Reflecting on September 11 Through a Firsthand Account

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Upper School Health Teacher Jeff Shanes shared his firsthand experience of the day with seniors during Morning Meeting.

Shanes was working at a publishing company in Manhattan that morning and had looked toward downtown on his walk to work. “From the time it took me to walk half a block and go into my office, everything changed,” he told students.

Also an EMT at the time, Shanes reported for duty after the second plane struck the World Trade Center. He was directed to New Jersey and eventually joined his crew in Hoboken, where emergency personnel were preparing to receive people arriving by water from Lower Manhattan.

“We treated, we treated, we treated, went through patient after patient,” Shanes recalled. Hours later, he and other emergency personnel were told they could go home.

“And that’s when it hit me. That was the duration. No one else was coming,” he said. “And 25 years later, it still hits me.”

Shanes ended by explaining why he wanted to share such a difficult memory with students who were born years after the attacks. He recalled hearing a Pearl Harbor survivor speak when he was their age and how that personal account transformed a date in history into something real.

“I’m just hoping I’m making it a little more real for you guys,” he said. “Don’t let the date go by in the future as just another date. Please don’t do that.”

Morning Meeting concluded with a minute of silence for those affected by the attacks.

We are grateful to Mr. Shanes for sharing his experience and helping make the significance of the day more tangible for the Senior Class.