September 11th, 2001 -- A Tribute Thread

[Randle Pat McMurphy]

September 11th, 2001 – A Tribute Thread

This thread will be dedicated to telling the stories of lives lost, to spotlight the countless acts of grace in the face of horrific brutality, and to describe how the simplest of choices and circumstances resulted in escaping death for some and a sealed fate for others. Between now and the upcoming 5th anniversary of 9/11/2001, I will post dozens of stories chosen to illustrate those lives, the countless heroic acts, and the fine line between life and death on that fateful day.

The goal of this tribute is to provide the readers with a personalized view of 9/11, a glimpse into the lives of those lost as well as the lives of those who survived the events of Tuesday, the 11th of September, 2001. While many of us can agree the images of that day are forever seared in our memories, few of us, if pressed, would be able to put a name or face to those memories. And, only a small handful could say we lost a friend, relative or colleague on that day.


Thread rules:

I have discussed this thread with Dr Jack and these are the rules he has agreed to put in place. This thread is designed to memorialize the victims of 9/11. This is not a thread for the discussion of the reasons for 9/11, the 9/11 conspiracy theories, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Presidents Bush or Clinton, and so on.

ANY post which is made as a contribution to this theme is welcomed. I would love to hear other stories I may not know about, to have access to other info I don’t already have, and so on.

ALL other posts which depart from this theme and/or seek to turn this into a political argument will be promptly deleted or moved.

Please respect these rules as a great deal of work will go into this project.
Thanks in advance to who read it. I hope I can contribute to keeping the memory alive. I, for one, will never forget what happened that day and the lives lost.

[Randle Pat McMurphy]

As a preface, if you 9/11 is still an open wound for you, then I want you to know that reading these stories will likely cause you some emotional distress. While I wont get graphic in these accounts, they are still stories of life and death.

Please do not read them if you dont think you are ready to face 9/11 on more personal level. While doing so may be therapuetic for some of us, it may cause others to relive feelings and emotions they would rather leave undisturbed.

Entry #1

On September 11th, 2001, life dealt over 2,000 American families a blow few of us can even begin to comprehend. At the same time, countless others where given a wake up call many of us never seem to receive. Fate can be so cruel, fate can be so kind.

On Monday the 10th, Joseph Maggitti boarded a plane in Baltimore. As an executive for Marsh and McLennan, Joe was on his way to a Tuesday morning, one day meeting at his company’s home office in lower Manhattan. A native of nearby Abingdon, Maryland, Joe was well known and respected family man in his community. After all, Joe was the midfielder on the 1975 Division II National Champion University of Baltimore soccer team.

Joseph Maggitti and David Kravette awoke early to a bright, clear blue New York sky. Both made the early morning commute into the World Trade Center Plaza in order to be on time for their Tuesday morning meetings. Joe made his way to the Marsh meeting room located on the 96th floor of World Trade Center #1 (the north tower). David was just above on the 101st floor . As the managing director for the internationally famous Cantor Fitzgerald bond trading company, his days started very early. On this day, he was scheduled to meet some clients at 8:00 am. His employer’s offices occupied floors 101-105 in the north tower and 659 of their employees had already arrived for work, some had been there for hours already..

Around 8:40am, Kravette was annoyed–he was listening to his wife complaining on the phone about the newspaper delivery guy throwing the paper in the driveway instead of taking it to the house in one ear while his secretary was telling him his 8:00am appointment group was calling from downstairs. Seems that one member of the party had forgotten to bring a picture ID even though David had gone out of his way to tell them to do so, and, to make things worse they were over 40 minutes late.. So now Kravette would have to make the 1/4 mile trek to the lobby below to escort them in. He didnt want to make his heavily pregnant assistant make the trip in her uncomfortable state.

Kravette had not even taken 5 steps out of the elevator when he heard thunderous crash and the sound of elevator cars free falling. As he turned to look over his shoulder, a huge fireball blew out of an elevator shaft. He remembers freezing while those around him dove to the ground. Just as it was about to consume him, the fireball collapsed back into itself.

At 8:46 am, the nose of American Airlines Flight 11 ripped into the 95th and 96th floors of the Tower 1. Joseph Maggitti and most of the 294 fellow Marsh and McLennan employees who died that day were gone in the blink of an eye. For the 658 Cantor employees on floors 101-105, for the 73 employees of Windows on the World on 106 & 107, and for anyone one else above the impact zone the die had been cast. 1355 people had no intact escape routes to the ground and the doors to the roof were locked.

Pam Maggitti, Joe’s wife, turned on the tv when she heard the news. All she could think of was something Joe told her after his previous meeting at WTC #1 a couple of years back: “Honey, I can see the planes flying beneath me.” Before he left the day before, Joe had reminded Pam about their upcoming 25th wedding anniversary on December 4th, 2001. He surprised her with 2 tickets he had purchased for a trip to Paradise Island, their honeymoon location. A very religious family, Pam said she knew in her heart Joe was gone the minute she turned on the news-- Flight 11 hit the north tower at 400+ mph on the floor her husband was on. Joe left behind a 14 year old daughter and a 22 year old son. They all say Joe is waiting for them in Paradise.

Not a day goes by without David Kravette asking why. Why was he given another chance when his 658 friends and colleagues were not? Why didnt he send his assistant to the lobby like he had always done before? Why...why...why? In the days and months immediately following Tuesday the 11th, David spent countless hours doing the only thing he knew how to do. He immersed himself in caring for the loved ones left behind in the Cantor family. Funeral after funeral, memorial service after memorial service, David remembers the calendar for Cantor’s services alone was over 50 pages long.

Those Cantor employees who were not at work that day and their sole survivor, David Kravette, also made a commitment to departed friends and their surviving families. With borrowed equipment and office space, they would be ready to resume business when the NYSE reopened. And open they did. Since that day, Cantor has contributed 10% of their profits to directly to the over 800 families and over 950 children directly affected by 9/11. Cantor has given over $175 million to their deceased employee’s families.

Joseph Maggitti kissed his wife goodbye on September 10th with the expectation he would be home the next day. Afterall, Joe would only be in New York one day...he never returned. David Kravette grudgingly went to meet his late clients and stepped out of the last elevator to make it to the lobby from the 101st floor just seconds before Flight 11 impacted the North Tower. By doing so, he was the 1 of 659 from his firm given another chance in life.

Please take the time to remember these men and their families in your thoughts and prayers. I will be posting many stories like this one in the weeks to come.


As a closing note, I chose the Joe’s story 1st because he is my closest personal connection to 9/11. Some of Joe’s closest friends live in my town. As we were doing fund raising in our area for the surviving members of the victims families, those friends introduced me to Pam Maggitti. I am pleased to say the family has gotten through their ordeal very well. The line of cars attempting to get to the funeral home where Joe’s memorial service was held was hundreds of cars long. Fortunately, Joe planned well and left his family in a position where they would be taken care of. Then again, his friends expected nothing less of him.

[Keith]

no specific details, just a note of remembrance.

A client of mine, whom I had done a Hearing with approximately 6 months earlier was killed that day. He was an electrician. His name was Lester Marino.

A guy who I had gone through school with (junior and senior high school) was also killed that day. He was not a close friend, but because our last names both started with the letter "S", his locker was always right near mine. His name was Scott Saber. After the tragedy, I read that he was very friendly with pitcher David Cone.

As for the others who lost their loved ones that day, well I can only hope that they can come to grips with it. Their loved ones were killed in a war. The war on terrorism. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves.

Unless you were here in NY, you can't possibly know what it was like. For MONTHS afterwards there were pictures in the newspaper every day of people desperately searching for their loved ones. Hoping against hope that they were still alive. And of course, the funerals. Every day. Day after day.

God rest their souls.

[Randle Pat McMurphy]

December 7th, 1941 The bombing of Pearl Harbor

Number of servicemen killed 2,335
Number of civilians killed 68

September 11th, 2001 The attacks on the WTC, the Pentagon & Flight 93

Number of servicemen killed 57
Number of civilians killed 2,891

25 different countries lost at least 1 of their registered citizens on 9/11. The birthplaces of the victims of 9/11 represent 58 different countries.

[Steel]

Randle thanks so much for taking the time to bring these stories to all of us. This still burns in my heart and I am very sad to this day. Just wanted to share a story with you about a man I met on vacation in Forte Bragg California.
My wife and I were eating in a restaraunt when I man and his wife walked in celebrating their honey moon. They had been married on the same day as my wife and I so we sparked up a conversation and we talked for hours. As we talked I learned that he was a fireman from NY. The look on his face as he told me story after story is a look I will never forget. He said he went to funerals for over a year. He told me that every time they found a piece of a certain person it re-opened more injuries to that very death. He lost over 60% of his fire fighting friends. The look in his eye again is something I will never forget. He talked about people jumping from over a 100 floors up. He talked about the miles of line they drug into the place. He said the radio's and communication was very bad and when the building came down it went deathly quiet. He talked about firemen that brought people out only to return for more. He also talked about how sad it is to be a firemen in NY city and how has a hard time going back to work.
My wife and I were celebrating our Anniversary and our present was sharing a moment with a fire fighter who had tears in his eyes after a lengthy converstaion. I will never forget the stories and I will never forget the look in his eye. He came out to Forte Bragg California and I feel very special to have shared a moment with him. None of us will ever forget and none of us should. I wish all the families involved nothing but the best and I hope that in time they can remember nothing but the good times that all those people who died had while being on earth. God Bless....

[Big Pimpin]

Doing a 10K run Sept. 9th in VA as a family donation helper

[Randle Pat McMurphy]

The 1st plane to crash into Tower #1, The North Tower of the World Trade Center.


AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 11

American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston, Massachusetts, to LosAngeles, California, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center with 76 people on board and a crew of 11.




CREW
John Ogonowski, 52, of Dracut, Mass., was the pilot of Flight 11. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and three daughters, Laura, 16; Caroline, 14; and Mary, 11.

First Officer Thomas McGuinness, 42, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was Flight 11's co-pilot. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and a 14 *year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.

Barbara "Bobbi" Ares Tegui, 38, was a flight attendant from Marstons Mills, Mass. She liked to relax by laying in front of her fireplace along with her 3 cats

Jeffrey Collman, 41, was a flight attendant from Novato, California. His presence on Flight 11 on 9/11 was a fluke. He signed up for this extra trip so he could take time off to celebrate his upcoming 42nd birthday on September 28th.

Sara Low, 28, was a flight attendant from Batesville, Arkansas. Becoming a flight attendant just seemed like a natural choice for Sara. She claims to have spent as much time in the family's small plane as she did in the car.

Karen Martin, 40, was a flight attendant from Danvers, Mass.

Kathleen Nicosia, 54, of Winthrop, Mass., was a flight attendant for more than 30 years.

Betty Ong, 45, was a flight attendant from Andover, Mass.

Jean Roger, 24, was a flight attendant from Longmeadow, Mass. A Penn State graduate, Jean was a people person. Whether they were 2 or 92, Jean has a knack for connecting with anyone, making them feel at ease.

Dianne Snyder, 42, was a flight attendant from Westport, Mass.

Madeline "Amy" Sweeney, 35, was a flight attendant from Acton, Mass.



PASSENGERS

Anna Williams Allison, 48, of Stoneham, Mass., was the founder of A2 Software Solutions,a firm that assists companies in software development.

David Angell, 54, of Pasadena, California, was the creator and executive producer of the hit NBC sitcom "Frasier." A native of West Barrington, Rhode Island, Angell worked for a production company, creating and producing "Cheers","Wings" in 1990 and "Frasier" in 1993. David and his wife Lynn were excited when they boarded Flight 11. Their nnewly built home in Chatham, Mass. would finally be done with they came back east.

Lynn Edwards Angell, 45, of Pasadena, California, was the wife of "Frasier" creator and executive producer David Angell. The Angells were returning from a wedding on the East Coast to attend the Emmy Awards. When her husband, David, gained notoriety in Hollywood, Lynn retired from her librarian job to volunteer at a home for abused and emotionally disturbed children.

Seima Aoyama, 48, of Culver City, California was an accountant.

Myra Jo Aronson, 52, of Charlestown, Mass., was a press and analyst relations manager for Compuware Corp.

Christine Barbuto, 32, of Brookline, Mass., was a buyer for TJX.

Carolyn Mayer Beug, 48, of Los Angeles, California, was traveling with her mother, Mary Wahlstrom. They had gone to Boston to drop off relatives at a nearby college and were returning home.

Kellie Ann Booms, 24, Brookline Mass., was an accountant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Carol Marie Bouchard, 43, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was a Kent County hospital emergency room secretary.

Nellie Ann Heferman Casey, 32, of Wellesley, Mass., was a merchandise planning manager for TJX Cos. Casey is survived by her husband and a 7-month-old daughter. On the night of Sept. 10th, Nellie and her husband watched a video about Bermuda, they would be spending their 5th wedding anniversary there on September 21st.

Jeffrey W. Coombs, 42, of Abington, Mass., was a security analyst for Compaq Computer. He is survived by his wife, Christie, and three children, Meagan, 10; Julia, 7; and Matt, 12. He was on has to to a brief meeting in Anaheim.

Tara Kathleen Creamer, 30, of Worcester, Mass., was a merchandise planning manager for TJX Cos. Creamer is survived by her husband, John, and two children, Colin, 4, and Nora, 1.

Thelma Cuccinello, 71, was a Wilmot, New Hampshire, resident with 10 grandchildren. She was on her way to visit a sister in California.

Patrick Currivan, 52, Winchester, Mass., vice president AtosEuronext.

Brian P. Dale, 43, of Warren, New Jersey, was an accountant and attorney with Blue Capital Management. He was married and the father of three.

David DiMeglio, 22, was from Wakefield, Mass. He had just finished computer school and was starting his own business. David was traveling to help his mother move

Donald Americo Ditullio, 49, was from Peabody, Massachusetts.

Albert Dominguez, 66, was a baggage handler for Qantas Airways in Sydney, Australia. He was married with four children.

Alex Filipov, 70, was an electrical engineer from Concord, Massachusetts.

Carol Flyzik, 40, was from Plaistow, New Hampshire.

Paul Friedman, 45, Belmont, Mass., was a management consultant for Emergence Consulting. Paul had degrees in psychology, engineering and business. He is survivied by his wife and their recently adopted Korean infant, Richard Harry Hyun-Soo Friedman who was adopted in May. Paul called him Rocky.

Karleton D.B. Fyfe, 31, of Brookline, Mass., was a senior investment analyst for John Hancock.

Peter Alan Gay, 54, of Tewksbury, Mass., was a Raytheon Co. vice president of operations for electronic systems based in Andover, Massachusetts.

Linda M. George, 27, of Westboro, Mass., was a buyer for TJX Cos. George is survived by her father, mother, sister and brother. She was engaged to be married on October 20th, 2001.

Edmund Glazer, 41, of Los Angeles, Calf., was the chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration of MRV Comms. Glazer was survived by his wife, Candy, and son, Nathan. Always willing to help anyone, Mr. Glazer received a call on the evening of September 10th asking him to come to the Los Angeles home office to assist with a project. He caught the 1st available flight from Boston, Flight 11.

Lisa Reinhart Fenn Gordenstein, 41, of Needham, Mass., was an assistant vice president, merchandise manager, for TJX Cos. Gordenstein is survived by her husband and two children.

Andrew Curry Green, 34, of Chelmsford, Mass., director of business development, eLogic.

Paige Farley Hackel, 46, was a spiritual adviser from Newton, Mass.

Peter el-Hachem, 40, was an engineer from Tewksbury, Mass.

Robert Jay Hayes, 37, of Amesbury, Mass. Was a sales engineer for Netstal.

Edward "Ted" R. Hennessey, 35, was a consultant from Belmont, Mass.

John A. Hofer, 45, of Bellflower, Calf. was a small business owner.

Cora Hildago Holland, 52, of Sudbury, Mass., was with Sudbury Food Pantry, an interdenominational program that assisted needy families, at Our Lady of Fatima Church.

John Nicholas Humber, 60, of Newton, Mass., was the owner of Brae Burn Management.

Waleed Iskander, 34,of London, England. He was a chief of digital strategy for Europe, Monitor Group.

John Charles Jenkins, 45, of Cambridge, Mass. was a corporate office services manager for Charles River Associates.

Charles Edward Jones, 48, was a computer programmer from Bedford, Mass.

Robin Kaplan, 33, of Westboro, Mass., was a senior store equipment specialist for TJX Cos.

Barbara Keating, 72, was from Palm Springs, California.

David Kovalcin, 42, of Hudson, New Hampshire, was a Raytheon Co. senior mechanical engineer for electronic systems in Tewksbury, Mass.

Judy Larocque, 50, of Framingham, Mass., was the founder and CEO of Market Perspectives.

N. Janis Lasden, 46, of General Electric was from Peabody, Mass.

Daniel John Lee, 34, was from Los Angeles, California.

Daniel C. Lewin, 31, was the co-founder and chief technology officer at Akamai Technologies Inc., Cambridge Massachusetts. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Susan A. MacKay, 44, of Westford, Mass., was an employee of TJX Cos.

Christopher D. Mello, 25, Boston Mass., was an analyst for Alta Communications

Jeffret Peter Mladenik, 43, of Hinsdale, Illinois, was the interim president at E-Logic.

Antonio Jesus Montoya Valdes, 46, of East Boston, Mass. Was a housekeeping worker for Boston Harbor Hotel.

Carlos Alberto Montoya, 36, was from Bellmont, Mass.

Laura Lee Morabito, 34, was the Qantas Airways area sales manager in Boston. She lived in Framingham, Massachusetts, with her husband.

Mildred Naiman, 81, was from Andover, Mass. She took Flight 11 twice a year to go visit her sons.

Laurie Neira, 48, from Los Angeles California.

Renee Lucille Newell, 37, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was a customer service agent with American Airlines.

Jacqueline J. Norton, 60, was a retiree from Lubec, Maine. She was traveling with her husband, Robert Norton.

Robert Grant Norton, 82, was a retiree from Lubec, Maine. He was traveling with his wife, Jacqueline Norton.

Jane M. Orth, 49, of Haverhill, Mass., was retired from Lucent Technology.

Thomas Nicholas Pecorelli, 31, of Los Angeles, California, was a cameraman for Fox Sports and E! Entertainment Television.

Berinthia Berenson Perkins, 53, of Los Angeles, California, was an actress and photographer.

Sonia Morales Puopolo, 58, of Dover, Mass., was a retired ballet dancer.

David E. Retik, 33, was from Needham, Mass. He was a general partner and founding member of Alta Communications. He is survived by his wife, Susan and their two children, Ben and Molly.

Phillp M. Rosenzweig, 47, of Acton, Mass., executive with Sun Microsystems.

Richard Barry Ross, 58, of Newton, Mass., headed his own management consulting company, the Ross Group.

Jessica Leigh Sachs, 22, of Billerica, Mass., was an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rahma Salie, 28, was from Boston. She was a computer consultant and was expecting a child. She was traveling with her partner Michael Theordoridis to California to attend a wedding.

Heatber Lee Smith, 30, of Beacon Capital Partners was from Boston.

Douglas J. Stone, 54, was from Dover, New Hampshire. He was the co-owner of Odessey Press.

Xavier Suarez, 41, was from Chino Hills, California.

MichaeI Theodoridis, 32, was a consultant from Boston. He was traveling with his partner Rahma Salie to California to attend a wedding. They were expecting there 1st child.

James Anthony Trentini, 65, was a retired teacher and assistant principal from Everett, Mass., Was with his wife flying to Calf. to babysit his daughter Patti's 3 children, their grandchildren.

Mary Barbara Trentini, 67, was a retired secretary from Everett, Mass., Was with her husband flying to Calf. to babysit his daughter Patti's 3 children, their grandchildren.

Pendyala Vamsikrishna, 30, of Los Angeles, Calf., was a project manager a consulting firm, DTl.

Mary Alice Wahlstrom, 75, of Kaysville, Utah, was traveling with her daughter, Carolyn Beug. They had gone to Boston to drop off relatives at a nearby college and were returning home.

Kenneth E. Waldie, 46, of Methuen, Mass., was a Raytheon Co. senior quality control engineer for electronic systems in Tewksbury, Mass.

John Wenckus, 46, of Torrance, California, was a tax consultant.

Candaca Lee Williams, 20, was a student from Danbury, Connecticut.

Christopher Rudolph Zarba, Jr., 47, of Hopkinton, Mass., was a software engineer at Concord Communications. He leaves behind a wife and family.