I'm a true New Yorker.'. Capestro pictured on her wedding day. },false) Not long ago some of Joanne's belongings, long thought lost that day, were returned to her. 'I found a great partner who understands who I am - everybody has some sort of past and mine is 9/11,' she said. Now here we are today and six weeks ago, on August 11th, he was the photographer at my wedding," she continued. After getting home from the debris pile at ground zero after 9/11, Detective Carol Orazem peeled off her battered, hosed-down boots and eventually put them in the attic. When we met, he came into my office and just looked at me and I looked at him and just started crying, Capestro said of the moment she met Penman for the first time. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Survey of Wedding Photographers Shows Taking Pictures Accounts for Only 4% of Their Time, Why Lens Compression Is Important for On-location Portraits, 5 Reasons You Should Switch From Lightroom To Capture One in 2023, We Review the Canon 5D Mark IV in 2023: Still the Best Professional DSLR, We Review the 2002 Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens: A Reliable Performer, We Review the Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 LM WR Macro Lens. I thought that everybody must have left already from above because I thought it was going to be crowded, when they didnt have a chance to make it out.. }); It just went to voicemail," Penman told TODAY. That's when photographer Phil Penman captured the iconic photograph of Capestro and her friend, who are seen covered in debris, ash and dirt. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. They must have left already!". And I was standing at my desk with one of my co-workers because we were going to go downstairs. 'We were rocked again when the second tower was hit and that made me run,' Capestro told DailyMail.com. "Then all of a sudden, you hear this rumble and the building's coming down as I'm shooting.". ga('ads.send', { pg.acq.push(function() { MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. Joanne Capestro 's birthday is 07/12/1962 and is 60 years old. Joanne Capestro is my neighbor and friend. Moments later the tower collapsed. Email or phone: Password: . Speaking to DailyMail.com about her life changing experience that occurred 17 years ago today, Capestro said: Phil and I stayed in touch all of these years. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of 'In the last 20 years, I have gone down to the site on around 14 of the anniversaries and I go down quite a bit all year round to be by the pools of water. Then aged 39, Capestro worked on the 87th floor of the North Tower as a sales assistant secretary for financial firm the May Davis Group. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. But the phone rang and he answered, then the plane hit five or six floors above us. You have to put your best foot forward every day, because you can't let terrorism get to you.'. Penman was nearby and captured Capestro and her co-worker, Dominique Davis, as they escaped the World Trade Center. Penman, recalling the photo and the ensuing chaos those downtown endured in September 2001, said, "Life stopped on that day. eventAction: 'click_adunit' Phil Penman's iconic 9/11 photo of Joanne Capestro. Joanne Capestro, meanwhile, was gearing up for another workday in the city. Not long after arriving, Capestro, then aged 39, was planning to go downstairs with a co-worker but stopped because her desk phone rang. What a strong and beautiful woman. Woman seen in iconic 9/11 photo gets the same photographer to shoot her wedding 17 years later. Some new donors to the Sept. 11 museum hadn't realized everyday possessions could be museum exhibits. Can it? Others have added to the wallets, helmets, and other personal effects in a collection that looks at the terrorist attacks through the lens of individual lives. Daily Mail Interestingly, the very same man who'd taken her photo back then captured her once again on the lens. The two are now close friends and he photographed her wedding, 'I took an enormous turn and I'm very grateful for that as I get to tell my story to educate children who werent born yet what a horrific act it was.'. See Photos . ga('ads.send', { She revealed it was only when she came out onto the concourse at ground level that she saw the true scale of the devastation. Working Overtime: Do You Have An Exit Strategy? When we met, he came into my office and just looked at me and I looked at him and just started crying, she said. "I didn't think that this would be anything they would want," said JoAnne "JoJo" Capestro, the finance worker who gave her clothing. Capestro is pictured in 2021 near the new World Trade Center complex. A museum staffer recognized Capestro in the picture and helped make the connection. }); reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. "I remember it was like it was yesterday, to be honest with you. I remember it was like it was yesterday to be honest with you. May 27, 2019 - Joanne Capestro escaped from the Twin Towers and was captured in an iconic photo. Since the museum's May opening, victims' families, survivors, rescue workers and others have come forward to add about 135 new gifts to its collection, chief curator Jan Seidler Ramirez said. Phil Penman captured a photo of Joanne Capestro with her friend as they fled the rubbish of terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001. Despite not feeling well, she went to work in her office on the 87th floor of the World Trade Centers North Tower. TikTok Introduces 60-Minute Daily Time Limit, Havana Syndrome: The Mysterious Illness Afflicting Diplomats and Intelligence Officers. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { On 9/11 she ran down 84 floors in the North Tower to safety, defeating all odds as others died around her. Joanne 'Jojo' Capestro managed to escape the World Trade Center's North. Six weeks ago, he was the photographer at my wedding. Joanne Mancenido Vasquez. Victoria had a drive-by bridal shower last month with her mom Credit: Instagram/theresacaputo. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of. Then, minutes later at 9.03am, the South Tower was struck by the second hijacked plane. "Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life," Joanne Capestro told the Daily Mirror. Once outside Joanne ran and ran and ran then hid under a car as things collapsed around her, the wounded and dead all around, including co-workers. Market data provided by Factset. Indeed. The comments below have not been moderated. And then it restarted.". Joanne Capestro tells how she escaped from the Towers, walking down the right-hand side of the dark staircases as firemen climbed up the left-hand sides. 'I've accomplished a lot in the last 20 years and I'm still going strong. The hijacked plane had struck the tower just a few floors above - between the 93rd and 99th floors - and smoke was pouring into the offices. A museum staff member recognized Capestro in the photo and helped connect her with the photographer. Sometimes Joanne goes by various nicknames including Joanne Grippa. (Phil Penman). 'I want peace and serenity and people to join together as one.'. Videos of the Museum. The institution trod a difficult path to opening, facing delays and controversy. At some point while trying to escape from the horrific scene, Capestro was unknowingly captured in a photo with one of her co-workers covered in dust and debris by Penman. While there, he captured a scene We didnt get to exit off the 87th floor until the second plane went into the other building, she recalled. Capestro said she 'can't believe it's been 20 years already' as she said she hopes people will remember how the city and the nation was in the days after 9/11 when people came together to help each other in their darkest hours, 'Life is short and people don't realize how short it is. To this day, Capestro said she doesn't know if the officer who helped her survived. When she reached daylight, she fainted . A survivor contributed her World Trade Center worker ID, dust-coated clothes and the high-heeled shoes she shed going down 87 flights of stairs to safety, items she'd kept boxed in a basement for 13 years. 'I would sit at the site and watch them dig the rubble - thats how traumatized I was,' she told DailyMail.com. She was there on that fateful morning when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into her office building. Facebook. History Channel highlights the story of Joanne Capestro, a survivor of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, who managed to escape a collapsing tower and walk all the way home with her high heels in tact. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), "I feel like I'm giving back. was photographed that day covered head to toe in thick dust and debris as she fled from the World Trade Center with a coworker. When I woke up in the morning, I didnt feel well, but I still went to work [] And I was standing at my desk with one of my co-workers, because we were going to go downstairs. She was there on that fateful morning when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into her office building at 8:46 a.m between floors 93 and 99. I wanted them to see.". "That's where he died.". 'When I got to the stairwell no one was coming down from above and we were like "Where is everybody? Phil is someone I'll be friends with for the rest of my life.". try { Once outside Joanne ran and ran and ran then hid under a car as things collapsed around her, the wounded and dead all around, including co-workers. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Dark smoke pours from the North Tower while St. Paul's chapel stands in the foreground. Penman scrapped his plans and rushed downtown. and our ', When she came around, Capestro recalled stumbling into a coworker and they fled together, turning a corner and seeing a man 'covered in blood.'. "Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life," Capestro said. The perfect tummy control bodysuit, a popcorn gadget, more bestsellers starting at $8. 17 years back, she was single and wasnt quite sure of marriage. }); Joanne shared that every year she visits the memorial located in lower Manhattan to recognize all those who lost their lives including her coworker Harry Ramos. "After many years, I decided, 'I want to get married.' Capestro recalled how she ran down the stairwell as quickly as she could, passing floors where some had been impacted by the plane's striking them while others seemed almost like nothing had happened. VisitMy Modern Met Media. 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A Federal Aviation Administration worker's hard hat now speaks to his agency's contributions to the recovery effort. For Capestro,the memorial at Ground Zero is now a positive place which she goes to spend time in around five or six times a year. Capestro said it has taken time for her to deal with the trauma of her escape from the 87th floor, running out of the tower to see 'all the jumpers, the blood all over, the dead people' before the South Tower then crashed down around her, New Yorkers stare up at the Twin Towers from the corner of West Broadway and Canal Street on 9/11 after two hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City, 'I woke up andthought I was in heaven,' she said. 'A lot of survivors go there and I'm just so happy that the 9/11 family members have a place to go to mourn their loved ones and we get to see our survivor friends and it's like a big 9/11 family.'. Capestro and her colleagues fled the building using the stairs. 'It started offas a beautiful day and I took a train with my girlfriend Anna and got off at Cortlandt Street and went up to the building,' she said. eventAction: 'view' As seen in photographer Phil Penmans photo, she and a colleague were walking away from the site, clearly shaken up and covered in thick white dust and debris. She is now happily married with nine grandchildren, still lives in her native New York and still works on Wall Street after 40 years. But the family held off until visiting the museum. Penman is a Leica photographer and Leica Fotografie International winner whos based in New York City. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. } catch(err) {}, 9/11 Museum Collection Grows: Survivors and victims' families donate their cherished mementos, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. "For me, looking over the images over the last 20 years, it's kind of helped me deal with it more," Penman reflected. And in that regard, it may not be incorrect to say, theyve moved on from the wake of the 9/11 tragedy quite well. Another man photographed her and the picture went on to depict the catastrophe that was the 9/11 tragedy in its full fury. }); },false) The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. A woman who was captured in an iconic 9/11 dust-covered photo had the same photographer at her wedding 17 years on. Search Reddit posts and comments - see average sentiment, top terms, activity per day and more 'There is a bond among survivors - we're like brothers and sisters and we'll get through it together and always be around for each other.'. Images used with permission of Phil Penman. Joanne Casapao - Vasquez. See Photos. There they stayed until she saw another first responder's awe at spotting his own helmet on display in the museum. } 11M views, 131K likes, 61K loves, 4.5K comments, 58K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from HISTORY: On Sept. 11, 2001, Joanne Capestro arrived to her job at the May Davis Group on the 87th floor of the. She is marking the 20th anniversary by joining fellow survivors and family members of victims at the memorial ceremony. 9. } Pictured left a man comforts a woman sitting on the beck of an emergency vehicle and pictured right a man dressed in a suit covers his face while walking among the piles of dust and debris from the collapsed towers, Three emergency workers walk among the dust and debris covered street in the image above captured by Penman near the scene of the collapsed Twin Towers and not far from the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge in lower Manhattan, A woman is pictured above being escorted by a police officer away from Ground Zero in another striking image captured by Penman, who had worked several hours earlier that morning taking images of celebrities leaving the Thompson Hotel in Soho, The above image captured by Penman shows several people walking away from Ground Zero while covered in debris and dust from the collapsed Twin Towers. "Our heartfelt thanks to our friends at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., especially Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Stoltzfus, Mr. Whaley, and JoAnne Capestro, for their kind hospitality." This event was part of the College's year-long 150th anniversary celebration. "); Now. As reported by DailyMail, Joanne shared, "Phil and I stayed in touch all of these years. "The power of a still image, you don't think about it when you're a photographer," Penman said.