Twenty years ago on September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 lives were cruelly taken away from their family, friends, and colleagues. They senselessly lost fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and even young children at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. As a New York City college focused on educating firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical professionals, the toll on our community was steep—John Jay lost 67 heroes that day. These brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to save others in need. Now, after two decades, the emotional, psychological, and physical pain of that tragic day still runs deep. First responders and civilians continue to face life-threatening diseases because of the toxic air they inhaled; while many others have died because of the exposure to deadly dust and debris. As a community committed to public service, we honor the legacy of our fallen heroes, and we strive to ensure that a tragedy like 9/11 never happens again.

On September 11, 2001, former John Jay professor and alumnus Robert J. Louden ’77, Ph.D., was on a bus commuting to the College to teach a course in Public Management when cell phones began to ring around him. “I was not a mobile phone carrier at the time. I remember I just wanted to read my morning newspaper when everyone’s phone started going off,” he says. Louden was five miles away from his South Jersey home in New Jersey when the bus driver pulled over to the shoulder of the road. “I didn’t know what was happening. The bus driver was talking on his radio, and then everybody in the bus started saying that a plane flew into the World Trade Center,” he says, recalling feeling shocked, but not panicked. Louden was a retired Lieutenant Commander of a detective squad and former head of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Hostage Negotiating Unit, with 21 years of experience working in law enforcement. In his career, he had been present for two hostage negotiations at the World Trade Center, but nothing prepared him for the attacks that occurred that day. With the city at a standstill, the bus turned around, and Louden was soon home. “I remember standing in my kitchen with my wife as we watched the second plane hit the South Tower on television,” says Louden. “Seeing both towers fall was just sheer horror. There are no other words that can explain the events that happened that day.”

For Louden, the nightmare didn’t end in New York City. He and his wife frantically tried to get ahold of their children in the aftermath of the attacks. First, he contacted his daughter, an attorney in Newark, New Jersey. “She was in court that day. She didn’t know what had happened. So we filled her in, and she came to our house,” he says. “My wife and I didn’t know about our son yet—that he was there at the Pentagon.”

The Attack on the Pentagon
Louden’s son, a U.S. Park Police Officer in Washington D.C., was among the first responders during the attack on the Pentagon. Louden later learned of the heroic role his son played in keeping the Pentagon secure, including aiding in the evacuation of the on-site child-care center. “Fortunately, the building was not hit where the kids were. There’s a comedy of errors in that somebody couldn’t find a key to unlock a gate, and so they crashed through the gate to get the kids out. He was very happy to be part of that evacuation,” Louden says proudly, but admits the horror of that day impacted him greatly as a parent of a first responder. “We didn’t know what was happening down there in the beginning. My son and I didn’t speak about what occurred until much later, but I remember having images of my son being trapped or hurt flashing through my mind,” he says. “When everything settled, he told me about what happened that day. He was staying in Virginia when the attacks happened. While everyone else was evacuating, my son got into his car and immediately drove to the Virginia State Police checkpoint. They stopped him, and he identified himself as a federal law enforcement officer. They put a vest on him, handed him a shotgun, and said,  ‘Help us maintain this quarantine evacuation route,’” Louden says. “As a parent, you’re both proud and terrified to learn about the personal sacrifices your children make to keep others safe.” Louden’s son diligently worked to keep civilians out of D.C. until state troopers showed up. Soon after, he headed to the Pentagon where he spent days and nights on high alert suited up with an M16 rifle. “The Park Police force in D.C. was mobilized to help the Secret Service protect the White House. There were no people around except cops and big government officials, and all you heard was the sound of Black Hawk helicopters and F16s flying above. Occasionally, I think he still has some flashbacks, but he’s doing okay. He’s been through a lot.”

The Message to Students
For Louden, watching the tragedy that unfolded in New York City was more than heartbreaking. He remembers watching the twin towers as they were being built at the beginning of his NYPD career. “When I got out of the police academy, I went to what was then the Fourth Precinct. The southern end of our precinct was where the original World Trade Center was being built, and so I watched it being built from this hole in the ground for the three years I was at the precinct. September 11th should never have happened,” he says, reflecting on the past and how he believes it should inform future generations. “My message to all public service students out there is to be prepared. Anything can happen. Police, fire, and federal law enforcement are honorable careers and we need good people to serve. When I was a student at John Jay, it was mostly white males connected to law enforcement, but it’s evolved over the years. Now, it’s a grand mosaic. John Jay students come from every walk of life and every nation you can think of. Whether they choose to stay in New York or they've come here to learn and go elsewhere, these young men and women are the future of criminal justice, the future of law enforcement, the future of this country.”