‘I WISH DAD WAS HERE TO SEE ME'

Genevieve was 13 when her father was among 10 Australians who died in the attacks

Genevieve Gyulavary was in her eighth-grade maths class when she was told over the loudspeaker to report to the office. Her mum Jane had called the school to explain that a plane had gone into the World Trade Center, where her husband and Genevieve’s father Peter worked.

Jane, now 74, told Genevieve she had spoken to Peter and he’d reassured her that “everything’s fine” and he would soon be leaving his 91st-floor office in the south tower.

Genevieve, then 13, was driven home and her memory of that moment is vivid and heartbreakingly poignant.

“I remember sitting in the car and it was a beautiful day. There were no clouds in the sky,” she tells Woman’s Day. “And then I got home and it was chaotic because my mum now couldn’t get in touch with my dad.”

WAITING FOR NEWS

Peter, 44, was eventually confirmed to be among one of 10 known Australians killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. But in the immediate aftermath, Genevieve and Jane were unable to do much except wait for news.

“There was this lingering hope for a little bit... that he might still come home, because he always did,” she says.

Like others missing loved ones, Jane hoped someone would find Peter in the confusing aftermath.

“My mum put a sign on a tree saying, ‘Have you seen this person?’”