ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – This is the 14th anniversary of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. This year, a survivor of the 9/11 attacks is among the St. Louisans making a 21 mile memorial walk to the Arch.
It’s a group of Gateway City residents with one mission, a 21 mile memorial walk to never forget September 11th, 2001.
On this 14th anniversary of this March to the Arch from West County, Krista Salvatore remembered that fateful day she was working in tower two when the second plane hit the world trade center building.
“I was on the 61st floor for training and we all started to leave once the plane hit the first tower,” says Krista Salvatore. “So I was on 24 when it hit mine.”
She was straight out of college and on her second day of training for her new job at Morgan Stanley.
“Shook the building, when it hit my building it shook my building,” says Salvatore. “When it hit the other building it blew out all our windows. Your instinct just told you to leave. We all went into the stairwells and started our way down.”
As the mass evacuation began Salvatore started down the stairwell with her co-workers.
“The stairwell got dark, lights went out, filled up with smoke that was when it was really scary and didn’t think we were going to make it,” says Salvatore.
“My gut just told me to get out. I was very fortunate. I saw a lot of firefighters going up the stairs and we were all very orderly going down the stairs.”
Salvatore says she’ll never forget that descent.
“It’s that memory that serves her dedication to this annual walk.”
