The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

People whose families were involved in the tragedy reeled from their losses. In other cases, people tried to track down news of family and friends from colleagues; confusion and misinformation ensued. People checked hospital lists in person or by phone, hoping for good news.

FDNY workers returned to firehouses, only to find that whole companies were missing, presumed dead. Others made their way home through quiet streets, covered in dust, to reunite with ecstatic and relieved family members.

Boats that had been shuttling people from Manhattan island began the reverse journey, delivering relief supplies and rescuers.

Emergency workers scoured the site for survivors; this was an overwhelming job in the acres of destruction. The PAPD’s William Jimeno heard voices and called to them. The FDNY’s Scott Strauss, the NYPD’s Paddy McGee, and civilian ex-paramedic Chuck Sereika lowered themselves into the hole in the rubble and worked to free Jimeno, which took three hours. He was badly crushed and in immense pain. Sergeant McLoughlin was quiet for a time as Jimeno was freed, and the team of emergency workers didn’t realize that he was there. They eventually freed both men, who were sent to the hospital with significant injuries.

It was an exciting and encouraging moment for emergency workers who, aside from Jimeno and McLoughlin, had found body parts only. Jimeno was distressed to reach the hospital and see dozens of doctors and nurses standing around; he asked where the other survivors were.

The FBI established a command center in an automotive garage. The hijackers were identified. At all the crash sites, fires burned throughout the night. At the WTC site, dump trucks began to arrive to start clearing the wreckage away. Floodlights illuminated the acres of debris as emergency workers continued to look for survivors. Across the country, people mourned, felt fearful, and had sleepless nights.

“Wednesday”

The Pentagon workers who were not injured or killed on 9/11 returned to their offices the next morning, determined to contribute to the nation’s war effort. The fire at the Pentagon was finally extinguished at 2:30 pm on September 12.

Lyzbeth Glick, the wife of deceased Flight 93 passenger Jeremy Glick, made a resolution to live a full and happy life for their daughter. Vaughn Allex, a ticket agent at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, was overcome when he realized that he checked the hijackers onto their flight, as well as everyone who died because of them, including children and families.

A Middle Eastern restaurant put up a sign condemning the attack. Americans of Arabic descent felt scared and ostracized.

Emergency workers returned to the WTC location where they found Jay Jonas and Lieutenant Mickey Kross, looking for more survivors. The FDNY’s Paul Somin calls out and hears a response. He finds the hand of Genelle Guzman and holds it. It took 45 minutes to extricate her from the rubble. She was the last survivor recovered.

Herb Ouida and his wife frantically searched hospitals. John Napolitano (a former firefighter) joined the search at the WTC ruins, known as “the pile,” but his son was never found. “Missing” posters plastered the city of New York. Joe Asher recalls preparing thousands of death certificates so that family members of the deceased could access estates.

Staff at the Capitol were terrified when an evacuation alert sounds; people were on edge about another attack. The investigation into Flight 93 in Pennsylvania continued.

“Thursday”

Air traffic resumed, with careful bomb checks of planes. Monika Bravo found her rendering of the September 10 storm, which now felt premonitory.

“Friday”

President Bush spoke to rescue workers at the pile. Some families continued to desperately search for loved ones. A candlelit vigil took place in New York.

“Saturday”

Lisa Jefferson, who spoke to Todd Beamer, received permission from the FBI to pass his final message on to his wife, Lisa Beamer. Trinity Church’s yard, which contained the remains of illustrious Americans like Alexander Hamilton, was cleared.

“Sunday”

The mayor encouraged New Yorkers to support their city by shopping locally and resuming their lives as best as possible. President Bush declared that the stock markets would reopen the following day.

“The Following Weeks”

On September 24, Mayor Giuliani announced that there was no hope for finding additional survivors at the WTC site. Firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, other first responders, and skilled tradesmen continued the recovery operation, searching through the pile. They used rakes and shovels but at times used small shovels and hand picks to extricate body fragments. The work was emotionally taxing and physically grueling. Conditions improved somewhat when The Red Cross installed a tent with cots and St. Paul’s Church opened to supply the searchers with food. The center of the pile remained intensely hot from the fires still burning.

New Yorkers begin attending funerals and wakes. Some firefighters attended numerous funerals per day for weeks.

At the Pentagon, urban search-and-rescue teams entered to shore up the building so that the FBI could enter. Debris piles removed from the building had to be separated into body parts, personal items, classified information, and airplane parts; it was a labor intensive process. At the Flight 93 crash site, excavators found the cockpit voice recorder, however the cockpit had disintegrated at the moment of impact.

The US launched war on Afghanistan. The survivors and victims’ family members and friends began to try to return to a new routine.

A Victim Compensation Fund was established. First responders rang the bell to open the stock exchange every day for the rest of 2001. Survivors, including Pasquale Buzzelli, struggled with survivors’ guilt.

“Years”

The events of 9/11 altered the course of countless lives and began two wars.

Many first responders experienced PTSD. Others developed physical ailments resulting from the day’s events, especially in New York, where the dust clouds from the WTC collapse later manifested in respiratory illnesses and cancer in first responders and civilians on the scene.

Ticket checker Vaughn Allex struggled with feelings of personal responsibility for checking in and hurrying the hijackers toward their flight, which they almost missed.

In 2011, Ladder 6 firefighters attended the funeral of Josephine Harris, whom the survivors from Stairwell B credit with their survival.

Osama bin Laden was discovered and arrested by a US military SEAL team in 2011. He was killed, and his body was buried at sea. US President Barack Obama addressed the nation, referring to the 9/11 attacks: “We can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done” (811).