'My windows started to vibrate': Southwest Iowans witnessed tragedy and unity on 9/11

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Two southwest Iowans who were present during the September 11 attacks say the memories of that day remain vivid.

Pottawattamie County Auditor Mary Ann Hanusa worked in the White House West Wing on 9/11. Glenwood native Craig Goos works in financial services and watched the first plane strike the North Tower of the World Trade Center from his nearby office.

WATCH KATRINA'S STORY BELOW

"My windows started to vibrate, and everything in the building kind of started to shake, and as I looked out, I saw an airplane fly through and impact into the World Trade Center," Goos said.

The Pentagon was attacked and Hanusa recalls the fear spreading among those evacuating the White House.

"I remember hearing a colleague behind me, as we were running, saying there's a plane headed for the White House," she said.

The fourth plane, which was likely headed for Washington D.C., crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

"Then, there was no evacuation plan for the federal government. I mean, that sounds odd, now, but nobody really knew what to do," Hanusa said.

In New York, Goos — a National Guard Veteran — made a decision after the first plane hit: "I said, 'Hey, I'm leaving the building. Anybody who wants to stay can stay, but anybody who wants to come with me, I'm leaving.'"

Goos led his colleagues out of the neighborhood. They reached Chinatown by the time the south tower fell.

"And the dust and debris made its way blocks and blocks over," Goos said.

Back in Washington D.C., Hanusa quickly recognized the historical significance of what was unfolding and began preserving artifacts. The bullhorn President Bush used when he spoke at Ground Zero sat in her office for weeks. In the wars that followed, Hanusa handled the president's letters to the families of fallen service members.

"I would feel badly for the president because I knew that with every signature he hurt," Hanusa said.

Goos, who lost colleagues on 9/11, expected New York would be the target of more terrorist attacks and eventually moved his family to Connecticut.

"I looked at my daughter laying there in her crib napping, and I looked at my wife, and I said, we gotta get out of here," he said.

Despite the tragedy, both Hanusa and Goos say the attacks brought out a sense of unity.

"There was a renewed sense of appreciation for our country and the freedoms that we had and who we were as a people and as a country," Hanusa said.

"It was a strangely unifying moment in time where politics didn't matter ... where literally everyone in the city came together," Goos said.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.