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A daughter has shared a poignant voicemail left by her father just minutes before he perished in the September 11 attacks. Joseph Pick was on the 94th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when he recorded the message for his wife, reassuring her that he was “okay” shortly before the second plane struck.
On this 25th anniversary of the tragic events that forever changed the world, memories of that day remain vivid. In 2001, the World Trade Center housed over 430 businesses from 28 countries. Joseph was among the 2,977 victims who lost their lives when terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the Twin Towers.
Joseph’s daughter, Jeannette Puccio-Pick, who was just nine years old at the time, recently reflected on her father and the haunting voicemail he left. In the message, Joseph told his wife Marie: “There was a plane that hit World Trade Center Number One.
I think it was coming towards me. I’m okay, and I’m on the 94th floor.
I just saw some guy just jump out. You can’t call me, I’ll call you when I can, but I am okay.
All right? So, just to let you know.”
The timeline of events is chilling. American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., and Joseph left his voicemail at 9:01 a.m.
Just two minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower between floors 77 and 85-below where Joseph was located. Tragically, the South Tower collapsed less than an hour later at 9:58 a.m.
Jeannette shared that her father believed he was safe because authorities had instructed occupants not to evacuate downstairs, fearing bombs or armed threats. “He actually did go down to the 78th floor-that was the last floor he was seen on-and then he went back up,” she said. “When I hear that voicemail, I hate that that’s the last thing I have of him, him thinking he was okay because he called my mom.”
Beyond that final call, Jeannette recalls fond moments with her father, from playing football to sharing a love of comic books-Joseph owned a collection exceeding 2,500 Marvel and DC comics. Her last memory of him was just two days before the attacks, when he let her stay up late to watch the premiere of the animated series Awkward Teen Hunger Force.
As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, memorial services are being held across the country to honor those who lost their lives and to remember the enduring impact of that day.