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Douglas Marvin ’69 is a partner in the law firm of Williams & Connolly. His office is three blocks from the White House.
“From my office window, I could see the black smoke billowing from the Pentagon. There were reports that another airliner, hijacked by terrorists, was bound for Washington, perhaps the White House or the Capital. Buildings were evacuated. But there was nowhere to go. The streets were clogged with cars tying up the intersections, while emergency vehicles sounded their sirens, helicopters hovered overhead and jet fighters circled the Nation’s Capital.
But that day ended without further incident and all those working in downtown Washington were able to return home, grateful beyond words for the heroic acts of the people aboard United flight 93 that crashed in western Pennsylvania but saddened beyond belief by the tragedies that had occurred at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.
For days after Sept. 11, when the sound of a siren from the streets below would reach our meeting room — a sound that in the past had been all but ignored — all discussion would cease. No words needed to be said because we each knew what the others were thinking: was there another act of terrorism taking place? Our sense of security had been shattered. Only after it became clear that the siren was not being joined by others would some knowing smiles break out and the discussion again ensue.
My daughter Jill, a sophomore at Lafayette, had called throughout Sept. 11 and then asked to return home that weekend. She rarely travels home both because she plays on the lacrosse team and because of the distance. My other daughter, Carrie, who attends the University of South Carolina, also returned home. Other parents told me that their children did the same. It was as if each wanted to recover that sense of security that only a childhood home could provide.
For the next several weeks, the roads and streets of Washington were clogged. But this time it was with people determined to arrive at work promptly as if each wanted to send a signal that no act of terrorism would stop citizens of the city from carrying out their own respective responsibilities. There was a new spirit everywhere, displayed in small but significant ways that were clearly evident. Flags flew. Elevators were filled with talk and camaraderie. Drivers changing lanes in traffic were greeted not with blasts of a horn but with a nod or a wave. September 11 had created a new bond. Our greatest fears proved to be no match for our greatest hopes and convictions.”