Victims and heroes
Tales of heroism: Passengers, pilot tried to foil hijackers
As the nation reels over the coordinated terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon Tuesday, tales of heroism are beginning to emerge.
[Sept. 13, 2001]
'Heroic effort' by Flight 93 passengers may have spared other lives
Just before United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, a passenger telephoned his wife, told her the plane had been hijacked and said he and some others were going to "do something about it."
[Sept. 12, 2001]
'Who's gonna fill those shoes?'
Seven men from ladder No. 5 company had trudged up a stairwell of the north tower of the World Trade Center — and apparently into the fireball. One-third of the company is missing, an apocalyptic tragedy in a firehouse where men call each other "brother" and live together like family.
[Sept. 13, 2001]
High-school dropout saved hundreds before escaping himself
He could have left his post. He could have fled. But security guard Gabriel Torres stayed where he was, in the basement concourse of the World Trade Center, watching frightened office workers and even fellow guards swarm up the stalled escalator to safety. For the next hour, while the complex he had worked at since 1998 collapsed around him, Torres remained below to help others.
[Sept. 25, 2001]
Life-and-death choices in rush down stairwell
You're on the 87th floor when a plane hits your building. Safety is at street level. Do you dare take the elevator or run for the stairs? Do you stop to help someone or rush on by?
[Sept. 17, 2001]
They didn't listen, and lived
The workers in Nancy Cassidy's office on the 80th floor of Two World Trade Center had a head start on their escape: They fled after a jet smashed the neighboring tower.
[Sept. 13, 2001]
Survivors tell of escaping the World Trade Center
Richard Cruz was getting off the elevator on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center when the plane hit the tower across from him this morning. "There was mass hysteria, people were screaming," said Cruz, 32. "I heard a lady's voice saying "Go back! Go back! There's been an explosion!'"
[Sept. 11, 2001]
A last call home, a long escape and a miracle
A matter of survival boiled down to a split-second decision, a twist of fate, or the help of an unknown hero, said some of the people who escaped, or had loved ones who didn't escape, from the World Trade Center.
[Sept. 14, 2001]
Some lucked into life last week
In the days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, America's bleak mood was perhaps best represented by the ash-strewn rubble of the once-mighty twin towers. But there were a few bright spots, too, almost from the beginning: tales of amazing good fortune that offered refreshment and respite to a nation stunned by grief.
[Sept. 18, 2001]
