My parents always remembered where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7th, 1941. I vividly remember being at St. Joseph Elementary when John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963.
And I bet many people remember where they were when the Challenger blew up in the Florida skies on January 28th, 1986. These memories are called “Flashbulp Memories,” as they are so intense, the memories become indelible in your mind.
September 11, 2001 will be in the memory of many for years to come.
A spring time visit to New York City with my roommate, Steve Bender, in 1976 provided my first experience with the World Trade Towers.
Steve lived in Westchester County and his dad, Attorney Lou Bender, had an office in lower Manhattan. It wasn’t just an office; it was an office that over-looked the World Trade Center.
Mr. Bender was a rather famous NYC attorney that actually tried several cases in front of the Supreme Court. Some may remember Lou as a great basketball player who helped make Madison Garden a destination.
As I remember, he and his wife treated me rather well taking us to authentic Italian restaurants and allowing us to eat as many Entenmann’s donuts as we wanted for breakfast.
It was a cold but sunny April morning when our other friend, David Dunlap, came up from Philadelphia to spend the day.
The highlight was touring the South Tower, which had an observatory at the very top. I don’t recall the price to go up the elevator, but it did not take too long to get to the top of 110 stories. The views of NYC were majestic.
At one time, the Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world. Both Towers were built at 1,350 feet high. It is the North Tower that had the communications extension which made it 1,728 feet tall.
In 1976, I never thought the buildings would become targets. Al-Qaeda and Osama ben Laden would change everything. We should have taken our cue in 1993 when the North Tower was first bombed.
It was about 9:00 AM On September 11th, 2001 when my fellow Dean of Students, Dan Alley, called me in to his office. I still remember him saying, “Marty, come here, you need to see this.”
Dan’s office was larger and it had access to a TV. What unfolded will always be part of American Heritage. An event that will never be forgotten.
I do have to commend and send high accolades to our Principal, Joan Hunt, who allowed our students to watch these events unfold in each classroom. It was important to have students see this. It was history in the making that would forever change our lives. Our rival school, shut-down every TV. In fact, that school made it on the TV News for closing everything down!
Like most everyone, we were witnessed to seeing a plane crashing into South Tower at about 9:02AM. We witnessed the South Tower collapsing at about 10:00AM. We were on duty at 10:30 when the North Tower came down.
I didn’t see until afterwards that people were actually jumping out of the Towers. On a video, you can actually hear a “thump,” when a person’s body hit a roof below the Towers. It was, indeed, a horrible time.
What I remember most was the panic on people’s faces as they were running away from the scene. The ash cloud right behind them.
It was July of 2014 when Kathie and I were able to see the World Trade Center. It had just reopened a few years before. We saw the two Fountains where the Towers once stood.
It was nearly impossible to get tickets to the World Trade Center museum.
We understood it was hours on end waiting. I did pick-up a wrist band for a dollar. Today, that same band is $5 dollars! We vowed to come back and do the tour another year.
It was late September 2019 that we finally toured the National September 11th Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center. You definitely want to sign-up on-line for a tour.
It was, indeed, one of the best tours we have ever taken. The young docent was extremely sensitive to people’s feelings, and so knowledgeable. The young man will go far in life.
A few of the memories we have taken away from our experience is a wall filled with small blue panels. Each panel represented one of the 2,606 people that died at WTC. Behind the wall is on-going forensic work still being done.
In total, though, 2,977 people died from the Tower attacks, the attack on the Pentagon and the United Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This figure does not include the hundreds of policemen and fire fighters that have died from being exposed toxic chemicals. Over 90 countries lost someone that day. There is a row of flags from each country represented in the museum.
A fully damaged fire-truck is on display.
The refuge of the gigantic elevator is still visible.
Large, gigantic girders are on display.
The actual parts of the building can still be seen.
The walkway where many people escaped is a viable piece of history.
There is a museum inside this large museum. They do not hold back as many videos are graphic in nature.
There is also a display and pictures of when Osama bin Laden was killed.
There was even a brick from Osama ben Laden’s house on display.
Since opening the One World Trade Center in 2014, that observatory can be visited. That is our next quest when we visit NYC. That building is 1776 feet high—what a coincidence being our country’s birth!
Not far from the Fountains, is small Liberty Park. It is here where the “Sphere” is located. It was between the Towers and suffered some damage.
At Liberty Park, there is a Chestnut tree that is from a sapling that was once near Ann Franks house.
On the other end of Liberty Park, is the only monument dedicated to Special Forces, the America’s Response Monument. As some of you may remember, a team of men and horses (due to the rough terrain) was sent in to capture a enemy position in 2001. The event was later made into a movie, “12 Strong.”
Close by is the newly constructed Oculus Center. It was designed like a whale by a Spanish designer.
This is a mall and transportation hub for lower Manhattan. This is where the New Jersey trains end and start.
Inside the Oculus there are a number of stores like Apple. We always make it to a restaurant called “Eataly” that was partly owned by Mario Batali.
Food at Eataly was rather pricey and nothing to write home about. We did, though, enjoy the ambiance.
From the restaurant one can actually over-look the Twin Towers Park and even see a historic fire-engine.
We did make it to the Rockefeller center observatory which is 872 feet which is located in Midtown Manhattan. We highly recommend a visit to that building too which houses the Today Show.
Taking the Staten Island ferry is “FREE!” There is a unique Staten Island 9/11 Memorial facing NYC.
On sojourns around the nation, we did come across Twin Tower girders in Winslow, Arizona. A memorial park is dedicated to 9/11.
You may as well continue on into Winslow and see where the famous corner where the Eagles’ song, “Take it Easy” took place.
