Everyone who worked for the Port Authority on September 11, 2001 and survived that tragedy has carried his or her unique story from that day to this. Some have shared them with families and colleagues. Some have told them again and again as docents at the former WTC Tribute Center, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, or annual hometown memorials. Some have kept them as private memories out of sorrow or humility.
No two are alike. They span the events at Ground Zero that day, the immediate responses at every PA facility around the region, and the long process of mourning lost colleagues while restoring operations as the agency rebuilt the WTC complex and upgraded security and resilience at its other facilities.
One common conviction among that generation of the Port Authority family is that those who carry on the agency’s public service mission never forget either the human tragedy of 9/11 or the resilience demonstrated by agency staff in the weeks, months, and years that followed. That legacy is at risk as PA staff members with direct knowledge of 9/11 and its aftermath depart or retire.
The Port Authority Retirees Association resolved in this milestone year to gather the stories of those with firsthand knowledge of the 9/11 era as a collective archive and resource for agency staff today and for years to come. PARA invited all of the current and former members for whom we have contact information to share their stories. All replies received to date follow below. Together they are panoramic, moving, and instructive -- and hopefully as indelible for those who read them as for those who share them here.
Additional submissions received through the end of 2026 will be added to this archive on the PARA website and will be available to the Port Authority, its staff, and the public. Click here to learn more.