The Union community was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of five alumni in the World Trade Center bombings on September 11, 2001.
Jose L. Cardona '89, of New York City (B.S. in mechanical engineering).
Thomas W. Duffy '71, of Pittsford, N.Y. (B.S. in mechanical engineering with an M.S.
from Rollins College). A class agent and active alumnus in the Rochester area, Tom was a member of Delta Upsilon,
the football team, and Block U. A senior vice president of Marsh, Inc., a risk
management insurance and employee benefit consultation company that works with
the energy industry, Tom was on the ninety-ninth floor of Building 1 of the
World Trade Center for an appointment the morning of September 11. He is
survived by his wife, Cynthia, and sons Jason and Ryan.
Andrew A. Fredericks '83, of Suffern, N.Y (B.A. in political science). A member of Phi
Sigma Kappa and an admissions volunteer, Andy was one of the New York City
firefighters who was in the World Trade Center when it collapsed. He was laid
to rest in his hometown of Suffern on Oct. 8. Survivors include his wife,
Michelle, and two children, ages nine and five. The family has requested that
memorial contributions be made to the NYC Firefighters Burn Victims Centers.
Don J. Kauth '74, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y (M.S. in industrial administration, M.B.A. '78).
Born in Utica, Don received a B.A. from Siena College in 1972. He taught at
Union and Siena, had a private CPA practice, and served as director of
education for the New York State Society of CPAs in New York City. Don was also
a bank analyst for First Albany, Key Bank, Alex Brown, and, at the time of his
death, for Keefe, Bruyette and Woods in New York City. He served on the board
of directors of the Saratoga Youth Hockey League. Survivors include his mother,
Winifred R. Kauth, of Utica; two sons, Matthew, of Tacoma, Wash., and Patrick,
of Saratoga Springs; two daughters, Kathleen and Cecilia, both of Saratoga
Springs; a brother, Brian, of Syracuse; and four sisters – Ann Ferris, of
Remsen, N.Y.; Mary Grossi, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Denise Brady, of Detroit, Mich.;
and Vanessa Graham, of Ilion, N.Y.
Alexander
R. Steinman '91, of Hoboken, N.J. (B.A. in economics). Alex was a partner and
vice president in the equity sales division of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th
floor of 1 World Trade Center. He had worked there for about six years and was
happy to have had several alumni/friends as clients. He and his wife, Tracy,
had been high school sweethearts and would have celebrated their seventh
anniversary on Oct. 9. At Union, he was a member of Psi Upsilon.
Helping at Ground Zero
Trey Wehrum '92 is a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician with the
Garden City (Long Island) Fire Department. He was among those involved in
setting up triage hospitals on September 11 and assisting with excavation efforts
in areas around Ground Zero.
Trey works as a civil engineer with the Sear Brown Group in Garden City. He's active
in admissions recruiting for Union, too, and he coaches lacrosse. Always
wanting to “do what he can,” he got involved as a volunteer firefighter about
five years ago, after his little brother joined the Junior Program of the
Garden City Fire Department. Trey became an emergency medical technician about
two years ago.
He speaks about the events of September 11:
“I was at work when the first bit of information came in. I left right away, and was
called in as an EMT volunteer. We drove an ambulance to Ground Zero to help
wherever we could.
“Garden City firefighters were actually riding their bikes on the Long Island
Expressway to get to the city. Because only emergency vehicles were being
allowed through, some stopped to offer rides to these firefighters.
“We got there by two in the afternoon. Companies from all over Long Island were at the
scene. We helped firefighters set up their rigs. Amazingly, some were using
trucks that were completely smashed to put out fires.
“We handed out water, provided a little medical support. Amazing how quickly people
were there, donating water, food, new shirts. Restaurants offered us food.
People were just giving things away.
“We also set up triage hospitals, including one at the College Center at Pace
University, five or six blocks from Ground Zero. Despite all the chaos, in
about an hour, it was ready to handle victims. Unfortunately, no one came in.
“The whole event was surreal. It was as if a volcano had gone off. There were fires all
over the place. It was like a war zone.
“But there was also tremendous support: People lined the streets and the highways,
even at two in the morning, even ten days later, applauding the support
vehicles as they came in. This terrible situation brought out the best in
people.
“A lot of people out here are from the New York City area. Eighty people in Garden
City lost their lives. Many from Rockville Centre and Manhasset were lost, too.
And everyone knew somebody. It's been rough for everyone. People who are
twenty-two years old have gone to three, four, five funerals. Kids that young
shouldn't be burying their brothers or sisters or friends.”
An alumnus recalls an earlier disaster
Jerome Smith '39, of Brooklyn, reflecting and reminiscing in the aftermath of the
September 11 World Trade Center disaster, writes that he believes he is the
only survivor of the crash of the B-25 bomber into the Empire State Building on
the foggy Saturday morning of July 28, 1945.
Fortunately, Jerry was working on the fourth floor (for the New York Region of the Office of
Price Administration, a civilian war agency under the Executive Office of the
President) as the plane gouged a gaping hole in the seventy-eighth floor,
killing fourteen people, including the pilot and crew of the bomber. At the
time, the Empire State Building was the tallest office building in the world.
One local newspaper dubbed the day “a day New York will never forget.” Now,
ironically, fifty-six years later, while the Empire State Building is again the
tallest building in New York City, few remember the crash of 1945.
Other alums report in
A special address was created on the Union website, so that alumni could check in
with one another. It was a popular site, with thousands of entries, including
this sampling:
Daniel Aguirre '95, of New York City: “New York City is the best city in the world. I
have always admired its diversity and its wonderful spirit of survival. I was
in the Wall Street area when the first tower collapsed. I am grateful to be
alive. As I walked twelve miles uptown, people were very charitable, offering
water to walkers and victims. I saw lines of volunteers willing to donate blood
and other goods almost immediately.”
Michael Garone '75, of Oakton, Virginia: “I stayed late at one of the hospitals in
northern Virginia to help with the care of survivors. Unfortunately, there were
not very many. Our hospital was mostly asked to send body bags, which sank our
hearts even lower, as if that were possible.”
John Glidden '69, of Closter, New Jersey: “I was commuting by car to my Manhattan
office. I was on the West Side Highway at about 8:45 and looked up at the World
Trade Center to see a fire break out in the first tower. I stopped to take a
picture, as I had my camera on the front seat. Just then the second plane hit,
and I immediately knew it was a terrorist attack. Within minutes, a
conflagration erupted which will remain indelible in my memory for life. I was
a pilot in Viet Nam and saw many battles, but I have never witnessed such
powerful destruction as this. It cannot be captured on TV.”
Michele Martin '91, of New York City: “I was halfway across West Street, in front of
the WTC, with my two-year-old son, when the first plane hit – we dodged flying
debris to the safety of his nursery school (which is now in bad shape).
Thinking it was an accident, I left my son at school and was heading back to
see the scene, when the second plane hit.”
Warren Mitofsky '56, of New York City: “There are very few people anywhere. Midtown is
still deserted. The movie tonight was practically empty. The Broadway
restaurant had only a few people in it. The streets are empty. This morning, I
was across from St. Vincent's Hospital, where they brought most of the injured.
The TV cameras are still there along with the police lines. If you look south
on 7th, the WTC used to loom over the sky line. We used to joke that if we
knocked them down the view would improve. Whoever would have thought it would
happen. Tonight everyone was walking around with candles. Someone came up to
tell me that they were going around the corner to the fire station that lost
ten men. I did not tell her mine lost seven. I recognized some of them from the
pictures on display. I couldn't stop crying when I first walked by there. It's
heartbreaking.”
Brian Moss '90, of New York City: “I was outside at Chase Plaza (400 feet away) when
the first tower collapsed. I ran as fast as I could to get behind the Chase
Building. Not more than two seconds later, I was engulfed in a cloud of smoke,
ash, and debris. I couldn't breathe or see. I used my hands to feel around the
glass of the Chase Building to find an opening so that I could breathe. It was
the most horrific experience of my life.”
Robert Rosenthal '67, of Stamford, Connecticut: “I arrived at the Wall Street Journal,
directly across the street from the WTC, about 9:15. I saw the fires on top of
the building, but in optimism, assumed they would be quickly extinguished. I
was told the WSJ building was closed, so I made my way a block west to the
river. (Had I chosen east to return to the subway, I would have been under a
rain of debris when the first tower collapsed.) At the river's edge, I stopped
to observe the fires, and horrifically watched as five people jumped to a quick
death, a gruesome sight I still see when I close my eyes. An emergency worker
then told everyone to evacuate the area, so I started walking north along the
river esplanade. I was just north of the Winter Garden marina, when I heard the
loud rumbling sound of the tower collapsing. I turned to look and saw a huge
cloud of dust and debris hurtling my way. I took off to the north, along with
hundreds of others, running hard. I was on the lee side of an apartment building,
when the dust cloud blew out over the river, and then prevailing winds took it
south. I was not touched. I met up with two WSJ editors and started walking
uptown, figuring to walk to Grand Central Station and go home. I turned to
watch at one point, and I was an eyewitness to the collapse of the second
tower. In the middle of that collapse, I observed two, thirty-story vertical
girders that stood alone for about five seconds, and I thought that they eerily
and briefly resembled the Eiffel Tower. When I heard that all train service was
halted, I accompanied my colleagues to one's apartment on 72nd Street, where I
helped them set up a small editing environment, from which they filed some
stories to the much-abbreviated Wednesday newspaper.”
Lynn Weinbaum '90, of New York City: “I was in Chase Plaza, at my desk, trying to
return frantic voicemails. I stayed there too long, and when the towers
collapsed, our building was engulfed in smoke, soot, ash, and debris. We were
trapped inside for several hours. Finally we were allowed to evacuate – given a
surgical mask and a bottle of water and told to walk northeast.”