ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Remembering a day etched in the memories of Americans: Sept. 11, 2001.
One of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives 21 years ago on Sunday was Suzanne Geraty, who was just 30 years old.
She was Erin Durkin’s youngest sister.
“Suzanne had an infectious personality, she was funny. She was the life of the party. She loved a good glass of red wine and a great meal with family and friends,” Durkin said.
Durkin honored her sister and the other victims killed in the attack during a ceremony at the St. Augustine Fire Department’s main station.
Suzanne was working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks.
“My mother spoke to my sister on this phone. She said she was OK and they were all together and they were going to try to make their way out,” Durkin said. “That was the last time we heard from her.”
Gerard Durkin rushed to Manhattan from New Jersey to try and save his sister-in-law and so many others. He was a New York City firefighter.
“I remember walking on this crunchy stuff as I was stepping on it. I realized it was thousands of women’s shoes. In order to get away from the death cloud, they threw their shoes away. They threw bags and everything,” Durkin said.
Durkin said he was simply doing his job.
“You have to make a decision. You have to go in. You cannot leave those people by themselves. What is your job otherwise?” Durkin said.
For Erin, not a day goes by she doesn’t think of her sister and the many things they never got the chance to do.
“She was a woman of peace, love and kindness, which is a perspective I think we all missed out on. The world could use a lot more people like Suzanne Geraty,” she said.