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Wednesday, September 11, 2002

When word came that a jet had hit a World Trade Center tower, it caused a stir among the FBI agents gathered in Erie for an all-day training session.

When news of the second strike arrived, the session was cut to a half-day.

Then came reports the Pentagon was hit. "It was lights and siren, down Interstate 79," said William Crowley, spokesman for the FBI in Pittsburgh.

For 11 days after that, Crowley, 40, a 12-year FBI veteran, was a primary spokesman for the recovery effort near Shanksville, where hijacked Flight 93 crashed. His was the face beamed worldwide with each media briefing.

He remembers it as a long, tiring blur.

But Crowley now sees the intensity as a blessing during a time of turmoil. "It's something I was trained to do ... in a way, it was helpful to me."