Joanne has many family members and associates who include Neil Grippa, William Cadestro, Debra Capestro, June Capestro and Elizabeth Cogan. Today Joanne is quoted in an article by the AP. On September 11, 2001, Capestro was working as an assistant secretary on the 87th floor of the North Tower when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into it. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { It's a bond that can't be broken," she added. 'And we were just hanging out waiting for the market to open when the plane struck at8.46am and my life changed forever.'. "Then all of a sudden, you hear this rumble and the building's coming down as I'm shooting.". Capestro said she didn't know the photo of her existed until Penman donated it for display inside the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and a staff member recognized her in the image and put them in touch. But the family held off until visiting the museum. "That was a regular day for me when I woke up in the morning I didnt feel well, but I still went to work. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Woman in 9/11 image is photographed by same man 17 years later pg.acq.push(function() { Then aged 39, Capestro worked on the 87th floor of the North Tower as a sales assistant secretary for financial firm the May Davis Group. Joanne Capestro and Phil Penman first crossed paths unexpectedly on Sept. 11, 2001. She shared that it was only until they reached the 64th floor that other people began to use the stairwell to escape. See Photos. A museum staff member recognized Capestro in the photo and helped connect her with the photographer. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it. She stored them carefully and showed them to me before donating them to the new National September 11 Memorial Museum. A heartwarming tale of friendship, 17 years after the 9/11 tragedy Within 22 minutes, Capestro made it a few steps out of the North Tower when it began collapsing and she started running and screaming God help me. Market data provided by Factset. They stayed in touch and just last month, 17 years after the tragedy, Penman took photos of her wedding day. ', When she came around, Capestro recalled stumbling into a coworker and they fled together, turning a corner and seeing a man 'covered in blood.'. Now here we are today and six weeks ago, on August 11, he was the photographer at my wedding. 9/11 Phil Penman & Joanne Capestro wedding, with extra guests Joanne Capestro tells how she escaped from the Towers, walking down the right-hand side of the dark staircases as firemen climbed up the left-hand sides. Capestro, who visits the memorial in lower Manhattan every year to recognize those who died including her co-worker Harry Ramos, explained in vivid detail how she survived. hitType: 'event', Recently, news came in that Joanne Capestro married, exactly 17 years after the horrific events witnessed in 2001. Shoes - National September 11 Memorial & Museum You know, we had to make face masks. The photo Penman shot of Capestro and Davis was one of many he captured on that fateful day. Probably, nothing can ever get worse than that. Woman in 9/11 Photo Hires the Same Photog for Her Wedding - PetaPixel Smoke pours out of the North and South Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan after they were struck by two hijacked airplanes, First responders and New Yorkers help and administer first aid to survivors of the terrorist attacks on America's darkest day, Mangled steel, dust and rubble litter the streets of the city after the Twin Towers were targeted in a terrorist attack. But this meeting wasnt the last time that the photographer and Capestro would see each other. A museum staffer recognized Capestro in the picture and helped make the connection. We'll #NeverForget the victims, their families and the everyday heroes. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Capestro, who now lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is happily married, has ninegrandchildren through marriage and is still working on Wall Street in a job she finds 'very rewarding'. Joanne Edge is on Facebook. "Phone rings, I'm like, there's no way I'm working again today. Joanne Capestro told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that she 'saw my life flash in front of me three times' in the 102 minutes on September 11 2001 between the moment the first hijacked plane struck a few floors above her office in the North Tower and when the two towers had collapsed. See Photos . "I tell him all the time, 'I love you, Phil, you know, you gave me my life back.' Seventeen years on, the man who took that picture on the worst . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. pageTracker._trackPageview(); Dark flames and thick smoke pour from the Twin Towers after they were both hit by hijacked planes on 9/11. 'I remember as a young girl we would go and look at the new buildings being built in the city. I'm so pleased that 9/11 family members have been laid to rest in an honorable way. In the iconic picture, Capestro looks absolutely shell-shocked as she faces the camera, heels and purse in hand. She barely made it outside of the building before it began to collapse. Capestro said he carried her out of the concourse and she recalled thanking him and telling him she would bring him a snack later as a thank you. "The work carries a lot of weight. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. And I was standing at my desk with one of my co-workers because we were going to go downstairs. 'I would love to meet with him but I can't remember his name,' she said. The two have remained in touch ever since Joanne, who was 39 then, managed to escape from the 87th floor of the WTCs North Tower. 'Every floor was different - some were on fire, some there were people bleeding, some there was glass on the floor,' she said. Joanne Vasquez - Facebook 'Then I heard dentist music on one floor - like that soft, calming music. 'I just showered and put my clothes in plastic bags and put them in a bin in my basement and left them,' she said. Joanne Capestro runs barefoot with a colleague from the World Trade Center's North Tower, moments before it collapsed on 9/11. It was the photographer's first day off in a long time after he had spent months working nonstop. But the phone rang and he answered, then the plane hit five or six floors above us. She explained that she didnt recall Penman at the scene and didnt know he took that photo of her until three years ago when she was connected with the photographer by staff members at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Cookie Notice "That's where he died.". eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, : "http://www. Moments later the tower collapsed. On 9/11 she ran down 84 floors in the North Tower to safety, defeating all odds as others died around her. History Channel highlights the story of Joanne Capestro, a survivor of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, who managed to escape a collapsing tower and walk all the way home with her high heels in tact. On 9/11 she ran down 84 floors in the North Tower to safety, defeating all odds as others died around her. Phil Penman, the photographer who captured this iconic photo of Joanne "JoJo" Capestro in 2001, took Capestro's wedding photos 17 years later. He eventually donated his picture of Joanne tothe National September 11 Memorial & Museum. 'There is a bond among survivors - we're like brothers and sisters and we'll get through it together and always be around for each other.'. 17 years back, she was single and wasnt quite sure of marriage. The impact was so strong and the building was shaking until all of a sudden it stopped.. ga('ads.send', { "Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life," Joanne Capestro told the Daily Mirror. When she eventually made it outside the building and to ground level, she ran into a friend, and the two made a dash to leave Ground Zero, just as the South Tower collapsed. Working Overtime: Do You Have An Exit Strategy? Others weren't ready earlier to part with the artifacts or wanted to view the museum before entrusting it with cherished, if wrenching, mementoes. 'I hope we can get back to those days where there was camaraderie in the community and where we all came together as a country and a state,' she said. ga('ads.send', { And since then, the duo has remained in touch close enough that Capestro asked Penman to photograph her wedding. Capestro and her colleagues made it out of the building within 22 minutes, in part, by walking down through the one usable stairwell. "So Phil actually filmed me on the worst day of my life. Were also on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Flipboard. 'Once the pictures were in the museum, and I met Phil and I had donated my belongings recovered from the 9/11 site I turned a corner,' she said. Living with survivor's guilt was not easy. Once outside Joanne ran and ran and ran then hid under a car as things collapsed around her, the wounded and dead all around, including co-workers. Capestro said she 'can't believe it's been 20 years already' as she said she hopes people will remember how the city and the nation was in the days after 9/11 when people came together to help each other in their darkest hours, 'Life is short and people don't realize how short it is. Much to his astonishment, the staff there recognized Joanne and united Penman and her around three years ago. Search Reddit posts and comments - see average sentiment, top terms, activity per day and more They must have left already!". Commemorative golf balls from the delayed September 2001 Ryder Cup golf tournament help demonstrate how the world stood still after the attacks. ', Now, 20 years on, Capestro said the horrific experience has given her 'courage and resilience to put my best foot forward every day' and 'wake up with a genuine smile on my face', For Capestro, the memorial at Ground Zero is now a positive place which she goes to spend time in around six times a year. While on the call, hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower six floors above Capestros office for the May Davis Group where she was an assistant secretary. Joanne shared that every year she visits the memorial located in lower Manhattan to recognize all those who lost their lives including her coworker Harry Ramos. At some point while trying to escape from the horrific scene, Capestro was unknowingly captured in a photo with one of her co-workers covered in dust and debris by Penman. 'I want peace and serenity and people to join together as one.'. In the days and weeks after the attack, Capestro said she was so traumatized that she would return to the area to watch the clear-up of Ground Zero and would constantly watch news coverage of the attacks. I thought that everybody must have left already from above because I thought it was going to be crowded when they didnt have a chance to make it out," she recalled. Three men walk past an entrance to a subway station which has a poster advertising the September 21 release of Denzel Washington's blockbuster hit movie Training Day, The heart-wrenching image above captured by Penman shows emergency personnel and civilians working alongside each other to help the injured near Ground Zero. We had no clue what was going on.'. When we met, he came into my office and just looked at me and I looked at him and just started crying, Capestro said of the moment she met Penman for the first time. Joanne Vasquez (Joanne Hennessey) See Photos. Capestro said she doesn't know what to say when people ask her how her life changed after 9/11. 'We were rocked again when the second tower was hit and that made me run,' Capestro told DailyMail.com. "Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11" will air on MSNBC on Saturday and Sunday at 10 p.m. It was the museum's curator who recognized Capestro and connected her with Penman. In the gripping image, Capestro looks completely shell-shocked while staring into the direction of the camera lens while walking barefoot and holding her heels and purse in one hand. Capestro with Phil Penman on her wedding day (right). While there, he captured a scene that has since become an iconic image from the harrowing day. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ This was the start of how they stayed in touch through the years following. Capestro pictured on her wedding day. Bloomfield College Spends an Afternoon on Wall Street Joanne Mancenido Vasquez. 'In the last 20 years, I have gone down to the site on around 14 of the anniversaries and I go down quite a bit all year round to be by the pools of water. The pair later formally met back in 2015 at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, where Penman's photo of Capestro was on display. The third exit we never really used so we were lucky to even find that exit. Theresa Caputo's daughter Victoria stuns in wedding dresses before big day He didn't pick up but he checked the message anyway. A woman who was captured in an iconic 9/11 dust-covered photo had the same photographer at her wedding 17 years on. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ Joanne Vasquez Profiles | Facebook Phil Penman, the photographer who captured this iconic photo of Joanne "JoJo" Capestro in 2001, took Capestro's wedding photos 17 years later. I'm a true New Yorker.'. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. Documentary Review: Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11 - The Reviews Hub And on the best day of my life.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. So does Capestro. The September 11th terrorist attacks left 2,996 people dead and more than 6,000 others injured in the United States. },false) Back then, she had no idea that it was renowned street photographer Penman that had captured her in the moment of crisis. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { For more information, please see our He was with me for the best day of my life and the worst day of my life.. ", Still, it was strangely hard to let go of her piece of Sept. 11 history, she says. Because God saved me that day. },false) Market data provided by Factset. I wanted them to see.". Capestro said it has taken time for her to deal with the trauma of her escape from the 87th floor, running out of the tower to see 'all the jumpers, the blood all over, the dead people' before the South Tower then crashed down around her, New Yorkers stare up at the Twin Towers from the corner of West Broadway and Canal Street on 9/11 after two hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City, 'I woke up andthought I was in heaven,' she said. Save Our History | Joanne Capestro | Commemorating the 20th Anniversary "I was standing by my desk and boom, the plane hit," Capestro recalled. to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks. "But once I went in there, and I saw, I said, 'My clothes belong there.' Speaking to DailyMail.com about her life changing experience that occurred 17 years ago today, Capestro said: Phil and I stayed in touch all of these years. He spent much of the day taking photos of those who survived the terrorist attacks along with harrowing photos of rescue workers and civilians helping the thousands affected. Pictured above is a gripping image captured by Penman showing the North Tower as it collapse and the South Tower still on fire, The September 11th terrorist attacks left 2,996 people dead and more than 6,000 others injured in the United States. Instagram . Despite not feeling well, she went to work in her office on the 87th floor of the World Trade Centers North Tower. Facebook gives people the power. eventAction: 'view' At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center's south tower. How a 9/11 photo brought 2 strangers together - TODAY.com Then, minutes later at 9.03am, the South Tower was struck by the second hijacked plane. Joanne Capestro is my neighbor and friend. And in coming full circle, on August 11th of this year, he fulfilled the duty of capturing Capestros wedding day,17 years later. Pictured above is an image showing people crowding the streets of lower Manhattan while watching the scene unfold, Minutes after escaping onto the street, the North Tower completely collapsed, Capestro recalled.