Don Bacso’s pulse thumped as he descended down the stairwell of the World Trade Center five minutes after a hijacked airplane crashed into one of the twin towers 15 years ago.
“In the stairwell, that muffled concussion had people on edge,” Bacso said, referring to the second plane striking the World Trade Center.
“Women started crying, and there were some people having asthma attacks,” he said.
Bacso was the keynote speaker during Schererville’s 9/11 memorial program to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
During the afternoon ceremony, the scores of people in attendance sat on the edge of their seats as Bacso recounted the harrowing details of his experience as he escaped Tower 1 before its collapse.
“It’s incredible,” Jef Hasley said of Bacso’s speech. “What more can you say.”
Bacso recalled how the evacuees would walk toward the right side of the stairwell to leave a passageway for injured victims also escaping down the stairwell.
“We would pin ourselves against the right side of the stairwell so they could bring the injured down,” Bacso said, adding that he remembered an injured man and woman walking past him who reeked of jet fuel.
Bacso shared the stage at the event with Schererville Fire Chief Joseph Kruzan and Police Chief David Dowling.
Dowling said the terrorist attack had an adverse effect on the entire country.
“Somehow we all lost a little bit of ourselves that day, and our lives would change forever,” he said. “The world would change and our innocence would be lost.”
Dowling said he is proud of the perseverance and resolve the country showed in the wake of the attacks.
“We showed the world that we would rise up, and the soul of this nation would never die,” he said.
Kruzan echoed Dowling’s sentiments, stressing the importance that every year, the country takes time to reflect on the tragedy.
“Today is a day for memorial, and that’s why we’re here today,” Kruzan said. “It was an early morning not much different from today: blue sky, people laughing, talking, enjoying life, when all of a sudden out of nowhere our life changed.”
More Top Picks Cold Plunges
Kruzan said he is proud how America responded to such a “devastating attack” but that we owe it to our military members and first responders to pay homage to those who list their lives on that fateful day.
Hasley, who has participated in a 9/11 tribute every year after the attacks, said it’s imperative to “honor our first responders that have fallen to save our country.”
“They laid their lives on the lives,” Hasley said. “We can never forget that.”
Despite it being 15 years after 9/11, Dowling said he would never forget the tragedy.
“Today we move forward but we must never forget,” Dowling said. “We have a moral obligation to do so. So let us take from this day the sacrifice, the heroism and the courage of those who gave their all. Let us stand tall and be proud that we are Americans.”
Twitter @JavonteA