Historical Note

[mabfan]

On this date in 1945, as World War II was coming to an end, an American B-25 bomber got lost in the fog above New York City. At 9:49 AM it crashed into the Empire State Building, damaging the 78th and 79th floors. Although it was a Saturday morning, there were people working in the building. Fourteen people were killed and twenty-six sustained injuries.

By the next week, the building was repaired and the floors were usable again.

It was this incident that prompted E.B. White in his now much more famous essay "Here is New York" to note the following:

"The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions."

Comments

[farwing.livejournal.com]

*shiver*

Seldom Complimented

[sdavido.livejournal.com]

You bring up an interesting point, that I don't remember being commented upon in 9/11 discussions. The debt cityfolk owe Air Traffic Controllers.

It's a difficult job, and yet one that is only commented upon when infrequent errors occur.

Thank you for the history note.