Marsh & McLennan September 11th Memorial
New Jersey Living Memorial, A Grove of Remembrance
The 9/11 Memorial Bridge
Empty Sky: NJ State 9/11 Memorial
Manalapan 9/11 Memorial
Conseleya 9/11 Memorial
Dewitt 9/11 Memorial
Montclair State University 9/11 Memorial
East Newark 9/11 Memorial
The Gitto family did everything as a unit. They raked leaves together. They painted together. They fixed lights together. And everyone piled into the car for trips to the supermarket.
The only thing Salvatore Gitto did by himself was pilot planes. He had been flying airplanes longer than he had been driving cars. But being a Senior Manager of Risk Management for Marsh & McLennan, he was cautious not to take his wife along as a passenger.
Yet even his weekly trips were planned around his family. On Sunday mornings, Mr. Gitto, 44, would fly out of the local airport, in Old Bridge, N.J., and be back home by noon to spend the rest of the day with his wife, Angela, and two sons, Stephen, 4, and Gregory, 10.
His next big step was to buy his own plane. Being a pilot let him see the world spread out below him, not through the tight oval window of a Boeing 747 but in a glorious panorama.
Now, Stephen knows that his father is in heaven and that heaven is in the sky. When he is bigger, he says, he's going to go up and bring dad back down.
Copyright (c) 2001 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted by permission.
New York Times Portraits of Grief
The Gitto family did everything as a unit. They raked leaves together. They painted together. They fixed lights together. And everyone piled into the car for trips to the supermarket.
The only thing Salvatore Gitto did by himself was pilot planes. He had been flying airplanes longer than he had been driving cars. But being a Senior Manager of Risk Management for Marsh & McLennan, he was cautious not to take his wife along as a passenger.
Yet even his weekly trips were planned around his family. On Sunday mornings, Mr. Gitto, 44, would fly out of the local airport, in Old Bridge, N.J., and be back home by noon to spend the rest of the day with his wife, Angela, and two sons, Stephen, 4, and Gregory, 10.
His next big step was to buy his own plane. Being a pilot let him see the world spread out below him, not through the tight oval window of a Boeing 747 but in a glorious panorama.
Now, Stephen knows that his father is in heaven and that heaven is in the sky. When he is bigger, he says, he's going to go up and bring dad back down.
My most vivid memory of Sal
My most vivid memory of Sal is at his wedding. So in love with Angela. They had a spectacular wedding. Till this day I have not experienced such a beautiful wedding. I will always remember a man who loved his wife and boys, doing work on their home, making it beautiful not only for Angela and the children but for his mother-in law, my Aunt Pina.
Sal, I know you are proud of Angela and the boys and what fine men they have grown- up to be. May you rest in peace and know you are always in our prayers. Until we meet again.
Posted by Phyllis Lang
Walking the Halls of Manhattan College Leo Engineering Building
For four years I walked the Halls of Leo Engineering Building at Manhattan College with Sal since we both were studying Civil Engineering. Since our last names were alphabetically close together, we ended up sitting next to each other for most of our classes. Sal was an extremely hard worker since he took a full course load of classes and travelled daily all the way from Coney Island to attend school in the Bronx.
In addition to travelling for hours daily, Sal worked at Coney Island as a mechanic working on many of the amusement rides to keep them in tip top shape. Working for hours at Coney Island and going to school full time in an engineering curriculum was no small feat. I have vivid recollections of seeing Sal, with his oil darkened hands from working, hustling into the engineering commuter cafeteria to review homework assignments with us and even do some last minute studying for exams. This was his routine for four years.... Sal graduated with me four years later in 1978.
Occasionally our paths crossed afterwards over the years as we both commuted to our engineering jobs around the WTC. Sal had a broad, contagious smile that I will always remember. I learned of Sal's passing 10 years after the fact when his name appeared in the Alumni Notes published by our alma mater. Needless to say, I was beside myself when I saw his name. I grieved heavily at that time just as I am grieving now with the memory of my friend.
Posted by Stephen N Grant
Add new Guest Book entry