Toledo Free Press – Sept. 11, 2011 by Toledo Free Press

SPECIAL EDITION:

Freedom Under Attack The 10th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001

Sept.

11, 2011

With contributions by: Dustin Hostetler O D. Michael Collins O Don Burnard O Jeff Payden O Dean Harris O Brian Malkowski O Shannon Szyperski O Ben Treece O The Retirement Guys O Michael S. Miller O Thomas F. Pounds O Brandi Barhite O Don Lee O Sarah Ottney reporting from Ground Zero

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Born on 9/11

As Americans reflect on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, KYLE Kromenacker is proof that life shines on even the darkest days. Story by Jason Mack, Page A10

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FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011

Publisher’s statement

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LIGHTING THE FUSE

Coffee at Scenes from the aftermath Ground Zero T First published Nov. 12, 2001, in the South Florida Business Journal.

y mother, Therese, has lived in the New York City area for most of her 83 years. She often described the World Trade Center to me as “your generation’s building,” and she was correct. On Sept. 11, 2001, I was working as The Blade’s general manager and was at work when the attacks started. My staff was in my office and many were crying. We watched the events unfold for about 30 minutes and then got to work on the afternoon edition. Not many times did The Blade ever do an extra edition but that day was unique in many ways. I spoke with my brother Richard in New York City later in the morning (when I could finally get through with cellphone service). He was walking his son, Jason, to day care as he would on any normal morning. He lived in the Village (an area that was blocked off for two weeks after the disaster) and walked Thomas F. Pounds with Jason on his shoulders to the day care facility. He told me that the second plane to hit the towers flew right over his head. He said when he went to the day care office and saw on TV what was happening, he and his son went home to the rest of their family. I remember thinking of my Uncle George and a cousin who had an investment office in the towers and wondering if they had made it out. I learned later that day that they had moved offices two months earlier, but I was worried for hours thinking they were in there. I remember going home to Montclair, N.J., (12 miles west of New York City) for Thanksgiving that year. That was the last week before they plowed down the walls of the towers that remained, the ones described as “potato chips” in the photos. My brother Don and I took a gamble, visiting the site at about 1 a.m. Don suggested we get two cups of coffee. I told him I didn’t drink coffee and he said, “Not for you, it’s for them,” pointing at the police officers guarding Ground Zero that cold November night. We gave them the coffee and they let us walk in a bit further than most could and gave us a view of Ground Zero that most casual observers never saw. We went to the city during that weekend and toured Ground Zero. The smell of jet fuel and the ugly, nightmarish smell of burnt flesh is something I will never forget. As we observe the 10th anniversary of the attacks, the sights and memories of my visit to Ground Zero are as vivid as if I experienced them yesterday. I do not have any grand summation or special wisdom from the event, just an empty ache for “my generation’s building and the countless lives that were forever changed that day. O Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

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under rubble in the depths of New York City. That distinction does not matter to the man I saw in a recent he water was clear and warm. The ocean tide supported issue of Paris Match magazine. The European press does not me as I floated in the sunshine, drifting along the beach practice the restraint we Americans do, and the magazine pubbehind my Fort Lauderdale apartment building. I was re- lished several pictures that have not been seen here — people laxed, almost dozing, when I felt a sharp scrape along my right jumping from the towers, body parts in the ruins, bloodstained shoulder. With thoughts of sharks swimming in my head, I put concrete. One full-page picture shows firemen carrying a body. my feet in the sand and turned around in the chest-high water, The man on the stretcher is in a business suit that is neat and surprisingly clean. His hair is not messed up or dusty. His light fighting panic. A sheet of metal bobbed on the tide, a ragged section marked brown eyes are open, but not in horror. His arms rest at his side. His mouth and lower jaw are gone. Two teeth hang from his with the familiar pattern of a World Trade Center tower. I lifted upper jaw, spaced an inch or so apart. the placemat-size debris and carried it to the The firemen carrying the man’s body are shore, out of the waves’ reach. I studied it, disbecrying, tears cutting streaks through the soot lieving, then turned and faced the ocean. caked on their cheeks. Only they know if they In front of me, hundreds of beachgoers were were crying for the man they carried, for his imagwalking out of the water, each carrying a section of ined family, or for the countless others they knew World Trade Center rubble. People in swimsuits awaited discovery, crushed beneath the rubble. of every color dragged concrete and steel onto the I’ve watched the tape of those airplanes beach, reverently walking back into the surf to rethrusting into the towers a hundred times, seen trieve more wreckage. After my third trip out of the hellish consummation and violation over and the ocean, I looked at my bare feet and legs and over. I have to remind myself it is not an accident. realized I was no longer slogging through water; Michael S. miller It’s one thing for an unfeeling, unthinking sea to every drop had turned to powdery gray soot. swallow 1,500 people, for a hurricane or tsunami I was wading back to retrieve an arm, a wedding ring glinting on one waterlogged finger, when I woke up. I to exercise its random selection of death. This was not an act of nature, or a human misstep like mesat up in bed and pulled the blankets back, expecting to see the sheets around my feet stained with ashes. When I pulled the chanical failure or pilot error. It was planned, calculated, intenblinds open and looked out, I was convinced I would see miles tional. How do civilized people process that knowledge? How do we respond? With civility? Do we try to match their barbarism? of debris floating in the ocean below. If we could, would we gather those responsible, convict Learning to fly them, and put them, their wives, their children and their chilTerminal 4 at the Fort Lauderdale airport has a tunnel-like dren’s children on an airplane and plunge it from the sky into the walkway to the security checkpoint. On my first flight after Sept. mouth of whatever cave hides al-Qaida? 11, 2001, I walked past six National Guardsmen cradling M16s as natural extensions of their bodies. I passed through three metal- Ghosts on the half-shell detecting devices and three ID checks. On the plane, people were I go to Shuckums looking for ghosts. quiet, sullen and hyper-aware of their fellow passengers. The same issue of Paris Match featured a full-color picture Every time I have flown, even before Sept. 11, 2001, as I step of Shuckums, the Hollywood, Fla., restaurant where Mohamed on the plane, I kiss the tips of the fingers on my right hand, and Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, who would turn planes into misdraw a cross on the side of the hull, holding my hand against the siles, ate on their last Friday alive. Shuckums made international metal as I duck inside. I feel self-conscious, but the superstitious news when the FBI interviewed workers at the seafood joint act hasn’t failed me. who had argued with the men over their $50 tab. Before I flew that first time after Sept. 11, 2001, I wrote a will. Arguing over a bar bill is a banal act for men who are about to change history. Titanic tumult I walk around the bar before choosing a seat. Where did they sit? Did they watch sports on the television? Did they flirt with “And as the smart ship grew, in stature, grace and hue, any women? Were they laughing inside, or wishing they could In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. take these South Florida people to hell with them? Till the Spinner of the Years, said ‘Now!’ And each one hears, A dirty, bedraggled man wearing a Homeless Voice T-shirt And consummation comes and jars two hemispheres.” Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the Twain” captures a pokes his head inside to tell a waitress he knew she would want slow-motion kiss of death that could be ship striking ice or plane him to eat outside. “I smell,” he says, but he smiles, a sense of humor radiating striking building. It is about an accident, not murder. I doubt the dead draw comfort from that distinction, whether they are through his cloudy eyes. trapped under rubble in the depths of the Atlantic or trapped n AFTERMATH CONTINUES ON A4 Thomas F. Pounds, President/Publisher tpounds@toledofreepress.com ADMINISTRATION Pam Burson, Business Manager pburson@toledofreepress.com DISTRIBUTION (419) 241-1700, Ext. 227 tpounds@toledofreepress.com PRODUCTION Joseph Herr, Lisa Stang, Photographers

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FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

THE HOT CORNER

september 11, 2011

DON LEE

Far from home

veryone who was aware of ledo, but every rental car in that part anything at the time remem- of the state had already been rented. bers where they were and the The convention continued more or horror of events unfolding early less by default, as none of the thousands of delegates from the U.S. Sept. 11, 2001. I was attending the International and Canada could get anywhere. Convention of the International Everyone wanted to just get back to Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in their families, and it soon became San Francisco. At about 5:50 a.m., my apparent that we weren’t going anyphone rang. It was my wife asking me where soon. I had just been blessed with the if I had the TV on. I told her that there births of my first two was a three-hour time granddaughters in difference, so I was still May and June, and asleep. She told me a I was worried about passenger jet had just my wife, children and crashed into the Twin grandchildren and Towers in New York. had never felt as helpI groggily fumbled for less as I did then. I had the remote and turned no concrete plan of on the television, and action; I just wanted while we were specuto be back where I belating as to what was Don BURNARD longed, with them. going on, we watched 9/11 was a Tuesday, the second in horror as a second jet crashed into day of the convention. The next the other tower. Shortly after, the news that an- day, we came back and tried to do other plane had crashed into the our delegates’ business and watch Pentagon and one in Pennsylvania for answers to the unfolding events. had us wondering what was hap- No one could say with any certainty pening to our nation. I hung up the when anything would happen (or phone and called some of our other not happen). Our hotel rooms were delegates to see if they were aware of going to run out near the end of the the events rapidly unfolding. We met week, and no one could guarantee us in the lobby of the hotel and went that we’d have any place to stay if we to the Moscone Center, where the couldn’t get out of town. I had a good convention was taking place, with friend from high school that lived in thousands of electrical workers in Marin County on the other side of attendance. No one knew the extent the Golden Gate Bridge, where I had of these attacks or whether they were stayed on the preceding weekend, or would be limited to the eastern but the bridge was shut down. The United States. Much discussion cen- Local 3 delegation eventually found tered around whether we were safe, that the loss of its membership was presenting a ready-made target with limited to dozens rather than hunthousands of people in a small area. dreds. One was a brand-new apprenHundreds of police, military and tice on his first day on the job. On Wednesday or Thursday, they fire forces were on instant alert, and when we arrived, large video screens opened the airport just long enough for some idiot to call in and say he were showing the news. We were near the New York was sitting on his boat in the bay and City delegation, Local 3. They were could take out any departing plane frantically trying to reach New York with a handheld grenade launcher. City by phone, as on any given day Down went the airport again. Finally, they had as many as 600 members we were told we would be able to fly working in the Twin Towers. The out on Sept. 15 and to be at the airport same was true for the DC Local 26 three hours prior to our 7 a.m. flight. We stood in lines with hundreds of and its members in the Pentagon. Chaos reigned, and no one knew passengers. When they did finally what was going on or what had hap- show, they ran us through security, pened. Thousands of us prayed for taking two 80-year-old ladies’ 2-inch the then-unknown number of vic- embroidery scissors from them, but tims on the four flights and on the inexplicably letting on a man with a ground. The announcement came cane made out of a 30-inch Louisville that the Golden Gate Bridge was Slugger bat. It didn’t matter; we were closed down and that all flights into going home. O and out of anywhere were canceled. Our first reaction was to see if we Email columnist Don Burnard at could rent cars to drive back to To- letters@toledofreepress.com.

n AFTERMATH CONTINUED FROM A3 The waitress at my table whispers about large payments from tabloid reporters and international papers, about people trading increasingly embellished stories for cash. No, she says, she didn’t work that night, but she knows enough to talk to me if I am interested. I order a cheeseburger and watch her walk to the kitchen. I watch her huddle with two men in the kitchen, and although she brings my food in good time, she does not invite further conversation. A manager tells me there are a lot of curious people who photograph the bar and who ask where the men sat. I want to know, but I don’t want to know. I study the bar, the sports pennants on the walls, the four televisions replaying the explosions in the sky. Patrons in booths around me talk about anthrax and Afghanistan, not Dolphins and Heat. Shuckums is no different from a thousand other bar/restaurants in America, except that it provided temporary shelter for an evil that was only 84 hours from consummation. I pay my bill and leave. The homeless man is still outside, waiting for someone to serve him. He offers me a Homeless Voice with an American flag on the front page, its colors bleached and smudged from being carried in the Florida sun. I leave him a dollar, but I do not take the newspaper. I walk to my car, three blocks away, and drive past Shuckums. The man is still waiting to be served.

Learning to fly II

In Detroit, it takes almost three hours to pass through the security checks. Carry-ons are scrutinized, boarding passes and IDs are checked four times, federal marshals watch people in line and it is a painstaking, winding, inconvenient, dragged-out process that everyone submits to without complaint. On the plane, every patch of turbulence is scrutinized.

Everyone seems relieved when we leave the city’s tall buildings behind; the unyielding ground would be a kinder end than sky-scraping concrete. When a passenger leaves her seat and heads for the front of the plane, I tense, ready to tackle her, and I am not alone. With every unbuckled seat belt, six sets of eyes track and follow. This woman, elderly and unable to walk without help, is not a likely hijacker, but we react to her with distrust and vigilance. We are ready. We are ready to roll.

Watching the skies

It has been two months since bin Laden’s airplanes came rumbling from the clouds like the parent-killing rhino in “James and the Giant Peach,” trampling What Used To Be into a nightmare of uncertainty and worry. At the beach in Fort Lauderdale, the once-ignored drones of overhead airplanes cause people to crane their necks upward, searching the blue sky like they once scanned the blue waters for sharks. It’s difficult to watch for the fins of terror in the water and the air at the same time, to be alert every waking hour, to sustain grief and mourning, to remember normal. Most of us will never touch a piece of rubble in New York or Washington. Our hands will never be dirtied by the debris in Pennsylvania. But we are still removing wreckage, still clearing away the soot-and-bloodstained remains of what was, hoping to make room for what is, and what will be. Hoping to sleep without dreaming. Hoping to stop bracing ourselves each time an airplane flies low overhead. Hoping for normal. I’d give anything to be bored again. O Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

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september 11, 2011

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GUEST COLUMN

Pre-9/11 life will never return

e are now facing the anniversary of one of to leave the campus immediately — I was exiting the health the most tragic events in the history of our and human services building and going to my car, when I republic. In thinking of this tragic event, I’m observed a young female student wearing a hijab, crying reminded of Nov. 22, 1963; I was in the Marine Corps, and shaking in the doorway. I drove off, but as I approached Dorr Street, I thought after boot camp at Parris Island. I was in a training session in Camp Lejeune, N.C., and we were training with about my failure to come to her aid. I turned back to look for her, but she was not to be found. The the .50-caliber machine gun. The training guilt still remains and I hope someday I will was interrupted by the base command have the opportunity to apologize for my and we were returned to our barracks and failure to respond in a manner consistent told of the assassination of President John with my core values. F. Kennedy. The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 inThat moment is and always will be indelstantly altered life in the United States. To ibly imprinted on my mind. say that our freedoms have been changed That’s not to say that other events have would be an understatement. One exnot left a permanent imprint on me as a ample would be one’s experience at an former first responder — they have. This airport pre-Sept. 11 compared to today. brings us to another day imprinted on my D. Michael COLLINS Would today’s security measures have mind: Sept. 11, 2001. My day started at the University of Toledo where I been tolerated then, from a legal or social standpoint? was a visiting professor with a class and office hours The answer is academically and resoundingly no! Our world has shrunk and with this tragic event, the life scheduled that day. My first impression about Sept. 11, 2001, as I got on we enjoyed pre-9/11 will never return. The one fact that has not changed is that the events of my office computer, was that it was a hoax, similar to H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds.” I then realized this was real, as Sept. 11, 2001, were criminal and had no foundation in any New York and Washington, D.C., were victimized by the religious theology. Yes, we face challenges today and will tomorrow and insidious series of events. When I heard of the commercial flight westbound, just yes, “let us never forget.” Peace can only be found with true over Pennsylvania, my first thought was fear. Was it going communication, respect and trust between the religions of to strike Davis-Besse and expose 20 percent of the world’s the world. This is the challenge mankind faces as we strive for freshwater to nuclear radiation? The somber realization that thousands were dead and world peace. O not knowing how many attacks could still take place reD. Michael Collins is the District 2 Toledo City Councilman. placed the momentary feeling of fear. By mid-day, all individuals who were not considered He can be reached at DMichael.Collins@toledo.oh.gov or critical to the university’s ability to function were directed (419) 245-1050.

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FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Brigitta Burks

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

On Sept. 11, 2001, State Sen. Edna Brown, then a Toledo city councilwoman, was going to celebrate her grandson’s 10th birthday. Brown, Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken (then councilman) and Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak (then councilwoman) were all up for re-election in a primary that day. Former Gov. Bob Taft was driving to work with a state trooper while Gov. John Kasich had been on a corporate conference call since 4 a.m. “I remember how blue the sky was, how bright the sun was,” said Mayor Mike Bell, then the city’s fire chief. And then terrorists flew a plane into the World Trade Center. It was no longer just a primary, just a beautiful day, just a birthday, just a Tuesday. It BELL was 9/11. Like so many others, Gerken turned on the TV. “I thought I had the movie channel on and not the news,” he said. “It was one of those things, you want to make sure where everyone was but you’re also fixated on watching,” said Congressman Bob Latta, then a representative. Gerken immediately called his son, who was in Washington, D.C., during the attacks, while current Lucas County Commissioner Carol ConGERKEN trada’s daughter called from Vermont to inform her of the events. “We watched the event unfold together on the phone, consoling each other,” said Contrada, an attorney. Wozniak, along with a campaign worker for her opponent and a woman neither had met before, bonded while huddling around a TV. Wozniak and the worker were campaigning at a Washington Local school when “a woman across the street called, ‘Would you like to see what’s happening?’” The pair went into the woman’s home to watch the news coverage on her TV. “There were no barriers, no differences. We basically bonded,” Wozniak said.

Safety officials

Meanwhile, then-Mayor Carty Finkbeiner called safety officials Bell, Lucas County Sheriff James Telb and Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre to his office to develop a plan. Telb remembered being told not to worry about overtime and extra personnel. Finkbeiner said his two main concerns were keeping Muslims and foreign residents safe from retaliation as well as keeping city locations like the water treatment FINKBEINER center, The University of Toledo and The Toledo Museum of Art secure. “That led to decade-long intensive planning. And that’s what we’ve been doing ever since,” Telb said. In addition to getting grants for new equipment, Lucas County and surrounding counties have gained access to a radio system that allows all responders to be on one channel in case of an attack, Telb said, adding, “It’s still state of the art. People still want to match it.” Police and hospital officials also began talking to each other to develop plans in case of future attacks. Before 9/11, “Nobody ever talked to the hospital. No one in law enforcement did that,” Telb said. Bell was subsequently appointed chairman of the Joint Regional Terrorism Task Force, which included about 30 officials from surrounding counties and parts of Michigan. Following the attacks, people frequently reported low-flying planes that were just checking on power lines, in addition to anthrax scares. Bell sent 12 firefighters to New York City to help, while the Toledo City Police sent six officers and the Sheriff ’s Office sent five officers. “It actually shocked them and these were some pretty tough people,” Bell said of the firefighters he sent to Ground Zero. Kasich told Toledo Free Press he went to Ground Zero on Sept. 20, 2001, as part of his show “Heroes” on FOX News Channel. He recalled the eerie quietness and observing searchers: “They had big, long sound detectors. They’d make their way across the site, listening for people who had been trapped.” One man, a retired fire chief, had been at the site every day since the attack because he believed his two sons were caught in the rubble. “He looked at me and said, ‘My

boys are going to come out of there.’ And, of course, in terms of probability, they wouldn’t,” Kasich said. Kasich’s New York office with Lehman Brothers was destroyed in the attacks, although Kasich said he didn’t spend a lot of time there. Kasich said the death of his parents, killed by a drunken driver in 1987, helped him relate to victims’ families. “I myself have been in a situation where I’ve experienced that black hole of sudden death,” he said. “While I understand it may not be exactly the same, I can relate to them.”

photo courtesy STATE OF OHIO

Officials remember events of Sept. 11, 2001

In Columbus

Taft said he continued to work at the Riffe State Office Tower in Columbus that day. “I wanted to get into the office, follow the events and do what needed to be done,” Taft said to Toledo Free Press. He didn’t recall any communication from Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001, but figured an attack on Ohio was unlikely. “Most of the news was coming from the media,” Taft said. “I think they were still trying to figure it out in Washington.” The next day, Taft did hear from the White House about 9/11. He said he TAFT continued to hear about the events of that day for the rest of his term. “No single event while I was governor was more powerful,” Taft said. After learning of the attacks during an early meeting, then-Lucas County Commissioner Sandy Isenberg sent nonessential county workers home. Isenberg and Finkbeiner held a press conference with officials on the steps of One Government Center. “If you’ve got a picture of the newsreel, I was up there crying, trying to keep a calm demeanor,” Isenberg said. Finkbeiner did not send city officials home and continued to hold meetings and conferences throughout the week, he said. The primary elections also SEARS stayed open that day, in what Gerken called “the best way to keep democratic values alive.” The attacks, including a third plane flown into the Pentagon and a fourth

Gov. John Kasich’s manhattan office was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.

that passengers took over and crashed into a Pennsylvania field, changed not only government policy, but also politicians’ personal views. “It’s a game-changer when something like that happens. It resets your thinking,” said Representative Barbara Sears, then a Sylvania city councilwoman. Lucas County Recorder Jeanine Perry, then a representative, recalled a state trooper checking her and about four fellow representatives’ bags BROWN following the attacks. The trooper leaned over State Sen. Shirley Smith’s (then representative) large bag and she yelled, “BOO!” causing the trooper to jump back. Instead of getting angry, “he laughed, and we laughed and that was the first time in weeks that we laughed. It just changed the atmosphere and environment,” Perry said.

Aftermath

The aftermath of the attacks “probably will be with us until the end of light on this earth,” Finkbeiner said. To commemorate the attacks, he said he will likely visit those steps he spent so much time on at One Government Center “to remember how we all came together.” Church leaders and police, fire and safety personnel have been invited to sound their bells and sirens at 1 p.m., Bell said. After the polls were closed that day and the campaign was over, Brown went to see her grandson. “I did go by to see my grandson and he was puzzled and wanted to know why it happened on his birthday,” she said. While many things changed that day, some things remain the same as life continues on. Brown said of her Sept. 11 plans this year, “My grandson, of course, is older but I will celebrate his birthday with him.” O

illustration by DUstin Hostetler

september 11, 2011

the 10th anniversary of 9/11

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

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A8 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Zach Davis

TOLedo Free Press Staff Writer zdavis@toledofreepress.com

Toledo resident Keith Meyer was a witness to the 9/11 attacks. The former New York City resident was going to work on Wall Street six blocks away from the towers when the attack began. “It was just a normal September morning,” Meyer said. “Still to this day when I see a cloudless sky it makes me think of that day.” Meyer, a Long Island native, was on the subway traveling to his job at Kaller’s America Gallery, which dealt with items including historical documents and signed letters from historical figures including Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others. When he emerged from the subway, he had no idea what was occurring just six blocks away. “I was underground for a while and I got to my subway station on Wall Street,” Meyer said. “I was coming up the stairs and some guy said, ‘They bombed the World Trade Center again.’ Immediately as I got up there was all kinds of crap flying in the air and some got into my eye. As I walked

up to the building where my office was on Wall Street, they had TVs in there and it was on.” Meyer watched the TV coverage downstairs with his boss and other employees for a while before they went upstairs. There they called a meeting and determined that with the New York Stock Exchange three buildings away from their location, the best course of action was to go home. “We were thinking, if people are flying planes into the World Trade Center then they might blow up the stock exchange,” Meyer said. “We said, ‘Let’s not stick around’.” Meyer returned to the subway and traveled toward Queens, just trying to get away from the site. On his way back, he saw the attack site clearly for the first time. “We are on the train heading out and you come out of the tunnel and that was the first time I saw the towers on fire,” Meyer said. “You see it with your own eyes and it’s different than seeing it elsewhere. It’s just night and day.” Meyer began checking his phone for updates. That’s how he discovered that both towers had fallen. “You just don’t know what to think,” Meyer said. “There are so many

things going through your mind.” Following the aftermath of the attack, Meyer said that it wasn’t just the initial assault that bothered him and other New Yorkers, but also other consequences as time went on. “It wasn’t just that day, it was the months afterwards. It just kind of drained on you,” Meyer said. “You would see the cars still in the lot from the people who never came home from the train. There were signs up everywhere of people missing. The smoke didn’t stop for months, it just kept smoking and it came into the office through our ventilation system.” Meyer also discovered that he knew two of the people who were casualties of the attack. Previously a volunteer firefighter for seven years in Long Island, he knew firefighter Gerry Schrang as a member of Fire Rescue Co. 3, killed during the attack. He also grew up four houses down from Morty Frank, the vice president of institutional sales at Cantor Fitzgerald, located on the 104th floor of the South Tower. “Every day there was a different funeral,” said Meyer of all the lost lives. “It was ‘Amazing Grace’ with the

toledo free press photo by joseph herr

Eyewitness: ‘Every day there was a different funeral’

9/11 witness Keith Meyer moved his family to Toledo in 2003.

bagpipes just every day. It just drained you. The day was traumatic in itself but it was just a constant living with it every day.” Not everything was negative for Meyer. One week following the attacks, Meyer found out that his wife

Profile of Excellence: Nolan Baker Owens Community College Alumnus

Nolan Baker knew he wanted to be in the investment business from an early age. His parents, both business owners, taught him the importance of saving and investing money. “I was buying mutual funds at age 12 with my paper route money” said Baker, who was born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. Two days after graduating high school, Baker jumped on a bus for Parris Island, South Carolina, to join the United States Marine Corps. “I thought it would be good to serve our country,” he said. After an honorable discharge, he focused on his passion for a career in the financial services industry. Using his GI benefits, he enrolled at a local university. After a short time there, he found out that a big university was not for him. He decided to transfer to Owens. “A large university was just too big for me, I did better in a smaller classroom,” Baker said. “It was easier to understand the professor and what they were teaching you.” In 1998, he graduated from Owens with an associate degree in Financial Management Technology. “I loved Owens, it had a great culture and the education Nolan Baker Investment Professional, Retirement Specialists of Northwest Ohio 1998 Graduate

gave me the total package to run a business,” said Baker. “I was prepared extremely well for this industry.” Nolan married his high school sweetheart, Karen, and in 1994 they started Baker Financial Group. Today, their firm focuses on independent retirement planning that develops advanced strategies in the areas of managing money, protecting assets and efficiently planning estates. The Retirement Resource Center, in Maumee, manages a quarter of a billion dollars and serves local clients. People may also know Baker as one of the “Retirement Guys” from the radio show that he and Mark Clair, an attorney and business partner, broadcasts every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD. “Being a Retirement Guy, I get to help people focus on their retirement goals,” said Baker. “I help them build a roadmap to get them to where they want to be.” The Retirement Guys write locally for the Toledo Free Press. Baker is regularly asked to be a featured speaker and specializes in the retirement market on a national level. From interviews with Suze Orman, to appearing on CNBC, Bloomberg and CBS Marketwatch, he focuses his mission on educating Americans on how to be financially self reliant.

“I loved Owens, it had a great culture and the education gave me the total package to run a business.”

was pregnant. “Normally, it is jumping up and down great news, but I thought, what kind of world am I bringing my child into?” Meyer said. In 2003, Meyer moved his family to Toledo, where he still resides. O

Come Join The Fun Join the Alumni Association today and experience cultural events, community service, legacy scholarship opportunities and more. Reconnect with Owens online at www.owens.edu/alumni.

Alumni Association Golf Classic September 26, 2011 • 12 p.m. Belmont Country Club

The Alumni Association, along with a number of Northwest Ohio business leaders and community members, will tee off in the annual Golf Classic. Register your team today by calling (567) 661-7876. For a complete calendar of events, please call Laura Moore at (567) 661-7410, e-mail alumni@owens.edu or go to www.owens.edu and click the Alumni and Donors link.

illustration by DUstin Hostetler

september 11, 2011

the 10th anniversary of 9/11

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

n A9

A10 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Jason Mack

Toledo Free Press Web Editor jmack@toledofreepress.com

Angie Kromenacker spent more than 22 hours in labor on Sept. 11, 2001, bringing her son into the world while watching destruction unfold and fear spread across the nation. Her son Kyle was born at 8:03 p.m. “It was good to think of something good that happened,” Angie said. “Out of all the people that lost their lives and the tragedy, we still had a miracle happen that day. We still had something good that came out of it.” Angie and her husband Steve haven’t had an in-depth discussion with their son about the events of 9/11, but Kyle has the basic facts down. “I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “The Twin Towers came down, and I was born on that day, so it was a special day. Osama bin Laden, the person that did it, has died. Since it’s the 10-year anniversary, they are thinking someone that was following him might have something planned on the day.”

Turning on the TV

Kyle was due on Sept. 10. Angie started feeling labor pains that evening, and they headed to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in the middle of the night. The next morning, Angie asked the nurses if she could turn on the TV. “We asked the nurse if I could turn the TV on,” Angie said. “I knew that ‘Regis & Kelly’ was going to be on, and I don’t normally get to watch it because I’m at work. We turned it on and it had just happened, one of the planes. Then the next plane hit. The rest of the time, that’s what the whole focus was on. The nurses kept coming in to check the TV and we talked about it all day long.” “You just didn’t believe it,” Steve said. “‘What show is this? What’s on TV? What is happening?’ For the next 10 minutes, that whole floor was dead quiet, just silence. People were astounded. I’ve never seen a hospital that quiet. It was eerie.” Steve and Angie met while working together at Owens Corning and have been married 11 years. She grew up in Defiance and is a help desk coordinator and he is a building engineer from Toledo. They also have a 7-yearold daughter, Paige and Steve has a 19-year-old daughter named Alexis.

Kyle’s birth was a cause for joy, but it never felt like a day of celebration. “It definitely wasn’t the happy mood of having a baby,” Angie said. “Everyone was much more subdued than what they would have been. You couldn’t believe it was happening. It took my mind off of everything else that was happening with the baby and all. The nurses kept mentioning that something good was happening on that day, too, besides all the tragedy that was going on. For me, it was kind of a whirlwind of watching the news and trying to focus on what was happening with him.” “It was very surreal,” Steve said. “It set the tone for the day. We were just in awe. We were stuck in this hospital room, waiting for Kyle, and this whole event was going on. It was amazing how the hospital shut down.”

toledo free press photo and cover photo by joseph herr

‘Something good that happened’: 9/11 birthday boy turning 10

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When Kyle turned 1, Angie reflected on the births of children whose fathers died in the attacks. “A year later, they showed all the babies born from people who were killed in the buildings,” Angie said. “I’ve always wondered what you have to tell those kids as they grow up and explain what happened to their parents. It’s sad.” The family has never let the tragedy of the day affect their celebration of Kyle’s birthday, but there was a different feel surrounding his first birthday. “That first year was a special year,” Steve said. “That was a big year to a lot of people when they remembered it.” “It was still fresh in everybody’s minds,” Angie said. “A year is not very long. You’re still trying to weed out what all happened and still getting the counts of all the people. You hear all these stories that come out. The first year really flew by. You couldn’t believe it had already been a whole year since it had happened, and you have a kid who is on the verge of walking. Every year when his birthday rolls around you think about how long ago that happened, but it still seems like yesterday. It’s hard to believe.” Angie knows her son’s birthday will forever be linked with the events of that day. “His birthday rolls around and that’s what people talk and reminisce about,” Angie said. “We saved a ton of newspapers and things. I had Steve go

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out and gather stuff so that we could have stuff to show him when he gets older. We saved a couple books on it. Those two things are always going to be tied together. He’s never really going to get away from that. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Learning more

Steve and Angie are starting to teach Kyle more about the events of 9/11 as his birthday and the 10th anniversary approach. “He doesn’t know a lot about the details,” Steve said. “He hasn’t seen any movies on it and things like that, but that’s coming.” It could come as soon as this weekend after Kyle’s curiosity was piqued during the interview. “Do they have a movie on that day?” Kyle asked his parents. “Can I watch one of those?” Kyle attends Kateri Catholic Academy, where his favorite subject is math. One of Kyle’s favorite hobbies is coin collecting. His uncle Rob Giesige gave him a commemorative silver coin with the World Trade Center towers

on it for his birthday last year. “I collect a lot of coins and two dollar bills and stuff like that,” Kyle said. “I was really excited when I got it. He got it at a coin convention. I’d like to go to one of those.” Kyle also collects baseball and football cards and enjoys playing both sports, along with soccer and wrestling. He is the quarterback this season on a flag football team. “I want to play tackle, but I didn’t want to play for a different school so I had to play flag this year,” Kyle said. His favorite football team is Ohio State. After having a patriotic theme last year, Kyle’s party will be filled with OSU football decorations. As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Angie keeps looking back on the attacks and her son’s life. “It gives you a chance to reflect back on everything that happened,” Angie said. “At work, it’s always something that you talk about. We always come back to the part that, even though all those horrible things happened, we still have Kyle that happened on that day.” O

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A12 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Courtney Wagoner

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

in our group. The chef asked what the dog’s favorite food was and the officer stated ham. He brought out a large silver bowl full of chopped ham. “One day a little girl came up and gave us a plate full of cookies to show her appreciation.” As Wasylyshyn directed heavy midtown traffic, cars did not honk and speeding ceased to exist. “Every vehicle did as I asked,” Wasylyshyn said. “My hand went up and cars stopped. It was another reminder of how New Yorkers were on the same page, working to get through this together.” After an assignment in Greenwich Village, the Perrysburg officers laid eyes on the destruction that was caused on Sept. 11, 2001. Wasylyshyn described the scene at Ground Zero as “surreal.” The day was misty and there was an autumn chill in the air. “There seemed to be a large haze over the area. Heavy machinery and cranes were moving the debris. It was still on fire and we were told it was 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit at the base of the towers,” Wasylyshyn said. “My eyes saw the damage, I could feel the rain on my skin and a chemical-like smell hung heavily in the air. So many of my senses were taking in Ground Zero but my brain could not comprehend my surroundings.” On Sept. 6, Wasylyshyn and Williams were present for the unveiling of an artifact from the World Trade Center. Now on display in the atrium

toledo free press photo by joseph herr

As the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks unfolded on television, then-Perrysburg police sergeant Mark Wasylyshyn turned to his wife Jenna and said, “I need to go and help.” With the blessing of the Perrysburg Police Department, current two-term Wood County Sheriff Wasylyshyn and fellow officer Jim Williams, a 22-year veteran, took a patrol car to New York City. They began a weeklong quest to offer their services to NYC officers. “I had never visited the city prior to the attacks,” Wasylyshyn said. “I really had no idea what to expect.” Every morning for seven days, Wasylyshyn and Williams would report to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to get their daily assignments. The Javits Center is located on the west side of Manhattan and is owned and operated by New York City. It served as the command center for volunteers arriving from across the United States. The officers worked 12-hour shifts. Most assignments were to provide respite for their brothers-in-arms. “These officers had been working 14- and 16-hour shifts for days on end,” Wasylyshyn said. One assignment was security work in front of embassies representing 14 countries. Another day they were sent to Pier 36 on the Hudson River to do identification checks. Foot patrol duty

in Times Square was shared with two officers from Texas. The four men were the only officers on duty in the normally bustling area. Wasylyshyn said they were driven by adrenaline. “It was such a life-changing, rare experience; I was never tired,” he said. “Although, I must admit I slept very well at night!” As a result of the influx of volunteers, NYPD officers were given the chance to attend funerals, rest and eat. Many NYPD law enforcement officers went out of their way to find the Ohio volunteers to personally thank them. “I remember watching this patrol unit crossing through barricades, you could see them walking for blocks directly toward us,” Wasylyshyn said. When they reached the Perrysburg officers, the unit stated they “just had to meet the Ohio volunteers” and shake their hands, he said. The citizens of New York City continued to amaze the officers throughout the week. Wasylyshyn and Williams would work security or in uniform patrolling the streets and people would come up and give them a hug and thank them for their work. “We ate lunch at area delicatessens. It was difficult, if not impossible to get anyone to accept our money,” Wasylyshyn said. “A few times we had a meal at the Pfizer world headquarters, across the street from the Israeli embassy. The Pfizer executive chef introduced himself and there was a canine

of the Perrysburg Police Municipal Building is ae 3-foot, 15-pound piece of steel-door casing. “The twisted metal frame reminds me of the steel beams that were standing in the smoldering debris at Ground Zero,” Williams said. Wasylyshyn said volunteering was a life-changing experience. “We look at so many things differently because of the attacks. We are much more aware of our surroundings,” he said. Wasylyshyn said he would do it all over again, “without a doubt, without hesitation.” He said he hopes to visit the memorial in New York City upon its completion. He would like to show his children, who had just celebrated their second birthday days before the attacks, where their father had the opportunity to be a first responder. O

photo courtesy mark wasylyshyn

Wood County police officers among 9/11 volunteers

n Perrysburg squad car in New York.

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A14 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

Toledo Free Press series Editor’s Note: Reporter Brian Malkowski will spend shifts at various Toledo workplaces to offer insight into the people who work some of the area’s most interesting jobs. By Brian Malkowski

toledo free press photo by joseph herr

9/11 changed duties for 180th Fighter Wing

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Like most Americans, I can remember where I was and what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001. A college student two weeks from my 21st birthday, I spent most of the day watching the news on TV as classes had been canceled at The University of Toledo. I went to my girlfriend’s parents’ house and watched even more news until a friend of mine and I said, “Enough is enough; lets go do something.” I figured the monsters that attacked us would love it if I just sat around and did nothing all day. On our way, I noticed the lines at gas stations because people had no clue what had happened or what to expect. Since 9/11, I have been to Ground Zero a few times and even though I didn’t personally know anyone who was lost that day, it sure does feel like it. I could write this whole article on how I’ll answer my son when he comes home from school someday and asks me what a terrorist is, but instead I’m going to stay positive and remind readers that no matter what the challenge, we will always prevail

Lt. Col. Christopher Belli flies a F-16CM Fighting Falcon with a top speed of 1,500 mph (Mach 2) from the 180th Fighter WIng in Swanton.

because we are Americans. I recently spent a day at the 180th Fighter Wing, located at the Toledo Express Airport in Swanton, to meet the people who in a moment’s notice are prepared to protect our country. n FIGHTER CONTINUES ON A15

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n FIGHTER CONTINUED FROM A14 I was scheduled to be at the base at 8 a.m. to shadow fighter pilot Lt. Col. Christopher Belli. The 180th Fighter Wing has been a staple in our community since 1955 and has been involved in several realworld contingencies. Its mission is to provide combat-ready airmen for federal, state and community missions. Since 9/11, unit members have volunteered for numerous missions, in-

cluding Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. When I arrived at the base it was no surprise I was greeted at the gate by guardsmen armed with machine guns and briefed for my arrival. I was told to park and wait for my escort, Maj. Gary Bentley of the U.S. Air Force, to show me where I was to drive next. After parking, I sat in the main office and waited for “Bucket” — Belli’s call sign — to get out of his mass briefing.

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After Belli was through with his briefing, he gave me a quick tour of the facilities and then headed to the pilots’ locker room where he put on 40 pounds of gear. Items included in his equipment were a G-suit and his $100,000 heads-up display helmet. One of the key features of this helmet allows the pilot to look and fire versus pointing the aircraft and firing. After Belli put this helmet on, I asked him to please not look at me. Fully geared up, we made the walk

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outside to the parking lot filled with F-16s. In what looked like a scene from “Top Gun,” there was a sea of activity with numerous crewmembers performing various tasks. This walk is basically where the pilots put on their game face. From this point, I didn’t say another word to Belli. The F-16CM Fighting Falcon that Belli flew is made by Lockheed Martin and has a top speed of 1,500 mph (Mach 2). This $16 million machine is powered by a Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 which provides 29,000 pounds of thrust. As we arrived at the aircraft that Belli was to take on a 90-minute training mission, we were greeted by a crewmember who assisted with a preflight inspection. This 15-minute inspection is no joke; every tool is accounted for in a custom toolbox. If one tool is missing that plane is grounded until it is found. Belli walked around the aircraft, inspecting everything from top to bottom before finally entering the aircraft. Once aboard, he fired up the plane and checked the operation of

n A15

the controls. All systems go, he made his short trip out to the runway and was up in the air in seconds. Where and what Belli did for the next 90 minutes is classified and no more pictures were to be taken after the aircraft was in the air. Belli works four 10-hour days each week and one weekend a month. He has logged in more than 3,000 hours in an F-16, so I asked him, “What could you possibly do for fun when you’re not at work?” Belli said he enjoys time on the water, fishing with the family in his ’59 Lyman. He also has a four-seater Cessna that he often takes on short trips. Flying this smaller aircraft in his spare time gives Belli an opportunity to turn off the “fighter pilot” and just enjoy flying. Belli remembered the exact room he was in when the base learned of the 9/11 attacks. Not only did the 180th Fighter Wing provide support in the air that day, it also changed forever. The base now sit “Alert” 24/7, 365 days a year, having staff and F-16s available at a moment’s notice. O

toledo free press photo by joseph herr

september 11, 2011

Lt.Col. Christopher Belli wears 40 pounds of gear to fly.

A16 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

Patrick White, MD, FACS Medical Director

september 11, 2011

Jose Parodi, MD, FACS

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the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

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Local events commemorate 9/11 attacks 8:46 a.m.: Area churches will ring their bells for one minute to mark the moment the first plane hit the first tower.

local firefighters and veterans, and images of 9/11. Event will conclude with a “God Bless the USA” sing-along. Location: Parkway Local School District auditorium, 400 Buckeye St. Information: Stacie Ford (419) 733-6498.

Rockford

Sylvania

Sept. 11 Maumee

3:45-5:45 p.m.: Benefit concert featuring Blair Carman and the Belleview Boys to honor first responders. The Cincinnati-based group will perform authentic 1950s-style rock ’n’ roll/ rockabilly tunes, including originals as well as classics from Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. A free-will donation will raise funds to buy equipment for local allvolunteer fire departments and proceeds from 50-50 ticket sales will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Event will also feature patriotic songs, video presentations recognizing

8:45-9:30 a.m.: Free 9/11 tribute featuring a military honor guard, the Sylvania Township Fire Department and special tributes from the Sylvania Township Trustees, the City of Sylvania and the Sisters of St. Francis. Emceed by Mary Beth and Rick from 101.5 The River with musical entertainment provided by America’s Pride and Eddie Boggs, who will introduce an original song written for the anniversary. Information: Sylvania Chamber of Commerce (419) 882-2135. 4 p.m.: Free annual Dr. Morton Goldberg Lecture featuring guest speaker Philip Markowicz of Toledo, a Holo-

caust survivor from Poland, who will present on sustaining faith and surviving the Holocaust, followed by a brief reception. Presented by Lourdes University, Toledo Community Foundation and Congregation B’nai Israel to promote better understanding and positive relations among diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Location: Congregation B’nai Israel sanctuary, 6525 Sylvania Ave. Information: (419) 241-5049 or toledocf.org.

Toledo

1 p.m.: Police and fire vehicles will be parked outside each station and sirens will go off for one minute. Churches have also been invited to sound their bells at that time.

Toledo, Historic St. Patrick’s Church

9 a.m.: Annual Firefighters’ Mass in re-

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membrance of 9/11 for firefighters, families and friends. Members of the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department will attend. Celebrant will be the Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair, Bishop of Toledo. Firefighters who would like their helmets blessed should bring them. Location: 130 Avondale Ave. Information: (419) 243-6452.

Toledo, Owens Community College

8:30-9:30 a.m.: Memorial flag service with opening remarks from Michael Cornell, Owens’ director of the Center for Emergency Preparedness, followed by a flag-raising ceremony by the Toledo Police Department Honor Guard and the Owens Basic Peace Officer Training Academy. The U.S. flag will then be lowered to half staff and moment of silence will be observed in conjunction with a flyover at 8:46 a.m. by either the 180th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard or Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center Life Flight. Event will also feature remarks from Owens Executive Vice President and Provost Renay Scott and a “Final Call” bell ceremony. Ceremony will conclude with the presentation by emergency services representatives of a Flag of Honor bearing the names of the 9/11 victims to be placed on permanent display in the Center for Emergency Preparedness. Location: Adjacent to the College’s Center for Emergency Preparedness, Tracy Road, Lake Township. Information: (567) 661-2411 or (800) GO-OWENS, Ext. 2411. 9:30 a.m.: Free 102-minute History Channel documentary “102 Minutes That Changed America” depicting in virtually real time the New Yorkbased events of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks primarily using raw video footage mostly from amateur citizen journalists. Location: Room 114 of the Center for Emergency Preparedness. Information: (567) 661-2411 or (800) GO-OWENS, Ext. 2411. 3 p.m.: Screening of “The Guys” will kick off a Sunday Afternoon at the Movies film series. Directed by Jim Simpson and adapted from a stage

play by Anne Nelson, the award-winning 2002 film tells the story of a fire captain who lost eight men in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and the editor who helps him prepare the eulogies he must deliver. Tickets are $4 or free for first responders and a guest. Location: Center for Fine and Performing Arts’ Mainstage Theatre, 30335 Oregon Road, Perrysburg. Information: (567) 661-2787 or (800) GOOWENS, Ext. ARTS (2787).

Toledo, Pilgrim Church

12:30-3:30 p.m.: Patriot Day Rally, featuring hot dogs, snow cones, elephant ears, raffles, DJ, games for kids and a special recognition to the victims of 9/11 at 1 p.m. Free. Location: 1375 Sylvania Ave. Information: Interim Pastor Ellis Young (419) 3200427 or pilgrimchurch.tv.

Toledo, St. Joan of Arc Parish/ All Saints Lutheran Church

5 p.m.: Ecumenical Prayer Service themed “Let Us Remember with Compassion; Let us Live in Mercy and Peace.” Officiated by Father Adam Hertzfeld, Father Anthony Recker and Pastor Rich Rentner, with a reception to follow. Invited agencies include local Fire and Police personnel and the Air National Guard at Toledo Express Airport. Location: St. Joan of Arc, 5856 Heatherdowns Blvd. Information: (419) 866-6181 or joanofarc.org.

Toledo, The Truth Art Gallery

2-5 p.m.: Following the Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition’s regular Sunday peace demo from noon-1:30 p.m. at the corner of Central Avenue and Secor Road, join guest VJ Amjad Doumani at the Truth Gallery for anti-war music videos from around the world and peace poetry open mic. In attendance will be Toledo City Council candidates Sean Nestor (District 6) and Anita Rios (District 4). Hosted by the Lucas County Green Party and Media Decompression Collective. Location: 1811 Adams St. Information: Stacy Jurich, (419) 290-1259 or stacyjurich@ lucascountygreens.org. O

Veteran of the Month Kingston is very honored to present

LESLIE “RED” JOHNSON

During WWII, Les served 33 months in the Navy as an Electrician. He was based primarily in the Pacific Theatre on the USS Pirate, an Admirable-class minesweeper ship. Out of the 110 on the ship, Les was picked with a few others to tour the bombing site in Hiroshima, Japan in early 1946. Les has one son, one daughter, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He enjoyed his Honor Flight in April of this year.

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A18 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

Ready U returns with terrorism prevention session By Sarah Ottney

TOLEDO FREE PRESS SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR sottney@toledofreepress.com

A new season of Ready U will kick off Sept. 12 with a presentation on terrorism prevention called “See Something, Say Something.” Lt. Tom Wiegand, emergency services/homeland security coordinator with the Toledo Police Department, will lead the hour-long session set for 7 p.m. at the Main Library’s McMaster Family Center for Lifelong Learning, 325 N. Michigan St. Ready U, a yearlong disaster preparedness series presented by the Greater Toledo Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, is designed to educate the public and prepare individuals and families for potential emergencies in Northwest Ohio. Wiegand is scheduled to discuss the seven signs of terrorism. “Terrorism prevention is the same type of community involvement as crime prevention. If you see something out of the ordinary, you have to say something,” Wiegand said. “These are indicators that provide a little guidance to communities on what to look for. “If you’re living by a refinery and you see somebody taking a bunch of photos at all hours or if you see someone just watching the comings and goings, we characterize that as surveillance. If you’re working at a mall and someone is trying to elicit information about opening and closing procedures, that could be suspicious questioning. In 1995 when Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City, he took a lot of time buying supplies. If organizations or companies where some of that stuff can be bought notice suspicious purchases, we’d like to know who is acquiring supplies.” The session will also cover the impact of terrorism on America and abroad. “It’s good to look at that, especially in light of the 10th anniversary of 9/11,” Weigand said. “We’ll talk a little about current trends that are manifesting — more internationally than here, thank goodness — but we’ll talk about tactics they use and talk a little about targets.”

One thing Wiegand does not want to do is generate fear. “We have to counteract what ifs with how likely a terrorist attack is in Toledo,” Wiegand said. “Let’s face it, the threat to New York City is much greater. They have much more critical infrastructure, more natural and historical icons, a much larger population compared to Toledo. But with that said, we do have soft targets and we do have gatherings that would be rather significant, so we want to make sure people are just aware and that they stay informed and have a plan.” Wiegand hopes attendees leave with a greater understanding of ways they can help protect their community. “Knowledge is the ally and fear is the enemy,” Wiegand said. “We’re obviously not as fearful as we were the day after 9/11, but we need to maintain vigilance because there still is a threat out there. There are still extremists out there who want to engage in violent behavior against this country for a wide variety of reasons.” A new part of Ready U will be an initiative called Ready U Plus, which will provide emergency preparedness kits and one-on-one assistance in understanding the material to area residents who may not otherwise come into contact with it. Included in the kits will be information and checklists covering general and seasonal disaster preparedness, a document on which to record emergency contacts and other important phone numbers, a checklist for important documents and records, and a disaster preparedness coloring book and crayons for children. Caseworkers will reach out to clients served by Red Cross partner agencies, including East Toledo Family Center, Adelante, Family Services and Family First Council. They will review the information, help fill out forms and screen a nine-minute disaster preparedness film. “We all must do what we can to prepare our families and make our communities ready for the next emergency,” said Joe Walter, director of the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, in a news release. “Everyone can take three key action steps to get started: build a kit, make a plan and be informed.

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WIEGAND Ready U can teach people how.” According to the Red Cross, 359 people attended at least one of the 10 sessions during Ready U’s inaugural 2010-11 season. Other sessions in this year’s schedule include: O Wednesday, Oct. 12: Fire Safety and Prevention O Monday, Nov. 14: Winter Weather Safety, including winter storms and cold emergencies O Monday, Feb. 13: Planning Your Victory Garden O Monday, March 26: Summer Safety, including tornado and severe weather awareness O Monday, April 30: Using Your Victory Garden, including canning and food storage Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor for the Ready U program. For more information, visit ready-u.com. O

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the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

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community ombudsman

9/11 coverage pains some, helps others heal

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he 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, is spawning a series of commemorative media pieces, Toledo Free Press among them. I have heard concerns that this intense focus on the anniversary might actually be harmful to Americans. The satirical national newspaper, The Onion, has actually stated it will not join the rest of the media in revisiting the terrorist attacks for just that reason. “If we did something,” said The Onion writer John Krewson in an Aug. 25 article, “it would mean we haven’t moved on.” The Onion staff gathered on Sept. 10, 2001, to celebrate the launch of an issue that was scheduled to be released the next day. It never came out. The next week, the staff gathered in

its Manhattan offices and discussed what to do next. Being funny was not a priority until someone suggested that “American life had become a bad Jerry Bruckheimer movie.” That eventual headline was the inBrandi spiration behind The Onion’s famous 9/11 issue (http://media.zenfs.com/en/ blogs/thecutline/onion-911.jpg). The stories in that issue included, “Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake,” “U.S. Vows to Defeat Whoever It Is We’re At War With” and “Rest of Country Temporarily Feels Deep Affection for

New York.” While that might have seemed inappropriate, it was just what the country needed at the time. Sometimes, remembering a painful anniversary is what Americans need. Craig Vickio, clinical psycholoBARHITE gist at the Bowling Green State University Counseling Center, said in an email that marathon news coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 might be good for some individuals. Those who would benefit: People capable of watching the programming in moderation, who use it to (1) attribute meaning to the events and life af-

terwards, (2) honor the deceased, (3) further clarify their values. Those who might not benefit: Individuals for whom the programming would excessively rekindle thoughts associated with the tragic event, cause intrusive memories or heighten one’s sense of lacking agency (control/empowerment) in one’s life. No matter where you fall, 9/11 is hard to forget. So whether you partake in the barrage of media coverage or simply honor it with a media blackout, 9/11 is a day worth remembering.O To ask a question, send a letter to Community Ombudsman, c/o Brandi Barhite, at 605 Monroe St., Toledo, OH 43605, email bbarhite@toledofreepress. com or contact her through www.face book.com/toledofreepress and www. twitter.com/toledofreepress.

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A20 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

A fireball erupts from one of the World Trade Center towers as it is struck by the second of two airplanes in New York city, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Todd Hollis)

A22 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Sarah Ottney

TOLEDO FREE PRESS SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR sottney@toledofreepress.com

NEW YORK CITY — Accountant Peter Bitwinski was at his desk on the 69th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower when a plane slammed into the building about 20 floors above him. “I didn’t see it because my window faced west and the plane came from north to south, so it came at my back and literally thrust me onto my desk. That’s the first thing I felt. I’m at my desk writing something and all of a sudden, I’m thrust into this whirlwind of not knowing what exactly is happening to me,” Bitwinski told Toledo Free Press. “The thing I remember most was just the feeling after the tower was hit. It was like the floor was rolling and the building rocking back and forth. The building used to sway on heavy windy days, but you immediately knew it was nothing like that.” As the building continued to shake, Bitwinski, a supervisor in accounts payable for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, got up from his desk, his mind racing. “You’re not thinking about what happened, you’re thinking about what to do. Should I run for the exit? Should I just grab onto something?” Bitwinski said. “I knew exactly where I was. I was 70 floors above the ground. So you’re saying to yourself, ‘This is where it ends.’”

Unanswered questions

“I’m saying to myself, ‘It’s a clear day. What’s happening? Why is the building moving back and forth? Why was it impacted? Was it a plane?’ You just don’t know what’s happening,” Bitwinski said. After several minutes, the shaking stopped. Someone appeared and told everyone to evacuate. Someone else, who had been facing the windows, verified a plane had flown into the tower. “So within five minutes, I knew what had actually occurred,” Bitwinski said. “It’s just it was odd because planes never came close to the building. There were days when the fog and the storms were so intense. Those were the days I used to think a plane could accidently hit the Trade

Center, but they never did. I think when we reached the staircase that’s when it started to kick in that this was probably a terrorist attack.” Carrying a paralyzed co-worker, Bitwinski and several others moved slowly down the stairs. As they descended, they passed firefighters going up. “The firemen, they were heroes. I don’t think anyone had an idea that the building would come down the way it did,” Bitwinski said. “On some of the floors, they were leaning against the landing. They were carrying all this equipment and they were exhausted. They needed a break before they could move up even further. “I remember asking one of the fireman going up, ‘Is the building stable?’ Looking back, that’s probably the stupidest question I could ask. But your mind just kind of goes.”

Continuing descent

When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., Bitwinski’s group was on the 21st floor of the North Tower, having moved off the staircase to allow firefighters with equipment to pass up the stairs. Minutes later, they continued their descent, exiting the North Tower at 10:15 a.m., an hour and a half after the impact and 13 minutes before the tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. That short window between life and death is part of why Bitwinski feels compelled to share his story as a volunteer docent at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center near Ground Zero. “My life was spared,” Bitwinski said. “The one thing I always said is I am no different than the other 2,977 names. Many of them, whether they were rescue people or just workers in the tower, all they did was come to work, just like me, and by fate I was below the impact line. My timing — I made it out 15 minutes before — how do you explain that other than there is some kind of force that wants you to be alive? So if I can share it by talking to you and by answering your questions, I am willing to do it.”

Second attack

Bitwinski was working at the World Trade Center in 1993 when a bomb detonated below the North Tower. Compared to the 1993 evacua-

tion when smoke filled the stairwells clogged with fleeing people, the 2001 exit was calm and organized, Bitwinski said. Improvements made after the 1993 bombing — including lighted stair strips, stairwell speaker systems and a revised evacuation plan — helped. “It was fairly calm, I’ve got to say that,” Bitwinski said. “As bad an event as it was, we were trying to stay calm, trying to duplicate what we needed to do, which was to exit. There wasn’t a lot of panic. You saw some shocked looks on people’s faces because you know where you are and you know where you’ve got to get to.” Upon exiting the building, Bitwinski was surprised by how few people he saw compared to 1993. “It struck me: Why there is no one outside? Because in ’93 there were flashing lights, emergency vehicles, everything,” Bitwinski said. “I didn’t know the other tower was down. You could understand, no one wanted to be outside that building because, with the other tower already down, they figured the same thing might happen to this tower. But fortunately I wasn’t aware of all that until later.”

toledo free press photo by sarah ottney

Eyewitness: Accountant recalls escape from North Tower

People jumping

In the minutes between Bitwinski exiting the building and its collapse, people were jumping from the tower. “It’s so high up it looks like just debris or wood or metal coming down, but then when you look again, you realize its people jumping,” Bitwinski said. “That hurt, because you realize it’s could have been you. Suppose these terrorists knew what they were doing and hit lower? Then I could have been at the line or above. I don’t know. How do you explain it? How do you know why you’re alive and why you’re not? You just move on.” Bitwinski’s 9/11 experience has inspired him to live in the moment. “It teaches you to live for the day because you just don’t know,” Bitwinski said. “It taught me a lesson about trying to do things I never did before and to live my span of life in a way that I could feel I’m gaining something out of every day.” Still working for the port authority, where he has worked since a few years out of college, Bitwinski has since

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peter bitwinski survived two terror atacks on the world trade center.

been promoted to manager of accounts payable. His department signs off on bills for the rebuilding and construction at Ground Zero. Bitwinski now beseeches people, especially young ones, to forgo violence and be good to others. “Setting an example is infectious,”

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Bitwinski said. “The more good people you’ve got in the world, hopefully will counteract the bad people who try to do things like what they did to the Twin Towers. I’m no preacher, but you’re hearing from me to try and make your world a better place. Just try, that’s all you can do.” O

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the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

n .A23

TREECE BLOG

Financial ramifications of 9/11 (or the lack thereof ...)

ept. 11, 2011, was without question a defining moment for an entire generation of Americans. While our parents and grandparents remember where they were when JFK

was shot, we will all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when the Twin Towers were attacked. While this was a moment that would be etched into our minds forever, the

markets viewed the attacks as a minor blip on its long-range radar. The Dow Jones lost 16.5 percent from Sept. 10, 2001 to Sept. 22, 2001, but had recouped nearly all of those

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losses within six weeks. The bottom on quite some time that events do not Sept. 22, 2001 was not even the ulti- shape markets, long-term economic mate bottom in that market downturn. conditions do, and the markets have The real problems for the market came proved that thesis true time and again. Look most recently at the during the fall of 2002 tsunami in Japan. when the tech bubble The fear was that one burst and the Dow Jones of the major shipping dropped below 7,300. and manufacturing hubs If the average investor in the global economy were to view a chart from was going to fold and the January 2000 through world was going to end. January 2003 without The Nikkei saw a massive knowing any of the dates sell-off and U.S. stocks corresponding to the dipped amid investor chart, most would probBen TREECE fears as well. However, the ably guess incorrectly which downturn was due to the ter- Nikkei recovered within two months and U.S. stocks were back to business rorist attacks. After the attacks there was indeed as usual within two weeks. While it is true that macroecoa massive sell-off in the markets, but it was incredibly short-lived considering nomic conditions will always trump the magnitude of the events. After those short-lived events in the marketsix weeks the Dow Jones was right back place, we would like to believe that the resiliency of the American where it was on Sept. 10, 2001. As a point of reference, the re- people helped keep us going during cent market downturn caused the that unimaginable time. The New Dow Jones Industrial Average to York Stock Exchange closed Sept. drop from 12,800 to 10,800 starting 11, 2001 and reopened Sept. 17, in mid-July through the first week 2001, just four business days after in August. That is a 15 percent loss, the towers were hit. As a country almost identical to what was lost im- we were united as one and willing to show that this would not be our demediately following the attacks. Looking back at the charts, we can mise and that we would continue on see that the market peaked in January with our lives, always remembering of 2000 at about 11,250 (for those of and promising never to forget. O you keeping track, if you bought and held the Dow from January 2000 until Ben Treece is a 2009 Graduate from September 2011, you haven’t made a the University of Miami (Florida), BBA thin dime). However, the market was International Finance and Marketing. also beginning to trend down around He is a discretionary money manager this time. Peaks were at lower levels with Treece Investment Advisory Corp. and and troughs were continuing to break (www.TreeceInvestments.com) a stockbroker licensed with FINRA, through previous lows. The fact of the matter is that working for Treece Financial Services even though 9/11 was a tragedy that Corp. The above information is the extouched us all in some way, it really press opinion of Ben Treece and should did not have a serious long-term im- not be construed as investment advice pact on the markets. We have said for or used without outside verification.

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A24 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

THE RETIREMENT GUYS

9/11 legacy: Be prepared for the unknowns L

ooking back on the anniversary of 9/11, we believe every American can remember exactly what they were doing during the terrorist attacks. I, Nolan, was at home. My Mark wife — we were Nolan still newlyweds — had already left for work. As usual, I turned on CNBC that morning. I was running behind, as I normally get to work before 9 a.m. So when I turned on the TV, the first plane had already hit the North Tower.

I just sat down and watched the live coverage, thinking how terrible it was for the people involved in this accident. Moments later, I watched live as the second plane flew into the South CLAIR Tower and imBAKER mediately what seemed like a terrible accident turned into one of the worst terrorist attacks our nation has seen on non-military Americans. Then they announced a third plane had struck the Pentagon.

That was the exact moment in time shock turned into sheer panic for me. My brother was serving active duty in the U.S. Air Force and the month before had been stationed at the Pentagon. Seconds felt like hours and hours felt like days as I tried to call him and his wife only to get an “all circuits busy” signal or voicemail. It wasn’t until hours later that I found out he not only survived the attack, he was busy rushing into action

putting his medical training to work to help those injured at the Pentagon, staying on the scene until 8 p.m. His heroic efforts earned him the Commendation Medal for risking personal safety to support casualty rescue efforts that day. As a young investment professional, I also learned a lot about how important it is to be prepared for the unknowns. After that event and the continued stock market meltdown that followed, we began

D Dock kD D. T Treece

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Remember that diversification means owning more than just a basket of stocks, bonds or mutual funds. Although diversification doesn’t guarantee against loss, if used correctly it can be a method to help reduce risk, avoid getting in a panic situation and can help protect against losses. A good diversified plan, in our opinion, not only involves looking at personal investments in different time frames, but also looks at investing based upon income needs, various risks and unknowns. The obvious goal is to pick investments that go up in value, but the other goal is to protect investments, especially accounts that provide current income. Think about unknowns that will come up so a well-thought-out plan can be put in place. One way an investor can accomplish this is to create separate “buckets” of money. A bucket for current income, a pay raise in the future, noncorrelated assets or investments that don’t all perform the same way, and equities and bonds for long-term growth potential. Once those buckets are set up, determine what other possible unknowns should be addressed, like a health care crisis, higher taxes, lower company or government benefits, or not having a backup plan in place. A common mistake we see many investors making in our opinion is still having too many eggs in one basket. How do you know if this is happening to you? Well, if you feel your personal savings go up and down just like the overall stock market all the time, it could be a good sign you may not have what we consider a properly diversified plan and could be a victim of the next unknown that knocks down Wall Street. Trust me, Mark and I believe in America, we believe in investing in the long-term with stocks and bonds. Just remember it isn’t always about America, it’s about you and your family and the plan you have in place to address the unknowns you may be facing. O

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For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC. NEXT Financial Group, Inc. nor its representatives provide tax advice. The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537. (419) 842-0550.

A26 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Zach Davis

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer zdavis@toledofreepress.com

On Sept. 9, 2001, Rob Gschaar sat at the dinner table with his wife of 22 years, Myrta. Two months into his job at Aon Corporation, Rob discussed the 1993 terrorist bombing of his new company’s building, the World Trade Center. Two days later, tragedy struck the buildings again. The attacks that brought down the towers took nearly 3,000 lives. Among them was Rob, who was on the 97th floor of the South Tower.

Life before Sept. 11, 2001

Myrta, a native New Yorker, met her husband Rob in 1987 through a work function. Myrta, a broker, found herself at a company party with rival insurance-worker Rob. “He was the bad guy and I was the good guy,” Myrta said. “He worked for the insurance company so I had to get him to say ‘yes’ to what I want him to insure. He either accepts it or rejects it and most of the time they reject everything. So, I wind up marrying him.” Myrta and Rob had struggled in previous marriages and wanted a better experience. Rob offered that second chance with a unique proposal lacking a traditional engagement ring. Instead, he gave Myrta a $2 bill and kept another. As Rob had described to her, they were like Yin and Yang, truly two-of-a-kind. With it also being the second marriage for both, the $2 bill was an ideal symbol for their love. “He just gave me strength to be the best that I can be and just taking your past and moving to the future, learning from it and not making the same mistakes,” Myrta said.

“He helped me find my love again, for myself especially. He never did anything bad, he was perfect. He was just a good husband and a good person. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He made me a better person.” The couple lived in Rockland County, N.Y., as Rob joined Myrta’s family including her four daughters. After he was out of work for four years, Rob took a job at Aon, an insurance company inside the South Tower, on July 1, 2001.

The attack

Sept. 11, 2001, began like a typical Tuesday. Rob, who started his day much earlier, leaving around 5:30 a.m., routinely made his wife a cup of coffee that he left by the nightstand. Following a kiss on the cheek and a “Love you baby, see you tonight,” Rob was off to work. When Myrta arrived at work, a co-worker informed her that a plane had just hit the North Tower. She quickly called Rob, located in the opposite building, who answered the phone saying, “Yes, it’s true.” “He had a trembling voice and I knew something was really, really bad,” Myrta said. “He said ‘They are jumping. They are just jumping from the windows.’ He was in the South Tower, the 97th floor. From his view he was seeing people jumping. People on TV were just seeing specks. He was not seeing specks, he was seeing faces. That’s horrifying. “I am on the other side of the phone panicking. I told him to drop what he was doing and just come home. He said ‘I’m going to see what we are going to do, what’s going to happen and if we are going to evacuate and I’m just going to call you back later. I promise I’ll call you back.’ n Gschaar CONTINUES ON A27

toledo free press photo by nick kneer

Eyewitness: Forgiving helps woman heal from 9/11 loss

Myrta Gschaar holds the missing person flier she made for her husband.

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the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011 n GSCHAAR CONTINUED FROM A26 “He said ‘I love you’ and then hung up the phone and that was it.” That was the final conversation Myrta would have with Rob. Fewer than 20 minutes after a plane struck the North Tower, a second airliner en route from Boston to Los Angeles hit the South Tower. Myrta, who was not watching the broadcast, was informed by her boss of the incident. “When I was still in my office my boss came out and told me ‘You may just want to get your things,’” Myrta said. “I said ‘What’s going on?’ and he said ‘Another plane hit and I think it’s the South Tower.’” A friend of Myrta’s picked her up from work and brought her to her house, where she remained in the bedroom to avoid the news while friends

stayed up-to-date with the events in the living room. Others gathered as their loved ones were also missing. Of all those in attendance, by the day’s end, only Rob remained unaccounted for.

Rob’s last moments

Following the tragedy of 9/11, Myrta was overcome with anger. Rob’s official status was still “unknown” and she held out hope that her husband was still alive, possibly amongst the wreckage or suffering memory loss. Myrta put up fliers with her husband’s photograph hoping for any sign. Within the next two weeks, Myrta was contacted by a married couple who arrived at her house. The man, whose name is unknown to Myrta, claimed to work with Rob and was in the South Tower with him.

“They are sitting there and brought flowers,” Myrta said. “She came to tell me that if it wasn’t for my husband, her husband would have died. My husband saved her husband’s life.” A few weeks later in October, Myrta held a memorial service for Rob. During the service, a woman in her 20s approached Myrta and told her a similar tale. “She walked over and said ‘I just wanted you to know that Rob saved my life,’” Myrta said. “She said ‘I froze, I couldn’t move and my feet felt like they were lead grounded in cement but he pushed me to the door, told me to keep running and don’t look back. That’s what I did and I’m here today to tell you that.’” Myrta, who was still mourning the loss of her husband, did not keep in touch with either party. Now in 2011,

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Myrta wishes she would have found out more. “Back then I didn’t want to know about these people because they lived and Rob didn’t, so I separated myself from them,” Myrta said. “Once they left I just felt very angry. I didn’t bother keeping in touch with them. I didn’t want to and I regret that.”

Finding forgiveness

Myrta continued to struggle with her anger during the next few years. After an unending routine of leaving the house only to go to work, she decided to seek medical help. “I started to isolate myself,” Myrta said. “I was snapping over here and snapping over there and everybody was looking at me like they shouldn’t be around. I started to isolate myself from the human race. My anger kept

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getting worse and I realized I needed help and went to a psychologist.” Myrta discovered that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress. Myrta began working to overcome the disorder. She began attending different churches each Sunday before finding the right fit, later being baptized as a born-again Christian in 2004. Despite her newfound faith, Myrta struggled as she felt something was missing. That’s when she found a solution at an International House of Prayer. “There was something still not right,” Myrta said. “I couldn’t be whole and I wanted to be whole and fill that void. One day we were at an International Prayer House and there were thousands of people in this house and everybody there was praying for the world. After several hours of praying I started voicing my forgiveness toward the people who murdered my husband. Then my life changed.” Myrta’s forgiveness of the terrorists who took her husband’s life turned her own life around. She began to feel complete and no longer angry. “After I did that I felt a joy and a peace in me, it was an experience like I had never felt before,” Myrta said. “It’s better to live in the light than to live in the darkness. Forgiveness is better than hatred. If we live in hatred, we will still be talking about terrorism and that’s why we have terrorism today. If we live in love, we won’t have terrorism. We won’t have to fight or have bickering.

A lost item

In 2005, Myrta received a call informing her of items belonging to her husband that had been found in the remains of the towers. Until then, she had no official proof of Rob’s death, only the assumption he was gone and not somewhere suffering from amnesia. Myrta gathered inside a room with others, picking up loved ones’ recovered items, when she received a shock. Among the items recovered were Rob’s wedding ring and his wallet, containing mundane items like a security pass and some cash. Tucked away inside the wallet was a lone $2 bill, the same one he had saved more than 26 years earlier when he proposed to her. “When they pulled that out I could not believe it,” Myrta said. With the bills reunited, Myrta received the closure she had waited so long for. She donated both $2 bills and Rob’s items found in the wreckage to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. She moved to Ohio in 2005 to be closer to her family, residing in Maumee. Myrta is visiting New York for the first time since she moved away on this Sept. 11 for the 10-year anniversary memorial service. O

A28 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

was playing with my little niece the other day. She is 2 years old. With the 9/11 anniversary so fresh in my mind, a thought occurred to me: She would never know a world before 9/11. I’m not sure I will be present when the time comes to discuss such events with her, and I’m not sure I’d want to be. How do you explain the change that happened that day to all of us, to someone who wasn’t there? How do you sum up the fear, the uncertainty, the anger, the overwhelming sadness? With the impending arrival of the 10-year anniversary, there have been many, many documentaries, remembrances, write-ups and more reflecting on that day when the world stopped. Each of these works seems content to discuss a piece of the event, rather than the whole puzzle. Small wonder — capturing the enormity of the day’s tragedy in two hours or a few thousand words seems a task to daunt Sisyphus.

Enter New York Magazine and its collection of essays, each covering bold online project, “The Encyclo- some aspect of the day’s events and pedia of 9/11” (nymag.com/news/ their aftermath. The pieces which make up the Enarticles/wtc). cyclopedia are wildly As stated in the indifferent in length, troduction: content, focus and “With all we now structure. In one way, know, how to begin to this is a benefit, giving address the enormity of a sense of the variety the event? Our solution of experiences from was not to shrink from that day. In another, its scale but to embrace it’s a hindrance, giving it. ... The alphabetized more focus to relatively jumble of an encyclominor factors while pedia, with its prepos- Jeff McGINNIS larger ones are someterous aspiration to describe whole cultures and continents times poorly represented. How to account for the fact that and bodies of knowledge in a single place — that, we thought, might be an the articles on current New York City interesting way to take in the multi- Mayor Michael Bloomberg or the bullhorn George W. Bush used to address plicity of 9/11’s effects.” The document as it now exists on the multitudes are so much longer than nymag.com is less of a comprehensive the one discussing Rudolph Giuliani? look at the events and more of a loose Perhaps the authors felt Giuliani’s im-

september 11, 2011

9/11 ‘Encyclopedia’ puts human face on tragedy I

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pact on the day was self-evident, or that so much had been said that little could be added. But what is the goal of a project such as this if not to bring together a wealth of such thoughts? The number of articles which actually follow traditional structure is small. Most of the pieces are not aiming for facts, but instead to capture a feel, a sense, a memory of what the day was like. It is in this way that the archive shines. Scrolling through its pages, I was reminded of facets of the events that had since faded: The rush to give blood in an effort to help the aid efforts; the eerie silence of a still night where air traffic was forbidden; the sharing of new information with anyone and everyone, for we were all one in the days that followed. That is what reading New York Magazine’s ambitious project gave to me. It took me back to where I, and

where the country, was on that day, and where it has gone in the days since. And it provides accounts that reapply a human face to events that time has dulled. There’s an entry titled “Goodbye” which preserves Beverly Eckert’s heartbreaking account of her last phone call with her husband, Sean Rooney, who died in the South Tower. Among all the events of that day, in the enormity of the loss of life, it’s easy to lose sight of the individual. But these weren’t faceless groups of people. These were thousands of distinct, singular persons, murdered senselessly. Eckert’s tale brings that back into focus. (Her story gains poignancy with the footnote that Eckert tragically died in a plane crash in 2009.) If my niece ever asks me what happened on 9/11, I think I’ll tell her about Beverly Eckert and Sean Rooney. O

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A30 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

TOLEDO FREE PRESS SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR sottney@toledofreepress.com

NEW YORK CITY — Sifting through the debris at Ground Zero in the days following Sept. 11, 2001, Lt. Mickey Kross was amazed to discover a pristine playing card amongst the ash and twisted wreckage. The veteran firefighter picked it up — a two of clubs — and stuck it in his pocket. Later, he wrote on it a quote from Shakespeare’s “Richard III”: “I have set my life upon a cast/And I will stand the hazard of the die.” “That’s my philosophy,” Kross, who donated the card to the 9/11 museum on the site, told Toledo Free Press. Kross would know something about beating the odds. He was a first responder to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks and was inside the North Tower when it collapsed. Hundreds died as the building fell, but a portion of a central stairway between the first and sixth floors sheltered 14 people — Kross, 11 other firefighters, a port authority police officer and a secretary who had worked on the 73rd floor — from the collapse. Their story was later featured in the History Channel documentary, “The Miracle of Stairway B.” Today, the 64-year-old Kross, who retired in 2006 after 28 years with the FDNY as well as four years with the New York City Police Department, spends most of his time talking about 9/11. “Everything I do is related to 9/11 in some fashion,” Kross said. “I used to do other things that I have just lost interest in — photography, watching films, visiting museums. This has in a sense consumed my life. Not in a negative fashion; it’s just what happened. All I do is interviews.” On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Kross was working at a fire station on East 29th Street in Manhattan. He was on the phone with his longtime girlfriend when the call came to respond to the North Tower of the World Trade Center, which had just been hit by a plane. The second plane hit the South Tower at 9:02 a.m., just

as Kross and his unit arrived at the scene. Kross, facing north with his back to the towers, didn’t see the plane hit, but heard a huge explosion and recalls being showered with flaming debris. “We didn’t know if the South Tower blew up or what the hell happened, whether a bomb blew up,” Kross said. “Crazy as it sounds, people watching it on television in San Francisco saw more and knew more than I did, and I was right there.” The resulting scene — the South Tower struck, the North Tower burning — was surreal, Kross said. “The sights were mind-boggling. I thought for a second a movie was being made. I didn’t know if it was actually happening,” Kross said. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my career, but nothing to compare to this.” Kross gathered his firefighters for a pep talk — as much to calm his own nerves as to help steady theirs — before they headed into the North Tower. “I can’t remember exactly what I said. I normally don’t do that. The guys know what to do,” Kross said. “That’s not a normal thing to do, but we did a huddle like the football players do. It was very brief. Just something like ‘Everybody take care of yourself and watch out for the guys next to you.’ There was not a lot of time, but I knew we were going into a very, very bad situation.” At 9:59 a.m., Kross was on the 23rd floor of the North Tower when he felt and heard a massive rumbling. He thought the building’s elevators had cut loose and were falling and worried he might be pulled into the nearby open shafts by the vacuum created. The sound was the South Tower collapsing. About this time, an order was issued to first responders in the North Tower to get out, so Kross turned around. He was on the third floor when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. The firefighters inside could hear the floors above them falling and hitting one another, faster and faster. Kross had forgotten to snap his helmet and it started to fly off. He yanked it down and pulled himself tight into a corner. n STAIRWAY CONTINUES ON A31

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september 11, 2011 n STAIRWAY CONTINUED FROM A30 “I thought I was going to be dead in a few seconds and I remember feeling ‘I hope this is fast’,” Kross recalled for the History Channel documentary. The 110-story tower fell in 10 seconds. Kross found himself trapped on a ledge away from the others in the stairway. In total darkness, the survivors began calling out to one another. Hours later, a radio message got through. The group reported their position as Stairway B of the North Tower, only to overhear the responder pause and ask someone, “Where’s the North Tower?” “That’s when we found out how bad the situation was,” Kross said. “We didn’t know the whole building had collapsed. Very often building collapses are partial collapses. They were trying to give a description of where we were and were telling them to go into the lobby. We didn’t know that stuff didn’t exist anymore.” As rescue workers attempted to locate the group’s position, Kross spotted an unexpected but welcome sight — a ray of sunshine. “It was all peppered with this dirt and debris running through it, but it was the most beautiful sight in the

world,” Kross said in the documentary. “A 110-story building fell down on top of us and I’m on the third floor looking at sunlight.” The opening had been there all along, revealed by a wind shift that allowed light to shine through the ash cloud. Kross and the others started crawling toward the opening, where they emerged to find a vast debris field where the towers used to be. Dazed, Kross came across a fire chief manning an improvised command post. When Kross stated his name and unit, the chief just stared at him. “He has this list of names and says, ‘We have you missing as presumed dead,’” Kross said. “I said, ‘No I’m here!’” Kross didn’t get back to the fire station until about 9 p.m., where he was reunited with his girlfriend. “I remember banging my coat against the brick to get dust out of my coat and then I walked home,” Kross said. “I don’t remember anything else.” Kross has mixed feelings about the 10th anniversary of the day he cast his die and won, against all odds. “Sometimes it feels like it’s been 10 years and sometimes it feels like it just happened,” Kross said. “Sometimes it feels like it never happened — like it was in a movie. But it was real.” O

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A32 n Toledo Free Press

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK

september 11, 2011

By Sarah Ottney

TOLEDO FREE PRESS SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR sottney@toledofreepress.com

NEW YORK CITY — On Sept. 11, 2001, Julia Torres Barden woke up and put on a red suit. In Manhattan for a business convention, the New York native was looking forward to catching up with family and old friends over live salsa music at the Greatest Bar on Earth near the top of the World Trade Center later that evening. Only a few hours later, the towers would lay in ruin and New York City would be changed forever. “Growing up in New York, being friendly was the last thing we were ever taught to be because to be friendly and open exposed you to danger, exposed you to scam, exposed you to the dark side,” Barden said. “I think a New Yorker’s way of protecting ourselves is simply to be very, very suspect at all times. You can’t let your guard down. Then 9/11 came and we had no choice but to be excruciatingly vulnerable. And people came from all over the world, so I think the city reevaluated its outlook.” Barden, who grew up in the South Bronx, lived with her husband and sons in Richmond, Va., in 2001. They have since moved to Toledo.

Favorite places

The day before 9/11, Barden was feeling contemplative and decided to visit some of her favorite places. “I took the train out to Yankee Stadium and I took the train to Spanish Harlem and I was very reflective, very pensive, because it was beautiful weather and I’d just had a day off,” Barden said. “That night I was talking to a lot of people, from my past, from my present. I said, ‘Let’s all go to the World Trade Center tomorrow, listen to salsa and just have a great night.” Talking on the phone to her aunt the next morning, Barden found it odd how poor the cell service was. “Service is usually pretty good, but we keep getting disconnected two, three times,” Barden said. “By the fourth time, I finally have to leave my room to be at the hotel by 9.” Walking through Times Square to the conference center, Barden came upon a large group of people congregated under an awning in front of a TV display. “As a typical New Yorker, my first reaction is, ‘F-ing tourists, I’m trying to get to my meeting,’” Barden said. “So I’m racing through, but the TVs are there and I see that one plane has already hit so I stop for a bit. A messenger on his bike pulls up right behind me and says, ‘Some ---hole just

flew into the World Trade Center.” She was still standing there watching when the second plane hit. “All of a sudden, we all got quiet and without thinking about it we all stepped out from under that covering to see the sky because it felt like, OK, now it’s intentional. Is this Pearl Harbor? Are there more planes coming?” Barden said. “So we’re standing there in horror digesting what’s going on, and Times Square goes silent, which is terrifying.”

A son in Virginia

Her thoughts flashed to her family at home in Virginia, her sister in Brooklyn. She suddenly felt very alone. She tried calling, but her cellphone wouldn’t work. Deciding she would rather be with co-workers than alone, she continued to the convention center, where she watched both towers collapse on a TV in the hotel bar. It was like watching part of her childhood crumble, Barden said. “It was the most disorienting thing. Just surreal. It was like somebody had severed my arm,” Barden said. “They were a family member to me because they started building them when I was young. Everybody in New York City would use those buildings as a compass. They were very comforting. “Later, I realized I didn’t hear it, I didn’t feel it, and I’m only what? Three miles away, four miles tops? It just shocked me that we didn’t feel anything. Now I just go into daze mode. Because this is my city, this is my town. What the hell just happened?” Returning to her own hotel, Barden found a barrage of frantic messages on the landline phone. “I very frequently stayed at the World Trade Center Mariott and my sister didn’t know where I was staying, so she freaked out,” Barden said. “She’s just screaming and sobbing, ‘Where are you? Where are you?’” Barden’s son, Jason Roundtree, now a 22-year-old college student, was in his seventh grade health class in Virginia when he learned of the attacks. He wasn’t worried about his mom at first because he had forgotten she was there. “I remember my teacher said a plane hit the tower. It was hard to wrap my brain around what was going on,” Roundtree said. “The guidance counselor told me my mom had called and she was fine. It was a relief, but also made things worse because I remembered she was there. “From a 12-year-old’s perspective, I knew it was big, but then when I came home and was flipping through channels and even MTV had cut to a CNN feed and every single thing on

TV was that, that kind of made me understand how important everything was. We basically just sat at home and watched TV all night and tried to figure it out.” With all roads out of the city closed and guardsmen in the streets, New York felt like a war zone, Barden said. “I decided, I’ve got to get out of here the second this city will let me, because I’m a mom and that comes first,” Barden said. “I wanted to get home for my son’s birthday coming up. He was young and I just wanted him to have a normal birthday. But I was also upset to leave my city, because I really felt like a soldier. I wanted to stay and defend it, big time. But I left because I’m a mom.” It took two days, but a road out finally opened. “On Thursday morning, about 10 a.m., one lane of the Lincoln Tunnel opened and I shot out of the hotel,” Barden said. “I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I don’t think I thought about how when you come out of that tunnel, you are going to see the destruction. Because I hadn’t seen it. I hadn’t even smelled it. And when I came out of the tunnel on the Jersey side, oh my God, that’s when I saw the plume, the jagged remnants and I just lost it. “I do have to be honest, I was relieved not to live in New York City. It pains me to say that, but I do wonder how those people are doing who didn’t have the choice? How have they pro-

photo courtesy jullia torres barden

Eyewitness: ‘New York became a small town after 9/11’

JUlia torres barden and her son in New York City on Aug. 19, 2011.

cessed what they’ve been through? Those people who had apartments that came back to 6 inches of dust. Nobody helped them clean it. They cleaned it themselves. How could they not be physically impacted by what they inhaled? You could tell we were inhaling human remains. They continued to find fingers and toes on the roofs of the buildings around the area. So the recovery effort continues. I don’t think the rest of the country always understands that. We’re still in

recovery mode, let alone rebuilding.” Once home, Barden dove straight back into family life, doing her best to act normal for her children. “I tried really hard to switch gears quickly and I think in hindsight that probably wasn’t such a good thing because PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms started to present two years later,” Barden said. “I didn’t appropriately grieve at the time. I just kept going on with my life.” n BARDEN CONTINUES ON A33

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the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011 n BARDEN CONTINUED FROM A32 Barden said the experience has made her a more patriotic person. “In New York City growing up, the FDNY, the NYPD, we just took them for granted,” Barden said. “The pictures of the FDNY climbing the stairs with all of that equipment, it’s earth-shattering, really. It changed my life in terms of how I now look at our soldiers, and our police and our fire and our EMT guys.” Barden recently began serving on

the national board of directors for the Alpha-1 Association, an organization raising awareness of a rare genetic enzyme deficiency that can leave lungs more prone to disease. She believes it’s an undiagnosed factor that plays a role in the health issues developed by some 9/11 first responders. “It’s very cathartic and it’s very rewarding in a twisted sense to have these two issues in my life kind of mesh around the 10th anniversary,” Barden said.

Roundtree said the events of 9/11 forced his generation to rethink America’s invincibility. “We were raised with America as a powerhouse. We invent everything that’s good in the world and nobody’s going to stop us,” Roundtree said. “[9/11] put it in perspective that people still don’t like us and are able to do things about it and we are able to take damage. But that’s the negative. On the positive side, I’d say we’re closer together.”

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Barden agrees. “New York became a small town immediately after 9/11. It was New York in a way I’d never seen it,” Barden said. “There was no more stranger danger. We all knew we better support each other or we’re screwed.” About three weeks after 9/11, Barden brought her sons to visit Ground Zero. “It was weird how dusty everything was, I remember that,” Roundtree said. “Like even with the doors closed, every inch of every store was covered in dust. It was really weird. It didn’t smell normal. And no one was talking, which is strange in New York. It was pretty quiet.” It was on their way to a Mets game at Shea Stadium, near LaGuardia Airport, the next day that Barden heard on the radio the U.S. had started bombing Afghanistan. “I swear to God, that crowd got quiet every time a plane went by the stadium,” Barden said. “We’d all watch it. You could see the heads going from

n A33

the left to the right and then we’d go back to the game.” Barden, who was already superstitious before the attacks, still has her little hang-ups. A certain siren sound haunts her. “There is a sound a fire truck makes that I have trouble listening to, and it’s the do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do. That bird thing. I don’t like that,” Barden said. “The sirens just kept going, going, going.” She also shudders when she sees a clock at 9:11. “It’s not debilitating, but I take it easy until 9:12,” Barden said. “I can’t start my day on 9:11 and I can’t go to bed at 9:11.” Barden said healing is a process; she often thinks she’s gotten over something, only to have it return. “It’s an evolutionary process,” Barden said. “Faith is a huge part of my recovery. There’s no other way to make sense of what happened. I realized how close I was to dying that day. The plane flew over me, too.” O

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9/11 legacy: Lessons lost

At a time when my husband and I have a feeling that I’m not able to fully comprehend the Great De- were on the brink of wanting to have pression, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, our own children, the world suddenly V-E Day or any other monumental felt as if it was completely crumbling day before my time. Just hearing around us. We spent the first several and reading about them throughout days watching much of what we had my life has not quite been enough known seemingly slip away on the news. All that we could to impress their true do was put our lives on weight upon me. Try as pause to mourn what I might, learning hiswas and to fear what tory just isn’t the same might be coming next. as living through it. I don’t remember I can vividly recall when, but there evensitting in my fourth tually came a point grade classroom when I stopped fearing watching live coverage what might be and inof the Challenger distead gained confidence saster, standing in Best Shannon SZYPERSKI about what must be. I Buy as O.J. attempted to elude the LAPD in slow motion, wanted to start a family even more seeing the manhunt unfold the day than I had on September 10, 2001. of the Oklahoma City bombing and Perhaps it was witnessing a unificaarguing with my husband minutes tion of Americans that I never quite before the Space Shuttle Columbia believed could live outside of our ideals, or perhaps it was just a redisintegrated upon re-entry. Still, no moment in modern bellious American spirit peeking American history is as deeply through and demanding that we keep etched into my mind, and no doubt living our lives in spite of it all, but into the minds of most Americans, something made me want to bring children into the world more than I as Sept. 11, 2001. It is our day that will live in infamy. ever had before. So, we did. Like millions of Americans, I My children have lived up to their watched United Airlines Flight 175 fly into the South Tower live on tele- end of the bargain, opening up our vision. I mistakenly thought I had world in new and wonderful ways, witnessed recorded footage of the first but it frustrates me to realize that our plane and the first crash, allowing me world has failed them in the ways I to hold onto hope for a few more sec- was most hoping it would teach them. onds that what was happening could The differences-aside unity we experibe anything other than deliberate. As enced, reveled in and breathed for the those seconds passed and I lost what- first weeks following 9/11 too soon beever pieces of naiveté were left in me at came a casualty itself. Little evidence 25 years old, I realized that I was also of the good we were able to salvage babysitting two little ones who de- from the horror of that day remains served to maintain their own innocent for my children to learn from and world views, at least until their parents build upon. As our country now struggles came home that day. As thousands of people around through financial, social and other the country experienced their worst, hardships, we could use that sense most unimaginable nightmares while of accord we discovered in those still wide awake, I spent much of the first days and small hours after 9/11, day trying to pretend like nothing bad when we realized without question had happened. I remember floating what was right and what was wrong. erratically between playing outside on Yet, the skewed ideals that led to one of the otherwise clearest and most the 9/11 events 10 years ago are esbeautiful days I’ve ever noticed and sentially the same skewed ideals we secretly soaking in the news coverage continue to utilize ourselves to diof so many fellow humans losing their vide our country today: we’re right, lives, their loved ones, their sanity and someone else is wrong and we’re their futures. I attempted to guide my going to prove it. We convince ourlittle charges through as normal a day selves that there is more good and as possible, but the back of my mind more honor in getting our way than couldn’t quite stop wondering if, along in getting along. I know my children will only with a million other things, their uncle had made it safely out of the Pentagon grasp 9/11 to the extent that I grasp and if they would ever see him again. Pearl Harbor. Part of me is just hopeful that they will never experiThankfully, they would.

ence such dread themselves, while the other part of me is relieved that they may also never understand how shamefully we rejected the lessons

we were handed that day. In some instances, it’s probably best that learning history just isn’t the same as living through it. O

Shannon and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at letters@ toledofreepress.com.

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A34 n Toledo Free Press

september 11, 2011

the 10th anniversary of 9/11

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Toledo Free Press publishes classified ads and cannot be responsible for problems arising between parties placing or responding to ads in our paper. We strongly urge everyone to exercise caution when dealing with people, companies and organizations with whom you are not familiar.

employment THE OCEAN CORP, 10840 Rockley Road, Houston, Texas 77099. Train for New Career. *Underwater Welder, Commercial Diver. *NDT/Weld Inspector. Job Placement Assistance. Financial Aid available for those who qualify. 1-800-321-0298. general HIRING NOW! TRAVEL Today! Seeking Sharp Guys/Gals, Rock-n-Roll Atmosphere, Blue Jean Environment! $500 Sign-on Bonus. Jan 888361-1526 NOW HIRING! TRAVEL TODAY! Seeking Sharp Guys and Gals, Rock-n-Roll Atmosphere, blue jean environment. $500 Sign-on Bonus! Lorraine 877-777-2091

INTERESTED BIDDERS: TOLEDO PUBLIC SCHOOLS –RYDER ACHIEVMENT CENTER AND OLD ORCHARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEMOLITION Sealed bids will be accepted by the Board of Education of the Toledo Public School District until 1:00 p.m. on September 28th, 2011, at the Toledo Public Schools Treasurers’ Room 3, 420 E. Manhattan Blvd., Toledo, Ohio 43608, for all labor, material and supervision necessary for the demolition of Ryder Achievement Center and Old Orchard Elementary School, as more fully described in the drawings and specifications for the project prepared by The Collaborative, Inc. will be opened publicly and read immediately thereafter. Bid Documents for the project may be examined at the F.W. Dodge plan room in Columbus, Builders Exchange in Toledo, University of Toledo – Capacity Building, E.O.P.A. – Hamilton Building, Northwest Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and The Plan Room in Ann Arbor, Construction Association of Michigan, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Construction News. Bidders may obtain copies of the documents starting September 7th, 2011 which can be purchased from Becker Impressions, 4646 Angola Road, Toledo, Ohio 43615, phone: (419) 385-5303. Drawings may be obtained on CD-ROM for no cost with the purchase of the specifications.

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education

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A PREBID CONFERENCE is scheduled for September 16th, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. at the Toledo Public Schools Board Room, 420 E. Manhattan Blvd., Toledo, Ohio 43608. Site walk-throughs at Ryder and Old Orchard will commence after the pre-bid meeting according to the schedule provided at the meeting. If you have any questions or a need for additional information, please direct all questions in writing patrick.stutler@lgb-llc.com , by phone at (419) 776-5600, or fax at (877) 281-0784. Bid Package – Old Orchard Elementary School: Bid Item No. 1 Old Orchard Elementary School Building Demolition $ 243,147.00 Bid Package – Ryder Achievement Center: Bid Item No. 1 Ryder Achievement Center Building Demolition

$ 102,000.00

SNOW PLOW OPERATORS WITH VEHICLES The City of Toledo, Streets, Bridges and Harbor Division is interested in contracting with owners/operators of snow plow vehicles for plowing on residential streets during heavy snow conditions. All bids must be received by 2:00 p.m., September 27th, 2011. For a copy of the bid proposals and specifications, contact Streets, Bridges and Harbor.

STREETS, BRIDGES, AND HARBOR 1189 W. Central Ave. Toledo, Ohio 43610 419-245-1575

the 10th anniversary of 9/11

september 11, 2011 Sunday Morning ABC 13 CBS 11 FOX 36 NBC 24 PBS 30 A&E BRAVO COM DISN ESN FAM FOOD HGTV LIF MTV TBS TCM TNT USA WTO5

8 am

8:30

9:30

1 pm

1:30