At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, when Flight 11 struck the north tower of the World Trade Center, the Children’s Discovery Center daycare in Building 5 was in the process of drop-off. Located just a few minutes’ walk from the Twin Towers, the daycare was a familiar and comforting place for children and teachers. Shortly after the plane hit, a loud “swooshing” sound was heard, possibly from the approaching aircraft. Teacher Tara Jones and her colleagues noticed people running and workers covering their heads with briefcases, while a mother in the center yelled, “It’s a bomb.” Despite the chaos, Jones entered what she described as “robotic mode,” focusing solely on getting the children out of the building. The daycare had previously practiced evacuation drills due to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, preparing them for emergencies. The teachers helped the children evacuate, with those who could walk lining up next to Jones when she shouted, “Emergency, we’ve got to go!” Those too young to walk were carried. Since the teachers didn’t have their IDs to pass through the turnstiles, Jones instructed the children to crawl underneath. The group gathered near St. Paul’s Chapel, where they sat the children on the ledge of an ancient cemetery and made a sign with the daycare’s name on it, waiting for parents to arrive. Meanwhile, teacher Onica Sarjeant and her nearly 4-year-old son Yavne’el Montano, a student at the center, were running late. They emerged from the subway a few minutes after the first plane hit. Police tried to stop them from entering Building 5, but Sarjeant was determined to find the children and assist with their evacuation. She eventually found them outside St. Paul’s Chapel. At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower, sending a loud explosion and a fireball through the air. Montano recalls the chaos as teachers grabbed the children and ran, holding onto his mother’s skirt as they carried babies in their arms. Sarjeant and a group of teachers and children ran southeast toward the water, describing it as the longest run of her life. They heard screaming and shouting about terrorists and bombs, and saw “white soot” falling from the sky. They found a supermarket and used shopping carts to transport the babies. Men offered their shirts to cover the children. They covered more than 3 miles in search of shelter, moving as far away as possible from what would later be known as Ground Zero. Jones and her group, including two teachers, one parent, and more children than they could carry, headed north. Jones found an overturned stroller and considered it an act of divine intervention. They ran to City Hall Park, where they sat the children on the lawn. The ground began to shake, and they soon realized the south tower was collapsing. A debris cloud approached like a “gigantic monster,” forcing them to run again. The stroller was left behind, and Jones once again held two babies in her arms while bigger children ran alongside. Breathless and terrified, they didn’t stop until they reached Chinatown. A police officer flagged down a van and a truck to take them to safety. They eventually arrived at St. Clare’s Hospital in Hell’s Kitchen. Sarjeant and her group also headed north, eventually feeling safer. When her co-teacher spotted a church in the East Village, they decided to take shelter there. There, they were given food, diapers, and a chance to breathe. However, confusion arose when news reports directed parents to look for their children at St. Vincent’s Hospital, but only a few had arrived there. One mother, Supurna VedBrat, finally found her son at St. Clare’s around 4 p.m. that afternoon. Despite the initial shock and the hospital’s request for proof of parentage, the child eventually ran to her. Little by little, the parents found their children, some at St. Emeric’s Church with Sarjeant’s group, others at St. Clare’s, and a few at St. Vincent’s. In the chaos, one baby was mistakenly taken home by a fellow parent. In the end, all the children were reunited, and all the parents, some of whom had worked in the towers, survived. Jones and Sarjeant are modest about their actions, saying they simply did what they had to do. Both women experienced significant trauma, with Jones suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder for years, unable to work or leave her home. Eventually, she found a new job in a daycare center in another state, earning less than half her former salary. Both women now teach again, having returned to their calling. Though they downplay the term “hero,” parents like VedBrat insist they saved 28 innocent lives.