The lives lost on 9/11 have come to serve a higher purpose

Here is a photo of the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street in NYC on 9/11. The area that we worked in at the time was on the 16th floor, which was powerfully sliced open by debris from the WTC.

Our division had recently completed a significant floor renovation, including the roll-out of extensive new infrastructure both there and at our disaster recovery site located 30 miles away in New Jersey.

On that day, I unexpectedly got off to a late start. After completing my morning workout, I went for a 30-minute jog. This task was followed by making breakfast for my wife and son before leaving the house—something I never do on a typical workday.

As usual, I boarded an Academy bus. However, it was later found to have faulty mechanics, requiring us to stop and wait for another bus before proceeding.

If none of these things had transpired as they did, then I would have been in the World Trade Center getting my usual cup of coffee to go. Instead, the bus that we were all traveling on was still on the New Jersey Turnpike at the precise time when the planes flew into each of the towers.

As passengers on the bus, we vividly witnessed the second plane crash into the tower. Immediately, we knew, based on the plane's speed, that something sinister had just occurred.

In the days and weeks that followed, everyone was operating around the clock to effectively recover our businesses while also sharing in the collective pain and grief of massive human loss and trauma.

As an organization, as a team, as grieving folks, we all vowed to one another that no matter where this life takes us, we will never forget those innocent people who lost their lives that day and that, as a nation, in the future every year we will see to it that we are continuing to do so.

May all those who were lost rest in peace, and their families and very close friends continue to be embraced. We were tragically tried and proved to ourselves and the world that we can stand together in the worst of times. As a 'united nation' and a great diversity of people, we demonstrated that it is not our true nature to be defeated, to leave others behind, or ultimately to neglect the most critical needs of others. So, let's keep this deep inner faith, hope, and wisdom in our hearts and minds and do all we can to practice these values through our ongoing and positive daily actions because this is what it means to be an American—shown through our abiding love for each other.

As we do these things, let it be to honor the thousands of individuals who lost their lives and who would give anything to be here today to join us in such a meaningful and purposeful effort. This is the way to pay forward the highest honor to the families that have paid a great price and are now left without their loved ones.

Thank you, and God bless everyone.