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HOME > TWIN TOWERS TALK > Survivors and Bereaved
Survivors and Bereaved
Marc Langford, Network Engineer, New York, NY I
lost 10 friends on September 11. None of their remains have been
recovered. Two of them worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, and the other
eight were in various companies in both Towers. Two of my workers were
with the Port Authority on the 70th Fl. of Tower 1. They barely made it
out alive. One, Henry fell on the street outside Tower 1, just as Tower
Two was collapsing. I also lost two family friends, one of whom was
Benjamin Clark, a chef at the Marriott Vista. As an ex-Marine, he would
never leave anyone behind. He rushed upstairs in the hotel to save
people and help them evacuate. I was at Battery Park when the second
plane hit. It was horrible scene running across the Brooklyn Bridge,
seeing people covered in soot, some injured.
Despite these
traumas, from which I have nightmares every night, and bad memories
every day, one thing is clear to me and Henry (mentioned above): The
Twin Towers must rise again, or the terrorists have won. Yes, there
should be a memorial, but the Twin Towers must be rebuilt. It is the
only solution that is good for everyone. We in New York tend to not
appreciate what we have. In the WTC plaza, there were free concerts,
which would normally cost $100 per ticket. People of all cutures and
colors would come to enjoy these concerts. It was a cultural center and
melting pot, in addition to being a center for commerce.
The
Twin Towers belonged to the world; they're American, and they were a
symbol of New York. The terrorists killed my friends, messed up my job,
caused my workers to get laid off, and I may still lose my van because
it was not properly de-contaminated from being parked in the Battery
Garage near the WTC site on 9/11. Why should we be victimized a second
time? Without the Twin Towers, the skyline is empty. It's as if the
city lost its parents. Build them stronger, better, with better fire
protections, but re-build them!
Prudence Vignapiano, Wife of Arthur Vignapiano, Port Authority employee and 9/11 Survivor Prudence Vignapiano wrote this letter to Nicole Gelinas following her July 25 column supporting rebuilding the Twin Towers: Recently
I read an Article printed in the NY Post by Nicole Gelinas, an employee
in Lower Manhattan. She feels as I do that the Towers must be rebuilt.
Her article struck such a cord with me that it moved me to write the
following letter to you:
My husband is a Port Authority employee
and was on the 72nd Floor of Tower One when it was attacked. His
experience was a horror, but thank God he survived.
My husband
and I agree with Nicole that the TOWERS MUST BE PUT BACK AS THEY WERE.
To do anything less would be to admit defeat. Although my husband will
probably be retired by the time something is built on the site, he said
he would be honored to work back in the towers again, and would be the
first to ride up to the top when they are opened. This feeling is
shared by all his fellow employees at the Port Authority. Why haven't
the reporters consulted those who survived to see how they feel about
the return of the Towers?
Those who are against rebuilding the
towers surely never worked in lower Manhattan before they existed. I
worked in that area for 42 years and can still vividly remember the
slum that area was before the towers were built. My husband and I and
all our friends who worked, and continue to work in the area, are still
lamenting over the loss of their symbolism, beauty, and the wonderful
lifestyle that evolved around them. I am sure millions of New Yorkers
feel the same void.
IF THE TOWERS ARE NOT PUT BACK, THE AREA
WILL ONCE AGAIN BE A SLUM, and the fanatics who destroyed them will be
elated. The Real Estate values will also suffer without the
magnificence of the towers. Who in their right mind would make a trip
from all parts of the Country and the World to come and see a memorial
park. It would be like visiting a cemetery; a nice gesture, but not the
shot in the arm NY needs right now and in the future. The financial
well being of NY will never recover without the rebuilding of the Twin
Towers. There is hardly a movie or TV show or commercial that one sees
without the beautiful towers in the background. They were truly the
symbolism of New York as well as its financial backbone. If the
Pentagon were totally destroyed rather than heavily damaged, I'm sure
it would have been rebuilt. If the Nation's Capitol were hit (as
indicated was the fanatics plan) it would undoubtedly be rebuilt.
The
ultimate tribute to those who lost their lives would be to rebuild the
towers in their memory. A memorial like the fountain that was
constructed after the 1993 bombing can state that these towers were
replaced to honor those lost on 9/11.
Jonathan Hakala Worked on the 77th Fl. of One WTC Hoboken, NJ NY
Times, 05/26/02: Please do not diminish the memory of all of the people
who died there by building 50-, 60- or 70-story mediocre buildings on
the site. If you're going to put buildings on that site, build one of
the seven modern wonders of the world, and please give us a skyline
that will once again cause our spirits to soar....If you do that,
please save a little bit of space on the 77th Floor.
Dennis Mitzkavetch WTC Survivor Queens, NY What
a day...I had been working in 5 World Trade Center for over 25 years.
When the first plane hit, it was like a shock wave went through the
entire building. I remember everyone running over and standing on the
heating vents so they could see what was happening outside. It was
raining concrete, glass and steel. I saw concrete slabs as big as cars
falling from the sky and exploding into dust on the street below.
Security made an announcement saying we were safe and should stay where
we are. Then the second plane hit. We all immediately exited the
building in an orderly fashion.
As I was walking through the
plaza, I remembered that I used to meet two guys in the morning, right
at this spot just before the day began for coffee or to have a
cigarette. We used to meet right around the time the first plane hit.
These two gentlemen both retired in the last couple of years. As we got
a block away, I turned around to look at 1 World and I saw a gigantic
hole in the side of the building with tons and tons of black smoke
billowing out like I never saw before in my life. You could smell the
jet fuel. When I saw the massive hole, I realized this must be a
malicious act. People were jumping from the hole. I couldn't believe
this was happening. When we got 2 blocks away I saw a jet engine lying
in the street. It felt like a war zone. When I was 4 blocks away, I saw
FBI running towards the World Trade Center with bullhorns yelling out,
"run, run, run." We continued running up Broadway, you could taste the
ash in the air. I eventually made it to the brother of a co-worker's
apartment on Sutton Place. I called my family and told them I was okay.
We waited there for a few hours and then heard the subway was running
again and so I took the train home.
I returned to the site a
week later just to prove to myself that this actually happened. As I
continued walking south, you could tell things were different as I saw
police and the National Guard everywhere. Even the air was different;
it was dry and filled with dust particles. It was also odd to see
tourists. We all see tourists in Manhattan but obviously this was
different. The place where I worked had been reduced to dust and people
are coming here to see this.
I don't know what exactly is the
best thing to rebuild there but I know that we must rebuild to show the
world that we are still here. We need to rebuild lower Manhattan and
make our city whole again. Looking back, I realize it was an honor to
have worked there.
Rabbi David Roller Livermore, CA I worked in Two World Trade Center from 1973 to 1978, when I left to return to grad school & change my career.
I
was there before the landscaping was in -- from when there was wood
planking to enter the building -- through when it became a "real" mini
city. I brought my wife, dad & brothers up to my office on the 76th
floor to watch the parade of tall ships on July 4, 1976. I was there
when the wind would blow and it felt like you were at sea on a
ship-water bobbing in the toilets.
I lost friends there --- people that I knew from SEIU who helped organize union shops. Friends.
Why
rebuild? Because we really have to declare, "here we are" -- all ground
is sacred and the memory of those left behind -- while fresh and
painful would be best served by bringing it back better than before.
The Pentagon was rebuilt; the Arizona did not become a memorial until
1964. Will I ever forget the 75 people whose lives touched mine? No. Is
my family touched? Yes -- there but for the grace and mercy of God go
I. It was my home -- if I leave and it is torn down, so be it -- but
this needs to be remembered by rebuilding -- better than before.
Annette Raconde Survivor, 9/11 New York, NY After
being at the site of the terrorist attacks, I feel the need to forge
ahead. It was an experience that will haunt me for a long time to come
(probably forever), and it's important that we as a city stand tall.
It's essential that we empower ourselves by regrouping - and rebuilding.
Fred Warner Insurance Sales New York, NY On
3/11/02 at Ground Zero, Mr. Koppel of ABC NITELINE interviewed four
fathers who lost their sons (Fireman) in the WTC on 9/11. One of Ted
Koppel's questions to these brokenhearted men were, what should be
built on that scarred site. One of these retired fireman lost not one,
but two sons. One son was with the FDNY and the other son was with the
NYPD. His reply to the question of what to build was, we should build
the WTC exactly as it was before 9/11. He also said that by doing this
it would be a spiting in the eyes of the terrorists. This nice,
elderly, gentle, broken hearted man along with his wife, the mother of
those two sons who were lost should have his wish heard by the people
who will finally make the final decision.
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