On that September morning Joe Peloso arrived for work at the insurance company department that he was in charge of. That Tuesday morning was no different than any other Tuesday morning. It was a bright sunny morning. Life was good. The problem for Peloso was that it was September 11, 2001, and his office was in the South Tower of The World Trade Center.
From the Epoch Times, Bright:
“At 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 hit the North Tower, killing all 92 passengers instantly, along with hundreds of people who were on floors 93 to 99.
Peloso and his staff heard and felt something, so they knew something had happened, but they didn’t know exactly what it was.
Peloso watched from his office window that faced the North Tower, as smoke emanated from that building.
Regardless of whether what just happened was an accident or something more insidious, Peloso shifted into action. He felt compelled to tell his people to get out of the building, despite building security advising people over the public address system to stay in their offices, Peloso was walking from desk to desk calmly telling his staff to exit the building. His calm, yet serious demeanor led people to get off the phone, stop other conversations, put down their files, go against the advice of the building security staff, and leave.
Peloso and a few others remained in the office observing the unfolding tragedy at the North Tower while making phone calls. At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 hit floors 75 to 85 of the South Tower, killing all 65 passengers and hundreds of others upon impact. The computers shut down and the lights went off. Peloso and his remaining staff made their way through the dark hallway and into the stairwell, as first responders were racing past them.
At 9:59 a.m., less than an hour after being hit, the South Tower collapsed, killing many, but by that time Peloso and his staff were already out of the building and walking to what they hoped was safety.
How was it that Joe Peloso had the instinct and the fortitude to go against the advice of the building’s security?
From the Epoch Times:
Survivors of traumatic situations, including those who survived the 9/11 attacks, share some commonalities. They seem to have the ability to shift from fear, which is passive, to coping, which is actively responding to the challenges they face. They are able to assess their situations and improvise toward the overarching goal of survival. They are problem solvers. They are decisive. They are persistent. They refuse to give up. They have the confidence to lead others and tend to be protectors.
People like Peloso have an air of authority in crisis that is born out of an ability to quickly shift, adapt, improvise, and respond confidently to a constantly changing situation.
Joe Peloso was a hero on September 11, 2002, and to my way of thinking he continues to be a hero twenty-one years later.
9/11/22