9/11 Lost and Found: The Items Left Behind

This pair of women’s heels belonged to Fiduciary Trust employee Linda Raisch-Lopez, a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center. She began her evacuation from the 97th floor of the South Tower after seeing flames from the North Tower. She removed her shoes and carried them as she headed down the stairs, reaching the 67th floor when the South Tower was struck by Flight 175.

As she headed uptown to escape, she put her shoes back on, and they became bloody from her cut and blistered feet. She donated her shoes to the museum.

This American Airlines flight attendant wings lapel pin belonged to Karyn Ramsey, friend and colleague of 28-year-old Sara Elizabeth Low, who was working aboard Flight 11 when it crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Following the memorial service for Sara, Karyn pinned her own service wings on Sara’s father, Mike Low. He would refer to the pin as “Karyn’s wings.”

This pager, recovered from Ground Zero, belonged to Andrea Lyn Haberman. Haberman, who lived in Chicago, was in New York City on September 11, 2001, for a meeting at the offices of Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. It was Haberman’s first time visiting New York; she was only 25 years old when she was killed in the attacks.

On the morning of September 11, 55-year-old Robert Joseph Gschaar was working on the 92nd floor of the South Tower. At the time of the attack, he called his wife and told her there had been an accident at the World Trade Center. He reassured her that he planned to evacuate and would call when he reached the street. Robert did not make it out of the tower alive. More than a year later, his wallet and wedding ring were recovered at Ground Zero.

Inside his wallet was a $2 bill. Robert and his wife, Myrta, carried around $2 bills throughout their 11-year marriage to remind each other that they were two of a kind.

On September 11, FDNY Squad 18 responded to the attacks on the Twin Towers. The unit included David Halderman, a firefighter whose father and brother also served in the FDNY. His helmet was found crushed on September 12, 2001, and given to his brother, Michael, who believes David died when the tower collapsed and he was struck in the head. David Halderman’s body was not recovered until October 25, 2001.

This ID card belonged to Abraham J. Zelmanowitz, an Empire BlueCross BlueShield computer programmer. On the morning of the attacks, he was working on the 27th floor of the North Tower with his friend and colleague Edward Beyea, who used a wheelchair. Zelmanowitz decided to stay behind to remain by his friend’s side as the rest of the company began to evacuate. Coworkers who evacuated told emergency responders that the two were awaiting assistance inside.

FDNY Captain William Francis Burke, Jr. reached the 27th floor of the North Tower and was there when the South Tower collapsed. Burke ordered his unit to evacuate but stayed behind to help Zelmanowitz and Beyea. The three men would only make it as far down as the 21st floor, making phone calls to loved ones before their deaths.

This gold-link bracelet belonged to Yvette Nicole Moreno. Bronx native Yvette Nicole Moreno was working as a receptionist at Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of the North Tower after recently being promoted from a temporary position. After the North Tower was hit, she called her mother to let her know she was heading home. However, on her way out of the office she was struck and killed by debris from the South Tower. She was 24.

This baseball cap belonged to a 22-year veteran of the Port Authority Police Department, James Francis Lynch. At the time of the attacks, James was off duty and recovering from surgery but felt the need to respond. He had previously responded to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Lynch was 47 when he died in the attacks. His remains were recovered on December 7, 2001.

This police badge belonged to John William Perry, a New York Police Department officer with the 40th Precinct and a New York state Guard first lieutenant. He was another off-duty officer who responded to the attacks. He had plans to retire from the police force to pursue a career as a full-time lawyer. He was 38 years old.

On March 30, 2002, a firefighter working at Ground Zero found a Bible fused to a piece of metal. The Bible was open to a page with fragments of legible text reading “an eye for an eye” and “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

This scratched MTA MetroCard belonged to Erik Hans Isbrandtsen, a 30-year-old trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. Isbrandtsen used the subway to commute from his Manhattan home to the 104th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, where he worked. The card was recovered after the attacks and later donated by his parents.

FDNY firefighter Kevin M. Prior responded to the North Tower on September 11 with Squad 252.

Prior’s fire helmet was identified by its surviving badge and company numbers. Its crushed shell, warped leather and detached visor reflect the immense force of the tower’s collapse. The helmet was eventually returned to Prior’s mother and later donated to the museum.

This set of keys belonged to Andrea Lyn Haberman, a 25-year-old assistant to the president of Carr Futures. Haberman was visiting New York for the first time and was at the company’s offices on the 92nd floor of the North Tower on September 11. The keys were among the contents of her purse, which was recovered years later and donated by her family.