To the fatherless and unborn of 9/11

There were pregnant women who left home for work on the morning of 09/11/2001, and never came back. There were husbands and boyfriends of women who were pregnant, who left for work that same morning, and never came back.


There are 11 women known of whom were pregnant and died on 9/11. Of course there must have been many more, but family members may not have known or they may have not wanted it published.

There was a couple who found out on the morning of 9/11 that they were expecting. He said "we cried tears of joy and she left for work, ..that day I lost two precious things".

These women who were pregnant are listed on the 9/11 Memorial with mention of their unborn children:

Monica Rodriguez Smith
35, of Seaford
Died in 1993 World Trade Center bombing

Deanna Lynn Galante
32, of Staten Island
Died on 9/11 in the north tower, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald

Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas
38, of San Rafael, Calif.
Died on 9/11 aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, passenger
Jennifer L. Howley
34, of New Hyde Park
Died on 9/11 in the south tower, worked at Aon Corp.

Helen Crossin Kittle
34, of Lachmont
Died on 9/11 in the north tower, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald

Vanessa Lang Langer
29, of Yonkers
Died on 9/11 in the south tower, worked at Regus Plc

Patricia Ann Cimaroli Massari
25, of Glendale, Queens
Died on 9/11 in the north tower, worked at Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc.

Renée A. May
39, of Baltimore, Md.
Died on 9/11 aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, flight crew

Sylvia San Pio Resta
26, of Bayside, Queens
Died on 9/11 in the north tower, worked at Carr Futures, Inc.

Rahma Salie
28, of Boston
Died on 9/11 aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into Tower One of the World Trade Center, passenger

Dianne T. Signer
32, of Middle Village, Queens
Died on 9/11 in the north tower, worked at Fred Alger Management, Inc.



"The first were born just days after the disaster, the last nine months later to mothers who did not even know they were pregnant at the time of attacks. Some women endured miscarriages, one even went into labour during her husband's memorial service. These eleven-year-olds are living legacies to the men lost that day, fathers they would never know" - The Telegraph

The youngest first baby born to a widow of 9/11 was born just two days after the attacks. Ms Ashrafi gave birth to her son in hope that her husband was still alive and would attend the birth.

Her husband, Mohammad Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-born American who loved his adopted city, had left for his job as a waiter at the restaurant before dawn on Sept 11th after praying with his nine-months pregnant wife, Baraheen Ashrafi, and saying goodbye to his sleepy five-year-old daughter Fahina.

So many lives were taken and so many families were unfairly broken. So many children left fatherless who are now 11 years old. For many women, they have moved past the attack and remarried. But their children are reaching the age were they understand more and want to know what happened to their fathers.

I was in tears reading many of these horrific stories, but I was truly inspired by the strength of these people that had to deal with such a traumatic experience, and pushed forward and didn't give up. It made me feel so pathetic to feel like my life has been tough. It's good every now and then to realise how blessed you are, how extremely blessed you are that you have people you love around you. I was touched by how communities came together to help one another and help victims of the attacks. One woman even gave away her house to a 9/11 widow who had given birth to twin girls shortly after her husband was killed.

There are people in this world who do bad things. But there are also people in this world who do wonderful things and we must never forget it.

R.I.P to all the people who were lost at the attacks on the 9th September 2001 and God bless the youngest victims of 9/11 who were unfairly left fatherless.