September 11 indelibly imprinted in our minds

Greg Baron will never forget 19 years ago looking up after being evacuated from his hotel room in the World Trade Center complex in New York and seeing people jumping from the North Tower.

“They kept telling us not to look up, but of course we did just that,” said this Sandton resident who survived the horrific 11 September 2001 terrorist attack. “We could see people jumping from the North Tower. We heard another noise and watched as the second plane hit the building. I knew we had to get out of there as fast as possible.”

So many years later, this memory is still indelibly imprinted on this Sandton resident’s memory because he and his sister Elise survived this terrible tragedy in which 2 977 people lost their lives.

Like so many others who lived to tell the story of the collapse of New York’s iconic World Trade Center, he still asks himself why he emerged from the disaster in which terrorists forced American pilots to fly into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

This Friday marks the sombre anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies of the past two decades.

“I can still see that destruction, the plane hitting the building and solid structures disappearing in a few moments in front of my eyes,” says Baron. “I don’t think people actually comprehend the extent of what happened, the damage which was actually done and how lucky some of us are to still be here.”

Baron was visiting New York with his sister in September 2001, following their stay in Chicago where they had celebrated the wedding of their brother. The two flew to New York on 10 September, looking forward to spending a few days in the ‘Big Apple’ before returning to South Africa.

“A friend was working in the city and invited us to stay at the World Trade Center’s Marriott Hotel where he had accommodation. We took rooms on the 15th floor,” he says.

Baron and his sister spent the evening of 10 September out on the town, returning late to their hotel room. They were awoken the following morning by vibrations felt across the room and the sound of the hotel alarm system at 08:45.

“Initially, we were told to stay in our rooms,” Baron recalls. “We looked outside and noticed that the windows were cracking. I called reception, but they insisted we stay put. Suddenly, we were told to get out as fast as possible and evacuate the building.

“We ran down those flights of stairs. When we arrived at the lobby, I remember a woman still in her nightgown and hair curlers saying that she’d seen a body bounce off her room window. We were stunned.”

The lobby was soon evacuated, and guests ushered quickly outdoors where dozens of police cars and fire engines were arriving.

Baron navigated to the nearby Battery Park, located at the southern tip of Manhattan about 1½ kilometres from the site of the disaster.

“We sat at the edge of the water, and I thought that if things got really bad, we could jump in and swim towards Ellis Island,” he says. “I could see the building from where we sat for a moment, but suddenly it just vanished behind other buildings.”

The two were soon blanketed in thick dust from the collapsed building, while overhead American fighter jets roared towards the scene. Unable to contact anyone, they boarded a ferry for Staten Island and managed to make for New Jersey before heading back to New York.

After a grim week in the city, they boarded the second international flight out of New York and travelled back home to South Africa, escorted by fighter jets until they were clear of American airspace.

“I didn’t often think about what happened until recently,” Baron says. “I compartmentalised the event in the back of my brain. I don’t know why I’m still here today.”

Tragically, others from our community lost their lives in the events of that day. One is Zambian-born Edmund Glazer, a graduate of King David Linksfield who had moved to America after completing his schooling. An accomplished accountant, husband, and father, he lived in Boston with his family.

“Edmund was flying to Los Angeles on the day of 9/11,” recounts his sister, Beatrice Carter, from her home in North Carolina, USA. “He flew all over the world for his job. His wife insisted he not fly to Israel at the time because it was dangerous, but tragedy ended up happening in his own backyard. Nobody saw it coming.”

Glazer was aboard American Airlines flight 11 which was hijacked 15 minutes after take-off and flown into the North Tower at 08:46 local time. The flight manifest later showed that he was seated beside Daniel Levin, an American Israeli mathematician who was murdered when he tried to overcome the terrorists.

She continues: “Edmund always flew out on the first flight of the day, and always called me and his wife before take-off and after landing. That morning, he didn’t call me. I watched what was happening in New York, contacted his wife, and said I refused to believe it.

“As the day went on, I got the feeling that something had happened to him. Later, the FBI visited her home and confirmed that Edmund had died.”

It fell to Carter to notify her parents in Toronto, so she drove to their home and broke the difficult news in person. After spending time with them, she headed to Boston to be with her sister-in-law and four-year-old nephew. A memorial was arranged for Glazer and, although Carter anticipated a maximum of 50 people, some 500 attended the ceremony.

“He was so loved and respected within his industry,” she says. “Nobody called him an acquaintance – he was always a friend. My brother had a way of touching everyone he met, walking into a room and making an impression. He was a special soul.”

Only two bones were ever recovered of her brother’s remains, and these were flown to Toronto for burial, transported with full ceremonial honours. Carter recounts visiting his grave yearly on the anniversary of his death, sitting down to speak with him and enjoying their shared favourite, a tuna sandwich and coffee.

“I always feel his presence at this time of year,” she says. “I’m older, and we were connected from the day he was born. It never gets easier. You learn to cope, and life does go on, but I lost my closest friend that day. Over 2 000 people died that day but, to me, only Edmund died. I will always miss him.”