Twenty-four years ago, the world watched in horror as the Twin Towers collapsed in lower Manhattan. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on September 11, 2001. But one woman who refused to let the darkness take her was buried beneath the twisted steel and mountains of concrete.
Her name is Genelle Guzman-McMillan.
On that Tuesday morning, the Trinidad-born Port Authority worker started her day like any other, reporting to her office on the 64th floor of the North Tower. Within hours, her world — and the world itself — changed forever. When the towers fell, Guzman-McMillan was entombed beneath the rubble for 27 agonizing hours, the longest of any survivor.
She was the last person found alive at Ground Zero.
A Journey from Desperation to Deliverance
When the first plane struck, Guzman-McMillan and her coworkers were uncertain of the danger. It wasn’t until they saw live television coverage that the magnitude of the attack became clear. Panic set in. They began descending the stairwell together, clutching one another for courage.
But when the North Tower crumbled, the group was swallowed in an avalanche of steel and smoke. Guzman-McMillan was pinned, her body twisted, her head caught between pillars, her legs crushed. Alone in suffocating darkness, she listened to radios and sirens above but could not call out.
For 27 hours, she battled pain, fear, and despair. She prayed for a second chance at life. And then a miracle.
She felt a hand. A man’s voice. His name, he said, was Paul. He urged her not to give up, told her rescue was coming. When firefighters drew near, Paul convinced her to speak, to cry out at last. Moments later, rescuers uncovered her broken body.
To this day, no one knows who Paul was. Guzman-McMillan believes he was a guardian angel sent to keep her alive. She tells her story in her book, Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor.
Faith, Resilience, and a Second Chance
Guzman-McMillan’s survival was not the end of her battle. Months of hospitalization followed. Doctors feared her leg would need amputation. Her coworkers, including the friend whose hand she held during her descent, never made it out.
Why her? Why did she survive when so many did not? Those questions still haunt her. Yet, her answer has always been the same: gratitude. She dedicated her life to sharing her testimony, turning trauma into triumph.
She became an active member of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, volunteering with the American Red Cross and the 9/11 Tribute Center. She has been honored with awards and proclamations, including a Medal of Honor from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She travels the world to tell her story, not of tragedy, but of faith, hope, and survival.
Erased from Hollywood, But Not From History
In 2006, Hollywood released the film World Trade Center, retelling the heroics and heartbreak of that day. But Guzman-McMillan’s miraculous survival was left out. She was, once again, buried beneath the narrative.
But today — 24 years later — we will not forget her.
Genelle Guzman-McMillan is alive. She is living proof of resilience, faith, and the unshakable human will to survive. Her story belongs not only in books and speeches but in the eternal memory of a nation that must never overlook the miracles amid the devastation.
As the world pauses to commemorate this solemn anniversary, let us honor her courage with the same words that carried her through the rubble: “Hold on. You’re going to make it.”
