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CNN Saturday Morning News

Husband of WTC Victim Hopes for His Return

Aired September 15, 2001 - 10:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me right now is Linda Perry, another person who is living through the nightmare of this horrible thing that has been dealt our country. Her husband Rick Thorpe (ph) is missing. I thank you so much for being with us today. Where was your husband at the time of these attacks?

LINDA PERRY, HUSBAND MISSING AT WTC: He was on the 89th floor of World Trade Center two.

ZAHN: This was the, by now we all confuse the south and the north Tower. Some of you may know...

PERRY: The south tower.

ZAHN: The south tower, the first tower.

PERRY: The first tower. He works for Keith, Lett & Woods (ph). The first plane hit the first tower. He called me to say he was OK. I saw the TV, saw how massive it was. I called him back. I said, aren't you in any kind of danger? As I was talking to him on the phone, the PA system came on and said, everyone stay put there's no need to evacuate.

ZAHN: No. So you heard that on the sound system?

PERRY: I heard it because he said, wait a minute they are saying something. It was the PA. And he said, well they are telling us to stay put, I'm sure everything is going to be fine.

ZAHN: That's ridiculous. He was on one of the top floors.

PERRY: He was on one of the top floors. Keith, Lett & Woods (ph) has two floors, the floor below him, a window blew open, some explosion in the first tower. They all evacuated right away. His floor did not. The second plane hit his tower. He calls me. I'm OK, we're not waiting to be evacuated.

ZAHN: Waiting to be evacuated.

PERRY: Waiting to be evacuated.

ZAHN: The evacuation had not even started.

PERRY: Had not even started. ZAHN: Oh, I shouldn't be judging a person on the PA system, no one has ever encountered this kind of situation before. But I'm sure given everything you know, now in talking to you, that they would have waited that long to evacuate folks from this floor.

PERRY: Right, waiting, 89th floor. He said, go to my neighbor's house. We have a 15-month-old, be with her. I will call you - what's your number. Never dialed the numbered before, gave it to him. I'm at her house 20 minutes later, the phone rings. I don't hear anything, I'm like Rick, Rick. All I hear in the background are people screaming, where's the fire extinguisher, people coughing. Someone saying, is any one unconscious? This went on for about ten minutes. And I'm just screaming, screaming into the phone and all of a sudden it was like, someone just dropped the phone. But then I looked on the TV, and the building came down.

ZAHN: Oh, God.

PERRY: I'm just praying to God, praying for a miracle and I'm really here today to tell everyone to continue praying not only for Rick Thorpe (ph), but for all the other 4,700 people that are missing out there. Because it is just a horrific tragedy, and they need to fight back. It's unfair.

I also just want to mention two other names of people that my husband was with. Frank Doyle, and Brad Vaddis, they both called their wives. Turned out they were trapped in a room behind a fire door. They tried to escape, they went down to the 87th floor, the door wouldn't open. Frank Doyle called his wife and said, "Please call 911, call the Port Authority, let them know we are trapped here. We cannot get out."

Brad Vaddis called his wife and said, "I love you but there is a lot of smoke. I'm doing everything - we're doing every thing we can, we're covering our mouths. It's very difficult, I don't know what's going to happen. But I love you." And that's the last that we've heard of any of them. Right now there are 69 people from Keith, Lett & Woods (ph) that are still missing, along with obviously the other 4,700 people as well. And I just really hope that everyone keeps praying for that miracle for all those people that are missing. It's not fair. We need to fight back.

ZAHN: And you are sitting here right beside me as the president issued his very harsh statements declaring this war. Making things clear he's going to smoke out whoever's responsible for this. I know this is difficult but you have spent the last four days talking to these other family members or friends, some of whom you've just mentioned. Do you believe based on what they are telling you now, that just a fraction of the folks who worked with your husband's firm, including your husband were actually evacuated. Is it your sense that they were all trapped on that floor with the exception of some of those folks who were able to make it to the 87th floor where they found the door shut.

PERRY: Those that did escape left before the second plane hit. Even when the PA system came on, there were a handful of those that ignored it and just said, we're out of here. And just left.

ZAHN: And you were screaming to Rick, several times. As you were listening to the PA service announce.

PERRY: Yes. Honey, just please get home. And he's like, sure, it's going to be fine. Of course, no one thought it was terrorism. The traders were standing, looking out the windows with their hands on their hips, watching the other building burn. But, of course they never thought that their building would actually be attacked.

ZAHN: Did your husband actually work for this firm during the '93 World Trade Center bombing?

PERRY: Yes.

ZAHN: Where was he that day?

PERRY: Same floor, and he called -- when he called me to tell me about when the plane hitting the first building. The first thing he said is, I'm sick to my stomach. And I said why, because I didn't know it had happened, and he told me. He said, I hate this building, I hate this building. And...

ZAHN: Did he have a fear of returning to work after the first World Trade Center bombing?

PERRY: Yeah, he did, he definitely did. But, you know, you still never think it's going to happen again, and I don't think he really did even at that moment, even when he called me after the second plane hit. He said, we're waiting to be evacuated, and he was very calm, very calm.

ZAHN: Have you shared any of this information with officials investigating what happened, because everybody is trying to piece together -- there is some 4,700 folks missing. Rick may be one of them. Has anybody asked you for this information, because it is critical. It tells them where these employees were at the time and how far they got.

PERRY: Which is why I'm here today. Because no, except people at his company. And just random people that I see on the street. I mean, I've gone to the armory, given them all his information, sent the records, pictures, it's just going today, the DNA. I mean, doing everything I can, that I really just have faith in God that a miracle will happen and not all of these 4,700 people are dead. I do believe that. There are people still in that rubble that are alive, and are just waiting to be rescued, and I do believe that one of them is going to be Rick.

ZAHN: I hope so, I really hope so, for your sake. I know you're talking about going down to the Armory Center, which is -- Elizabeth Cohen has been reporting from there all day long. And it is heartbreaking to hear the stories of people like you bringing pictures, bringing hairbrushes, brining anything that could create a DNA match. Have you found the folks down there that have to process this information, supportive. I mean, Lord knows, they have tremendous amount of pressure on them right now.

PERRY: Phenomenal, nothing but phenomenal. There are so many volunteers there, it's not even just the strength, the food, the counseling. I walked in there and I obviously broke down. I had two chaplains and actually a counselor, and a detective and an FBI sitting with me for 20 minutes, just listening to me trying to calm me down and relax me. Nothing beyond phenomenal. I think Giuliani has just done an incredible, incredible job. I was back down there yesterday, and it was the same thing. Very orderly, no chaos, wonderful. The number of people that have just come out from all over the country to help. People sending food from North Carolina, homemade food. It's incredible, incredible.

ZAHN: Does your daughter have -- I know you mentioned, she's 16 months old -- does she have any idea what's going on?

PERRY: She wakes up every morning, she doesn't quite talk. She goes like this looking for her daddy. And I just keep saying, daddy's at work. He is still at work. So you know, I am wearing a cross of Jesus and have Mary. And I give it to her and she kisses it, and I say this is for Daddy. And she kisses it. And I just keep saying, daddy's coming home, because he will come home. I do believe that.

ZAHN: Well our hurt goes out to you. I mean, I think it is so hard for any of us to understand what you all are dealing with. And I think perhaps that it was very important for you to be here this morning. You are empowering other people who are in the same horrific state of limbo. Do you have any advice for those folks and for the rest of Americans, America who's listening to this interview this morning and obviously feeling your pain?

PERRY: Just have faith in God, and miracles do happen. Just keep praying, be strong and don't give up. Don't give up on your loved ones, they will return. They will return.

ZAHN: Linda Perry thanks.

PERRY: Thank you.

ZAHN: I don't even know what to say to you after that. But you are showing enormous strength and ...

PERRY: Thank you.

ZAHN: Wish you the best. Thank you.

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