He’s the highest ranking official to survive the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. And, Richard Picciotto’s story regarding the 9/11 attacks is one of gruesome detail and heartache.

Picciotto, was the first speaker for the fall session of the  2011 Ray and Stella Dillon Lecture Series in front of a very large crowd which include members of fire and rescue crews, some from Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Picciotto commented on the start of his day during the lecture and how it changed so quickly. He did not hold back details on that day including his first reaction to the constant sound of bodies hitting the ground as many jumped to their death rather than burn in the twin towers. Prior to the lecture Picciotto talked about taking on the responsibility of keeping the memory alive of those who died that day.
 
Picciotto was inside the North Tower when he heard and felt the South Tower collapse.  As he called for his crew and rescue workers to evacuate, he stayed behind with a skeleton team to assist disabled and infirm citizens as they tried to escape the tower. Picciotto was trapped in the collapse, and was buried in rubble for more than four hours after the tower’s collapse.
 
His book, Last Man Down, a tribute to the victims that day, was a New York Times bestseller.