I turned on my radio and started to hear what was happening. The reports were confusing and conflicting. First I heard that a small plane had hit one of the towers, then it was a large passenger jet, then that the Washington D.C. Mall was in flames. I started to send text pages to my friends who worked at Aon. I got some replies later on, but got very scary messages also, like “where is everybody,” and “is everybody out?”

I found it hard to believe it all until I arrived home and turned on the television. It was sickening to see the towers on fire, and I had to stop watching after a while. I kept trying to get in touch with my wife, who had gone in to work earlier. The phones were not working to New York City, but I was relieved to find out around noon that she was OK.

Aon lost 175 employees that day - but Steve and Michell's death deeply affected me. Both were great people who had so much to live for. I think of them every day. The world is forever changed, and I can only hope that horrible events like this will never happen again.