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Patricia Stanley, Superintendent
Mount Lebanon Cemetery and Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Woodbridge, New Jersey
Along with sharing her story, Patricia would like to honor the memory of Steven Goldstein and Kevin Cohen, two Cantor Fitzgerald employees who lost their lives on 9/11.
This is an unabridged account of Patricia’s experience on September 11, 2001. Reader discretion is advised.
My name is Patricia, and I’d like to share my experience of September 11, 2001.
It was an absolutely beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. I can say that with absolute certainty because the events that followed would be forever etched in my mind and also my heart.
Our workday started just like any other. I arrived at the cemetery around 7:20 a.m. At the start of the day, I was getting my crew together and dropping teams off to their respective locations. It was around 8:40 a.m. when the last crew was dropped off.
I had the radio on, and I heard the traffic report as I got back to the car around 8:50 a.m. The helicopter pilot for the news channel was saying, “Something is going on at the Trade Center,” he said, “It looks to be a small plane or helicopter may have struck one of the towers.” He saw smoke and was speaking in a confused manner.
Needless to say, the events that followed were unimaginable and very hard to comprehend. I drove up to our office on the cemetery grounds and told the staff what I had heard. We went into the kitchen and turned on the TV.
At this point, the news was on every channel. The newscasters were visibly upset as the news was still unfolding. Then, all of a sudden, we watched in horror as the second plane hit the second tower and we all knew then what this was: This was terrorism! Hate at its finest.
We all stood in shock as we looked at one another, not knowing what to do or say. But we cried and held each other because at that moment we knew this was bad, real bad.
Then we went into a mode of, “We gotta do something, but what? What can we possibly do? Help in some way, right?”
We didn’t know how many people were in the buildings and how many got out, how many were injured. Then as we watched, the first tower fell and covered the city and people in white ash as they ran to escape the area.
Then the second tower collapsed, and we waited for news – but no one was saying that tons of people poured out of the buildings before the collapse.
As the hours went on, the grim reality settled in that there may not be many survivors. Then it hits us that we may need to bury the fallen, that we may be inundated with the souls lost that day and the days that follow. We realized we may have to help families bury loved ones from this act of terrorism on our soil.
It was just mind-blowing, and being in the death industry doesn’t prepare you for a tragedy of this magnitude!
As the days went by, it was eerie because the first responders weren’t finding many victims. We knew then that the souls that didn’t make it out were in fact gone, just gone.
Two weeks after the attacks, Steven Goldstein, a young father, was found. His two small children came with us to his final resting place.
After that time, we as a nation seemed closer to one another. We felt a sense of togetherness, even for people we didn’t have a bond with. We also felt patriotic, proud to be an American. The flag had new meaning to all of us; it was a symbol seen at almost every home and every street corner saying:
United we stand. We will never waver or succumb to evil. Even at our worst hour, we will prevail.
Patriot Day reminds us that in honoring victims and helping communities in need, we can keep the true, patriotic spirit of our nation alive.
But much like Patricia, after that fateful day, many Americans wondered how they could help in a tangible way. To support victims and their families, and to learn more about the history and impact of 9/11, we encourage you to visit the following websites:
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