It’s an awkward thing to say.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
But every Sept. 11, when the names of the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks are read aloud at the World Trade Center site … I hear my name.
Michael J. Armstrong.
It’s a name I share, right down to the middle initial.
asserted
I → kill → initial
For more than two decades, I wondered about the other Michael Armstrong.
asserted
I → wonder → Armstrong
Who had he left behind?
asserted
he → leave → Who
Years ago, I came across something written by one of his sisters about the family’s efforts to keep Michael’s memory alive.
asserted
I → come → memory
They had created a foundation in his name.
asserted
They → create → name
So, as I began putting together stories to mark 25 years since the attacks, I decided I wanted to help his family tell his story.
asserted
family → begin → story
Even reaching out felt uncomfortable.
asserted
reaching → reach → ?
I knew the email would arrive in his sister’s inbox with one name attached to it: Michael Armstrong.
asserted
email → know → it
I wondered what it would be like for her to see that name suddenly appear on her screen.
asserted
name → wonder → screen
And whether I had any right to ask her to open that door.
asserted
I → have → door
The ensuing back and forth turned into a visit to her home in Tappan, N.Y., last month.
asserted
back → ensue → Tappan
The walls of Laura’s home are filled with family photos.
asserted
walls → fill → photos
Michael appears in many of them: Christmas mornings, Thanksgivings, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and one where he jumped on their father’s lap.
asserted
he → appear → lap
He was goofing around after he as his sister Marian had bought Laura her first digital camera.
asserted
he → goof → camera
“He just had such a hearty laugh,” Laura said.
asserted
Laura → have → laugh
“He laughed a lot.”
asserted
He → laugh → ?
“He was just a warm kind of guy and he was great with kids,” Marian recalled.
asserted
Marian → recall → kids
Dozens of photos have been added to the walls in the 25 years since 9/11.
asserted
Dozens → add → 9/11
Important events where Michael’s absence is impossible for the family to ignore.
asserted
family → ignore → ?
“There are a lot of instances where we think that,” Laura said.
asserted
Laura → be → that
Michael Armstrong was 34 years old and worked in electronic trading on Wall Street with the brokerage company Cantor Fitzgerald.
asserted
Armstrong → work → company
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Michael was at work on the 104th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, above the floors struck by American Airlines Flight 11.
asserted
Michael → strike → Flight
After the building was hit, Michael tried to reach members of his family by telephone.
asserted
Michael → hit → telephone
His sister Marion remembers that his final cellphone call was to their mother.
asserted
call → remember → mother
The family’s copy of his phone statement showed the call lasted two minutes.
asserted
call → show → statement
But his mother couldn’t make out his words.
asserted
mother → make → words
All she heard was static.
asserted
she → hear → ?
The family has always hoped that while Michael couldn’t be heard, he could hear his mother’s voice.
uncertain
he → hop → voice
For hours that morning, his sisters clung to possibilities.
asserted
sisters → cling → possibilities
Maybe what they were hearing about the Twin Towers wasn’t as bad as it sounded.
asserted
it → hear → Towers
They didn’t turn on the television.
asserted
They → turn → television
“I really thought he was going to be OK,” Laura recalled. “As crazy as it is.”
asserted
it → think → ?
The next few weeks in Michael’s life were supposed to be special.
asserted
weeks → suppose → life
He and his fiancée, Catherine Nolan, were set to be married on Oct. 6, 2001.
asserted
He → set → Oct.
Instead, Michael’s wake was held on Sept. 23, 2001.
asserted
wake → hold → Sept.
He’d been at a funeral the day before and missed work.
asserted
He → miss → work
And later in the week, he was scheduled to be off again for his bachelor party.
asserted
he → schedule → party
“We often said, like, oh, you know, so many things,” Catherine recalled.
asserted
Catherine → say → things
“If he had only left a few days earlier, if he had a dentist appointment the next day.
asserted
he → leave → appointment
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
