New York & D.C.
members share
experiences after
terrorist attacks

By press time, the WN received the following accounts of WCG members near the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in the Washington, D.C., area during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. No WCG members have been reported killed.

Pastor General Joseph Tkach said: "We were all sobered by the tragic events that occurred yesterday in the United States.

"Most likely, we will all remember where we were and what we were doing when we first learned of the horrible terrorist attacks. It is impossible to fully comprehend the level of devastation, or to express the feelings and emotions of those who experienced it. Let us all commit ourselves to prayer of intercession. May God use us as instruments of his peace and comfort."

Craig Bacheller, Queens, New York, pastor, said: "So many lives have been shattered forever. God bless and hug your spouse and children a little longer and tighter today, and pray for God’s comfort for all those who lives have been affected forever."

Frank and Kim Ancona

My sister, Sue Pinto, who is not a WCG member, worked for the securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. We have not heard from her.

Sue always went into work later because, as a single mom, she always took her boys to school first and then went to work.

My wife, Kim, and I watched the television reports in shock. I didn’t believe this was really happening and that my sister was in the middle of it.

My emotions roller-coasted. They went up when we saw Sue’s name on a website as alive, but critical. They went down when we were told by officials that the site was not reliable. They went up when Sue’s neighbor told us she saw Sue at 7:30 a.m. far from ready for work. They went down when we received word that one of her co-workers had phoned saying that there was lots of smoke but that she and Sue were about to leave with others organizing a rescue attempt.

We are in the process of submitting her dental records, X rays and other physical descriptions for identification. While I have hope because I serve a God of miracles, I wonder how much of this is inevitable. I may never see my baby sister again in this life. Praise God my hope extends beyond this life.

Dan and Alice Bierer

It has been hard to reach people the last few days. As far as we know, our members are safe even though we have not had contact with everyone. Some were evacuated from their buildings and have no way to call. Even if you have a working phone, getting through is still difficult.

It is hard to describe the things I felt inside as I crossed the George Washington bridge on Thursday, Sept. 13, for the first time since the terrorist attack on Tuesday morning.

It was a clear day—and it was also clear that the outstanding symbols of New York were no longer there and things would never be quite the same.

The bridge and highways were surprisingly empty. We had learned on Tuesday afternoon that our son, Stephen, who lives and works in Manhattan, was safe. Just a year ago he was working in the World Financial Center across the street from the Towers. He now works a safe distance away on Park Avenue.

We are grateful that our immediate friends and family are safe. Now it is time to reach out and help as many as we can.

We have only two people who work at the Pentagon—Hampton and Joann Haywood. Hampton was out of town on a business trip during the tragedy, and Joann decided not to go into work that day.

Like so many Americans I too am shocked and sobered by what happened. My prayers go out to all those who are affected either directly or indirectly. At the same time I am thankful we have a God who provides us with comfort in the midst of all adversity.

Craig and Mary Bacheller

My son-in-law, Stephen Patey, was close to ground zero. He fled for his life when the South Tower fell. He moved north and met up with his wife, Karen, our other daughter.

It wasn’t until after 6 p.m. that the bridges opened for foot traffic. We had to go all the way to Williamsburg to pick up the kids walking home from Manhattan.

Joe Lima is a bank examiner for the State of New York. He is a member of One in Christ Community Church, the Queens congregation. His office is across the street from 2 World Trade Center. This is the South Tower, and the first to collapse.

His building shuddered at the impact of United Flight 175 into the west face of the South Tower. His co-workers huddled at the windows to view the fireball and damage caused by this suicidal act of war.

Joe immediately called family members to assure them of his safety. While on the phone, he was ordered to evacuate his building. He and many of his co-workers stood in the street looking up at the Towers, never expecting that they would come down. To their amazement, a huge roaring sound filled the air and all kinds of debris, sand and pieces of the Tower began to rain down upon Joe and his co-workers. They ran south, for their lives.

The plumes of smoke overtook Joe and many of his co-workers. Everything was black. Joe pinned himself against a building and then by feeling with his hands inched his way to the entrance and then entered for safety. The air was thick with soot and dust and the smell like an electrical fire or electrical components burning.

When the initial shock wave subsided, he and his co-workers decided to move south to Battery Park, which is where boats and ferries leave for Staten Island and Statue of Liberty tours. Joe was unable to clean the dust and soot from his eyes, because his hands and clothes were covered. He heard someone yell, "Come in here." He saw through his bleary eyes a sink where many had huddled and were cleaning each others’ eyes so they could see. A young girl of Indian descent gently cleaned out Joe’s eyes.

They then decided to continue their trek to Battery Park. Suddenly, the kind woman who cleaned out Joe’s eyes fell to the ground gasping for breath. She was an asthmatic and was unable to get her inhaler from her office when she fled. All the foul air had blocked her lungs, causing a severe attack.

Joe, using his military training of 35 years ago, gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation, saving her life. She was able to move on and get on a ferry to Staten Island, as did Joe, where he spent the night with his daughter.

Bill Lowe seems like a member of the New York City Fire Department. He is always working with them providing water and refreshments to tired firemen, police, or rescuers. But Bill is a volunteer with the Salvation Army. He works closely with New York’s Bravest and Finest during times of crisis and trouble.

Bill’s beeper vibrated and he saw the message, "Airplane strikes Twin Towers." He punched out from his job and was asked by his boss, "Are you going?" Without hesitation, Bill replied, "Yup!"

Bill went home and picked up his truck with its supplies at the South Ozone Park fire station. He then contacted his captain for instructions on how to get into the city, and where to set up. Bill ended up near the towers on the West Side Highway. Bill had just set up his station when Tower 2 collapsed and everyone came running toward him, followed by the smoke and debris.

Bill decided to stay. After the shocks of the second tower collapse, Bill gave water to weary firefighters, police and rescue workers. He hung in there supporting those performing the grimmest of all tasks.

Craig Bacheller: commented: I have known Elizabeth Clements since she was a preteen. She has attended One In Christ most of her life. Like her father, Joe, I was bursting with pride when she graduated from St. Vincent’s College and took her place as a nurse with St. Vincent’s hospital, close to ground zero. Elizabeth is presently in her master’s of nursing program.

Elizabeth spoke of the more than 1,000 victims that had come through St. Vincent’s hospital in the past seven days.

Stanley and Jean Marie DeVeaux

I was at a meeting today on housing at Riverside Church in uptown Manhattan that was to start at 9 a.m.

Just as the meeting was about to start, James Forbes, senior pastor, announced the sad news about the World Trade Center tragedy.

Jean Marie’s office is at 45th and Lexington, about 60 blocks from the tragedy. She walked nearly three hours and 100 blocks to meet me at the Riverside Church because buses were crowded and the subways were not running north.

Once she met up with me, our concerns were getting back on Long Island. Thankfully, the authorities were allowing traffic out of Manhattan. As we rode over Throgs Neck Bridge, we could see the smoke rising where the Twin Towers once stood.

Walter and Kathy Dolengo, who worked in the Towers, are OK. Kathy was unable to go to work on Tuesday because of an illness. Walter escaped by God’s grace, Mr. Bacheller said.

I have worked on Wall Street since 1963 and have been a member of both the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. The exchange community is one where many people know each other, making this event even more personal to many.

It was a typical work morning. When I got to the top of the stairs of the subway, I saw both towers on fire. This had to be just after the second plane hit the second tower.

After a while I finally made it to my office building. I walked through glass at times. It was beginning to look bad.

Security wouldn’t let me go up to my office, so I walked to the trading floor of the American Stock Exchange, which is on the same block. People were just mulling around because there was no trading, and they felt safer there. After a while I could smell smoke, but only mildly.

Then things got wild. People who were standing by the main entrance of the AMEX and just outside of it came rushing inside. Their faces showed great fear and panic. They thought a bomb had gone off. This caused a rush on the trading floor toward the rear of the floor and to the side exits. They were closed because of the debris and danger outside.

Smoke started filling the trading floor. Hundreds of people were going up and down various stairs to exit the building. Yet through all this, people were not trampling each other.

My nephew, Ben, who is one of my partners, said, "I have to find my mother." I said, "I’ll go with you." So he, a broker named Diane and I finally left the trading floor. When we got outside, ashes and cement dust were in the air. What caused that panic and fear that I mentioned was the collapse of the first tower.

As we were traveling to 39 Broadway, where Ben’s mother, Fran, works, we were getting covered with the ashes and cement dust. We found my sister-in-law in the lobby of the building along with our firm’s accountant, Paul. Fran was visibly shaken. There were now five of us in our group.

We all had cell phones, but they were of little use because of the number of people trying to phone out. After many tries, contact was made with Fran’s daughter, my niece. She told my family that I was safe.

We remained there for a while, talked and comforted each other. At one point I was standing by the entrance of the lobby when all of a sudden, the ground started rumbling. It was the second tower falling. I ran back farther into the lobby.

As I looked out through the glass doors, I saw what looked like a blizzard at first, going horizontally from left to right. Then it turned black as midnight outside. In reality it was an absolutely gorgeous sun-shiny day, but not from our perspective. A man with the building maintenance crew had a couple of boxes of facemasks and handed them out to the people in the lobby. We could now breathe without inhaling the ashes and cement dust.

We heard that the R Train was running, so we decided to check it out. The five of us left the building and walked through the new debris from the second tower to the Whitehall Street Station where the R Train stops. We were covered even more with dust and ashes. We found a train, but it was not going anywhere. There was power to the third rail, but not to the switches.

After some time, we decided to go to Battery Park, where we heard that the Staten Island Ferry was running. It was close to the subway station where we were.

When we got there, not only was it running, but tugboats were giving rides to various places in Brooklyn and New Jersey. We took a tugboat to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. While I was on the tugboat, I looked at the skyline and didn’t recognize it. The entire experience of the day was surreal.

Ahmad Taylor, Brooklyn member, was in the World Trade Center. He was evacuated after the first plane struck. When the South Tower began to collapse, he was only two blocks away. He ran for his life and found refuge in a building in which all the glass was blown out, only to be inundated with the smoke and debris. Everything was pitch black, and he could not see. After the shock wave, he was covered in gray soot and he then began to flee for his life northward.

Gladys and her husband, John, had taken a later bus than normal to get to work. As they were coming though the tunnel from Brooklyn into Manhattan, the traffic stopped.

As they came out of the tunnel, Gladys, who was sitting by the window, saw the plane hit the building. She works on the 69th floor and that is just about where the plane hit.

Her husband told Steve Botha, Brooklyn pastor, that if they had caught the earlier bus, Gladys would have been in the building at her desk much earlier.

They are deeply grateful for the series of events that kept her out of the building. Of course, with the rest of the community, they mourn the tragic loss of life and are deeply saddened by the incredible suffering that so many are enduring.

Thank God for his protection. When the train I was on arrived at the World Trade Center, I began to smell something like gas. As I made my way up the escalator, I heard loud voices saying, "Get out of the building now!"

When I was outside and across the street, I looked up and saw a huge hole in the building with fire and smoke gushing out. Unfortunately, I also saw people jumping from about 70 to 80 stories up. I contacted my wife, Leslie, to let her know that I was OK. We also contacted members of the Newark congregation.

I thank God because he also protected me from the first terrorist act on the World Trade Center in 1993.

Other stories can be told. So far as we know, our members are OK. We won’t know for some time, but at this point it would appear that family and friends of the members are OK as well. Everyone has been expressing their gratitude for the outpouring of prayers.

I arrived in New York City, Monday, Sept. 10. I came to New York to visit my cousin Annie in Greenwich Village. On Tuesday morning, she went to work in New Jersey, and I planned to go shopping. She called me from work just after the first plane hit, saying I should change my plans. Minutes later, after the second plane hit, she called again and said I shouldn’t go anywhere.

After that I was glued to the television and called family and friends back home to let them know I was safe. A little later I woke up my cousin’s roommate so she would know what was going on. With my cousin stuck in Jersey, I spent the entire day with her roommate. I consider it a blessing that she was there so that I wasn’t stuck in the apartment by myself. And she later told me how glad she was that I was at the apartment as well.

Michelle’s mother, Judith, said: "The news of the terrorist attack on the Towers put fear in my heart. My mind and heart filled with prayer. Fortunately my daughter was able to call me shortly after I arrived at work. What a relief!"

I heard the news of the first attack on the Trade Center shortly after arriving to work at Peterson Consulting in Washington. Then talk began circulating that the Pentagon had just been hit.

Our office was evacuated. Out on the street we could hear sirens in every direction, but couldn’t yet see any smoke. Confusion began to set in, cell phones and pay phones weren’t working and people didn’t know whether to take the Metro, walk or hide. I couldn’t go home because the Pentagon is between my office and my apartment.

A small group of us began walking from our downtown office, which is no more than a mile from the White House, away from the government buildings toward Georgetown. After a few minutes we could hear jet engines overhead, which caused some concern until we saw that it was a fighter plane.

As we walked up the hill toward Georgetown we could now see the massive plume of smoke coming from the Pentagon. As we came over Key Bridge into Virginia, people began streaming back the other way into Washington.

Finally someone told us to turn around, that police were evacuating the area because two hijacked planes were only a few minutes out and heading straight for Arlington. This was the only time I sensed any panic in what had been an otherwise orderly and strangely calm evacuation of the city.

Our group decided against going back over the bridge and decided to head inland into the suburbs instead, where we found a place that was both open and had Cable News Network. After some time we finally found a working pay phone and managed to get through to relatives to check in and get an update on what had happened. By this time the mood had gone from worry to indignation and anger at the fact that we had just been evacuated from our own capital.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001