This article is from page 23 of the 2011-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 23 JPG
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, 9.58am. Shaun O’Connell is on a stopped subway train, less than a mile from the World Trade Center, when the South Tower collapses – instantly killing more than 300 people.
Shaun, a member New York’s County Clare Association, is a vice president for AFGE Local 1760 and works within sight of the famous Twin Towers. He has spent all morning moving from delayed train to delayed train, inching closer to Ground Zero, until finally, sometime after 9am, all the trains stop moving.
After spending hours trapped in the underground, Shaun finally arrives to City Hall Station and makes his way on foot to his duty station in 26 Federal Plaza – less than half a mile from the World Trade Center. After being refused entrance to his station by FBI agents with submachine guns, Shaun turns for home – still unaware of the magnitude of what has happened.
Below are extracts from an email sent by Shaun to his friends and family on the evening on September 11, 2001.
“I began walking north by northwest to home. I made it to Church Street, a few blocks north of Chambers Street. At this point, I finally witnessed the magnitude of the attack. I looked for the common landmark that so many New Yorkers used to navigate, but it was gone,” he wrote.
“A large dust and smoke cloud was the only thing there. I could not believe it. I was joined by thousands of other stranded people just walking around in disbelief, staring at the void, standing around parked cars with radios blaring the news, and waiting in line for their turn using a pay phone.
“I started walking north up Sixth Avenue seeing people with ash on them and cars caked with dust. I would stop periodically just to look back at the altered skyline.
“When I reached West Third Street, a man was exhorting pedestrians to donate blood at St Vincent’s. I also saw a motorcyclist ferrying a firefighter on the back of his hog. I proceeded to walk to St Vincent’s and saw a mass of people outside waiting to give blood. I was told to just leave my name and telephone number since they were overwhelmed… so I went to find a place to eat and rest. I stopped at McKenna’s bar and saw the TV images for the first time. I quickly ordered a well-done burger and a stout. I was fixated by what I watched.”
On Thursday, September 13, just two days after the terrorist attack, Shaun returned to work – not at his offices on Federal Plaza but in East Harlem, seven blocks away from Ground Zero.