A former Merrill Lynch employee who witnessed the 9/11 attacks from the World Financial Center, next to the World Trade Center, has written a personal reflection on how the experience shaped his faith and career, including his decision to leave finance in 2009 to become an FBI Special Agent. The piece, published as the anniversary approaches, is one of several first-person and opinion articles marking the day, offering a survivor's account alongside reflections on courage, loss and national resilience.

The author describes seeing the North Tower struck and watching the second plane hit the South Tower, prompting him to flee and reflect on mortality and faith. He praises the bravery of firefighters, police, Port Authority officers and passengers on United Flight 93, and pays tribute to responders who later died from Ground Zero-related illnesses, while also criticising what he calls a decline in moral clarity among some Americans who have since expressed sympathy for the attackers' cause.