I, like many, was watching one of the morning national news shows when the unthinkable events that would change our nation forever commenced. First, one plane, and then another crashed into the World Trade Center towers. I went in to work my Boston Herald news photography shift shortly thereafter. The updated and ever-changing news reports showed one, if not both of the ill-fated airliners, departed from Boston’s Logan airport. I started toward the airport. It would take me over an hour to get from the Herald’s South End headquarters to Logan as most workers vacated the city at the same time. Cell phone service, due to heavy usage, was barely working in our area. I arrived on top of Logan’s Terminal B parking garage to look down at a quiet airport as other media members arrived. We all noticed when an F15 fighter jet roared overhead. It was at about that time that I received word that Peter West, the father of Herald colleague Matthew West, had been working in one of the WTC towers when the planes hit. Cell service was still very spotty and every once in a while, through the day, I would check in with Matthew and another co-worker/friend Matt Stone to find out any information about Mr. West. We all thought that the heavy confusion of the day and the bad cell service, etc. were the reasons we had not received information on the whereabouts of Mr. West. We are a close bunch at the Herald photography department and as the hours passed, we would contact each other  to find any information we could about the West family, so as to not bother them. Peter west, a loving father, husband, brother, uncle and friend, died as he was going about his work on the 104th floor. A loving eulogy by his son Matthew would follow at the New Jersey funeral. Here is a link to the eulogy and to the Peter West memorial website. My photos below show F15 flying over Logan and a state police car guarding an American Airlines plane in the hours after the attacks. They also show one of the first jets to arrive at Logan after the four day closure of the airport. That arriving jet, a DHL cargo jet, is framed by an American flag flying above Winthrop. A few days later there was a very emotional prayer service at City Hall plaza that was attended by many area pilots and flight attendants. God bless to Mr. West and to all the victims of that horrific day. Peace on earth!