A Poignant and Riveting Account of 9/11 from Ground Zero
Note: During the 9/1 program, Marc described to us the tragic events he witnessed on 9/11 from his office at Merrill Lynch. Here are some excerpts from his moving speech.
Iwas in my office on the 22nd floor at 55 Water Street, in an 8:30 meeting with my boss when we heard an airplane that sounded unusually close to us, followed by a horrifically loud crash. I went just outside my office to our Risk Management Department (who always had the news on) and saw on the TV this gaping hole in the side of the North Tower. It was so surreal, yet felt too real.15 minutes later at 9:03, we watched in horror as a second plane appeared on the screen, and struck the South Tower. At that moment I though back to 1993, and I knew exactly what was going on, and I was worried.
And then my hear stopped for a moment, when I immediately though about my good pal Lenny.
My staff was now standing in the window offices from which you could see the towers...watching as people were jumping from the building. As they fell, they would disappear from our sights, behind other buildings. The, we would hear them hit the pavement.
I will always remember that sound, and the sound of everyone’s screams and crying. Then the first tower collapsed.
By the time the second tower collapsed, downtown Manhattan was a black as night. In that moment, I literally didn’t know what was coming next, or whether I would see my wife and kids again. This was terrifying for me...imagine the horror going through the minds of the people who were trapped, as well as all the first responders who were running into the danger.