Tragedy+10: ‘This year, they will be remembered’

The City Wire recently asked readers to submit their thoughts about the tragedy that struck America on Sept. 11, 2001. Several readers responded, and their notes and stories about their experiences will be posted each day through this week.

Sal Salamone, vice president-taxes at Golden Living, lived in New York City for 30 years and was living in Tampa, Fla., when the terrorists struck. His complete comments about that day are included below.

There is still time if you would like to send your comments.

Specifically, we are asking readers to consider providing responses to the following questions:
• Where were you and who were you with when you first heard of or saw the tragic events of Sept. 11?
• What were you first thoughts of the terrible events?
• What, if any, unique connections did you at the time have to the people and places involved in those events?
• At the time, what did you think of the country’s military response to 9/11?
• Upon reflection, have those thoughts changed, and if so, how?
• Do you believe the country is more or less safe from terrorist attacks now than on Sept. 10? Or no difference?  Please briefly explain your answer.

However, feel free to comment on any aspect of Sept. 11.

Also, you may send photos you believe may be related to the anniversary — photos from your visit of ground zero in New York City after the attacks, your photos from serving on the front lines, etc.

Deadline for comment submission is 5 p.m., Sept. 8 (extended). Submit your comments and photos to:
TCW-Sept. 11 (place in the subject line of the e-mail)
[email protected]

Following is the unedited submission from Salamone.
Having lived in NYC for 30 years, hearing news out of NY that a plane had struck the WTC was shocking.  I was at work in Tampa, Florida getting ready to travel to Washington DC for a 2 day meeting with a co-worker.  My wife Marcie called and told me about the first plane and asked me not to travel that day.  Thinking it was a random accident, I assured her I would be fine and that I was going to DC.  It did cross my mind that planes in NYC travel close to the WTC but really should have been able to clearly see it on such a nice day.  When the 2nd plane hit, Marcie called again and told me my theory was wrong and it could not be a random accident.  At that point, we cancelled our flights seconds before all planes were grounded.  I left work early that day and remembered how strange it was outside with no planes flying above and no one on the streets.  It felt like something really died that day, perhaps it was our real sense of security.  10 years later, it is a day I will never forget.

Watching TV that day, I remember all of looking at the screen speechless.  Despite seeing the video of the planes hitting over and over again, it did not seem real.  Actually it seemed like we were watching a movie about this topic and that Hollywood has used some amazing computer graphics.  While watching, my daughter Alexandra, then almost 3 years old, came over and asked why some would “knock the big buildings down”.  She had been in the buildings just 3 months earlier, in June, when we were visiting NYC.  It was at that point in time when Marcie and I realized we, as a nation, were not going to be able to live our lives the way we had before.  We told Alexandra that some bad men had done it and that they would be punished.  She said “good”.  Then asked for some ice cream.  Oh, the innocence of a child.

The next day, September 12, my office was closed and a group of us went to then Legends Field (now George Steinbrenner Field), to give blood for the victims in NYC.  They did not expect 500+ people to show up and we ended up spending 8 hours in line waiting and were never taken.  During that time, we listened to patriotic American songs, ate free food and traded stories about NY amongst our new group of 500 friends.  For a period of a few weeks, everyone seemed to be experiencing what we called “9/11” love.  Everyone was really nice to each other and even driving was less stressful as people actually let you cut in and drove a bit slower.

During our next trip to NYC, in the Spring of 2002, we visited Ground Zero.  At the time, NYC had erected a platform and gave out free tickets whereby you could overlook the site, pay your respects and quietly take photos.  After doing this, we walked around NYC in kind of a daze.  We stopped a Police Officer and thanked him for his service and asked if he would take a photo with Alexandra, which he did.  We then visited a Fire Station and spoke with a Fireman that was on duty that day and was at the Towers.  He thanked us for coming by before we could thank him for his service.  The Fire Station was selling T-shirts listing the name of the firemen that were lost from that station.  I purchased one and have never been able to wear it.  It breaks my heart just thinking about it.  I am going to wear it this year (its still new).  The reason is that I always wear NY Yankees and/or Derek Jeter T-shirts and it made me think that those firemen were the real heroes.  This year, they will be remembered.