother overnight. The following day, he was able to drive me to the Westchester train station where I had left my car the previous morning.”
As June recollected, she stated a couple of times, “I can hardly believe that all this, and more in the months that followed, happened 19 years ago!” It is still so very fresh in the minds of countless people.
June counted her blessings and told me, “We were fortunate to have been far enough uptown to only see the macro picture of what was happening, but our friends who worked at the Verizon building across the street from the towers saw, felt, and experienced everything within a couple of hundred feet.”
June stated, that because of the unimaginable horrendous trauma, “A number of them suffered from PTSD afterward and still have difficulty today.”
Sadly, in addition to the horrifying devastation thousands have experienced and have even perished from, many others suffer from “survivor’s guilt,” and, as June pointed out, “many are reliving the trauma of seeing everything close up.”
June shared with me, “My brother and I pray each year for the deceased and also for the survivors, those friends and heroes who were there that day and those who worked later at the site doing rescue, recovery, and cleanup.”
June encourages us, “If you haven’t had an opportunity to go to the memorial and museum, both are beautiful solemn tributes.”
