Forty Hours Following Ground Zero
Robert Martini’s first board meeting as chairman of AmerisourceBergen Corp. is one he’ll never forget.
He and the company’s other directors convened in Manhattan for their first meeting and to ring the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell. Outside the exchange flew the flag of Martini’s new company. But Martini never got to ring the bell on that day, Sept. 11.
In a presentation for company officials, Martini recounted his experiences in New York on the day of the terrorist attacks. Here’s his account.
After navigating through a very well planned, deliberate and exhausting joint team effort, the shareholders overwhelmingly created a new company where the whole would be more formidable and greater than the sum of its parts,AmerisourceBergen Corp.
The new company selected a world class board of directors and set its inaugural meeting for Sept. 11-12, 2001. What meeting venue could be more symbolic than the New York Stock Exchange,the financial capital of the world!
On Monday, Sept. 10, the directors converged on The Regent Wall Street Hotel at 55 Wall Street,just one block from the NYSE. A senior company officer arrived early and had dinner at the World Trade Center, just 12 hours before it would become known as “ground zero.”
At 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, the directors assembled for an introductory breakfast meeting in “the vault,” an authentic bank safe at the hotel, which was in a reconstructed bank building completed in 1842 and once served as the home of the Merchants Exchange.
At 8:30 a.m., the directors, together with the new company’s senior officers, were escorted by a company official one block to the NYSE. The heavy rainfall before our arrival had passed. In its place was a picture perfect day.
Talk About the Weather
The conversation on the short stroll to the exchange was all about what a beautiful morning it was,moderate temperature, low humidity and crystal clear skies. As we entered the building, we saw three flags flying across the entrance,that of the United States of America, the NYSE and AmerisourceBergen.
Little did we know that before the day was out, the Stars and Stripes would be lifted to its highest level (albeit at half-staff) and displayed throughout the world, destined to become the primary symbol of freedom and for the ultimate eradication of terrorism.
By 8:45 a.m., we had cleared the sensitive security system at the exchange and assembled on the third floor in the board of directors room, the ambiance of which radiated a history of financial legend.
We were waiting to be greeted and receive the medallions that are bestowed upon newly listed companies. This was to be followed by the board being escorted to the balcony that overlooks the main trading room for a bell ringing ceremony that would have AmerisourceBergen start the day’s trading. Many friends of the company were tuned in to their TVs awaiting the 9:30 a.m. bell ringing.
At 8:50 a.m., cell phone calls began coming in advising that there had been “an accident” at the WTC, just three blocks away. About the same time, our NYSE hostess told us that it would not be advisable to celebrate in light of a local tragedy.
We were unaware the “accident” was a passenger plane had crashed at 8:48 a.m. into the first World Trade Center tower. We were quick to agree not to celebrate with the bell ringing and proceeded to pose for group photos and start the meeting.
At the Marriott within a block of the WTC, a consultant who later would be presenting a plan to the company said he heard a loud “swoosh” like a jet engine passing by, a loud noise and then felt the building shake.
During the meeting’s first presentation, which reflected on the history of AmeriSource, came a loud rumble at 9:06 a.m. (equivalent to what Californians would suggest was a mild earthquake, maybe a 3.5). The presentation continued.
Act of War
The rest of the world then realized, the “accident” was a terrorist act,an act of war!
At his hotel, the company consultant said he heard guests in the adjacent room screaming. He turned on the TV to see that WTC tower No. 2 had been hit, and saw smoke from his window.
An alarm sounded and guests were instructed “to evacuate in 30 seconds.” Sparsely dressed but armed with the company presentation, the consultant proceeded down the steps from the 35th floor to the 30th, took an elevator to the lobby, left the Marriott and proceeded to our hotel at 55 Wall Street where he would be making a presentation. En route, he noticed people in the street, school children and others, standing, looking up at the damage and fires.
Our consultant scooted around the towers to the battery tunnel, asked directions to the hotel and proceeded,on what was hardly the most direct course. When just inside the hotel lobby, tower No. 2 collapsed. He was ushered to the basement where people were falling over each other. Masks were passed out and put on. Bottles of water and towels also were made available.
Back at the exchange’s boardroom, the meeting’s second presentation had just begun,the history of Bergen Brunswig,when at 9:59 a.m. a major interruption occurred.
A severe rumble, followed by a strong concussion, forceful wind-like pressure and midnight darkness enveloped the room.
Everyone at the exchange was then ushered to the trading floor, where, for the first time, we saw what was being broadcast on CNN: WTC tower No. 1 and WTC tower No. 2 had been attacked by two airliners, and that the second tower had collapsed.
While entering the trading floor, there was a small group of people who surged to find an exit, knocking down one of us. Someone said “bomb,” “terrorist attack.”
The panic was quelled when it was discerned that a terrorist was not in the building. The exchange is scoured each day by bomb-sniffing dogs. On this day, the dogs returned to re-examine the building for explosives and conducted their duties with competency, efficiency and expediency.
While there were no known terrorists in the building and no explosives, one had to speculate that the exchange also was a likely target.
The exchange,its employees, traders, specialists,provided fruit, water, towels and telephones. They managed the adversity somewhat matter-of-fact and allowed us the use of their phones while they awaited the time that the market would open. Cell phones were inoperable because the transmitters atop the WTC were out.
A guy named “Jack” and many others extended their hand,and hearts. They, and as we would later discover, New Yorkers in general, were friendly, helpful, caring and loving.
Watching CNN
The second World Trade Center tower came down with much of the same impact. But this time we saw it on CNN as did the rest of the world. We felt more secure on the floor of the exchange than outside of its protection.
A lot of the dust and debris had settled by noon and it appeared that the wave of damage was complete in our area. We had watched the news and the damage that had been inflicted on the Pentagon, and the flight that went down in Pennsylvania. We wondered if there was more to come,and where.
After determining that our hotel was safe and in good condition, we left the exchange and walked one block to the hotel. First reaction, as we exited the exchange onto the street, was that we were in some very foreign, surreal environment,a moonscape or a vision.
From the ground to the sky, everything was a grayish-white color: people, parked cars, building walls, windows, street lights, benches. To take a step, the ground cover produced a shoe imprint and a soft impact as the light material flaked away from your shoes. The dust was quick to adhere to one’s shoes, clothing and body.
Back at the hotel, we began the plans of our escape from the city, which was handled through those concerned and the helping hands of our able assistants miles away. There was much comfort knowing every effort was being made to return us to safety.
It was apparent that our trek home,or away from our present site,would not to be immediate. Nor would any of the usual public or private transportation be available to us. The area south of 14th Street had been sealed to all but emergency vehicles. Ferries to Staten Island or New Jersey were not available.
So, why not get down to the business that had brought us together on this day? The board and committees conducted an abbreviated agenda and were able to deal with those issues necessary to conduct the affairs of AmerisourceBergen.
We also had the benefit and study of the consultant who came with all his belongings,that is, casually clothed but with presentation!
The hotel was apologetic because the staff was unable to provide the previously selected luncheon menu and was unable to serve on the patio overlooking the downtown financial skyline. They did whip together an extraordinary (under the circumstances) lunch of platters that we sincerely appreciated while conducting our meeting.
With the business meeting concluded, it was on to our rooms to get cleaned up and to continue our attempt to leave town.
Unpleasant Reminder
After a few hours sleep, we “checked out” of the hotel. Our bags were tagged and, to our disbelief, arrived at our destinations about a week later. Everything was intact,including the pungent smell of smoke, a smell that brought a flashback of the prior events.
The hotel that had cared for us so well turned itself into a 24-hour relief station for emergency crews with all provisions provided on the house. The hotel staff had been trapped in the hotel, as we were, because they couldn’t get to their homes.
After determining an agreed-upon escape route, we proceeded north under the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive on the East Side. It was a beautiful, clear day, as was the prior day before the terrorist attack, with the streets virtually empty except for our gang.
There were some passersby and row after row of National Guard troops and vehicles that had been assembled during the night. The absence of many people and vehicles, together with the troops and no signs of looting, provided a veil of safety as we proceeded northbound.
A leader of our group who conversed with any able body on the streets managed to lead us to a subway station after having walked many blocks. Do we really want to go underground?
Didn’t the train station under the WTC get wiped out?
We proceeded cautiously down the steps and to our surprise found that the token station was manned. We proceeded through the turnstiles and were able to catch an “A train” up to Penn Station. We may have been the only people on the platform, which at any other time surely would have been packed.
Arriving at Penn Station seemed like a different world. It was like any other time. Business as usual, trains on schedule, but with fewer people than normal.
It was now time for the group, which had been joined at the hip, to go different directions. A train to the north and trains to the west and south would take us to our next or final destinations. We learned later that Penn Station was closed shortly after we left because of a bomb threat and reopened a few hours later.
While it was a relief to leave the city, the signs that we left behind of the smoldering WTC will leave a vivid and lasting memory. It was like leaving Satan’s den to a “new life.”
It also was a reminder that while we were helped by everyone, we were unable or unequipped to be helpers. While those whose lives and jobs are committed to saving other lives are being acknowledged, it is not possible to appreciate their commitment to saving a life. Our company and its associates, and many other companies and individuals, are lending financial support to the families of those that gave their lives. But we can’t ever sufficiently acknowledge their bravery.
With the travelers to the north and the south tucked away in their own beds Wednesday evening, those headed west were to sleep in another strange bed but for only another night.
The remaining group was met in Newark by a limo driver who had anticipated our arrival in Jersey City, then Weehaukenand, and finally, Newark. He and another driver took us to the FBO facility at Morristown Airport located clear of the metropolitan area, where we believed would be the departure point for a charter flight to the West Coast, with intermittent stops en route.
There wasn’t any air activity there or, for that matter, any other airport in the nation other than for those flights that were in the air at the time of the terrorist attack.
By noon the next day, we were advised that our charter from Augusta, Maine, (the only airport that could clear a departure) could not get into Morristown because that airport had not yet been cleared under new security measures. Tetterboro,same problem. Then Newark, which was cleared for flights arriving from only “cleared airports.” We also could depart to other airports that had been similarly cleared.
The charter arrived exactly at its expected arrival time having no difficulty leaving Augusta as “you’re No. 1 and cleared for takeoff” to “you’re No. 1 cleared to land” at Newark.
We were the only departing plane out of Newark at that time, so the tower ordered “taxi into position,clear for takeoff.”
It was a little gruesome looking out on the New York area, but also a feeling of great relief and a step closer to safety.
The flight took us over airways that were almost silent of speech when normally there is continuous two-way messaging.
Our pilot chose to navigate to airports that had been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration but were a little off track. From Newark to Willow Run (rather than Detroit Metro), Ogden (rather than Salt Lake), and ultimately into Orange County (rather than LAX).
It was a very pleasant, quiet and uneventful trip that ended 40 hours after it had begun and will leave an eternal, indelible, mark.
We were the fortunate ones,whose angels guided us to safety. Our prayers go out to those less fortunate and our financial support to the families of the heroes who gave their life to try and save others.
