On August 12, 2001, NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson arrived at the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. He would live and work aboard the Space Station for 125 days. On September 11, 2001, he was the only American off the planet.
Commander Frank Culbertson, astronaut, NASA: On September the 11th, 2001, I called the ground, and my flight surgeon Steve Hart came on. I said, “Hey Steve, how’s it going?” He said, “Well, Frank, we’re not having a very good day down here on Earth.” He began to describe to me what was happening in New York—the airplanes flown into the World Trade Center, another airplane flown into the Pentagon. He said, “We just lost another airplane somewhere in Pennsylvania. We don’t know where or what’s happening.”
I looked at the laptop that has our world map on it, and I saw that we were coming across southern Canada. In a minute we were going to be over New England. I raced around, found a video camera and a window facing in the right direction.
About 400 miles away from New York City, I could clearly see the city. It was a perfect weather day all over the United States, and the only activity I could see was this big black column of smoke coming out of New York City, out over Long Island, and over the Atlantic. As I zoomed in with a video camera, I saw this big gray blob basically enveloping the southern part of Manhattan. I was seeing the second tower come down. I assumed tens of thousands of people were being hurt or killed. It was horrible to see my country under attack.
We had 90 minutes to set up for the next pass across the United States. We set up every camera we could. I said, “Guys, we’re gonna take pictures of everything we can see as we come across the U.S.” An hour and a half later, we crossed Chicago. I was looking all around for any evidence of further attacks. I could see all the way to Houston. In a few minutes, we crossed Washington, D.C., directly over the Pentagon. I could look straight down and see the gash on the side of it. I could see the lights of the rescue vehicles, the smoke of the fires. Looking north, I could clearly see New York City and the column of smoke.
Every orbit, we kept trying to see more of what was happening. One of the most startling effects was that within about two orbits, all the contrails normally crisscrossing the United States had disappeared because they had grounded all the airplanes and there was nobody else flying in U.S. airspace except for one airplane that was leaving a contrail from the central U.S. toward Washington. That was Air Force One heading back to D.C. with President Bush.
Monday, September 10th, in New York City began with the rededication of a Bronx firehouse, home to Engine 73 and Ladder 42. Mayor Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani, Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, and Chief of Department Peter Ganci listened as Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge offered a homily for the renovated firehouse.
Father Mychal Judge, chaplain, FDNY: Good days. And bad days. Up days. Down days. Sad days. Happy days. But never a boring day on this job. You do what God has called you to do. You show up. You put one foot in front of another. You get on the rig and you go out and you do the job. Which is a mystery. And a surprise. You have no idea when you get on that rig. No matter how big the call. No matter how small. You have no idea what God is calling you to. But he needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us.
Across the country, Monday was a regular workday, the beginning of fall, the first full week after Labor Day, and for many communities the first day of school after the quiet summer doldrums of August. Reporters and news broadcasters filed back into their offices, as did government officials and business professionals, bringing cities back to life. Many anticipated a slow start to the season.
Tom Brokaw, anchor, NBC News: I’d been off most of the summer. A friend called up to ask how it was to be back. I said, “I’m doing fine, but there’s no news. It’s hard to get cranked back up.” It looked like it was not going to be a terribly stimulating autumn. Social Security reform was the hot topic. The economy was winding down.
Mary Matalin, aide to Vice President Dick Cheney: There was a sense of “Okay, now back to business.” We had economic issues at the time. We were on the front end of a recession.
Matthew Waxman, staff member, National Security Council, White House: This was an administration that was interested in Great Power politics. A great deal of effort was focused on U.S.-Russian arms control and the strategic relationship questions about how to manage a rising China. These were the central questions. Two possible regional crises that week we were worried about were Burundi and Macedonia.
Monica O’Leary, Cantor Fitzgerald, North Tower, 105th floor: On September 10th, in the afternoon—my guess is around two o’clock—I was laid off. I don’t know the exact time, but I know I thought to myself, Oh, I can be home in time for General Hospital. When I got laid off, I was on the 105th floor. I was upset. I was crying. Eventually, when I calmed down, the woman for HR gave me the choice: “Do you want to go back to the desk and get your stuff, or do you want to go home?” I said, “Oh, no, no, no. I want to go say good-bye to everybody.” I went around and started kissing everybody good-bye. They were all great. This guy, Joe Sacerdote, stood up in the back row, and he yelled, “It’s their loss, Monica!”
Lyzbeth Glick, wife of United Flight 93 passenger Jeremy Glick: I was on maternity leave from a teaching job at Berkley, a business college in New York. On that Monday morning, September 10, Jeremy helped me pack up the car—he was going to California on business and was booked on a flight that night. We live in Hewitt, New Jersey, and I was going up to my parents’ house in the Catskill Mountains while he was away. He packed me up, and then he headed down to Newark for a meeting. He called me at around five o’clock and said there had been a fire in Newark, and he didn’t feel like arriving in California at two in the morning. He decided to go home, get a good night’s sleep, and catch the first flight out Tuesday morning.
From May to October 2001, Vanessa Lawrence and Monika Bravo were supposed to be two of a total of fifteen artists in residence on the 91st and 92nd floors of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, as part of the Studio Scape program run by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Both were inspired by the Towers and had begun to incorporate them into their art.
Vanessa Lawrence, artist, North Tower, 91st floor: Because I was living in a basement where I just saw people’s feet, I thought it would be amazing to paint from such a high view—seeing different weather patterns, changing skies, changing light.
Monika Bravo, artist, North Tower, 91st floor: The reason I applied was because I wanted to film. I had this image in my mind—the Twin Towers above and only clouds underneath. The thing I missed most from my native Colombia were the clouds and the mountains. We have a lot of clouds all the time, and for me, the cloud is like home.
Vanessa Lawrence: I loved that skyline. Every morning coming in, there was something special. Again at night, seeing them lit up, just the lights on them. It was a really special skyline.
Monika Bravo: I told everybody throughout the summer, “If you see something coming—a storm—let me know. I’m always going to have a camera ready.” The afternoon of September 10th, around 2:55 p.m., the storms happened.
Vanessa Lawrence: I grabbed my watercolors because I could see this storm coming. It was amazing watching it way out, looking out across Brooklyn and out on the horizon. I remember watching this dark cloud going down to the ground, and all the colors in it and everything. There’s one of my favorite paintings I did.
Monika Bravo: I started filming. The storm was coming from New Jersey south, through the Verrazzano Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. You see these clouds moving very fast—and there’s a moment that is really, really incredible in the film. You see one drop hitting the window, then in a second all these water drops hitting the window. The storm is there. It’s with you.
Vanessa Lawrence: Watching it coming, coming, coming, coming, and then—nothing. We were in this thick cloud and the rain.
Monika Bravo: The video is the witness of the last people standing, the last night before these towers cease to exist and everything and everybody that was inside. You see people in the South Tower coming in, working. You see people alive. You can see boats going. You see the city of Brooklyn lighting up. You see the movement of the bridges. It’s alive. You see the life of the city from the last night you could see it from that perspective.
I filmed for many hours, until 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. probably. The storm was very long, the whole afternoon. I filmed in different places, in time lapse, in slow motion. It was beautiful. Then, at one point, my cell phone rang. I was married then, and this person called me: “Are you going to come home?” I said, “Oh no, beautiful thunderstorm.” I said to him, “Why don’t you come over and bring me some cigarettes.” He said, “No, I’m not going to bring you anything. You come home.” So I said, “All right, all right.” I actually took the tape out of the camera. I left my computer because it was raining a lot. I was looking for a place to put it—I found an old file cabinet made out of wood. I remember thinking, Is this going to be safe? And then, This is the World Trade Center. Nothing can happen to this building.
Around the world, September 11th began as any other weekday. Congress was reengaging after its summer recess. In Herndon, Virginia, at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) national command center, Ben Sliney prepared for his first day running the nation’s airspace. Nearby, in Langley, Virginia, Gina Haspel began her first day at the CIA’s counterterrorism center. In Washington, D.C., FBI Director Robert Mueller—who had started in his new post just one week earlier, on September 4—was scheduled to appear at 8:00 a.m. for his first briefing on the FBI’s unfolding investigation of a terror group known as al-Qaeda and its bombing of the USS Cole the previous fall. Far from America’s shores, the captain of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was just finishing a long tour enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq and looking forward to returning home.
In New York City it was primary day; New Yorkers would choose the candidates vying to replace the man who had run their city for eight years, Rudy Giuliani. Millions of residents, workers, schoolchildren, and commuters awoke and began preparing for the day, many boarding trains, ferries, subways, and buses to make their way into Lower Manhattan. The FDNY’s director of fire education safety was particularly excited that Tuesday: he was set to launch a new toy, modeled on a New York firefighter, and had chosen the day carefully. The date, after all, seemed perfect for firefighters: 9-1-1.
Lt. Joseph Torrillo, director of Fire Education Safety, FDNY: Fisher-Price had a line of children’s toys called “Rescue Heroes” that kids loved. They had a police officer called Jake Justice, a lifeguard called Wendy Waters, an ambulance attendant called Perry Medic. They wanted a New York City firefighter—they were going to call him Billy Blazes. They would give me one dollar for every Billy Blazes sold around the world, money I would use in my public education program. They wanted to do a big press conference and introduce this new Rescue Hero to the world. I was scratching my head with the executives, and I said, “9-1-1 is the emergency phone number in New York City. Why don’t we have a 9-1-1 Day in New York?” So on 9/11 at nine o’clock in the morning, every TV station in New York City was waiting for me at Rockefeller Center to introduce this new Rescue Hero.
Herb Ouida, World Trade Centers Association, North Tower, 77th floor, and father of Todd Ouida, Cantor Fitzgerald, North Tower, 105th floor: As we did every morning, my son Todd and I left our home together to travel to work, because Todd was working at the World Trade Center for Cantor Fitzgerald. When we got down to Hoboken, I said to Todd, “Why don’t you take the ferry with me, it’s a beautiful day?” He said, “No, Dad, it’s too cold.” I told him, “Have a great day, sweetheart.” Those were my last words to Todd.
Richard Eichen, consultant, Pass Consulting Group, North Tower, 90th floor: I used to take the train every day to the Trade Center. I was sitting next to a friend—we belonged to the same golf club—and we were talking about how bad the food was. That was my biggest care in the world that day.
Ted Olson, solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice: My wife, Barbara, was supposed to travel Monday, and my birthday was Tuesday. She decided that she was not going to go Monday. She did not want to be gone on the morning of my birthday, she wanted to be there when I woke up. I left for work very early in the morning—before 6:00—and she left shortly after to go to the airport. I heard from her before she boarded. This plane was scheduled to leave at 8:10 in the morning. We always called one another a lot during the day, sometimes very briefly. She called me at 7:30 or 7:40, before she got on the plane.
Rosemary Dillard, base manager, American Airlines: My husband, Eddie, had just acquired a house in L.A. and was going out to work on the house to get it in order so he could rent or sell it. We were driving out to Dulles, because Flight 77 was nonstop to L.A., and we were laughing. I remember him getting out, and he reminded me, “Before you go to work, get gas.” He kissed me. My last words to him were, “Be home by Thursday.”
Laura Bush, first lady of the United States, White House: I’d spent most of the morning going over the briefing that I was supposed to give that day to the Senate Education Committee. I was giving a briefing on the results from a summit that I’d had earlier in the summer on early childhood education. It was about nine months into George being president, and I was really hitting my stride as first lady.
Ada Dolch, principal, High School for Leadership and Public Service (HSLPS), New York City: It was primary election day. Our school building was going to be used for the very first time as a voting site.
Fernando Ferrer, Bronx borough president and candidate for New York City mayor: Hard primary campaign. My wife and I went to vote. It was all very nice, and our tracking polls gave me reason to be in a very good mood that day.
Sunny Mindel, communications director for the mayor of the City of New York, Rudy Giuliani: On September 11th, I was facing what I thought would be an easy day.
William Jimeno, officer, Port Authority Police Department (PAPD): I remember waking up and making a decision. I’m a big bowhunter—I like to deer hunt—and the weather was going to be great. I was going to possibly take a “P-day,” which is a personal day at the Port Authority Police. I said, “No, I’m going to save it for a later time.”
The storm of September 10th that swept across the Northeast, marking the passage of a strong cold front, preceded a high-pressure system of dry Canadian air that gave rise to a unique—and memorable—meteorological phenomenon known as “severe clear,” cloudless skies that made an enduring impression on all who would witness what transpired in the hours ahead.
Ben Sliney, national operations manager, FAA Command Center, Herndon, Virginia: That was my first day on the job as national operations manager. When I got up that morning and looked at the Weather Channel and saw that the entire East Coast was going to be severe clear, I anticipated it would be a pretty good first day.
Melinda Murphy, traffic reporter, WPIX TV, New York City: We would fly for the morning show from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. I had 14 hits [TV appearances] a morning—people still remember me as the “Chopper Chick.” The sunrise that morning was incredible. We actually commented about how gorgeous the World Trade Center towers looked, reflecting this red sunrise—this crimson, gorgeous reflection like you’ve never seen ever.
Vanessa Lawrence, artist, North Tower, 91st floor: I was getting to the World Trade Center at six o’clock. The sun started coming up. I remember a beautiful sunrise. Walking in, you could see the red coming up through the windows.
Katie Couric, anchor, The Today Show: It was the perfect fall day, a little touch of autumn in the air. It was one of those back-to-school September days, full of possibilities, and, in its own way, a new beginning.
Bruno Dellinger, principal, Quint Amasis North America, North Tower, 47th floor: The sky was so pure. The air was so crisp. Everything was perfect.
Capt. Jay Jonas, Ladder 6, FDNY: It’s like the air was scrubbed clean.
Richard Paden, trooper, Aviation Unit, Pennsylvania State Police: A really nice morning, weather-wise. As pilots we say “Clear Blue and 22” when it’s blue skies and not a cloud in the sky.
Lt. Col. Tim Duffy, F-15 pilot, Otis Air Force Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: One of the prettiest days I’ve ever flown—literally there was not a cloud in the sky and visibility was probably better than a hundred miles. It was crystal clear.
Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), Senate Majority Leader: One of the most beautiful days of the year.
Jeannine Ali, controller, Morgan Stanley, South Tower, 45th floor: There has never been as brilliant of a blue sky as there was that day.
Hillary Howard, weather anchor, WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.: The sky was extraordinarily blue.
Lt. Jim Daly, Arlington County (Virginia) Police Department: A gorgeous blue.
Joyce Dunn, teacher, Shanksville-Stonycreek School District, Pennsylvania: So blue.
Brian Gunderson, chief of staff for House Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-Texas): Deep blue.
Michael Lomonaco, executive chef, Windows on the World, North Tower, 106th floor: Deep, deep blue.
Eve Butler-Gee, chief journal clerk, U.S. House of Representatives: Cobalt blue.
Katie Couric: Cerulean blue.
Mike Tuohey, ticket agent, Portland International Jetport, Maine: The bluest of blues.
Julia Rogers, page, U.S. House of Representatives: One of those days that you wish you could put in a bottle.
President George W. Bush began his morning in Sarasota, Florida, where he was set to read to elementary school students as part of his push for the No Child Left Behind legislation. His new administration was still finding its legs after a rocky transition period shortened by the bitter Bush v. Gore Florida recount and the controversial Supreme Court decision that declared him the winner of the 2000 election—a decision many still disputed in September 2001.
Gordon Johndroe, assistant press secretary, White House: The day started off very normally—the president went for a run, and I took the press pool out with the president. I remember I got stung by a bee, and I asked [White House physician] Dr. [Richard] Tubb if he had something he could give me for the swelling. He said, “Yeah, we’ll get you something when we get to the airplane.”
Sonya Ross, reporter, Associated Press: It was a garden-variety trip. It was low-ranking staff, and a lot of the top journalists didn’t come. It was a scrub trip.
Mike Morell, presidential briefer, Central Intelligence Agency: I walked into his suite for the president’s morning intelligence briefing; he was surrounded by breakfast foods and hadn’t touched any of it. The second intifada was well under way then, and the briefings at that time were very heavy on Israeli-Palestinian stuff. There was nothing in the briefing about terrorism. It was very routine.
Andy Card, White House chief of staff: The president was in a great mood. He had that George W. Bush strut that morning.
B. Alexander “Sandy” Kress, senior education adviser, White House: Those were probably the last carefree moments he had in his term.
Andy Card: I remember literally telling him, “It should be an easy day.” Those were the words. “It should be an easy day.”
As America’s day began, two men arrived for their early-morning connection to Boston at the Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine. They checked in at 5:43 a.m. Over the course of the morning, seventeen men checked in to their flights at Boston’s Logan International, Washington’s Dulles International, and Newark International. While some were selected for extra screening or had their checked bags searched, no one gave the knives they carried onboard a second look—they were allowed under the security regulations at the time. The men made their way onto carefully selected cross-country flights, targeting four planes amid the nearly 40,000 domestic flights scheduled for that Tuesday.
Mike Tuohey, ticket agent, Portland International Jetport: Everybody was in a good mood, it was a gorgeous day, and things were going like clockwork.
Vaughn Allex, ticket agent, Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia: These two guys came running in the front door looking around and didn’t know which way to go.
Mike Tuohey: I saw these two fellows standing there looking around. I looked at the tickets—I go, “Whoa, first-class tickets.” You don’t see $2,400 tickets anymore. There were less than 30 minutes prior to the flight [when they arrived]. The younger fellow was standing off to the right. I was asking the standard questions—has anybody given you anything to carry on board the plane, have your bags been out of your control since you packed them? He was shaking his head, smiling at me, so it’s OK.
Vaughn Allex: We just finished the morning check-in. The counter was clear. I said to the other agent, “Here are the passengers that are running late, but I think that we can get them on.”
Mike Tuohey: I said, “Mr. Atta, if you don’t go now, you will miss your plane.”