Above Him Only Sky

I can still remember - you were my girl.

With skies so clear, we could see forever more

Through our window of the world.

-Window of the World

Glen Burtnik

Roko Camaj earned his living doing something that my pathological fear of heights would never have permitted me to do.  He was a window washer at the World Trade Center. Several times each year he and his partner would get into scaffolding suspended a robust 1,300 feet above the street below and wash the windows at the buildings' very top that its automated window-washing system could not reach.  Not only did doing what he did not fill him with dread, he absolutely loved it.  His son, Vincent, said that his father considered his job to be an escape, telling his son, "It is just me and the sky up there.  I bother no one.  No one bothers me." 

Tragically, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the murderous cowards who hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 and flew it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 am did more than simply bother Roko Camaj.  He was on the 105th floor when the jet impacted the building.  He telephoned his wife to tell her where he was and that he was awaiting evacuation.  He implored her not to worry, telling her that he and all of those with him were "in God's hands". 

He spent the final twenty-seven years of his life working as a window washer at the World Trade Center. He had started working there shortly after the complex opened. Not wanting his wife, Katrina, to worry about how it was he earned his living, he never told her that his job required him to spend time outside of the Twin Towers.  She only learned of his alfresco exploits when she read a story in the newspaper.  Roko and Katrina emigrated to the United States in 1969.  They lived in Manhasset, Long Island.  He was the proud father of three grown children

On February 26, 1993, Roko Camaj was at work when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center for the first time.  On that day, he telephoned his wife and children to tell them he would not be home for some time.  He then walked down the stairs from the 107th floor out into the fresh air and to safety.  By the time he exited the building, his skin was blackened by smoke.  Not wanting to worry his wife, he did not head home right away.  Instead, he spent the time necessary to clean himself up and to calm himself down.  

On February 27, 1993, he got up and went to work.  

On September 10, 2001, he had returned to work following a well-deserved vacation to Montenegro, Albania, where he had spent time with his four brothers.  The trip had been a birthday present from his daughter.  

On September 11, 2001, he got up and went to work. 

Roko Camaj

-AK 

These Ten Words

While remaining faithful to my declared mission (way back when on August 10) of honoring the memory of someone killed in the September 11th terror attacks daily through September 11, 2020, I would be remiss if I did not pause for a moment to interrupt this piece in order to share some good news.  On this day, seven years ago, Suzanne (my only daughter) got married.  Never in my life have I taken as joy-filled a walk as I did that evening as the three of us (Suz, her father Bob, and Yours truly) made it up/down the aisle.  She and Ryan have built a simply terrific life together, including but not limited to contributing three-fifths of the starting five to Pop Pop's quintet of grandchildren.  Happy Anniversary Suzanne and Ryan.  Much love and much luck to you both.

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Honey, you are my hero.

I will love you. Always. 

-Angela Lee

Voices of 09/11 Living Memorial

Angela Lee's husband, David S. Lee, was a senior vice-president at Fiduciary Trust.  He was thirty-seven.  At the time of his death on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Angela was pregnant with the couple's first child.  David and Angela were both Chinese.  Angela recounted that neither of them felt any burning need to learn the baby's gender prior to its birth.  y's gender prior to its birth.  Her husband, beyond ecstatic at the thought of becoming a dad, had picked out two names, one for a daughter and one for a son.  She said that he used to next to her and talk to the fetus, asking questions such as, "Can you hear me?"   

On the morning of September 11, 2001, David Lee was in his office in the South Tower when United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into the building at 9:03 am.  He was one of ninety-seven souls in his office killed.  

David S. Lee

Fiduciary Trust

Angela and David Lee married in June 2000 and had celebrated their first wedding anniversary less than three months prior to the day he died.  He hardly had any time at all to enjoy being a husband.  And he was cheated altogether out of being a dad.  

Not too long after David's death, Angela had a sonogram so she could learn the gender of their unborn child.  It was a son.  Approximately six months after David's death, Angela welcomed their son, Ryan, into her life.  

-AK 

Captain America Calling

FF Brian Bilcher

FDNY - Squad 1

FF Brian Bilcher, a member of Squad 1 in Brooklyn, was Captain America - at least in the eyes of his wife, Tina.  He was a "do anything for you", "there in the nick of time, every time" type of fellow. His character traits and strengths might have evoked comparisons to a comic book hero but they were in fact something far superior to anything that might have appeared there.  His, unlike the Captain's, were real.  They were not merely the figment of an animator's imagination. 

His brothers in Squad 1 affectionately called FF Bilcher "Tugboat". He was 6'1" tall and 240 pounds - a solidly-built, somewhat broad-based man.  He spent the final ten years of his far-too-short life as a member of the FDNY.  On what sadly turned out to be the final night of his life, he telephoned Tina to tell her that he had been asked to work overtime.  She had given birth to the couple's first child, their son Grant, on August 29, 2001.  Both of them were thankful for his ability to pick up the overtime shift as it lessened the young family's financial burden while she was home on maternity leave.  Neither of them had any way of knowing that when they said their final "I love you" to one another that evening, those would be the final words they would ever speak to each other.   

FF Bilcher was only thirty-eight years old when he died on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He is one of twelve members of Squad 1 who died on that terrible Tuesday morning while saving others at the World Trade Center. On June 4, 2002, on what would have been the Bilchers' second anniversary, Tina Bilcher laid her husband to rest. With nine-month-old Grant on her lap, she bade farewell to Captain America.  

-AK 

A Knight Like No Other

Glenn J. Winuk

Hollywood has a pre-conceived notion - a stereotype - of a successful Partner at a prestigious New York City law firm.  Glenn Winuk, in all likelihood, would not have been the first hopeful to be summoned from Central Casting to read for the role.  And to him, that would have made no difference whatsoever. 

Glenn Winuk was a well-regarded and successful partner in the New York City office of Holland & Knight, which office in the fall of 2001 was located in Lower Manhattan at the corner of Broadway and Dey Street - a couple of blocks east of the Twin Towers.  Mr. Winuk, who was forty years young, was in his midtown Manhattan apartment on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when he learned of the attack on the World Trade Center.  He dashed downtown - first to his law firm to ensure that everyone there evacuated the premises safely - and then to the Twin Towers so that he could assist in the rescue effort. 

Born and raised in Jericho, New York, Glenn Winuk had been a member of the Jericho Volunteer Fire Department from the time that he was old enough to join.  He maintained his membership in the Department for more than twenty years in spite of the rigors of his career and in spite of the fact that he worked and lived in Manhattan.  He was drawn to helping others.  

His reaction on September 11, 2001 was the same reaction he had had in February, 1993, when terrorists blew up a bomb in the World Trade Center's underground parking garage.  On both occasions he ran headlong into danger and used his training as a firefighter and as an emergency medical technician to help those who needed it.  In 1993, his selflessness did not result in his death. Tragically, eight and one-half years later, it did. 

Through the tireless efforts of his parents, Elaine and Seymour, and his brother, Jay, in 2006 Glenn Winuk was inducted as a member of the FDNY Honor Legion for his actions on September 11, 2001, becoming the first non-FDNY member to attain that recognition. In 2009, his family received the 9/11 Heroes of Valor Medal, which honors public safety officers who were killed on September 11. 

His name is emblazoned on the simply stunning Memorial Wall at Ten House.  I assure you, having spent a considerable amount of time there on several occasions, it is something that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.   There, in its rightful place among the names of all of the FDNY's heroes who died on that terrible day, is Glenn Winuk's name.

Glenn J. Winuk Memorial Plaque at Ten House

Photo Credit:  Adam Kenny

-AK

The Flag of Her Father

Patricia Madden was only nineteen months old when she kissed her father, Richard, for the last time. Richard B. Madden worked as an insurance broker at Aon, which had its offices on the 100th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.  On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Mr. Madden was at work when the murderous cowards who had hijacked United Airlines flight 175 flew it into the South Tower at 9:03 am.  Trapped above the impact zone, he telephoned his wife, Maura, to tell her that he was afraid he would not make it home to her alive.  Sadly, he was right.   

Before leaving his home in Westfield every morning to make the commute into lower Manhattan, Mr. Madden would remind Patricia that he was leaving and exhort her, "Don't grow up on me now." Maura Madden said that in addition to that daily ritual, father and daughter also shared a ritual related to the American flag that proudly flew outside the Madden home.  

Every night before he would go to bed, Mr. Madden took his flag down and stored it inside.  Every morning Patricia would exclaim "Flag! Flag!" to "remind" him to return it to its rightful place outside. He never forgot.  Not once. 

Mr. Madden was just thirty-five years old when he was killed on September 11, 2001.  His young bride, Maura, and his little girl, Patricia, have lived the past nineteen years without him.  He is memorialized on an individual obelisk bearing his name, which is part of the Westfield, New Jersey September 11 Memorial Park. 

The wedding ring that Mr. Madden wore was inscribed, "Rich, all my love, Maura" and he was, of course, wearing it on what tragically proved to be the final day of his all-too-short life.  When his body was recovered, authorities were able to use the ring to identify him and to get him home to his family.  

Richard B. Madden

-AK 

"Family Hugs!"

Thomas R. Clark

Sandler O'Neill 

I never met Thomas R. Clark.  Nonetheless when I was doing my on-line research in preparation of writing this piece, I came across a piece of information that made me smile.  He was not merely a fan - but a proponent - of the "big hug".  It was how he would great his wife, Lisa, when he would return home to Summit each day from his job at Sandler O'Neill in lower Manhattan.  When his son, Matthew, was born and got old enough to realize what mom/dad's welcome home ritual was, like any good toddler, he asked in on the action.  Soon "Big Hugs!" was replaced by "Family Hugs!" as Mr. Clark's first post-work utterance in the household. 

Thomas Clark was in his office on the 104th floor of the South Tower when United Airlines Flight 175 struck it at 9:03 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He and Lisa were the loving, proud parents of two little ones. Matthew was just two when his daddy died.  Baby Whitney was less than six months old.  Mr. Clark adored his children.  Saturday mornings were dedicated to time he spent with Matthew.  The Clark men would go to Dunkin' Donuts to pick up a nosh and then head over to the Summit Train Station (from which Mr. Clark commuted in/out of New York City five days a week) to watch the trains.  

Lisa and Thomas Clark had celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary less than two months prior to his death.  She was only thirty-five when she was widowed.  Tom Clark died slightly more than three months prior to his thirty-eighth birthday.  

Matthew is now twenty-one.  Whitney is now nineteen. I hope that if and when Tom Clark's children have their own families, the "Family Hugs!" tradition their father started a lifetime ago experiences a renaissance. If it does, I hope it has the chance to run in the households of their adulthood far longer than fate ever permitted it to run in the household of their childhood.  

-AK 

  

The Eternal Toll of an Endless Day

Ten days from today is the nineteenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack.  That day was, of course, more than just a day.  The ramifications of what happened in lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and on United Flight 93 have been felt every day since and shall continue to be felt much like ever-expanding circles on the smooth surface of a mountain lake after a stone is skipped across it.  It is for that reason that September 11, 2001 is a date that no one should ever forget.  In many significant ways, it is a day whose ending has not yet happened. 

Sunday's New York Post included a piece by Carl Campanile that is equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating.  It highlighted the toll that COVID-19 has taken - and continues to take - on the 09/11 community, including but not limited to first responders who fell ill due to prolonged exposure to toxins in the air and on the ground at Ground Zero while they worked there during the months following the attacks.  

Michael Barasch, whose firm represents thousands of 9/11 survivors, first responders, and their next of kin enrolled in the Victims' Compensation Fund told the Post that almost one hundred of his clients have died within the past several months either contracted COVID-19 or are believed to have contracted it.  As Mr. Barasch put it, "COVID attacks everyone, but the most vulnerable are those with respiratory illness who can't fight the virus...It shouldn't surprise us that so many in the 9/11 community are getting COVID and are unable to fight it." 

One of 2020's victims of the 9/11/COVID-19 combination is Michael Hawkins, 69, a retired FDNY Fire Marshal who developed 9/11-related illnesses after working for weeks at a makeshift morgue near Ground Zero nineteen years ago.  COVID-19 attacked him earlier this year and killed him on April 2, 2020.  Another is Artie Lacker, 72, a driver for a construction company who spent two and one half years helping clear debris from Ground Zero. Mr. Lacker developed lung cancer and asthma due to his time spent at Ground Zero.  Earlier this year, he fell ill with COVID-19.  On April 22, 2020 it killed him. A third is Beatrice Granberg.  Ms. Granberg, 79, worked near Ground Zero at Standard & Poors and for months following September 11, 2001, was exposed to the toxic air in the area around her office.  She developed lymphoma.  Earlier this year, she was hospitalized as part of her treatment and upon being discharged from the hospital, was released to a nursing home.  On May 9, 2020, two weeks after being discharged from the nursing home, COVID-19 killed her. 

Robin Lacker, Artie Lacker's widow, did not have the chance to wish her husband a proper farewell.  He was hospitalized in April, when because of the COVID-19 pandemic she was not permitted to see him in the hospital.  The couple said their final goodbyes via a Facebook chat.  Her plea to her fellow New Yorkers?  Wear your mask.  

A reminder that words without actions are simply noise, of which this world has more than enough. 

-AK