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00:05top of the entire state building yes that's it right there it's the tallest building in the
00:12world you can't miss that it's the nearest thing to heaven we have in New York you're not getting
00:22dizzy are you New York in the 1920s was in the grip of skyscraper fever in 1929 the Chrysler building
00:31overtook the Eiffel Tower as the world's tallest structure rising to a thousand and forty eight
00:46feet among the casualties of this building frenzy was one of the previous generation of skyscrapers
00:54the 30-year-old Waldorf Astoria once Manhattan's grandest hotel was about to be replaced by
01:01something bigger not to talk a minute you start you're ready you are looking at the officers and
01:13directors of Empire State Incorporated we are on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 34th Street
01:22and 5th Avenue the very heart and the very center the great city of New York our gentlemen stand back
01:30while I start the real work of demolition Al Smith the popular former governor of New York State was the
01:43front man for the enterprise but it was the financier John Jay Raskob who'd had the original
01:48idea Raskob was a self-made millionaire and for him the Empire State symbolized the American dream he
01:55wanted people to look at it and think if a man from a poverty-stricken immigrant background
02:00can create this then anyone can do anything and there were other reasons for wanting it to be
02:08the tallest building in the world Raskob had made his millions at General Motors and he wanted to outdo
02:14the current world champion his rival Walter Chrysler's elegant erection there was also the fact that its
02:22height would make it a prestigious address when it came to selling office space as his architects he
02:29chose the firm of Shreve Lamb and Harmon Richmond Shreve was the partner in charge of planning and
02:35schedules Bill Lamb dreamt up the design the shape of the building was dictated by practical considerations
02:42the zoning laws the weight bearing capacity of the steel framework the height that the elevators could
02:50reach putting the elevators in the center of the building meant that all the offices had windows and
02:56in the days before air-conditioning you could charge more rent for offices with access to fresh air
03:12construction was in the hands of skyscraper specialists Starrett brothers and Eakin of course
03:18everybody was very proud you know I mean well we say you work for Starrett who built the Empire State
03:25Building you know that commands respect they were men of integrity handsome in tall carried themselves very
03:36erectly you know when you met them you know they were men that you would expect to be very important
03:42you know I was a stenographer and I stayed there for 53 and a half years so it was a
03:49joy to work not a job before then I was dissatisfied see I worked for the woman she was really
03:59something you know one of these smokers you know acted like a man and I was 17 years old and
04:06I would look at her and I think my mother wouldn't let me do that
04:12yeah but Mr. Paul Starrett he was a very fine gentleman Paul Starrett was the driving force
04:19behind the family construction firm over the years he'd been responsible for some of New York's most
04:25celebrated buildings he just built one building after another there's the Flatiron building which was
04:31world famous the Plaza Hotel which is a magnificent hostelry and of course the wonderful Pennsylvania
04:39station that was later torn down when I asked him in my first meeting what is the most important thing
04:47about
04:47being a builder he said getting the contract I discovered later his method usually was to just walk in
04:54unannounced tell him who he was and ask for the contract he must have been a superb salesman but it
05:01wasn't basically what he wanted to do he wanted to be building and he ended up by building at that
05:08time
05:08the most famous building in the world construction started on March the 17th 1930 St. Patrick's Day 67,000 tons
05:19of steel had to be brought into a two-acre site on a busy intersection with no storage space around
05:25it all the
05:26materials restored over in Jersey City and brought across on a ferry and they had the trucks scheduled
05:34on a 30 second intervals I mean your truck arrived would arrive at the building site at 10 28 and
05:43a half
05:43carrying a steel beam and it had to be unloaded and out of there at 10 31 and the next
05:54truck came in at
05:5510 31 and a half and it was out of there in two and a half minutes one of the
06:00things that there was
06:00no elevators in the building at first as you so we had to walk stairs up up up up and
06:07around up the men
06:09were slow going up the steps like that but as soon as it was time to go to eat they
06:13came down there
06:14hell-bent for election as fast as they could run down around bang bang every every landing down down down
06:22it was didn't pay to get in front of them I got I got the hell out of the way
06:27yeah you remember that
06:31Betty in them days yeah I enjoyed being the architect's son and being recognized the first time you went up
06:45the steel workers would haze you a little bit the man heating the rivets would shift around until you
06:52were in the line of fire between the forge and the catcher and you'd be up there hanging onto a
06:58beam and
06:59the wind blowing and this something go past your face and it would be an eight pound rivet that was
07:06white-hot and he'd miss you by four inches I asked him if he ever missed one when they were
07:11catching and he
07:12said not often saw it right across like that the man would catch that in the catching can and with
07:21the tongs and reach in and pick that out stick it in the hole then one of the other guys
07:26would take his
07:27gun and buck up against it and the other guy would buck up on that side and all day long
07:36I hit it a lot of
07:38guys with that left their death I was lucky I kept my hearing and they once in mind he'd miss
07:45it down go
07:46over fifth Avenue see one of them when we're done and I have to be a place where I can
07:56look down went on top
07:58of the fifth Avenue bus and you can see a little spirit of fire the bus and then the bus
08:02kept going out of
08:04sight we never heard from it never did this is a picture of Frenchy he was the first one to
08:14show up on
08:15a job with short pants so he was kind of famous for that he was one of the toughest that
08:23we had on the job
08:26strong as a bull you had any good sense you just steered away a little bit from him and he
08:34sent down for
08:35the roast beef sandwich and the guy says how do you want it rare how rare do you want it
08:41and damn it
08:42you he says I want it as rare as you can get it it's into the raw and he ate
08:48it
08:50I can see him to this day eating it's just like a wolf unbelievable one summer we were off vacation
09:01time was coming from school we were off for the summer and my father says well tomorrow you'll
09:08come to work with me and you're going to be a water boy you won't get paid but you'll get
09:13tips at the
09:13end of the week I said that's fine I don't care and I was a young kid 13 years old
09:19a water boy is a
09:21young fellow with two buckets of water with a dipper in each one and went around to the men on
09:28the job
09:29and then as a while they got tired of water and they wanted it they wanted a little refreshing so
09:36I had
09:37to go to the bar and get the water cans filled with beer and they did they drink the beer
09:41and it was
09:44they were they were good they would never get drunk though it was too dangerous you know
09:51first week I'm there the tips and I thought boy this is great they're throwing dollar bills in the
09:57in the water bucket for you know there's no water or nothing in it then they're throwing dollar bills in
10:02it you know when I went home I put the money on the table my mother counted it and I
10:07says mom
10:08that's more money than pop is making and I said to my father I says pop I made more money
10:16this week than
10:17what around you did
10:17you
10:22oh
10:51The first time you're going up, you're a little naive.
10:53You know, and they watch you, you know, if you take one step, over you go, and it's a long
11:00way down.
11:02And, you know, the old timers, they watch you.
11:05You get used to it as well, and you walk around like you're walking down on the sidewalk.
11:12But, like, when you're up there, it's like a place of its own.
11:17You wouldn't believe it.
11:19I wouldn't have gave it up for a while.
11:25You can see as far as Pennsylvania.
11:28You can see almost down to the Delaware water gap.
11:31You can see a whole New Jersey, all upstate New York, all out here in Long Island.
11:37You see the Hudson River, the East River, and you see people waving from the ships,
11:42and you see the big ocean liners coming in.
11:44But it's wonderful.
11:51In them days with the steel coming in, when it was steel, not aluminum,
11:57there would be little slivers of steel, break it loose from that, you know?
12:02And then boom up, and Derek would hit the beam like that.
12:05That would shake them loose, fly in the air.
12:07And we get a little slivers of steel in, like that.
12:12And we had one man on the job that was like a medic, halfway medic.
12:20And he'd come along with his magnet and hold that there, and take it out.
12:25And broken legs, remember them?
12:28That was something else again.
12:31It wasn't scared.
12:32It was that way you're living.
12:36In wintertime, the cold wasn't so much.
12:40But it was a constant, steady wind that kept blowing and blowing.
12:45And you braced yourself when you walked around like that.
12:48And we all hated that.
12:50Yeah.
12:51You know, you're up in the air all the time, and one wrong step, you're down.
12:56You know, you kind of watch one foot in front of the other one very carefully.
13:02And you had two hands to grab the top flange of the beam.
13:06In case you slipped a little bit, you could hang on, grab yourself.
13:29There were six fatal accidents during the construction of the Empire State.
13:34But only two of the men fell to their deaths.
13:39It's an awful feeling, an awful sight.
13:45You know, going down through the air.
13:48You could see he's trying to grab for something.
13:52Can't, nothing there that he can get.
13:56You know.
13:58And then you, just as he's about to hit the ground or something, you turn your back.
14:03Because you don't want to see him hit the concrete pavement.
14:11You never forget it.
14:13Yeah.
14:14It stays in your mind.
14:16And, you know, like you just said, you never see somebody fall.
14:20I was going to say no, but then I said, ah, well, I, yeah.
14:27You, you, you, you thank the Lord every day when you can, on what night, you were all in one
14:32piece.
14:33All the time I was horrified or the telephone rang, you know, someone wanted to speak with me.
14:40I was just in a panic till, till I knew he was all right.
14:46We survived.
14:47We survived it.
14:47We survived it.
14:49Oh, yeah.
14:50Well, I had a baby for one thing.
14:52I had to take care of her and do the house, you know, take care of the house and all.
14:57And I, I managed because I had to, but there was no problem to me.
15:05I was a Canadian and I'd had lots of experience and take care of houses.
15:14We had four daughters, you know, no sons, just four daughters.
15:20My pride and joy, with the exception of one more.
15:26I love my husband too.
15:31Put an envelope.
15:32Yeah.
15:32Well, I'll send it to you the next time.
15:37I'll send it so you'll be sure to get it.
15:40That was a...
15:41Registered.
15:42I had to say it.
15:43You know why?
15:44Get, get on the job.
15:46And sometimes the boss would praise you.
15:48Hey, that was a great piece of work you had done, getting that piece of steel up there.
15:52That, that was wonderful.
15:54Jack, what can I, I can't say any more better.
15:57And we'd tell him, yes, we can.
15:58Well, how?
15:59Put it in the envelope.
16:02The Empire State had taken one year and 45 days to build.
16:05Because of the depression, prices had plummeted and the job was completed not only on time, but under budget.
16:12The anticipated cost had been 43 million dollars.
16:15The actual cost was a little over half that.
16:18How much did it cost?
16:20As I recollect, 25 million.
16:25Imagine what it would cost today to build a building like that.
16:30Probably a billion.
16:36But you'll get all those facts if you go to the Wall Street Museum, which I told you to go
16:43there.
16:45You'll get all the statistics.
16:46You don't have to ask me.
16:48I'll try to build.
16:52Sorry Tim Wittenberg and...
16:53was counted for speed and reliability.
16:55He puts up that building after 14 months, which is fantastic.
17:00Uh, I look out on my bedroom window, they're gutting a house behind me.
17:04Even working on it a year.
17:05And it's only four stories high.
17:07I don't know what they're doing with it.
17:09Fascinates me when I think of him, because...
17:11When he used to drive into New York, he'd go past St. John the Divine, which I believe is the
17:17largest Episcopal Cathedral in the world, but it annoyed him, because they'd been building it for 50 years, and he
17:25said, if I had the contract, I'd have it up in 18 months.
17:31Opening day was May the 1st, 1931.
17:35We are about to officially open the Empire State Building, the largest and most beautiful office building in the world.
17:45My cousin Mary, I cut the ribbon.
17:50People would say, well, which one are you? I said, well, look at the boy, that's me. Do you remember
17:57it? No.
17:59Al Smith and his grandchildren were joined on the 86th floor by his successor as governor of New York State.
18:05Franklin D. Roosevelt.
18:06That's the grand old guy. Somebody told him to take it.
18:09I am very happy to take part in this very auspicious occasion with my old friend, Governor Smith.
18:15When I came up in the elevator, I went so high that I expected to get above snow level.
18:22All set?
18:23Governor, we would like to...
18:27Listen, everybody away from in front here now.
18:30How many still men are there?
18:33Oh, well, get in position and move as lively as you can.
18:38Don't test our patience with this now.
18:40My cousin Mary, I was very close to because she was about my age.
18:44She would be, but she dead now.
18:47I think the fact that I don't remember it is that they didn't make a big thing out of it,
18:51you know.
18:52It was just, I got in the car, drove to New York, cut the ribbon, back to school the next
18:57day, you know.
18:57It was no big deal.
19:01The men who'd pushed themselves and their workforce to complete the job on time were left exhausted.
19:08Bill Lamb, the self-effacing architect who'd designed the Empire State, refused to have anything to do with the junketing.
19:14On the day of the opening, he sailed for Europe with his wife and a cocktail shaker full of martinis.
19:22Lamb's partner, Richmond Shreve, took his sons on a recuperative six-month cruise around the world.
19:29Paul Starrett, the builder, went fishing.
19:34People have said that Paul Starrett had a nervous breakdown.
19:38No way.
19:40No way.
19:41Uh, he...
19:43And I'm positive of that.
19:45I did all of my salmon fishing with Bampa after the Empire State was built.
19:51We drove up from Greenwich with Larson, the chauffeur.
19:55I sat in the back seat with Bampa.
19:57I didn't feel that I had to talk.
19:59He didn't feel that he had to talk.
20:01I just remember, I have a mental picture of just going, poof, putting my head over on Bampa's shoulder.
20:06And just, just, it was just being a complete piece.
20:09I was doing exactly what I loved to do.
20:11I was with a man I loved very dearly.
20:13And, uh, and occasionally he would, he would, if it didn't disturb me, he'd put his arm around me.
20:19And I'd snuggle in.
20:21I was a, I was a young boy.
20:24And, and, and it was, it was a, it was a beautiful relationship.
20:36I, uh, used to go in and watch him shave every morning.
20:41And, uh, my grandfather has a, had a straight razor, which I have back on my desk.
20:46And, um, he would, he had a tremor in his right hand.
20:50And he'd start to shave and like the, carry him down like that with a straight razor.
20:57And I sat there and one morning he said, uh, Pete, why, why do you come in and watch me
21:03shave every morning?
21:04And I said, well, Bampa, uh, it's because I wonder why you don't cut yourself.
21:09And he said, oh, damn.
21:13And I, big streak of blood.
21:16And he came out with a bunch of profanity.
21:18They were good, vigorous, uh, frontier expressions.
21:23He, he loved, he loved that sort of thing.
21:26What about Mr. So-and-so, Bampa?
21:28Well, Mr. So-and-so, you don't pay any attention to him.
21:32He's as crooked as a bull's pizzle.
21:36I, I, I, yeah, he has a few like that.
21:41And I had to find out, of course, I had to find out what a bull's pizzle was.
21:44And, uh, I found out.
21:47I, I hope I am as good a grandfather.
21:51I don't think I probably am as, as he was, because I take some stands on things.
21:57I got a summons from Mr. Sarri's office.
22:00There was a writer wanted.
22:02I was told to meet him at Grand Central Station.
22:05There he was, this tall, craggy-faced man, rangy, wearing a very dilapidated raincoat.
22:12And, uh, a slouch hat.
22:15And I thought, what am I letting myself in for?
22:18But when we arrived at Greenwich, we were met by a limousine with a chauffeur and driven to a, a
22:24beautiful manor house.
22:26And thereafter, every week, I'd go up there and I'd bring the next chapter.
22:30And we would lunch, usually just the two of us.
22:34It was this long table.
22:37And we couldn't pass a dish from one to the other.
22:40And when the butler wasn't there, we'd shoot them back and forth along this lovely, I guess, polished mahogany table.
22:47Yes.
22:48One of the things that commended me was that I didn't want my name mentioned as the ghost writer.
22:54Well, I had some fantastic clients.
22:57I had one man who believed in reincarnation, and he was constantly counseled by a dead sweetheart of his.
23:03Then there was a lady who said that a thousand years of history had vanished, but she had it.
23:09But Paul Starrett was quite different from all the others.
23:12He wanted to be proud of what he did, and he was.
23:16He said all his life, he had dreamt of building the largest building in the world, and he had done
23:22it.
23:22But he was no longer a young man.
23:25And there was a framed picture of the 20-year-old or whatever he was.
23:29Very handsome.
23:30A very handsome profile.
23:32I would look from that picture and then look at the 70-year-old man in whom life had left
23:37a great many creases.
23:38And it sort of haunted me.
23:41I'm in my 90s now, and when I see some of my contemporaries,
23:44and remember what they look like, I'm horrified.
23:49I'm the only one that hasn't changed.
23:55Paul Starrett, Richmond Shreve, and Bill Lamb had given the Empire State its body,
24:00but it was Al Smith who gave it a soul.
24:03The charismatic Smith was the ideal choice as frontman.
24:07He was available because he'd failed in his political career.
24:11In 1928, he lost his bid to become President of the United States,
24:15and became President of the Empire State instead.
24:20He brought with him his long-time political publicist, Bell Moskovitz,
24:24one of the pioneers of the new science of PR.
24:27The pioneering role that my grandmother played was in the use of film.
24:33They were not films that you would probably feel are very artistic.
24:37He's sort of standing there and gesticulating and making a statement.
24:40I will dedicate myself, with all the power and energy that I possess,
24:45to the service of our great republic.
24:48And I am an American before I'm a Democrat,
24:51before I'm a Republican, or before I'm anything.
24:56I've gone through my mind.
24:58I've labelled with my conscience.
25:01And at the conclusion of it all...
25:04When he would finish these speeches and the transcriptions were taken,
25:08then Bell would edit them
25:10so that the public printed version of the speeches
25:16were very different from what he had actually delivered.
25:21It was Bell Moskovitz's task to keep the Empire State in the news.
25:25One stunt was the attempt to use the tip of the building
25:28as a mooring mask for zeppelins.
25:31This was abandoned when they realised that a gas-filled dirigible
25:34could become highly dangerous in the slightest breeze.
25:37But photographs of the event were printed in newspapers all over the world.
25:49Well, I don't know about the 10-gallon hat,
25:52but the accompaniment is OK.
25:54There's a hat that's well-known in New York City
25:57on all of its sidewalks, up east side, west side,
26:00all around the town.
26:02And what goes with it?
26:09How about trying it all over again?
26:12What is it?
26:26I'm newly constituted Chief
26:28Nicky Chigga Wagga Wagga.
26:35I desire to express my appreciation to my chief
26:39and my brother tribesmen.
26:41The Empire State Building for him
26:43was the kind of booby prize
26:45for losing the election of 1928,
26:47but he considered himself
26:49just to be a glorified janitor.
26:52In fact, he said he was the highest-paid janitor
26:54in the state of New York.
26:56He really considered the work
26:57that he did at the Empire State Building
26:59to be unimportant.
27:00What he really wanted
27:01was to be in the thick of political turmoil
27:04and excitement.
27:05In 1932, Smith made one last attempt
27:09to get back into politics,
27:10but Roosevelt beat him
27:12to become the Democratic candidate.
27:15And a year later,
27:16he lost the woman
27:17who'd masterminded his career.
27:19Belle Moskowitz was coming down the steps
27:21of her Upper West Side brownstone
27:23in the winter,
27:24and she slipped on the ice
27:26and broke both of her arms.
27:28And everyone thought
27:29that she had just broken her arms,
27:30and there was this nice thank you card
27:34that she and Henry sent out
27:35saying,
27:37thank you for your kind notes of sympathy
27:39and I'm doing fine.
27:41And then on January 2nd,
27:44she died.
27:45So it was very sudden
27:46and very shocking.
27:48And her husband wasn't there.
27:50He and my father
27:52and my uncle
27:53were all in Albany
27:55along with Al Smith.
27:58And they got the news,
27:59and Al Smith cried out,
28:01it's a disaster.
28:04And it was a disaster
28:05because he had lost
28:08what one person called
28:10his tentpole,
28:12the person who propped him up,
28:14who helped him
28:14through moments of crisis.
28:19Throughout the Depression,
28:21the Empire State struggled
28:23to make a profit.
28:24There was too much office space
28:26available in Manhattan,
28:27and 56 floors
28:28were still completely empty.
28:31Lights were left on
28:32in the vacant offices
28:33to make them look occupied.
28:34But people weren't fooled,
28:36and it became known
28:37as the empty state building.
29:01Al Smith's political career
29:03was over.
29:04He carried on with the task
29:06of keeping the building
29:07in the news.
29:09Well, what do you think
29:10of the sight of
29:11Great New York
29:13from the 86th floor
29:14of the Empire State Building?
29:16I think it's a marvellous sight.
29:18Well, that's not the highest
29:19I've ever been up.
29:21Highest for me, too.
29:22Probably as high as I'll ever be.
29:25Your Imperial Highness,
29:27it gives me great pleasure
29:29to welcome you
29:29to the observatory
29:30of the Empire State Building.
29:42I was very much struck
29:44by the view.
29:46This is the finest
29:47I have ever seen.
29:48And I thank you,
29:50Governor Smith,
29:50for taking us around personally.
29:54My grandmother
29:55never, never called Mal.
29:57She always called him Alfred.
29:59She was a very proper-looking
30:01and a very attractive woman.
30:04A lot of plump.
30:05Well, I guess you'd call her
30:06dowdy, you know?
30:08But she loved to play poker.
30:10She was a very good player.
30:11She loved the races.
30:12She goes to get the New York Mirror,
30:14the Daily Mirror.
30:16And then she would announce at night
30:18how much money she would have made
30:20if she had taken on the bets
30:22that she checked off
30:22in the newspapers.
30:25And my grandfather
30:26always kidded about it.
30:26Well, Katie,
30:28how much did you make today?
30:31Oh, $25 or $50
30:33or something like that.
30:35My grandfather's birthday
30:37was December 30th.
30:38And my grandfather would sing
30:40East Side, West Side
30:41all around the town.
30:43Tots go ring around rosies.
30:45London Bridge is falling down.
30:47Boys and girls together,
30:49me and Mamie O'Rourke,
30:51would trip the light fantastic
30:53on the sidewalks of New York.
30:56East Side, West Side,
30:59all around the park,
31:02the park, the park,
31:03the ring and the rock.
31:04London Bridge is falling down.
31:08Boys and girls together,
31:10me and Mamie O'Rourke,
31:13we have to land on top of New York.
31:15On the sidewalk,
31:17on the sidewalk,
31:17on the sidewalk.
31:38When she died,
31:40it was about the end,
31:41as far as he was concerned.
31:43He lasted for another summer.
31:45The spirit went out of him.
31:47He wanted to be with Katie.
31:49I went down to St. Vincent's Hospital
31:51to say goodbye to him.
31:53And I knew that was the last time
31:54I was going to see him alive,
31:55you know.
31:57Father Healy,
31:58who was the Dominican priest
32:00and very close to the family,
32:01said,
32:01I think Arthur has a vocation.
32:04And my grandfather said,
32:06is that true?
32:07I said,
32:08well, I don't know.
32:09I said,
32:09I've got the army,
32:10and after that,
32:11I want to go to college,
32:12but I've thought about it.
32:14And all he said is,
32:15well,
32:16your grandmother would be very happy.
32:19And we let it go at that.
32:24When Al Smith died in 1944,
32:27the Empire State was steaming
32:29towards full occupancy at last.
32:31The tenants included
32:32five floors of government offices,
32:35three floors for the United Nations,
32:37eight television transmission stations,
32:39the model Brazier Company,
32:41and the offices
32:42of the Catholic War Relief Agency.
32:44To rip the light,
32:48the life of the Empire State
32:50has always revolved
32:50around office workers
32:51and tourists.
32:52But in July 1945,
32:55the routine was violated
32:56by something totally unexpected.
33:02One foggy Saturday morning,
33:04a United States B-25 bomber
33:06smashed into the 79th floor,
33:08killing the three men on board.
33:10The pilot,
33:11Lieutenant Colonel Bill Smith,
33:14Staff Sergeant Christopher Dimitrovich,
33:17and a hitchhiker,
33:18Albert Perner,
33:19a 20-year-old sailor
33:21who'd been summoned home
33:22by his parents
33:23because his brother
33:23had just been killed
33:24in the Pacific.
33:27Eleven people
33:27in the north-facing offices
33:29of the Catholic War Relief Agency
33:30were killed.
33:31I had just gotten up
33:33from my desk
33:34when the building shook.
33:37But facing my desk
33:38was a smoked glass door
33:40and through it
33:41we could see flames out there.
33:44And then Mr. Fountain
33:46came running
33:46from the north end
33:47and he was in flames.
33:50I didn't expect
33:51to come out alive.
33:53I don't think any of us did it.
33:54We opened the window
33:57and we prayed.
33:59We prayed
33:59the act of contrition
34:01and the confidior.
34:03If we weren't going
34:04to be coming out alive
34:05at least
34:07let's be right with God.
34:11And Mr. Fountain
34:13was the only man
34:14and he tried
34:15to keep us calm
34:16even though
34:17the poor man
34:17was suffering terribly.
34:19He lived
34:20for a couple of days.
34:22His wife
34:22was expecting
34:23I think
34:23their fourth or fifth child
34:26and of course
34:26she stayed at his bedside
34:28the whole time
34:28but I think
34:30the trauma
34:31was too much
34:31and she lost the child.
34:36The one thing
34:37I never did
34:37was take a look
34:38at myself
34:39and I should have
34:40because I must have been
34:41as black as could be
34:42with just the whites
34:44of my eyes showing
34:45because
34:46the rest of me was
34:48and my clothes
34:49were absolutely ruined
34:50because of all
34:51that oily fire.
34:53and the smoke
34:57my mother
34:57filled the tub
34:58with water
35:00and had me
35:01kneel on the side
35:02of the tub
35:03and wash my long hair
35:05and the water
35:05was absolutely black.
35:10You know
35:10some people say
35:12why
35:14does God
35:14let this happen
35:15to me
35:15or why me?
35:17I say
35:17why not me?
35:18I'm just as normal
35:19as anybody else.
35:20I'm subject
35:21to the same things
35:23the faults
35:24and everything else
35:24so why not me?
35:28I was a reporter
35:29on the New York Post
35:31and I must have
35:32gotten there
35:33very early
35:33because nobody else
35:34was there
35:35except the firemen.
35:37It was an appalling sight
35:39and the thing
35:40that hit me most
35:41was that right
35:42in front of me
35:43was a person
35:45or an object
35:46sitting upright
35:47at a desk
35:47like the proper secretary
35:49totally black
35:51and charred
35:51I couldn't tell
35:52whether it was male
35:53or female
35:55it was just
35:56well you can imagine
35:58I was 24 years old
35:59at the time
36:00and I hadn't been
36:00a reporter very long
36:03and it's just
36:04a sight
36:05that doesn't ever
36:05leave your mind
36:07I don't
36:08dream about it anymore
36:10but
36:11you know
36:12when we talk about it
36:13it's right there
36:14in my mind
36:14it's
36:15you know
36:16some things
36:16really get etched
36:17and that was one of them
36:20I remember
36:21one of my first assignments
36:22in the post
36:23was
36:25a couple of young people
36:26who had
36:27been in a hotel room
36:29and they were
36:29being heated by a stove
36:31and it had gone out
36:32and they didn't know
36:33that they were being
36:36subjected to carbon monoxide
36:37poisoning
36:38and they were
36:40just a couple of
36:41beautiful young people
36:42naked on a bed
36:43who died without
36:45even knowing it
36:45it was pretty shocking
36:47to me
36:48but as a
36:49city reporter
36:50you see a lot
36:51of unpleasant things
36:54and
36:56but it didn't
36:57quite
37:00this was
37:01I think
37:01the most
37:02appalling
37:04really
37:23it wasn't just
37:24the people
37:24in the building
37:25whose lives
37:26were altered
37:26forever
37:27by the tragedy
37:27of that day
37:35this is
37:36your life
37:37this is
37:38your life
37:38mrs
37:39martha smith
37:42martha smith's life
37:43was engulfed
37:43by one of the most
37:44highly publicized
37:45plane accidents
37:46of our time
37:46but that was
37:4712 years ago
37:48so we can talk
37:50about it now
37:51because martha
37:51has come out of it
37:52with courage
37:53and her faith
37:54strengthened
37:56time does help
37:57heal even the
37:57severest wounds
37:58and now the future
37:59looks bright
37:59and hopeful again
38:00is that right
38:01martha
38:03the pilot of the
38:04b-25 bomber
38:05bill smith
38:06had met his wife
38:07martha
38:07when he was a
38:08cadet at west point
38:09and she was an
38:10army nurse
38:12he looked wonderful
38:13in a west point
38:14uniform
38:15he was an all-american
38:17lacrosse
38:18and all-american
38:19football that year
38:20he loved lacrosse
38:22that and that
38:23it's a wicked game
38:24you ever seen it
38:26oh
38:27it's awful
38:28they hit each other
38:29with sticks
38:30and oh
38:33wild
38:33I took care of him
38:35when he had a
38:36ruptured appendix
38:38and that's when
38:39I first met him
38:41when they were sick
38:42they were not
38:43allowed to stay
38:44in bed
38:45and they had
38:46to get up
38:47and they had
38:48a table in the
38:49middle of the
38:50hospital
38:51and it was
38:52to study from
38:54I thought that
38:55was so cruel
38:57you know
38:58and I wouldn't
38:59make him do it
39:00you know
39:00I'd let him
39:01get away
39:03without doing it
39:04but I
39:05I knew I wasn't
39:08doing the right
39:08thing
39:09so I
39:12he was able
39:13to get in trouble
39:14so I
39:16resisted
39:20on graduation
39:21on graduation day
39:21they were allowed
39:22to get married
39:23and we got married
39:24on graduation day
39:26so it was a very
39:28short romance
39:29but very
39:30good
39:33in 1945
39:34Bill Smith had
39:35returned from the
39:36European war
39:37festooned with medals
39:38before moving on
39:40to the Japanese war
39:41he'd flown up to
39:42Boston to see his
39:43family
39:44and he got
39:45out of the
39:46plane
39:46and he said
39:47about the
39:48Empire State
39:49building
39:49he said
39:50gee
39:52they ought
39:53to do
39:53something
39:54about that
39:54building
39:55he said
39:55it should
39:56be lit
39:56up
39:57he said
39:57I came
39:58through here
40:00today
40:01he said
40:02and you
40:02couldn't
40:03see
40:03himself
40:04and
40:06he was
40:07killed
40:07the next
40:08day
40:08it was
40:09a funny
40:10situation
40:11you know
40:12on Saturday
40:13morning
40:14Martha
40:14and her
40:14mother
40:15dropped
40:15Bill
40:15off
40:15at the
40:16airport
40:17and then
40:17he took
40:18off
40:18headed
40:18for
40:18Newark
40:19New Jersey
40:20and you
40:20Mrs Cashman
40:21and Martha
40:21returned
40:22to your
40:22car
40:23they were
40:23halfway
40:24home
40:24when the
40:24car
40:24broke
40:25down
40:26Martha's
40:27brother-in-law
40:27Ralph
40:27was summoned
40:28to help
40:29he didn't
40:30tell them
40:30he'd already
40:31heard about
40:31the accident
40:32on the
40:32news
40:34he picked
40:34me up
40:35he says
40:35I'm gonna
40:35drive you
40:36home
40:36so he
40:37drove me
40:38home
40:38and when
40:38we got
40:39to the
40:39foot of
40:40the street
40:40he stopped
40:41the car
40:42and he
40:42says
40:42Martha
40:43I have
40:43something
40:43to tell
40:44you
40:44and I
40:45said
40:45well
40:45hurry
40:46up
40:46because
40:46I
40:46have
40:47to
40:47get
40:47upstairs
40:48and get
40:48Billy
40:48taken
40:49care
40:49of
40:51he
40:51said
40:51Martha
40:52he said
40:52Bill
40:52has been
40:53killed
40:54just like
40:55that
40:56oh
40:57brother
40:57that was
40:58awful
40:58really
40:59awful
40:59I
41:00couldn't
41:01believe
41:01it
41:01I
41:02never
41:03expected
41:03him
41:04to be
41:04killed
41:05you know
41:05he was
41:05such a
41:06great
41:06pilot
41:07and
41:07everything
41:07it's
41:08difficult
41:09to
41:09to
41:10accept
41:10that
41:11somebody
41:11on a
41:11fast
41:12track
41:12and
41:12so
41:12talented
41:14would
41:15meet
41:15a
41:15demise
41:15like
41:16that
41:18because
41:19of the
41:19fog
41:19the B-25
41:20was
41:21diverted
41:21to
41:21LaGuardia
41:22airport
41:24against
41:24official
41:25advice
41:25Smith
41:26decided
41:27not to
41:27land
41:27there
41:28but
41:28to
41:28carry
41:28on
41:28across
41:29the
41:29city
41:29to
41:29Newark
41:30airport
41:30as
41:31originally
41:32planned
41:34I
41:34think
41:34he
41:35was
41:35flying
41:35the
41:36way
41:36military
41:36pilots
41:37in
41:37those
41:37days
41:37flew
41:38I
41:38mean
41:38they
41:38had
41:39absolute
41:39priority
41:40over
41:40civilian
41:40flights
41:41they
41:41could
41:41do
41:41whatever
41:42they
41:42wanted
41:42to
41:42do
41:42it
41:43was
41:43still
41:43wartime
41:44in
41:44the
41:44United
41:44States
41:45they
41:46operated
41:46by
41:46completely
41:47different
41:47rules
41:49I
41:49mean
41:49the
41:49sky
41:49was
41:50theirs
41:50and
41:51in
41:51this
41:51case
41:51I
41:52think
41:52he
41:52felt
41:52the
41:52sky
41:52was
41:53his
41:53I
41:54think
41:55hubris
41:55is
41:56a
41:56good
41:56term
41:56for
41:56it
42:03I
42:04have
42:04been
42:04there
42:04a
42:04number
42:04of
42:05times
42:06there
42:07is
42:07an
42:07odd
42:07feeling
42:08that
42:08your
42:08father
42:08is
42:09embedded
42:09in
42:09the
42:09concrete
42:10up
42:10there
42:10somewhere
42:12and
42:12it's
42:12a
42:12very
42:13it's
42:13a
42:13strange
42:14feeling
42:15just
42:16the
42:16experience
42:16of walking
42:17out of
42:17the
42:17floor
42:17and
42:18saying
42:18this
42:18is
42:18where
42:18he
42:18died
42:21mother
42:22always
42:22kept
42:23it
42:23so
42:23alive
42:24that
42:25it
42:25was
42:25always
42:25there
42:26you
42:26know
42:2624
42:26hours
42:27day
42:27day
42:28in
42:28and
42:28day
42:28out
42:29the
42:29great
42:30all
42:30American
42:32the
42:32scholastic
42:33wonder
42:33the
42:35golden
42:35boy
42:36which
42:36he
42:36was
42:37and
42:38no matter
42:38what
42:39you
42:39did
42:39you
42:39were
42:40always
42:40the
42:40son
42:40of
42:40the
42:40pilot
42:41here
42:41he
42:41is
42:50how old
42:51are you
42:51Bill
42:52well
42:52I'm
42:5213
42:52sir
42:53uh-huh
42:53and
42:54what
42:54do
42:54you
42:54plan
42:54to
42:54do
42:55when
42:55you
42:55grow
42:55up
42:55well
42:56I'm
42:56awfully
42:56interested
42:57in
42:57model
42:57airplanes
42:58and
42:58science
42:58and
42:59I
42:59would
43:00like
43:00to
43:00be
43:00a
43:00pilot
43:00for
43:00commercial
43:01alone
43:01that's
43:02great
43:02Bill
43:02sit
43:03down
43:03there
43:03bye
43:04mom
43:04but
43:04for
43:05an
43:05adolescent
43:06who
43:07was
43:07being
43:07raised
43:07by
43:07two
43:08women
43:08you know
43:09trying to
43:09find his
43:10own
43:10identity
43:10who do
43:11you want
43:11to be
43:11the son
43:12of the
43:12pilot
43:13or
43:13you
43:16it was
43:16wonderful
43:17bringing
43:18him up
43:21my mother
43:22so proud
43:23of him
43:23too
43:25she was
43:26a big
43:26part
43:27of his
43:27life
43:29I just
43:30wanted
43:30to
43:30write
43:30my
43:30own
43:30story
43:31that's
43:31what
43:31I
43:32wanted
43:32to
43:32do
43:32and
43:33until
43:33I
43:33wrote
43:33my
43:34own
43:34story
43:34I'd
43:34never
43:34be
43:35free
43:35of it
43:36I
43:37secretly
43:37joined
43:38the
43:38Marine
43:38Corps
43:38and
43:39when I
43:39was a
43:40junior
43:40in college
43:40and didn't
43:41tell my
43:41mother
43:41and didn't
43:42tell my
43:42grandmother
43:43and they
43:43thought I
43:44was going
43:44to medical
43:44school
43:45I don't
43:48remember
43:48how that
43:49got started
43:50even
43:50how that
43:52got started
43:53even
43:53but it
43:55did
43:56and I
43:56just
43:57accepted
43:57that
43:58also
43:58but she
43:59didn't quite
43:59accept it
44:00she's being
44:02stiff up
44:02her lip
44:03right now
44:03on the
44:04day that
44:05I told
44:06her
44:06both
44:07Grammy
44:07and she
44:08were there
44:08and her
44:10reaction
44:11the family
44:11at that
44:11time
44:12was
44:12very
44:12friendly
44:13with
44:13Tip O'Neill
44:14who was
44:14the Speaker
44:14of the House
44:16and had
44:17access to
44:18the Kennedy
44:18family
44:19and
44:22mother
44:23at one
44:23time
44:23said to
44:24me
44:26I'm not
44:26going to
44:27let this
44:27happen
44:27I'm going
44:28to call
44:28Senator
44:29Kennedy
44:29and I'm
44:30going to
44:30tell him
44:30that you
44:31had been
44:31sickly
44:32as a
44:32child
44:33and I'm
44:34going to
44:34keep you
44:35here
44:35and I
44:36said
44:36mother
44:36if you
44:37pick up
44:38the phone
44:38and call
44:38Tip O'Neill
44:39or Senator
44:39Kennedy
44:40I'll
44:41never
44:41speak
44:41to
44:41you
44:41again
44:42in
44:42my
44:42life
44:42and she
44:43said
44:43oh
44:44Bill
44:44and that
44:45was the
44:45last
44:46we
44:46talked
44:46about
44:46it
44:47on the
44:48day
44:48that I
44:48was due
44:49to
44:49report
44:49to
44:49Vietnam
44:50my
44:50grandmother
44:51stepped
44:52up to
44:52me
44:52as I
44:53was
44:53ready
44:53to
44:54board
44:54the
44:54plane
44:55and she
44:55said
44:56remember
44:56Bill
44:57come
44:57back
44:57with
44:58your
44:58shield
44:58or
44:59upon
44:59it
44:59the
45:00old
45:00Spartan
45:01saying
45:01and
45:01the
45:02chill
45:02went
45:02right up
45:03and
45:03down
45:03my
45:03spine
45:04all
45:05of
45:05the
45:05boys
45:06her
45:06boys
45:06had
45:07gone
45:07off
45:07to
45:08war
45:08and
45:09grandma
45:09was the
45:10one
45:10who
45:10sat
45:10there
45:11in
45:11the
45:11chair
45:11smoking
45:11a
45:12cigarette
45:12and
45:12saying
45:13you
45:13either
45:13do
45:14honor
45:14for
45:14the
45:14family
45:15or
45:15die
45:15where
45:16you
45:16going
45:17and
45:17she
45:18meant
45:18it
45:20I
45:21mean
45:21that's
45:21what
45:21marines
45:22do
45:22marines
45:22die
45:23marines
45:23shoot
45:23people
45:24and
45:24marines
45:24die
45:24and
45:25they
45:25die
45:25in
45:26large
45:26numbers
45:28but
45:28because
45:29of
45:29the
45:30war
45:30in
45:30Vietnam
45:31I
45:32found
45:32out
45:32who I
45:32was
45:33I
45:34just
45:34suddenly
45:34realized
45:35I
45:35was
45:35alive
45:35and
45:36he
45:36was
45:36dead
45:36and
45:37I
45:37guess
45:37I
45:38was
45:38ahead
45:40from
45:40that
45:40point
45:41on
45:41it
45:42the
45:42entire
45:42issue
45:43ceased
45:43to be
45:43an
45:43issue
45:44for
45:44me
45:45every
45:45time
45:46mother
45:46would
45:46bring
45:46it
45:46up
45:47I
45:47say
45:47mother
45:47I'm
45:48five
45:48years
45:49older
45:49than
45:49he
45:49was
45:50I
45:51lasted
45:51I
45:52survived
45:56for
45:5641
45:57years
45:57the
45:58Empire
45:58State
45:58continued
45:59to be
45:59the
45:59tallest
46:00building
46:00in
46:00the
46:00world
46:01until
46:02the
46:02arrival
46:02of the
46:03World Trade
46:03Center
46:0472
46:06it's
46:06no
46:06longer
46:07the
46:07tallest
46:07it's
46:08not
46:08the
46:08most
46:09glamorous
46:10but
46:10it
46:10remains
46:11what
46:11its
46:11creators
46:12intended
46:13an
46:14enduring
46:14symbol
46:15of
46:15the
46:15American
46:15dream
46:22were
46:23and
46:29and