By: Dave Astor A longtime syndicate executive is part of a front-page story in today's New York Times about people hearing the last words of family members who died on 9/11.
Joe Hanley and his wife, Marie, were among the families who recently learned they could have 911-emergency-line recordings of their loved ones from that fateful day.
Hanley worked as a sales executive with companies such as Crain News Service, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate (later absorbed into Tribune Media Services), and News America Syndicate (later absorbed into King Features Syndicate).
The Hanleys' only child -- Christopher, 34 -- was working for Radianz (then a division of Reuters) when he attended a conference in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Trapped on the 106th floor of one of the Twin Towers, he called 911 about four minutes after the first plane struck, according to the Times article. Among the things a calm-voiced Christopher said: "There is fire, smoke. We have about 100 people here. We can't get down the stairs."
His father told the Times' Jim Dwyer: "It made me proud of him. That he was able to maintain his coolness."
The 911 operator switched Christopher's call to a New York City Fire Department dispatcher, who heard Hanley say: "Please hurry."
Christopher also managed to call his girlfriend from the 106th floor before the building collapsed. Joe Hanley -- when interviewed for a story that ran in the then-weekly E&P's Sept. 24, 2001, issue -- said Christopher told his girlfriend: "There's so much smoke. I can't really see. But I'm okay."
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