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," she recalled. "When we met, he came into my office and just looked at me and I looked at him and just started crying," Capestro shared referring to the first moment that they met. Market data provided by Factset. 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. Facebook. Because God saved me that day. While she was on the call, the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower only six floors above Joanne's office where she worked as an assistant secretary. Then, minutes later at 9.03am, the South Tower was struck by the second hijacked plane. 'I got down the steps to the concourse level and couldn't believe what was going on,' she said. Images used with permission of Phil Penman. Six weeks ago, Penman became the photographer at Joanne's wedding. 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. At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center's south tower. Joanne has many family members and associates who include Neil Grippa, William Cadestro, Debra Capestro, June Capestro and Elizabeth Cogan. Indeed. Penman was nearby and captured Capestro and her co-worker, Dominique Davis, as they escaped the World Trade Center. Capestro and her colleagues fled the building using the stairs. The first time I went I found the pools of water mesmerizing. Phil Penman's iconic 9/11 photo of Joanne Capestro. },false) On 9/11 she ran down 84 floors in the North Tower to safety, defeating all odds as others died around her. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), '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.'. 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. "Post-traumatic stress disorder is not easy. With the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum now visibly "occupying, in real space, leadership of this important national story, when people have items, they want that to be a part of that," President Joe Daniels said. window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}} The picture tells us a thousand words," Capestro shared. Right now, Joanne Capestro lives in Brooklyn, NY. When Capestro married her fianc Robert Vasquez on August 11, she asked Penman to be her photographer. She added that it was an amazing experience to have him present when she married the love of her life, Robert Vasquez. Another person photographed in such a landscape was Joanne Capestro, who told the Journal that "Everything was white when I opened my eyes, I really thought I had died." Capestro was on the 87 th floor of the North Tower when the plane hit just six floors above. Market data provided by Factset. We had no clue what was going on.'. Capestro and her colleagues made it out of the building within 22 minutes, in part, by walking down through the one usable stairwell. Arguably, at the most important date of her life; can there be anything more important than a marriage, Phil was present to capture her on her wedding day. hitType: 'event', ', Capestro photographed in front of One World Trade Center in 2021 - 20 years after surviving the 2001 terrorist attacks. '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. He always has an open ear for me and I do for him as he was also part of the attack. On Sept. 11, 2001, Joanne "JoJo" Capestro arrived to her job as an executive assistant at the May Davis Group on the 87th floor of the North Tower with a cup of take-out tea, feeling run down from a case of bronchitis. was photographed that day covered head to toe in thick dust and debris as she fled from the World Trade Center with a coworker. . While there, he captured a scene that has since become an iconic image from the harrowing day. Capestro, now 59, returned to the same spot two decades on to be photographed by Penman - who is now a close friend -to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks. There were many who gave her comfort along the way including a priest from the local church. But now, 20 years on, Capestro said the horrific experience has given her 'courage and resilience to put my best foot forward every day' and 'wake up with a genuine smile on my face.'. And on the best day of my life.". } "Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life," Joanne Capestro told the Daily Mirror. They must have left already!". Penman captured Joanne Capestro and Dominique Davis after they escaped the World Trade Center following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She was there on that fateful morning when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into her office building. Capestro, who now lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is happily married, has ninegrandchildren through marriage and is still working on Wall Street in a job she finds 'very rewarding'. Speaking of her memories of September 11, 2001, Capestro recalls: That was a regular day for me. "I'm looking up at the tower and I'm taking these pictures," Penman said. Email or phone: Password: . "When we met, he came into my office and just looked at me and I look at him and just started crying," Capestro told the Daily Mirror. "Thats how it all started and we stayed in touch for all of these years. pic.twitter.com/YTAvGncXFK. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. Pictured above is an image showing people crowding the streets of lower Manhattan while watching the scene unfold, Minutes after escaping onto the street, the North Tower completely collapsed, Capestro recalled. The comments below have been moderated in advance. I said, 'You know what, let me go in,'" Capestro recounted on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Friday. When Capestro married her fianc Robert Vasquez on August 11, she asked Penman to be her photographer. She told DailyMail.com 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. "What am I going to do with these boots? Within 22 minutes, Capestro made it a few steps out of the North Tower when it began collapsing and she started running and screaming God help me. Thats how it all started and we stayed in touch for all of these years. Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life". They stayed in touch and just last month, 17 years after the tragedy, Penman took photos of her wedding day. Phil Penman's iconic 9/11 photo of Joanne Capestro. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' 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. She is also a team leader at American Cancer Society and does real estate property management on the side 'as a hobby because I like finding people apartments'. 'We were rocked again when the second tower was hit and that made me run,' Capestro told DailyMail.com. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. TikTok Introduces 60-Minute Daily Time Limit, Havana Syndrome: The Mysterious Illness Afflicting Diplomats and Intelligence Officers. 'I was only out of the building for about 30 seconds when the South Tower collapsed,' she said. Recently, news came in that Joanne Capestro married, exactly 17 years after the horrific events witnessed in 2001. Legal Statement. 9. }); "I really felt so different from that moment on and it took me many years to heal," Capestro said. try { "That's the only good thing that came out of it, I think for me develop this bond. Penman scrapped his plans and rushed downtown. We'll #NeverForget the victims, their families and the everyday heroes. Capestro with Phil Penman on her wedding day (right). 'I've tried but I can't remember.'. But the phone rang and he answered, then the plane hit five or six floors above us. Joanne Mancenido Vasquez. "It was bittersweet," Capestro said, "but it makes me feel good. There they stayed until she saw another first responder's awe at spotting his own helmet on display in the museum. 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.. Image courtesy Phil Penman. As detailed in a blog post by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Capestro rushed downstairs after she felt a jolt at 8:46 a.m., just as the first tower was hit. '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.'. That was a regular day for me, when I woke up in the morning I didnt feel well, but I still went to work, Capestro said. Photographer who captured iconic image of woman on 9/11 returns to shoot her wedding. A retired police detective gave the sole-scorched boots she wore while working amid the smoking wreckage of the twin towers. } (Phil Penman). And I was standing at my desk with one of my co-workers because we were going to go downstairs. I contemplated if I should go into the office or not. May 27, 2019 - Joanne Capestro escaped from the Twin Towers and was captured in an iconic photo. 'I just showered and put my clothes in plastic bags and put them in a bin in my basement and left them,' she said. Now here we are today and six weeks ago, on August 11, he was the photographer at my wedding. All rights reserved. Want to advertise with us? A 28-year-old self-taught photographer, Jack Alexander specialises in intimate portraits with musicians, actors, and models. "All of a sudden, you just start seeing like, the emergence of people kind of walking towards you," Penman said. She said her and her colleagues realized two of the three stairwell exits were inaccessible because they were damaged from the crash and melting. But the phone rang and he answered, then the plane hit five or six floors above us," Joanne recalled. Capestro, then 39, worked at the World Trade Center, on the 87th floor of the north tower. Privacy Policy. ", For Capestro, Penman's photo has meant a lot. "I feel like I'm giving back. Can there be anything more beautiful than that? And I was standing at my desk with one of my co-workers because we were going to go downstairs. A photographer who snapped an iconic photo of Joanne "JoJo" Capestro just moments after she escaped the collapsing towers in New York City on 9/11 has captured another memorable moment in the woman's lifeher wedding day. Seventeen years on, the man who took that picture on the worst day of her . People immediately united together to support and comfort each other through the traumatic attacks on the country. The comments below have not been moderated. "The work carries a lot of weight. 'It's something I'm never going to forget but it has given me the strength and courage and resilience to put my best foot forward every day and thats what's important,' she said. 'Very open to the idea': Julia Wandelt takes DNA test to verify if she is missing Swiss girl Livia Schepp, Kayla Lemieux: Teacher with prosthetic Z-cup breasts suspended WITH PAY after pics show her dressed as man, 'We have lots to reveal': Madeleine McCann lookalike Julia Wandelt posts footage of meeting with PI probing claims, Lindsay Clancy case: Psychologist reveals psychosis red flags family members could have spotted, Horror at Larchwood Care! document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ The Daily Mirror reports that Capestro and Penman were reunited three years ago after the photographers 9/11 photos were shown at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. "I didn't think that this would be anything they would want," said JoAnne "JoJo" Capestro, the finance worker who gave her clothing. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. "The third exit we never really used so we were lucky to even find that exit. A close friendship blossomed after their first meeting. 'I found a great partner who understands who I am - everybody has some sort of past and mine is 9/11,' she said. For more information, please see our Visit r/PhotoGIMPs for examples of my work, and stay a while. eventAction: 'view' let gads_event; She is now happily married with nine grandchildren, still lives in her native New York and still works on Wall Street after 40 years. Photographer Phil Penman (left) and Joanne Capestro (right). The institution trod a difficult path to opening, facing delays and controversy. Afterward, she donated everything she had on that day, including the heels, to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which History Channel says it is helping to support. Address:***** Ainslie St, Brooklyn, NY. Penman eventually donated the photo he captured of Capestro along with others to be displayed inside the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There are sad events, there are shocking events; there are tragedies and then, theres the 9/11 tragedy. "After many years, I decided, 'I want to get married.' }); Capestro said she is marking the 20th anniversary by joining fellow survivors and family members of victims at the 9/11 memorial ceremony. "The morning of Sept. 11, I woke up, I wasn't feeling well. ga('ads.send', { Two compelling reminders of the long manhunt that followed 9/11 went on display Sunday: a Navy SEAL's uniform shirt from the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and a CIA officer's special coin commemorating the operation. Joanne-vasquez Lubrigado. Some victims' relatives still bitterly oppose it as more tourist attraction than tribute. Now, at the museum, "I know that they're taken care of. Required fields are marked *, At the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, a few friendships were forged rather uniquely. },false) Yi-Jin Yu is an editor and reporter for TODAY Digital and leads digital coverage for Weekend TODAY on Saturday mornings. Speaking to DailyMail.com, Capestro said: 'Phil was with me on the best day of my life and the worst day of my life. She is pictured above left with Penman on her wedding day, August 11th. When Capestro married her fianc Robert Vasquez on August 11, she asked Penman to be her photographer. 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. Capestro said she doesn't know what to say when people ask her how her life changed after 9/11. She was covered in toxic dust and debris when she walked out and was photographed by Phil Penman who had grabbed his camera and rushed to the scene. "You start reevaluating everything in life, what's important to you. Capestro explained that September 11, 2001 began like any other day for her. The museum anticipated and welcomes growth in its collection of over 39,000 objects, photos and oral histories, and officials see the new donations as a vote of confidence. hitType: 'event', Joanne Edge is on Facebook. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Jo Vasquez. Image credits: Photographs by Phil Penman and used with permission, Wildlife Photographer Shows How to Fend Off a Lion with Toilet Paper, Wedding Photo Found at Ground Zero After 9/11 Finally Returned to Owner After 13 Years, Unseen Photos of 9/11 Attacks Found in Old Photo Album, This Massive Dust Storm Was Shot from a Fleeing News Helicopter, Great Reads in Photography: September 12, 2021, Hacker Hoodie Blinds Surveillance Cameras with Infrared Light, Why AI Image Generators Cant Get Hands Right, Russian Spy Plane Destroyed Thanks to Civilian Drone, The Exposure Donut for Sony Cameras Simplifies Manual Exposure, Photographer Catches Falcon Hitching a Ride on a Goose. She explained that the first plane crashed into her tower about six floors above her office. 20 years after 9/11, Capestro and Penman have become close friends, who have helped each other in their journeys to recover from the attacks. I had survivors' guilt and felt like "why didnt God take me? 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Instagram . Not long ago some of Joanne's belongings, long thought lost that day, were returned to her. As reported by DailyMail, Joanne shared, "Phil and I stayed in touch all of these years. 'I remember as a young girl we would go and look at the new buildings being built in the city. You may remember this news photo. See Photos. ga('ads.send', { 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. Years later, a museum curator interested in the photo connected . 9. It was the museum's curator who recognized Capestro and connected her with Penman. Capestro is pictured in 2021 near the new World Trade Center complex. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Read more 9/11 Museum Collection Grows: Survivors and victims' families donate their cherished mementos Epoch Times - September 10, 2014, Today Joanne is quoted in an AP article about donating personal items to the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Three years ago she and Penman met for the first time and stayed in contact; he volunteered to take photographs for Capestro's wedding day on August 11, 2018 She told DailyMail.com: 'Phil was. She said she now puts 'my best foot forward every day now because we can't let terrorists win', 'I felt like I needed to be there. Consider Joanne Capestro. '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. The September 11th terrorist attacks left 2,996 people dead and more than 6,000 others injured in the United States. 16 years later. EXCLUSIVE: Photographer who captured devastating images of 'I had a whole story in my head': Daughter of 9/11 victim America prepares to remember its darkest day: A Tower of Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' The Mirror writes that this August Capestro married "the love of her life." And according to her, the photographer Phil Penman was with her "on the best day of her life and the worst day of her life." [via FStoppers] FIND THIS INTERESTING?