25 years later, these 9/11 survivors still carry the scars

These Americans faced the unimaginable on Sept. 11, 2001.

Some felt the shake of the Twin Towers. Some worked late into the evening caring for survivors. Others braced for the news of a lost loved one.

Their personal scars from the terror attacks still remain today. They present in different ways: post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer caused by toxic debris, a still-empty chair at the dinner table.

Twenty-five years later, many have found ways to cope with the wounds. But they’ll never forget what was taken from them.

The North Tower shook from the explosion. The power cut out. Within minutes, the smell of smoke had reached the Port Authority’s accounting department on the 69th floor, where Peter Bitwinski anxiously awaited evacuation orders.

It was Feb. 26, 1993, and terrorists had just detonated a large bomb in the World Trade Center’s underground garage, killing six people and injuring hundreds.

At the time, Bitwinski thought it was the closest he would ever come to a terrorist attack.

But eight years later on Sept. 11, 2001, while sitting at his desk next to the window early that morning, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed 24 stories above him. Bitwinski was thrown onto his desk.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/