09/11/2026
Some stories become part of a family’s heritage because they deserve to be carried forward. This is one is ours.
On September 11, 2001, my father Louis Torres was 38 years old - the same age I am today. As he made his way out of the World Trade Center through crowded stairwells that had reached at least 90 degrees, he stopped to help many others along the way before coming across a colleague who relied on crutches for mobility. When those helping her became too exhausted to continue, my father took over and lifted her onto his shoulder, carrying her down over 40 flights, out of the building and all the way to the EMTs. Even when a security guard told him he could leave her and continue on his own, he refused until she was safely placed in an ambulance. Moments later, the first tower came crashing down on him.
His selflessness that morning wasn’t something extraordinary that suddenly appeared in a moment of crisis. It was simply who he had always been. Now that I am a mother, and the same age he was that day, I understand his story differently. I understand how young he was, what was at risk, how much he carried with him afterward, and that surviving something does not mean walking away unscathed. There is still so much healing to be done, even all these years later.
Today, I honor the man my father is and has always been, with the understanding that our gratitude exists alongside the grief of so many others. Our family was fortunate enough to have him come home, and this is a gift we will never take for granted.
We will always remember September 11, 2001 and hold close the memory of all those who never made it back to their loved ones 🕊️
