Their parents left for work and never came home: From the 9/11 archives

Children Who Lost Parents on September 11th00:01

An estimated 10,000 children lost a parent on September 11th. Parents left for work that morning and never returned. Danielle Spinelli, age 8, recalls her father Frank Spinelli kissing his children goodbye each morning. Frank had told his daughter Nicole that he kissed the children goodbye to ensure they would always know he loved them if anything happened to him at work.

Frank Spinelli's Daily Life and Final Call01:02

Frank Spinelli worked as a foreign exchange broker at the World Trade Center. He spent weekends shuttling his children to soccer, lacrosse, and football activities. When the first plane hit, he called his wife Michelle to reassure her: "Hi, honey. It's me. Plane hit the building. Um I'm okay. Uh the building's on fire. We're trying to get out. I love you. I'll see you later." Frank was found in the wreckage two weeks before his 45th birthday. The family continued their tradition of baking him a birthday cake that year.

Danielle Spinelli's Perspective02:30

Danielle expressed that the attackers took her father away for no good reason. She believes that if the attackers had met her father, they would have changed their minds about their actions. She noted the difficulty everyone faces in understanding why such an event occurred.

The Williams Family at Arlington National Cemetery03:02

Tyler and Kelsey Williams said goodbye to their father, US Army Major Dwayne Williams, at Arlington National Cemetery. The family had moved to the Washington area just three months prior when Dwayne began his new job at the Pentagon. Kelsey, age 13, and Tyler, age 17, wrote about their father after his death. Tyler wrote about feeling his father's pain on his heart and touching his father's face as if he were beside him. Kelsey wrote about being unable to picture life without her father and feeling that the devil had picked her worst fear from her mind.