15 Years Ago: Remembered Better than Yesterday

I woke up Tuesday morning excited for what the day would unfold - an exciting fun-filled tennis tournament coordinated by the American Red Cross.

I was listening to the radio. The music was interrupted by a news report. A passenger airliner crashed into one of the Twin Towers building in New York City. “If that was true, then it would be on television,” I thought to myself. Isn’t it strange how we turn on the TV to verify if something is “Live or Memorex.”

It’s been 15 years since the terrorist attack on the United States. Four airplanes were hijacked and released a cataclysmic chain of events and over 3,000 American deaths in a single day.

The first airplane, American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:43 am.

The second airplane, United Airlines flight 175 plowed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m.

The third aircraft carrier, American Airlines flight 77 crashed and caused an inferno to the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

The fourth aircraft carrier, United Airlines flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m.

The following day, September 12th, I rented a vehicle and traveled to Shanksville, Pennsylvania to be part of a highly-trained public affairs and crisis management team. For 11 days I met with family members of those who perished on the flight and assisted in the coordination of two memorial services of family members whose loved one were on United Airlines flight 93. I conducted dozens of media interviews from across the country and coordinated dozens more.

Yes, it’s been 15 years.

It was an exceptionally, beautiful Tuesday morning on the East Coast.

Do you remember that?

It was a white clouds, blue-skies kind of day. There air was crisp, yet inviting. It was an unforgettable day. We awakened that morning unaware that we would recall that day better than the day before.