Witness says 9/11 ‘seems like only yesterday’

I was working a few buildings away at One Chase Manhattan Plaza on the 19th floor when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. 

It seems like only yesterday. I remember sitting at my desk when the first plane hit. 

I felt my building jolt, and then I saw papers falling from the sky. I thought it was very strange. The first thought that came to my mind was someone advertising in Lower Manhattan. 

I got a phone call from my friend who was in training upstairs and he told me a plane went into the World Trade Center. At that time, my boss and others in our group started getting off the elevator. There was a lot of sadness. 

My husband called me from Staten Island and confirmed that a plane crashed into the tower. I remember about six of us went out to the plaza to see it. We were standing there watching the flames as sheets of paper and these whirly pieces of blinds were coming down. I needed to pray so I went across the street to Our Lady of Victory church. I joined others reciting the Hail Mary as people were dying in the tower. 

I went back to my group and stood silently just watching and praying for the lost souls. My friend Jack Murphy bent down to pick up a sheet of paper at his feet. I saw him turn white and I asked him what was wrong. I'll never forget the look on his face. He said, “This is from my brother’s office.” It was as if his brother was saying goodbye. 

We went upstairs just as the second plane hit and found out the Pentagon also was attacked. My husband called me demanding that I get out of the building and try to get home. We went to the window facing the towers when it started to come down. The plume of ash came right at us. I ran down 19 flights of stairs to the street level; it was covered in ash. You couldn’t breathe and could hardly see; the air was so thick. We were told to go down to the underground level where the cafeteria was. People were coming off the street covered in ash and they looked like ghosts. 

None of our cell phones were working so we had no communications with our family. Everyone took turns on the land line trying to make contact. Messages had to be relayed to family members. Strangers were calling strangers to give messages that we were safe. 

They shut down the bridges to Staten Island and the ferry was used to transport first responders. I couldn't get home. My husband and my daughter Jessica were home watching it on TV and not knowing where I was. We were told there was clean air at the South Street Sea Port so we grabbed some towels, wet them to hold over our mouths and headed in that direction. I'll never forget the blackness that we walked through. I saw shoes that people walked out of and attaché cases left in the street. It was so surreal. 

We began walking up Broadway to midtown as Army tanks with solders carrying machine guns were heading down. Fighter jets were flying overhead. It was a very strange sight. Somehow, I remember making a call to my husband and telling him I was in midtown. He got in touch with my younger daughter Courtney and we planned to meet at a location. I finally found her. We then found a boat that was taking people across the Hudson to New Jersey.