Town Crier Articles

One week before the 25th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 70 New Town residents and family members came together at Legacy Hall to remember that tragic day, which changed so many lives and reshaped our nation and the world.

 

The evening began with a moment of silence in honor of the 3,000 people who died in the Towers and in the Pentagon and in the hijacked planes, and the 6,000 who were wounded, as well as many others, who would ultimately suffer from lung damage, cancers and other maladies. 

 

The commemoration focused on first-hand accounts of the attack and began with a series of images from that day.  Then, reading from a script by Liz Fones-Wolf based on Gerald Graff’s oral history, The Only Plane in the Sky, residents Mary Jo Mulligan Kehoe, Jack Espinal, Ken Fones-Wolf and his visiting sister, Geri Severs, Jon Thomas, Brian Grieff, as well as brand-new resident, Alex Porpora, spoke with passion the words of people in the towers, in the Pentagon, on the planes and in the White House. Members of the audience sat in rapt attention as they heard fear, terror, confusion, encouragement, disbelief, determination and love.

 

For instance, Melissa Doi, financial manager, IQ Financials, 83rd floor, South Tower, whose words were captured on a recorded line with a 911 operator, pleaded for help, crying “Its very hot everywhere on the floor.  I don’t see any air anymore.  I am going to die, aren’t I?  It’s so hot. I’m burning up.”  

 

Peter Bitwinski, assistant manager, Port Authority, North Tower 69th floor recalled his experience on the stairwell seeing firemen walking up with full equipment, these big metal picks, and they were sweating like crazy. “The firemen cheered us on, encouraging us, ‘Keep going they said; You’re doing a good job.’ While I was walking down, they were going up to their deaths.”

 

Particularly difficult to hear were the last words spoken in phone calls to wives and husbands trapped in the towers and on hijacked planes. Beverly Eckert, wife of Sean Rooney, Aon Corporation, 98th floor, South Tower, remembered “We talked about all the happiness we shared during our lives together.  In the end, as the smoke got thicker, he kept whispering, “I love you, over and over.” She was on the phone with him when the tower collapsed.

 

After the readings, four panelists shared their 9/11 memories. They included residents Bob Hyatt, of the Army Corps of Engineers and Tim Weidman, an executive with Barclay Bank, who were working in buildings close to the World Trade Center. Rounding out the panel were Tony Zotto, who was working in the White House as head of Vice-President’s Dick Cheney’s Secret Service detail, and Leslie Lautenslager, aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, in charge of Protocol, who was at the State department.

 

Bob Hyatt was in a meeting, turned and through a window saw the first hijacked plane fly right by him just before it struck the North Tower. Familiar with flight operations over New York City, Bob immediately knew that what he was watching was no accident. From his office, Tim Weidman viewed in horror people jumping from the North Tower.  More than 200 people  were blasted out or jumped through the long vertical windows they had broken to get air and then clung to the facade of the building to escape the unbearable heat and flames.

 

Tony Zotto was in the White House bunker and was responsible for Cheney’s health and safety. He was concerned because the vice-president had a serious heart condition, but after checking Cheney, Tony was relieved that he was calm and composed. As word reached them that a fourth hijacked plane was headed to Washington D.C. with the potential goal of hitting the Capitol, Tony was beside the vice-president when he made the horrendous decision to authorize the shooting down of a civilian airliner. Upon learning that the plane had crashed, the initial assumption in the bunker was that it was shot down by a military pilot, but they ultimately learned that Flight 93 crashed as passengers fought for control of the plane. Leslie Lautenslager vividly recalled that there was fear and confusion at the State Department, especially when they were ordered to evacuate and there was a report that a bomb had gone off in their building. Confusion turned to puzzlement because there was no bombing, but there was a loud sound across Washington D.C. created by a military jet’s sonic boom. 

 

In the last part of the evening New Towners shared their memories of 9/11. One resident, who was a nurse at New York City’s Sloan-Kettering Hospital, was called back to work when the hospital initiated its emergency plan in anticipation of mass causalities among the 50,000 people who worked at the World Trade Center. But none arrived at her hospital because after the towers fell, there were few survivors in the pancaked ruins. Ruth Burgess recalled she had driven to Portsmouth on beautiful day and on her way had driven across the James River bridge. But on her return to Williamsburg, reflecting the fear of more attacks and the immediate heightened security, the bridge was closed and National Guard troops were at the intersections of the roads and for some time afterwards cars were checked before crossing the bridge.

 

For resident Pat Bright, New Town’s commemoration “was a fitting way to honor so very many that experienced unimaginable fear, cruel death and demonstrated extraordinary bravery. And to remind us, that in the midst of this unimaginable cruelty and evil, that we are Americans - a people that hold steadfast to the ideals of freedom.”  She continued “I am sure that I speak for all of us that we were honored to participate in this truthful, balanced, and important experience that allowed us to confront the many facets of the lasting turn of events that reshaped our nation.”