by Cris Italia
On Sept. 11, 2001, Eschert, a communications foreman for the New York City Department of Transportation, was working on Chambers Street, just blocks away from the World Trade Center. "I had my feet up on a desk when the first plan hit," Eschert said. "Then I looked out a window and saw the engine of the plane laying across the street."
Eschert didn't come home until three days after the attacks. His only contact was a call one of his supervisors made to his father-in-law. "My kids were crying because they never heard from me that day," Eschert said.
When he finally did come home, both of his daughters were still crying. "I told them I would never do that again," Eschert said. "If something happened I would come home. I would never stay. So that was my motivation to get home on Thursday. My daughters and my wife were very happy."
He had just finished his shift on Thursday at his J Street office in Brooklyn, and he walked through Prospect Park toward the "F" line. "I just missed the train, and just minutes later the power went out," Eschert said. "I didn't hear any explosions, so I knew it wasn't an attack." He went back to his office to see if they needed help. But the night crew was already on hand, and without power there was really nothing he could do.
"When they said they didn't need me, I just grabbed a flashlight and left," he said. "Looking back now, it was a relief to know I was going home, but the streets were packed."
He began his trek home to Oceanside. The streets were packed with people looking to do the same thing he was: getting home to his family. He stopped at a pay phone to tell his family he was OK. "My daughters were worried," Eschert said. His daughters Alexa, 8, and Catherine, 11, were just glad that their father was on his way home.
Eschert took Atlantic Avenue to Flatbush Avenue from Brooklyn, then to Conduit Boulevard and onto Sunrise Highway. "By the time I got to JFK Airport it was totally dark," he said. "I just kept drinking, water and thankfully I was wearing sneakers."
Arriving in Lynbrook, Eschert was met by a friend, Tim Reardon, who took him home from there. "I was so happy just to be home," Eschert said. For most of his walk he thought of 9/11 and his kids.
There were times when he was tired, times when he could have rested, but Eschert kept going. He kept his promise, he came home.
Joseph Kellard contributed to this story
