The first “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” of the year began on a somber note and ended with a tearful standing ovation.

Gordon Haberman, a Washington County, Wisconsin resident, sat down with Gousha to discuss his personal connection to the national tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

Haberman said his daughter, Andrea, 25, had planned a business trip to New York City, but due to an upcoming family wedding, had to move her trip to an earlier date.

On Tuesday the 11th, Andrea was on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center when the hijacked airplane hit its target. She did not survive.

Her father knew something was wrong when Andrea’s fiance, Al, called in a panic that morning. Watching the news only increased his concern.

“I turned on the TV just in time to see the south tower hit,” Haberman said. “I just threw my coffee mug against the wall.”

Still unsure of Andrea’s whereabouts, Haberman said he and his wife tried to contact authorities in the city. He said an FBI agent told them “it’s chaos here” and that he couldn’t provide more info.

After speaking with the agent, Haberman and his wife decided to drive to New York to find Andrea on their own. Prior to leaving, they sent a picture of their daughter to every city agency possible.

“We had to find her somehow, but nobody knew she was there,” he said. “She was all alone in New York City, in the towers.”

The Habermans drove nonstop from Wisconsin to New York City. Upon entering the city, Haberman said he was taken aback by the carnage left in the airplanes’ wake.

Smoke plumed fifty stories high, fires spread across Manhattan and screams of grief echoed through the air.

“It was just a scene from hell,” Haberman said.

In the days following the attacks, Haberman said his daughter’s picture was hung among those of other missing persons. Helping calm him was Jessica Cramer, a New York Life insurance agency employee, who contacted him to say she was looking for Andrea.

“She had called me and said, ‘Mr. Haberman, I am looking for your daughter,'” Haberman said. “(She) looked for Andrea because she remembered what it was like to be alone in New York.”

He also praised Cramer for the help she and others provided to he and his wife.

“She and the rest of our New York family put their strong arms around us,” he said. “Without them, I don’t think we would have made it.”

He spoke of the arduous process of finding his daughter, and also the grieving of her death.

Before articles could be released to families of victims, clearances from authorities had to be issued. Affidavits had to be signed before an interim death certificate could be obtained.

Often times, a “find” was merely a piece of a body or belonging, he said. For several years after the attacks, local sheriffs arrived at his home, saying they had “found” Andrea.

“She was not killed in the attacks,” Haberman said. “She was tortured and murdered. There is no sugar-coating 9/11.”

Following the events of that September day, Haberman said he needed to find peace in the tragedy, so he tried to understand why the attacks occurred.

Haberman read writings of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist group responsible for the attacks. He also attended trials of al-Qaida terrorists and visited the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He said he noticed defiance and little contrition from the offenders.

By telling Andrea’s story, Haberman said he hopes to keep the memories of his daughter and of the attacks alive. Since 2001, others have reached out to help with his mission.

Mike Nichols, director of the movies “The Graduate” and “Charlie Wilson’s War,” wrote a book released in August about Andrea, her family and the tragic events of Sept. 11.

“The title is ‘Just a Few Sleeps Away,’ because that is what Andrea and Al (her fiance) said to each other when they were apart for a time,” said Nichols, who was also at the event Tuesday. 

Haberman also said to further ensure his daughter’s memory stays alive, Andrea’s purse – recovered at Ground Zero – will be displayed at a museum in New York commemorating those lost in the attacks.

Although Haberman said he knows he cannot change what occurred that day, he realizes the importance of learning from the tragedy.

“I don’t try to understand anymore,” Haberman said. “But I do know we must be vigilant to prevent it from happening in the future.”