The World Trade Center was our generation’s icon on the New York City skyline much as the empire state building was the icon of my grandparent’s time and the statue of liberty was the icon of great great grandparents. Jeanine and I visited NYC in June 2001 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.
The Trade Center was a great vantage point to view the city from. Little did we know that in three short months from then it would be no more and that so many people would lose their lives on that spot. I work for Motorola and in the weeks and months following September 11 I worked around the clock supporting rescue operations and the replacement of critical public safety communications systems. Based in our command center in Chicago I must have seen images of the buildings‘ collapse replayed thousands of times on big screen TV’s.
It was our customers, the first responders and first defenders that were running up the stairs to try to save people when the buildings collapsed. The fact that I had stood on the top of the buildings only 3 months before made it very personal to me and left an indelible mark on my soul. I still choke up today when I think about that terrible time.
Keith Soldner, August 7, 2011
