My step-brother Richard Koo was in the North Tower when the first plane hit. He was lucky to be on the ground floor at the time and therefore escaped unharmed.
Numerology played an interesting part in Richard’s escape. The number 47 had significant meaning for him since he was a boy. After he crossed over to New Jersey in a boat, he was able to make contact with his mother. She gave him my cousin Eva’s address in Tenafly. Her house number was 47. Richard had never met my cousin before, but she took care of him until he was able to fly back to Japan.
Years later the authorities contacted Richard. They had found his safe at the Marriott site, which was also destroyed that day. Richard went back to New York to collect his things: passport, camera, money, his Abramson Award certificate honoring his article on Japanese economy. He held on to these mementos with mixed emotions. He was a survivor of 9/11 but whatever he had lost that day had come back to him. Others who were there could only claim tokens of memory of their loved ones.
Photo from CSIS
