It has been 25 years since the 9/11 attacks shook the United States.
Channel 11 spent weeks meeting with family members, community leaders, law enforcement and more to learn about the impact that day still has on our area today.
Read the stories of heroism and healing below.
Families remember loved ones killed in Flight 93 crash, appreciate what the spot has now become
The sound of a bell echoed across the field in Shanksville as family members read the names of the passengers and crew members who died when Flight 93 crashed in 2001.
Dozens of people came to honor them; many had no connection to anyone on the plane.
“Very touching, memorable, and honorable for those who lost their lives that day,” Robert Thomas of South Carolina said.
Others knew the passengers. Rich Shotts worked with Jeremy Glick and made the trip from Chicago.
“We can all thank them for the lives that were saved,” Shotts said.
After a solemn service, family members visited the exact spot where the plane crashed after the passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers and stormed the cockpit, preventing it from reaching the U.S. Capitol.
“It makes us proud to know how Lauren’s final moments were for her,” Vaughn Lohec, Lauren’s sister, said.
Channel 11’s David Johnson & Peggy Finnegan reflect on covering 9/11 attacks
On one of the darkest days in American history, Channel 11 spent hours covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Long-time WPXI news anchors David Johnson and Peggy Finnegan reported on Sept. 11.
The duo came back to the station to talk about working to keep our area informed while the country was under attack.
“I do remember a beautiful day. Just sapphire blue sky, no clouds. I had to go to a store in Squirrel Hill on Murray Avenue. But I was with the owner, and he had the radio on. And he said, ‘I think they said a plane hit the trade center in New York.’ And I said, ‘That can’t be. That’s not right.’ And we turned up the volume. And sure enough, that’s when I went back home, and the weight of it started to hit me,” Johnson said.
“I was probably sipping my coffee, and my neighbor, Carol, called me and said, ‘Peggy, have you seen? Turn on the TV right now; have you seen what’s happening in New York?’ I turned it on; I couldn’t believe it. Like you, I saw this gaping hole, smoke and flames, and you’re just in disbelief. And then, as I was watching live, like millions of people across America, that second plane hit. And right then I knew this was not an accident. And I called the babysitter, and I started getting ready for work,” Finnegan said.
9/11 Memorial & Museum docent shares tales of heartbreak, heroism 25 years after attacks
Channel 11’s Lisa Sylvester recently visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. She spoke with a docent, Gloria Greene, who told her the story of that fateful day.
Greene takes groups through the museum and tells the story of how the events unfolded.
“It was magnificent. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky — just the most beautiful day,” Greene said.
What people remember about that morning was the blue sky that blanketed the East Coast.
“I worked one block away on Maiden Lane for 25 years, right next to the towers. I knew every inch of those towers,” Greene said. “...I worked there for so many years, I knew a lot of people who unfortunately met their demise on that day.”
Sylvester asked, “It’s been 25 years. Does it feel like it?”
“It feels like yesterday when I’m there,” Greene replied. “It’s very hard, and I keep those tears back, and then I get home, and the tears come out.”
Tears for those lost and those who sacrificed everything: The heroes like Ladder Truck 3. The firefighters were headed home after their night shift ended, but chose to go back.
11 Investigates Exclusive: Supervisor of largest FBI facility recalls 9/11 attacks
Retired FBI agent Tom Bush recently sat down with Chief Investigator Rick Earle to talk about the 9-11 attacks and the impact that day 25 years ago had on the FBI.
Bush was working as a section chief at the Criminal Justice Information Center in Clarksburg, W.Va., just about a two-hour drive south of Pittsburgh.
“This is a whole different ball game. This is something, a whole different level of evil and terror that we’ve never seen before,” said Bush, who also worked a number of other high-profile crimes, including the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta.
Man who lost his wife, unborn child in Flight 93 crash shares how her heroism guided him to healing
Friday marks 25 years since the September 11th attacks. On that fateful day, Jack Grandcolas missed a call.
It was his wife who was on Flight 93, one of the 40 who lost their lives.
Grandcolas spoke to Channel 11 about her heroism and how that’s helped him find healing.
“Honey, are you there? Jack? Pick up, sweetie. Okay well. I just wanted to tell you I love you. We’re having a little problem on the plane. Umm, I’m totally fine. I just love you more than anything; just know that...”
That’s the voicemail Grandcolas’s pregnant wife, Lauren, left him from on board Flight 93, 25 years ago.
He told Channel 11 this week that making that call showed Lauren’s courage.
“It reminds me of how heroic she was, how calm, how composed. You know, they were in the midst of planning a counterattack, and she couldn’t divulge, you know, exactly what was going on, but when she said there’s just a little problem, if I read between the lines, it was, ‘We’re planning to take care of it.’”
Steelers owner Art Rooney II reflects on how sports united families after 9/11
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, Steelers President Art Rooney II was at Heinz Field. He was in a planning meeting, putting the final touches on the stadium set to host its first regular-season NFL game in just five days, when a staffer rushed in, saying a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
“My dad and I walked over to our office and turned on the television and just couldn’t believe what was unfolding right in front of our eyes,” said Rooney II.
Like the rest of the world, everything at both the stadium and the team’s South Side facility came to a screeching halt as the tragedy unfolded. Their first priority was providing support to a community that provides so much to them. The organization learned about a candlelight memorial in Somerset County for the victims of the Flight 93 crash.
“We got a couple of buses and took some of our players and coaches up there and were there for the vigil,” said Rooney II. “I actually met some of the families, some of the victims of the crash. It was a very emotional time. I was glad we got to be there.”
To this day, Rooney II will never forget the impact their presence alone had on the families.
11 Investigates Exclusive: Evidence and artifacts from Flight 93 on display for FBI
Items and artifacts recovered from the crash of United Flight 93 in Somerset County are now on display at the FBI building in Pittsburgh.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle recently got an exclusive look at the items and spoke with the FBI and a National Park Service Ranger.
Earle learned that it was all done with great care and reverence.
The items were brought to the FBI building on the South Side under a police escort last week.
As they arrived, they were greeted by an honor guard and the playing of the national anthem.
Earle spoke with the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge, Richard Evanchec and Flight 93 National Memorial Park Ranger, Adam Shaffer, at the FBI headquarters on the South Side.
Westmoreland County Community College unveils new 9/11 memorial art installation
Westmoreland County Community College unveiled a new student-created 9/11 memorial art installation at its Youngwood campus Wednesday.
The piece depicts a soldier, firefighter, police officer and American flag, all in metal.
It recognizes the heroes who served and responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Flight 93: 25 years later, 2 men connected by phone call on 9/11 meet for the first time
Chief Investigator Rick Earle visited Shanksville to meet with two men connected by one phone call made on the morning of September 11, 2001.
That phone call was made by Gordon Felt’s brother, and it went to the 911 center in Westmoreland County, where retired deputy emergency management coordinator Dan Stevens was working that day.
“Your brother having the hindsight, if I need help, dial 911, and he took a chance, and it worked,” said Dan Stevens.
It was the first meeting between Stevens and Felt, as they talked with Earle about that phone call Gordon’s brother made 25 years ago.
“I believe it was 9:58 when it came in, so 9:57 was when the battle started, and they charged the cockpit,” Felt said.
Edward Felt, married with two children and living in New Jersey, was on a routine business trip from Newark to San Francisco when his plane was hijacked.
Local chaplain reflects on time spent with Flight 93 victims’ families after 9/11
This week will mark 25 years since the 9/11 attacks.
Many people are reflecting on what the tragedy means to them - and how it’s changed us as individuals and as a nation. That includes a local chaplain who rushed to the Flight 93 crash site and stayed there for days.
As chaplain for the Pittsburgh office of the FBI, Father Joseph McCaffrey– affectionately known as Father Mac - has been a steady hand of comfort at plenty of tragedies.
He was there after the crash of Flight 427, the EgyptAir disaster in 1999 and then 9/11.
“When I came out from mass, there were some people who were telling me that this plane crashed into one of the towers,” McCaffrey said.
Hours later, he would be on his way to the crash of Flight 93 in Somerset County.
“They said we’re going to need your help dealing with the families who will be coming in,” McCaffrey said. “When I went to the site, I went over and then I prayed over the site and I consecrated the ground, and I prayed for all who had died.”
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