Doug McCulley, Herbert Avenue, Fanwood, NJ
Freedom Tower & The Memorial (2023) revised.
We have yet to go into the new TOWER but toured the Museum 3 years ago. Several times we have visited the Memorial and St. Paul’s Chapel, an historic nearby church that was the center of activity after September 11. It has also become a Memorial/Museum.
We have walked around the area a few times— Our son, Drew, worked nearby for several years. The area has completely been rebuilt.
Yet with all the changes, we are daily mindful.
Originally written on the 10th Anniversary.
September 10
For her birthday, our neighbors’ son, Greg, had taken his fiancée, Kim, into the city, which included a trip to the World Trade Center Observation Deck. It had been such a beautiful Monday night. The view was amazing. No one would have guessed that they would be among the very last to see the city from that vantage point.
A Stellar Tuesday Morning
It was a magnificent start to the day. I had been outside for a while. It was easily one of the most beautiful days of the year. I was working on the computer when I got a phone call to tell me that a plane had flown into one of the towers. My thoughts immediately went to Bob. I would often talk to Bob on his way to or from the Fanwood train station. His office was on the 64th floor and he had been in the Towers during the first bombing (1993). I quickly walked down the street to sit with Barbara. Her phone kept ringing. Several times she repeated “I don’t know…” Another neighbor, Bonnie, came over and began to answer the phone and then Robin arrived to be with her mom as we all waited for some news. And then the first tower fell. And then the second.
At some point in this I talked to my wife, Brenda. Her school students had several parents who worked in the Towers. They were trying so hard to keep them all calm. They would not lose any parents, but some students lost more distant relatives.
Terrifying Moments
I would later learn that another neighbor, Nancy, was on the subway under City Hall. They sat for over an hour not knowing what had happened. They were finally evacuated out emergency steps and told to run north. There were fears about City Hall being a target. Her brother was in one of the Towers but escaped.
Josh, son of our friends, Jim & Carol, was on a train about to leave New Jersey for the Towers, when it was stopped. If he had caught the earlier train, He would have been at the towers just before the collapse.
Jean Paul, from our church, worked in lower Manhattan. He and other coworkers went out to see if they could help after the first plane hit. They were on the backside of the tower and had to dodge debris when the second plane exploded through the building. They quickly evacuated with everyone else.
Another neighbor had a daughter who was to be in the City for a job interview. They weren’t sure where in Manhattan she was and of course couldn’t reach her on her cell phone. Eventually they found out she had been in Midtown.
We all wanted to know where our family members were.
11 a.m.
Still no word from Bob. His son-in-law arrived totally distraught. He worked in Jersey City just across the Hudson from lower Manhattan. He and his coworkers had a terrifying ‘front row seat’ as the first tower collapsed. They all knew people who worked those offices.
The phone kept ringing. About 12:30 I believe Robin answered the phone call of the day. Bob was safe. Even though they were telling people to stay in the building, he insisted his office evacuate. He was in the Tower in 1993 and he wanted his people out.
The tears and anxiety of several hours was replaced with relief and tears of joy. I will never forget the indescribable tension of that morning.
Washington Rock
After we heard from Bob, I went to the counseling office. I think most of our appointments that day were canceled. Washington Rock was about a mile from our office. From there you can see lower Manhattan. (It is here that George Washington watched to see if the British were following his troops as they retreated from New York.)
I stopped. Such a clear day made the smoke arising from what we would later call Ground Zero so distinct. It seemed like we could smell the burning. People had gathered– all shaking in disbelief, crying. Many were on their knees—overcome with grief, driven to prayer. Scenes like this were common in many places in our state that week. There are many points that the City is visible from New Jersey.
Later Brenda, Drew and I were home. We had received many calls from family to check on us. Our daughter, Cassie, was in college in South Carolina. It was so good to hear her voice. Most of the parents of Brenda’s students had contacted the school to let their children know that were okay. A few years later at another school, she would teach several students who lost a mom or dad that day.
Seeing Bob
It was about dusk when I saw Bob walking home. I hugged him and we talked briefly as I walked with him towards his house. He said almost everyone below the first impact got out safely. I asked about how many he thought were lost and he accurately estimated that it was probably about 3000 who were lost at the Towers. (Bob estimate was quite accurate. For several days the number was estimated to be as high as 7000.)
“It really happened” Stunned Numbness.
The next few days are still surreal. “It really happened” does start to sink in. At the counseling center we saw families who had close calls and some who had lost loved ones.
In the City
I volunteered to go into the City with the Salvation Army. On Saturday, we were dropped off at the Armory and 2 things were so striking. The Armory and the buildings in the area were covered with the postings of pictures of those that were missing. It reminded me so much of the Viet Nam Memorial Wall in D.C. The other gut wrenching sight was the simple sign “DNA Samples” with an arrow. Here was where survivors were bringing hairbrushes and other items to hopefully help identify remains.
Here is where you also heard the stories.
A distraught man in late 30’s talked about his wife who worked for the State of New York in Albany. One day a month she would train down to a state office in the Towers. September 11th was that one day. They had 3 children.
A mother told of her 30-year-old son. He had a dental appointment for that Tuesday morning, but because they were running behind on a project at work, he had rescheduled it for the following week. He was at work.
A young doctor from the Coroner’s Office, Bellevue Hospital, came for food for the workers. They had been working round the clock since Tuesday night. We filled a cart and I walked with him the few blocks to the hospital. When we got to the hospital he stopped. It was as if he didn’t want to go back in. “Everybody keeps calling me asking me if I have seen their loved ones. They don’t understand we aren’t recovering recognizable remains. Then this morning they finally bring in a body that is intact and I knew him! It’s the father of a friend of mine.” With that he collapsed in my arms.
A policeman told me he was nearby helping to evacuate people when the first building collapsed. He helped several people get in a door to keep from being buried in the dust and debris from the collapse. He later learned that his brother who did not work in the Towers was in that building for a meeting and perished in the collapse.
And the stories would continue. The numbers became people— husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, friends.
A Ride to Ground Zero
While at the Armory, we were handing out water to families and workers, listening to their stories. It was also the staging area for some supplies to take to the Ground Zero workers. People had heard that there were requests for water, gloves, bananas, etc. and cars were constantly stopping and dropping off these items and asking what else can we do.
At one point, I ended up in a van taking supplies to Ground Zero. As we approached we turned a corner and suddenly I was looking at the standing remains of WTC 7. It is a picture that is often shown. I was just a few steps from where all of this happened. As we unloaded the supplies we could see the soot covered workers coming out of Ground Zero. They walked so slowly and I remember the grief on their faces.
We drove up the Westside Highway past the park area between Hudson and the road. There tens of thousands had gathered to support and just cheer on the workers.
The Following Weeks
At the Counseling Center we sat with people who had lost loved ones. I worked with a mother and her 3 children who lost a husband/dad. We talked to people who worked for the airline, had known the crew of United Flight 93, who met with the families and arranged for flights to the Pennsylvania crash site. People who worked for the phone companies who helped the families by converting voicemails and recorded announcements onto audio tapes for them to keep.
And each day the state’s largest newspaper would have a lengthy article about many of the nearly 700 NJ victims. For several weeks out of respect for them, we felt like we needed to read each article. But at times the grief was too much. It felt as if we couldn’t bear another story.
Shea Stadium
With some reluctance, I attended the first ball game played in New York after the attacks. Our son, Drew, had really wanted to attend. Standing on the concourse of Shea Stadium for a few innings I stared at Ground Zero– 10 days later and still burning.
The attendance of families who had lost loved ones, especially emergency personnel added to solemnity. The crowd shouted “U S A” from the time they arrived until Mike Piazza hit a home run in the bottom of the 8th when everyone was just burst out into cheers of relief. It was strange to be there while others were grieving, but it seemed important for people to be able to gather together again.
Some relief, but as we left, we could still see the glow from Ground Zero.
The “BathTub” refers to the underground foundation area at the site of the World Trade Center and accompanying buildings in New York City. The term bathtub is a bit of a misnomer, as the area does not hold any water; rather the purpose of its design is to keep water out. The name is more so used to describe its shape of a deep basin with high walls, like a bathtub.
10 Years Have Gone By -– Reminders.
Sometime after the WTC temporary train station was opened, we had an occasion to go to lower Manhattan and took the PATH train. It was set up so that the train came out of the tunnel and an elevated track took us into the ‘Bath Tub’ which had been completely cleaned out. I was totally unprepared for this. We were suddenly here in the middle where so many lost their lives.
Almost all the area TV and Radio signals were broadcast from the Towers. To this day, when I lose the AM signal on certain roads and it reminds me that they are gone. Many places in NJ we could see the Towers. When I drive through those places, I think, “They should be there.” Several of us comment that we still watch planes that seem a little low as they approach the airports and get a little nervous.
There are numerous ongoing reminders, including that Brenda is at a new school and has had several students who lost parents that day.
END OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE written in 2011
= = = = = = = = = = =
All those years ago and yet still very fresh in our memory.
In memory of those who were lost,
those who went into the building to save others,
those who stayed behind to help coworkers, and
those who have died serving our country in the military.
In honor of those who have lost loved ones and those who have been injured in honorable service— We will not forget.