Remembering Thomas McGinnis, Oakland Resident Who Perished in Sept. 11 Attack
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Oakland resident Thomas McGinnis was on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. He was in a conference room with coworkers from Carr Futures, where he was a commodities broker, who had been having a meeting there.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 was deliberately crashed into the North Tower at 8:45 a.m.
The 41-year-old called his wife, Iliana, that morning to tell her he was trapped, according to published reports. "This looks really, really bad," he told her.
She told him not to despair, and to have faith that he would get out to safety.
“You don’t understand,” he told her, recounted a NorthJersey.com article. “There are people jumping from the floors above us. If we get out of here, it will be a miracle.”
He thought of their four-year-old daughter and said: “Take care of Caitlin. I love you.”
The last thing he said was that he “had to get down,” his widow told NorthJersey.com, then the connection dropped. She later realized that the call dropped at the time the building collapsed--10:30 a.m. The New York Times later reported: "In the North Tower, every person believed to be above the 91st floor died: 1,344."
McGinnis was the only Oakland resident who perished in the towers.
A memorial rock and plaque for McGinnis is located at Oakland’s recreation complex, near a flag pole by the roller rink. It was unveiled on Sept. 11 of last year.
His widow often has returned to Oakland for ceremonies marking Sept. 11 and paying respects to those whose lives were lost. She graciously served as the keynote speaker when Oakland held a Sept. 11 dedication in 2019 for the World Trade Center steel and monument located in Veteran’s Park.
Thomas and Iliana McGinnis moved to Oakland in 1999. He was an avid reader, scouring five newspapers daily, according to The New York Times.
“He read everything,” his widow told the Times. ”If he wanted to know more about Ben Franklin, he’d pick up four books and read them all.”
McGinnis also loved the Rangers and taking his daughter to Disney World.
Click on the link below for photos--moments in the life of a husband, a father--of Thomas McGinnis cherishing his life with his wife and little daughter.
https://voicescenter.org/living-memorial/victim/thomas-h-mcginnis#lg=1&s...
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