On September 10, 2001, Mark Shore took a PATH train from Hoboken, New Jersey, to the World Trade Center in Manhattan, where he worked for Morgan Stanley on the 62nd floor of the South Tower. That day, he was giving a tour of his office to a friend, Joe, visiting from Chicago. Shore had a corner office with a spectacular view, and he expressed uncertainty about how long he would keep it, thinking he might be relocated soon.
The following morning, September 11, began as a quiet and clear day in New York. Shore arrived at the office around 7:30 a.m., as American Airlines Flight 11 was preparing for takeoff from Boston. A little before 8:45 a.m., as Shore stepped away from his desk to use the restroom, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m.
Shore was unaware of the chaos unfolding. Upon returning to his desk, he noticed a panicked rush of colleagues evacuating the office. His manager was urging everyone to leave, having witnessed the crash. Leaving behind his belongings, Shore joined his coworkers as they descended the stairwell. The Port Authority announced over the loudspeakers that the South Tower was secure and that people should return to their offices, but Shore felt hesitant.
Moments later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. Shore didn’t feel the impact as he concentrated on escaping. When he finally reached the ground floor, he saw smoke billowing from both towers and debris falling. It was at this point he reflected, “Are we at war?” as he observed the scene resembling a disaster movie.
As he and his colleagues moved north away from the Towers, they encountered people gathered around radios and televisions, trying to grasp the situation. A child exclaimed that one of the towers was missing, and Shore realized that the South Tower had collapsed at 9:59 a.m.
Eventually, Shore and his colleague reached the west side of Manhattan and waited two and a half hours for a ferry back to New Jersey. After walking home to Hoboken, he found he had left his keys, wallet, and phone behind in the rubble. That evening, he sought refuge at a friend’s place, where he had his first opportunity to process the day’s events.
In the days that followed, Shore reconnected with friends and colleagues and noticed a shift in perspective among many. “People started to rethink their lives,” he noted. He developed a sense of patriotism and considered joining the CIA as an economist.
By the end of 2009, Shore returned to Chicago and became a professor at DePaul University, later joining the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. He has continued sharing his experiences from that day, helping his students understand the economic implications of such disasters.
As the years go by, Shore emphasizes the importance of remembering first responders who risked their lives that day. He, like countless others, will never forget the events of September 11. A memorial ceremony will be held by the Evanston Fire and Police Departments at Firefighters Park, with Shore scheduled to participate.