Melissa Doi

Melissa Cándida Doi (September 1, 1969 — September 11, 2001)[1] was an American businesswoman in the financial industry who was a victim of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.[1][3][4][5] She is known for the recording of the 9-1-1 call she made during her final moments from inside the South Tower as it was engulfed in flames.[6] Her emotional conversation with an emergency dispatcher was used during the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only criminal trial to result from the attacks.[7][8][9][10]

Melissa Doi
Born
Melissa Cándida Doi[1]

(1969-09-01)September 1, 1969[2]
New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 32)
South Tower, World Trade Center,
New York City, U.S.
Cause of deathCollapse of 2 World Trade Center (September 11 attacks)
EducationNorthwestern University
OccupationFinancial manager at IQ Financial Systems

Early life

Melissa Cándida Doi was born on September 1, 1969[1] in the Bronx, New York,[11] to Evelyn Alderete.[12] Doi graduated from the Spence School, before attending Northwestern University, where she graduated in 1991 with a sociology degree and was a member of Delta Gamma sorority.[13] She had ambitions to become a ballet dancer.[12][14] Doi was close to her mother Evelyn, having purchased a condominium in the Bronx, where they both lived at the time of Doi's death.[12]

Death and 9-1-1 call recording
Doi's name is displayed on Panel S-46 at the South Pool the National September 11 Memorial.

On August 16, 2006, the New York City Fire Department, acting under a court order, released the audiotapes of 1,631 calls to fire dispatchers, which included then 911 calls from trapped office workers, including Doi's.[3] The call, which lasts 24 minutes, was released in 2006. The recording was played during the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

Melissa Doi makes her call from the 83rd floor of the World Trade Center South Tower at 9:17 a.m., on September 11, 2001. When the South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 at 9:03 a.m., she and five other people were trapped in the impact zone on the 83rd floor, where IQ Financial Systems was located.[9] During the call, the operator tries to keep Doi calm and extract information from her. Doi says, "Well, there's no one here yet, and the floor's completely engulfed. We're on the floor and we can't breathe, And it's very, very, very hot".[15]

During the crisis, Doi asks the dispatcher, "Can you stay on the line with me, please? I feel like I'm dying." The dispatcher urges Doi to keep breathing and praying, saying, "It's going to be fine" over and over, continuing to repeat this long after Doi had stopped talking.[3][16] Near the end of the call, Doi spells out the last name of her mother and asks the dispatcher to set up a three-way call so that she can speak to her mother one last time. "We couldn't put her on," the dispatcher says, "We don't have a three-way system for that."

As smoke and heat begin to overcome her, Doi gives the 911 operator her mother's name and phone number in hopes of passing on a last message. That evening, Alderete receives a call from the 911 operator, Vanessa Barnes, who had spoken with Doi while she was trapped in the stairwell: "Tell my mother that I love her and that she's the best mom in the whole world."[13]

After 24+1⁄2 minutes, the call cuts off. It took three years for her remains to be found in the rubble.[17] Doi is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-46 [1] of the National September 11 Memorial.

See also

References
  1. "Melissa Cándida Doi". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  2. "Melissa Doi (Missing Person)". WorldTradeAftermath.com. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  3. Moore, Martha T. (August 16, 2006). "1,631 calls to dispatchers on 9/11 released". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. "List of Victims from Sept. 11, 2001". Fox News. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  5. "September 11: A Memorial". CNN. June 19, 2002. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  6. Dwyer, Jim (August 17, 2006). "More Tapes From 9/11: 'They Have Exits in There?'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  7. "United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui: Criminal No. 01-455-A". United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 2006. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  8. Powell, Michael; Garcia, Michelle (August 17, 2006). "More Voices From 9/11: 'I'm Going to Die, Aren't I?'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. "Melissa Doi". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  10. "A Call for Help". The Washington Post. August 16, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  11. Alderete, Evelyn. "Inside the Collection: Drawing". National 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  12. "Melissa Doi Obituary". The Patriot-News. October 17, 2001. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  13. Carpenter, Ellen; Murtaugh, Dan (September 21, 2001). "Obituaries - CAMPUS". The Daily Northwestern. Northwestern University. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. "Melissa C. Doi: Dancing Through Life". Legacy.com. September 2001. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  15. Adler, Margot (August 16, 2006). "After a Court Battle, More Sept. 11 Tapes Released". NPR. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  16. "9/11 victims heard on tapes". Associated Press. August 17, 2006. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Deseret News.
  17. "The 9/11 Decade: A Lost Cousin Remembered". Ossining Daily Voice. September 9, 2011. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
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