Remembering 9/11, part I

This morning at 9:25 a.m., the NYSE observed a moment of silence on the trading floor. On my way to the trading floor to participate, I had a chance encounter with Oliver Howard, one of the security guards at the Exchange. Ollie was on duty, stationed somewhere else in the NYSE complex today. Now, Ollie is a humble guy, and probably wouldn't tell you this himself, but he is a genuine hero of 9/11. At the time, Ollie was stationed at the Exchange's Division of Enforcement, which was located in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center. Ollie was on duty when the tower was struck, and he would say he was just doing his job, but I think it was something more. What did he do? Ollie opened every single office on three floors of the building, making sure people were evacuated, checked every single bathroom, and made sure that one of the staff, an attorney who was a paraplegic, got out of the building safe and alive. Several, maybe dozens of people owe their lives to this man who was just doing his job.

The Monday after the attacks, Dick Grasso hosted a lunch for all of the Division's employees in the Exchange's board room. Ollie, in full dress uniform, got a three minute standing ovation from the 130+ staffers. Later, he was honored by ringing the Opening Bell.

Ollie certainly wasn't the only hero on that day, but what made me want to share him with any readers out there who stumble across this post is the fact that today, seven years on, Ollie was at his post, somewhere else, in his regular uniform, and was genuinely surprised that anyone remembered his heroism. In this political season where we're being inundated by cynical messages about honor and character, Ollie's humility in the face of genuine heroism was a genuinely moving antidote.