On September 10, New York City’s Chinatown remained bustling and lively. People were coming and going on the streets, restaurants were packed with diners, and businesses were operating as usual. At first glance, everything seemed to have returned to its former prosperity.
However, for some who have lived in New York for decades, Chinatown is no longer the same as it was 25 years ago.
At a “Remembering the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks” photo exhibition held by the Chinese-American Hotel Association on September 10, an elderly woman in her eighties named Alice Yan recalled the terrifying moments of that day.
Alice, who was a financial manager in a company 25 years ago, remembered arriving at the office as usual on the morning of September 11. Upon entering, she found her colleagues gathered in the meeting room, loudly screaming and staring in horror at the black smoke billowing from the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Terrorists had already hijacked a plane that had crashed into the tower, shrouding it in smoke.
Shortly after, Alice and her colleagues witnessed a second plane crashing into the South Tower, with flames bursting out this time.
“At that moment, my first thought was: what can I do?” Alice recalled.
She sensed that the power might go out soon, and she had to pay her employees that day. She immediately went back to her office and processed all the payroll. Before long, the power did go out. “Because my work was already done, I was not affected.”
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, and the images captured by reporters from the Associated Press before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks shed light on the process of reporting at that time.
Amy Sancetta, a retired Associated Press photographer from Ohio, recounted that September 11 was supposed to be her day off. Upon receiving a call from the editor informing her of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center, she immediately headed there. She did not even know where it was located, and a taxi driver brought her to a nearby street corner.
Amy began taking photos right away. She witnessed the South Tower collapsing and sought shelter in a parking garage to evade the debris tsunami. When she walked on the street later, everything was white, with sounds of rapid breathing, footsteps, and sobbing around her.
The next day, on September 12, her photos – including burning World Trade Center towers – were featured in newspapers, exposing the nightmare to the world.
Some people perished in the moment of impact. The massive collision, explosion, and scattered debris left those near the impact zone with little chance of survival.
Others did not die immediately.
Above the impact floors, some were trapped in the upper levels of the towers. Intense fire, thick smoke, and high temperatures gradually consumed the floors. Especially in the North Tower, many lost the possibility of escaping due to the impact destroying the escape routes upward.
In such dire circumstances, some people fell from the high floors. AP photographer Richard Drew captured the image of people falling from the towers. One of the most famous photographs from that day was titled “Falling Man”.
The image of a man falling headfirst, almost parallel to the vertical lines of the Twin Towers, showcased a graceful posture amidst tragedy.
This photo appeared in some newspapers the following day, while others refused to publish it, fearing it would distress readers.
It was reported that about 200 individuals were witnessed falling from the towers at the moment of impact. These visuals became one of the most heart-wrenching and unforgettable images of 9/11.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
29 minutes later, the North Tower also fell.
At that moment of the buildings’ collapse, civilians who had not evacuated, as well as firefighters, police, and rescue workers who were heading into the buildings, were trapped and did not make it out. Among them was the Chinese-American hero, Zeng Zhe.
According to municipal records, the deaths of New York City firefighters, police, and other rescue personnel were particularly concentrated during this period. The Fire Department lost a total of 343 firefighters that day, with dozens of police officers and law enforcement personnel perishing.
At the memorial photo exhibition on September 10, Alice recited a poem documenting the self-rescue and life-saving actions of New Yorkers during the 9/11 attacks.
The 9/11 Memorial also records the heroic acts of thousands of people before their deaths. One such individual was the firefighter priest, Mychal Judge. He was assisting in the North Tower lobby during the rescue efforts when the South Tower collapsed, and he was killed by the debris. Before his death, Judge was praying to God, “Please end this all.”
Shortly after Judge’s demise, his body was found by five firefighters and civilian volunteers and carried out of the North Tower before it collapsed.
A Reuters photographer captured this scene, and the photo became one of the most famous images of 9/11.
Judge was designated as “Victim 0001” because, while he was not the first casualty, he was the first one whose identity was confirmed.
Before the North Tower collapsed, some World Trade Center employees did not immediately evacuate but, leveraging their knowledge of the building’s structure, assisted others in finding escape routes. Construction managers Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz were among those who helped at least 50 trapped individuals escape that day but tragically perished when the North Tower fell.
Such acts occurred in the final moments of nearly 3,000 victims. Many of them managed to contact their families before their passing, expressing their love and, in some cases, choosing to keep quiet about their own situation while focusing on aiding others.
In her poem, Alice stated that through 9/11, she truly understood Americans who cherished life for its beauty but were unafraid of death amidst danger. They faced adversity without fear, cooperated, and selflessly sacrificed their precious lives in the face of life and death challenges.
Alice said that she has always enjoyed writing poetry throughout her life, focusing on herself in the past. However, this time, she wanted to write for others, particularly for the Americans who self-rescued and saved others at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.
“Every time I revisit 9/11, my heart weighs heavily,” Alice expressed, but she also feels proud. “I am proud to be an American, and we can never forget 9/11.”