A neighbor came to visit us in recent weeks and said that I might be interested in writing a story about a new neighbor who experienced Sept. 11, 2001 firsthand. Barb and I invited MJ Dougherty to have dinner at our house one evening and invited her to dessert several days later. As we exchanged introductory comments, we were quite surprised that we both started to work for the same large insurance broker in 1998 and both left the same year, 2005. MJ worked in both the Harrisburg and Philadelphia offices, and I worked in the Philadelphia office. This served for easy conversation as we discussed the insurance business, things we learned there and the same people we knew. I would like to share her story, which captivated Barb and me.
MJ’s experience started the afternoon of Sept. 10 when she took a train from Philadelphia to Newark and then the Path train to the World Trade Center in New York City to attend a business meeting the next day. After checking into the Marriott Hotel, situated by Twin Tower (TT) #1, MJ met Angela and Kelly, two fellow employees. The three ladies had dinner, and Angela, who would be running the business meeting, parted while MJ and Kelly visited longer. They then went to their rooms (MJ’s on the 19th of 21 floors), in anticipation for the meeting on Sept. 11, at 9:45 a.m. on the 99th floor of World Trade Center #1. As MJ was getting on the elevator, Kelly told MJ they should be early to the meeting because Angela had arranged for a continental breakfast. The meeting would have started at 8:45 a.m. (when the first plane struck TT #1) but because it was Election Day, and the first day of school in New York City, the meeting was delayed an hour, which saved the lives of MJ and Kelly.
The fire alarm sounded in the Marriott shortly after the first plane hit TT #1. Of course, no one in the hotel knew what was happening. MJ walked down the stairs from the 19th floor to the lobby. The pace was slowed by the number of people trying to exit the building, and by the fire fighters coming up the stairs as burning and smoldering debris rained down on the hotel’s roof. Upon reaching the lobby, MJ could not see out of the glass doors because of all the smoke and debris. She exited a side door onto the Westside Highway, walking south. Because she had recently spent two weeks in this area, MJ was familiar with the geography. However, because of the conditions, she was still disoriented. She walked two blocks with thousands of other people, at which time she saw in the debris field an airplane window and human carnage. She also witnessed a young couple holding hands jumping from one of the towers.
The day was beautiful with a temperature of 70 degrees and a blue sky. However, yet a second tragedy was about to occur when MJ first heard the sound of a second plane and then saw it fly overhead and hit TT #2 as the pilot gunned the throttle and banked the plane’s wing in the vicious attack. As people continued to run for safety, they started dropping their bags and other possessions that people following them fell over. MJ left her travel bag next to a fence. As she was running through the trees, along the Battery Park, she could feel a powerful presence saying, “I have you.” This may seem strange to some, and it has never happened to me. However, I don’t doubt the situation happened because MJ and I know God can do anything! The only place to run now was toward the southernmost tip of Manhattan, where a single pay phone was important because there was no cell phone service at that time.
MJ travelled quite a bit for work and usually her mother did not know where she would be. However, this time she knew MJ was to be at a meeting in the Twin Towers. MJ’s mother worked in a library at Lycoming College, and a student walked by her and mentioned about the two planes hitting the towers. She immediately got up from her chair and fainted.
MJ was about 50th in line to use the phone, while all users had a short conversation advising that they were safe and where they were. MJ reached her Harrisburg office and was told to go to another office location on the Avenue of the Americas in center city Manhattan where she could get help. While MJ was on the pay phone with her office, she saw the steel beams popping as TT #2 began to collapse, causing a rolling cloud of dust and debris. Once again, the crowd burst into panic and she was swept up onto the Staten Island Ferry. It was the only place you could go as the crowd pushed away from the inevitable cloud approaching. The captain of the ferryboat, who was standing on the bridge of the ferry, gave the order to lift the ramp for the ferry’s departure and many people who were pushing to get onto the ferry went into the water…
Keep reading next week to hear the rest of MJ’s first-hand experience with the tragedy of September 11.
Jeff Hall, of Honey Brook, contributes columns to Berks-Mont Newspapers.
