The gate in the high fence that surrounds the Montauk Coast Guard Station was shut tight on Tuesday morning -- the station's people and the crew of the 87-foot cutter Ridley on high alert like all of this nation's military.
Without radio and television, the closed fence would have been about the only indication that something terrible had happened 118 miles to the west. Tuesday was crystal clear and beautiful on the East End. Surfers found the waves near perfect from the hurricane passing far at sea. Surfcasters had striped bass within reach.
Word that the shining day had a dark and terrifying center spread slowly at first. Then, stories of local people who were witness to, or affected directly by, the horrible events were passed from mouth to mouth in a frightening blur of words.
Few people are likely to forget where they were on Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001.
Connie Keller was at work at the East Deck Motel in Montauk when a surfer, who had been in the water at the nearby Ditch Plain break, came running into the office. "He said, 'It's really an emergency, I've got to make a call.' "
Ms. Keller said it turned out that the man normally worked in the World Trade Center, but had skipped work and driven to Montauk because he knew the surf was going to be good. His wife thought he was at work. According to another witness, the surfer literally fell to the floor as he watched events unfold on a television in one of the East Deck's rooms.
Paulo DeAlessandrini of Montauk is a banker with the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation. He was at his 41st Street office on Tuesday morning. His brother was in the lobby of the World Trade Center heading for a meeting on the 70th floor when the first hijacked jet struck.
Mr. DeAlessandrini reported that as a result of the explosion, an elevator crashed with such force that a woman in the lobby was thrown through the air and struck his brother's associate hard enough to break his leg. Mr. DeAlessandrini stayed at work late in his company's effort to provide its clients with funds needed as a result of the attack.
A surprising number of New York City firemen call Montauk their home. Dave Schleifer of Montauk retired from the New York Fire Department's Ladder Company Five in Greenwich Village in July after 20 years. He said he had talked to people at the firehouse on Tuesday and learned of the terrible loss. The station housed two companies.
The station housed two companies.
"Eleven guys are missing and probably dead, five from Ladder [Truck] Five, and six from Engine 24. Both responded. They were working on the 38th floor [of the first building to be hit]. They were ordered out. The Engine guys made it out. The Ladder didn't. I was on that truck. The guy who took my spot is a good friend. He's missing. It was my group, people I had worked with for 19 years."
"The lieutenant had just two tours left before he could retire. He had to go to work two more times and would have retired with 27 years in. I bet I know 50 or 60 guys who have died. The first, second, and third alarm companies are all missing," Mr. Schleifer said.
"We drilled for this. They always said that [in case of a major terrorist attack] you might as well forget about the first two alarm companies. It's sickening. On the radio they're calling for retired cops and firemen to go in. I don't think I'll go in. I worked there for 20 years."
The former fireman is a bow hunter and often goes into Montauk's woods during the summer months to track deer and prepare for the coming season. He said his station had lost several firefighters in recent years.
"I'm going into the woods and do it for the guys. I have one friend: I know that with his last breaths he was thinking of me, saying, man, you made it out."
Tom Staubitser is a fireman with a house in Montauk whose station is on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. His wife, Marlene, said yesterday that he had been "at ground zero" for over 24 hours, either at the site or at the station covering for officers lost from another station.
Anthony Montella of Ditch Plain, Montauk, is a New York City fireman whose station is on 51st Street in Manhattan. He had begun his vacation and was in Montauk when disaster struck, but reported to the scene on Tuesday. Ten of his co-workers are missing.
Michelle Montella, his wife, said that his daughter was so distraught after seeing the news on television at the Montauk School that he returned to Montauk Tuesday night to comfort her. He was scheduled to return to the city today.
Carey Maslow of Montauk and New York City said she had been on her way to work on the 16th floor of building two of the World Trade Center from her apartment on 96th Street. "I had stayed at my son's school to fill out a form, so I was late," she said. "I came out of the subway at Park Place and saw the two buildings burning, like two candles. People were crying, bleeding, and running - chaos. It was terrifying."
"I saw my building collapse from two blocks away. Then there was a huge cloud and a stampede of people. That's when I was scared. I was walking north. Then I saw the other building go. A huge cloud. It smelled burnt, hellish. I think everyone in my office got out, but I can't reach everyone."
"I walked all the way to 96th Street. I stopped to buy a pair of running shoes because I was carrying books. People were very good. Restaurants were giving out water. People were gathering around cars that had their radios on."
"I'm totally freaked out," said Tracy Erb of Montauk, a United Airlines flight attendant for the past 13 years. "I don't know. I'm concerned about my kids. Part of me is mad, real mad. They wait for a major thing like this to do something about security."
"Two of the planes were United planes. I have a friend who is a first officer. He took off eight minutes after the plane left Newark. He heard the whole conversation with air traffic control. I think all the pilots were based at Kennedy."
"I'm totally freaked out," she went on. "I'm seriously considering retiring. I hate to retire because of the benefits, and, living in Montauk, I could get out of town. It was a perfect job. Right now, I hope I get a leave of absence I applied for. I don't know. I have to think about it."
Helen Pugh of Fairlawn Drive in Montauk had another awful day. Her son, Joseph Pugh, a lieutenant commander in the Navy, was at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning when it was struck by the hijacked jet. She did not hear from her son until 4:30 p.m.
"He said he saw the smoke, grabbed his briefcase and keys, and left the building. He was transferred some place in Virginia. I feel it today. I'm not 16 anymore. That was something to sweat out," Mrs. Pugh said.
