Local man looks back on 9/11

It doesn’t seem like it has been 10 years since the nation stood still and watched as planes piloted by terrorists took the lives of 2,977 people in New York City, Washington, D.C., and rural Pennsylvania, but the nation will pause on Sunday to remember the 10th anniversary of that fateful day and to reflect on the memories of those lost to such a senseless act of violence.

For Russellville resident Phillip Prince, the experience is something he will never forget after witnessing the attacks first-hand from the 24th floor of the Chrysler Building in New York City.

Prince was fresh out of college in September of 2001 and was looking to experience the financial world up close and personal in the Big Apple.

He was working as a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and had no idea he was about to experience one of the most heart-wrenching events many people could witness.

“Everyone was getting ready to do their morning routines just like any other morning,” Prince said. “I was at my desk and I overheard someone say the North Tower had smoke coming from it. I thought that sounded pretty bizarre but I had gotten used to overhearing bizarre things in New York. When you’re from Alabama, most of it sounds bizarre.”

Prince continued to work at his desk until he heard more people in his office speculating that the smoke was due to a biplane or private plane hitting the tower. When some co-workers turned on the TV to see if the news was covering the event, Prince decided to get up from his desk and see what was going on.

“We had a concrete balcony on the 24th floor that circled around the whole Chrysler Building so several of us climbed onto the balcony and walked around it until we could see the towers,” he said. “There just seemed to be more and more smoke.”

Prince said he thought to himself at the time that the crash seemed to be something more than just an accident, but he had no idea he was about to have his suspicions confirmed right in front of him.

“From the corner of my eye I saw the other plane coming and then it stuck the South Tower and all conjecture was answered; this was no accident,” he said. “We could see the reaction from the people on the ground and couldn’t believe the complete chaos in the streets.”

While Prince and his co-workers were still trying to comprehend what they had just seen, they were informed that a bomb threat had been made towards the Chrysler Building and that everyone had to evacuate immediately.

“When we got outside, we started walking to a co-worker’s apartment in Greenwich Village,” he said. “I had to walk over people who were kneeling in the street crying and screaming. It was just like some scene from a movie.”

Once Prince and several others finally made it to his co-worker’s apartment, they continued to watch coverage on TV of what was happening mere miles from where they were.

“When the towers fell, it was just a surreal moment. We just couldn’t believe what was happening,” Prince said. “We saw people walking up covered in the dust.

“It’s truly one of those experiences where you really just ‘had to be there’ to understand. There are hardly any words to describe it.”

Prince had been able to call his parents, Larry and Jeannie Prince, moments after the bomb threat was called in to his building, but after that, he wasn’t able to get a call through to his family until early the next morning.

“The communication was down and on top of that, two to three million people were all trying to use their cell phones at once,” he said. “It was impossible to get a call out.”

Prince said he didn’t know anyone personally who died during the terrorist attacks, but he had several co-workers who had friends who died that day.

“The events of Sept. 11 aren’t something I contemplate regularly but I make a conscious effort to reflect on it from time to time,” he said. “Seeing the events first hand heightened my sense of patriotism and loyalty to my country, and I think it did that for many people, whether they were there or just saw it on TV.”

Even though the events aren’t something he dwells on regularly, Prince said the experience taught him several valuable lessons.

“This experience helped me realize that I had my head in the clouds concerning optimism. I was fresh out of college and this really opened my eyes,” he said. “Something this cataclysmic sobers you and makes you reassess where you are and what you’re doing.

“Unfortunately mankind rarely engages in the self-reflection they need to take part in until something bad happens.”

Ten years later, Prince said he believes the United States has made great strides in response to the horrific events of that day to better protect its citizens, but as with anything, there is always room for improvement.

“There are some ways as a country, regardless of political parties, where we have made positive strides in being proactive in guarding against something like this event ever happening again,” Prince said. “We can always find other ways to guard ourselves, but we have come a long way in the past 10 years.”