Sean Paul Rooney was 50 years old and from Stamford, Connecticut. (Born: Buffalo, New York). Sean worked for Aon Corporation on the 98th floor in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
At 9.01am on September 11, 2001, Sean called his wife, Beverly, and left a voice mail message, "Hey Beverly, this is Sean, in case you get this message. There has been an explosion in World Trade One, that's the other building. It looks like a plane struck it. It's on fire at about the 90th floor. And it's, it's - it's horrible. Bye."
At 9.02am Sean called back, "Honey, this is Sean again. Looks like we'll be in this tower for a while." He paused, as a public announcement in the background could be heard. "It's secure here, but..." He stopped again to listen, "if the conditions warrant on your floor you may wish to start an orderly evacuation."
At 9.03am United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.
To get to safety, Sean made his way to the 105th floor of the building, trying to reach the roof, when he became trapped. After Beverly learned about the attacks, she went home and stayed on the phone with Sean, who was her childhood sweetheart, until she heard the tower collapse.
Beverly herself was killed on February 12, 2009 in the crash of Continental flight 3407 outside of Buffalo, New York. She was traveling to Buffalo for a gathering with her family to mark what would have been Sean's 58th birthday on February 15.
She had met with President Barack Obama just a few days before her death in her role as an advocate for those affected by 9/11.
"She was an inspiration to me and to so many others." President Obama.
