HANOVER TWP., NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pa. — Debra Morisie had seen that look in her husband’s eyes before.
The look of horror, of worry, of pain, of pride — that look for a nightmare come to life.
She had seen it time and again, year after year and so many times in between Thursday evening and Sept. 11, 2001.
It’s the look that always takes her retired New York City firefighter husband, Robert, back to that fateful day when evil reduced the World Trade Center towers to rubble and sent nearly 3,000 innocent people to the great beyond.
Debra Morisie sat a few feet from her husband as he spoke at Hanover Township’s Patriots Day ceremonies and shared his recollections of responding to the 9/11 attacks.
“I’ve heard him tell that story so many times before,” she said after his 30-minute talk. “And he tells it exactly the same way, almost word for word.
“That day is always with him.”
The Morisies have lived in Easton for 20 years. But it's safe to assume the memories of 9/11 reside next door — if not in a spare room down the hall.
“I think about that day just about every day — but especially on a day like today,” said Morisie, 69.
'What the end of the world would look like'
A half-dozen Boy Scout troops and dozens of community members watched and listened as Morisie recounted that day under powder blue skies not unlike the heavens that terrible day 24 years ago.
One minute, Morisie was on a week’s vacation from Engine Company 164, Ladder 84 in Staten Island, New York.
The next, he was en route to Manhattan with a busload of firefighting brothers after the towers fell.
“The whole area looked like what I imagined the end of the world would look like.”Robert Morisie, former New York City firefighter
“I was picking up dry cleaning with our 2-year-old son, Mike,” Morisie said, his voice full of emotion.
“I looked at the ticket and it read Sept. 11, 2001, 8:44 a.m. Little did I know that two minutes later a plane would crash into the World Trade Center.
“When I heard on the radio what had happened, right then I knew vacation was over.”
Morisie shared his memories in snippets in the pin-drop quiet of the gathering: The devastation. The dust that resembled gray ash. Loose-leaf paper floating down like confetti from offices that no longer existed.
Morisie and his comrades arrived at 10:30 p.m. One of his first recollections was the smell and the hazy, smoky fog of dust that covered his boots.
“It looked like the surface of the moon,” he said.
“But the whole area looked like what I imagined the end of the world would look like.”
At one point, Morisie said, he noticed traffic cones littered about Ground Zero.
“At first, I didn’t know what they were,” he said. “Then I saw they were markings of the remains of some of the victims. I thought, 'No one could have survived this.'
“Then I saw a miracle: 28 people were pulled out alive, including eight Port Authority cops and two firefighters. Just amazing.”
'Grateful for every day we have'
Morisie left those in attendance Thursday with a message.
"I believe the best way to honor their memory is to live the best life we can, to forgive and to ask for forgiveness, don’t hold grudges, to see the good in people and not their imperfections."Robert Morisie, former New York City firefighter
“On Sept. 11, we saw the worst of humanity, but also the best of it,” he said. “There were many stories of selflessness that day. NYPDs and EMTs and Port Authority Police who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“I’m convinced there were seasoned veteran firefighters who sized up those buildings knowing there was a good chance they weren’t coming out.
"Life is fragile and uncertain … I believe the best way to honor their memory is to live the best life we can, to forgive and to ask for forgiveness, don’t hold grudges, to see the good in people and not their imperfections.
"To make amends and restitution if necessary and to be grateful for every day we have.”
The 9/11 remembrance ceremony in Hanover Township was among several throughout the Lehigh Valley on Thursday.
At City Hall in Allentown, Mayor Matt Tuerk offered remarks, a presentation of the colors and a rifle salute by the police department honor guard preceded by a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the time the first airplane struck the first tower at the World Trade Center.
A Patriots Day observance was also held at Nazareth Area Intermediate School.
School staff and students created a flag garden on the school grounds.
Each flag placed represents a tribute to the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and serves as a reminder of the unity, courage and resilience that emerged in the aftermath of the tragedy, according to a news release from the school.
The display will remain in place for the community to view and reflect upon throughout the week.
Lessons learned
Following Morisie’s talk, the Boy Scouts participated in a flag retiring ceremony, where old America flags were incinerated in two large burning receptacles.
Morisie’s words also were burned into the minds of those who sat in rapt attention.
After nearly 23 years as a firefighter, Morisie had planned to retire in October 2001 but decided to stay on the job eight months longer after seeing the devastation and working at Ground Zero.
He retired on June 6, 2002 — the day his father, a captain with the New York City Fire Department, died.
Morisie said he spends his days being active in their church, playing pickleball and planning for the birth of his and his wife's 13th grandchild.
And, from lessons learned on that fateful day, being grateful for every day he has.
