How a 9/11 Survivor Honors Those Lost

It’s been 10 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Genelle Guzman-McMillan, the last survivor of the World Trade Center destruction, shares how she spends the anniversary, and what she does to honor those lost on that day. From Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor.

Talking about what happened that day has oddly never been difficult for me, but one thing I do each year is take September 11 off from work. The only time I did not take the day off was in 2006, and I wish I had. It was the fifth anniversary, and I really didn’t know how I would react, or how others would react toward me being at work. It turned out to be a day of people constantly stopping by my desk to tell me they were thinking about me and that they were happy I survived. And while that was very kind of them, it was awkward for me and mentally tough to deal with for those eight long hours.

It’s a day that I want to stay home, with the television off, or be in a church, praying, or doing something that gives me the comfort and freedom to concentrate and reflect on what happened that day. It’s a day I like to both mourn and celebrate. Even to be happy. Despite the odds, I’m alive. Celebration and mourning are a complicated mix of emotions, but they’re mine, and every year, on 9/11, I give myself the space to feel them.

As for Ground Zero, I’ve been there a couple of times since 9/11. It doesn’t bother me to go back, because it has changed so much. I’m very appreciative that a memorial has been built there. Nobody who is old enough to remember what happened will ever forget, and the memorial gives them a significant place to pay their respects. And for those too young to remember what happened, it gives them a place—the place—to learn about one of the most significant events in our nation’s history.