Melissa Doi

Melissa Cándida Doi
Born	Melissa Cándida Doi[1] (1969-09-01)September 1, 1969 New York City, U.S.
Died	September 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 32) South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Collapse of 2 World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks
Education	Northwestern University
Occupation	Business development manager at IQ Financial Systems[2]

Melissa Cándida Doi (September 1, 1969 – September 11, 2001) was an American senior manager at IQ Financial Systems, who died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.^[3]

Doi is known for the recording of a 9-1-1 call she made during her final moments inside the South Tower, as it was engulfed in flames.^[4] A recording of her emergency call was used during the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only criminal trial to result from the attacks.^[5] A portion of the call was also featured in the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty.^[6]

Early life and education

Melissa Cándida Doi was born on September 1, 1969 in the Bronx, New York, to Evelyn Alderete.^[7][8] Doi's father was Japanese, while her mother's parents were immigrants from Río Grande, Puerto Rico.^[9]

Doi was an only child, and was raised by her single mother in East Harlem.^[10] She had a close relationship with her mother's Puerto Rican family and heritage.^[9]

In 1987, Doi graduated from the Spence School, an all-girls' school in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Later that year, she enrolled at Northwestern University. Although she initially studied engineering, she graduated in 1991 with a sociology degree.^[8] She was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority.^[11]

In late 1990, Doi worked as an intern for a project which sought to increase the participation of women of color in the reproductive justice movement, by reducing cultural stigma against abortion within ethnic minority communities.^[12] The lead author wrote that Doi had helped by making hundreds of phone calls, as well as locating and reviewing reference materials. Doi helped to identify boundaries within the project through her "sincere reaction" to it.^[12]

Doi was said to have "loved" Northwestern, and was looking forward to a class reunion shortly before she was killed.^[11]

Career

After graduation, Doi worked in public relations.^[13] She later joined IQ Financial Systems, a banking software company, where she was employed as a business development manager.^[2][14]

Co-workers remembered Doi as a kind and understanding manager. She helped one of her subordinates through a difficult pregnancy, by allowing her to work from home. A customer described Doi admiringly as a "take-charge woman".^[15] Journalist Scott Pelley said she was remembered as charismatic and attractive.^[16]

Personal life

Doi's passions included dancing, music and painting.^[11] A close friend described her as "incredibly physical at just about everything that she did".^[17] At college, she had ambitions to become a professional ballerina,^[18] but she enjoyed all kinds of dancing.^[13] Doi was also an avid in-line skater, and was known to have purchased rollerblades for children in Throgg's Neck, who she taught to skate.^[17] Doi would sometimes skate more than 10 miles from her apartment to her office at the World Trade Center.^[19]

Doi had a close relationship with her mother Evelyn, and they lived together at a condominium Doi purchased in Throgg's Neck, an historically German, Irish, and Italian neighborhood in the Bronx.^[20][8] Prior to moving to the Bronx, they had lived together in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in East Harlem.^[21]

Doi was unmarried, and had no children at the time of her death.^[2][22]

Phone call and death

At 08:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Doi, who was on the 83rd floor of the South Tower, was initially in a state of confusion, having thought that a bomb had exploded.^[22] Doi and some of her colleagues made their way down several flights of stairs to the 44th floor sky lobby of the South Tower.^[22] At the 44th floor, announcements were made that the South Tower was safe, and that occupants should return to their offices.^[22]

Doi, unaware of the coming danger, stepped inside of a nearly-full elevator, which took her to the 78th floor sky lobby.^[22] Doi's relatives suspect that United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower "right after" Doi arrived at the sky lobby.^[22]

The South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 at 9:03 a.m. According to Scott Pelley, Doi and five other people were trapped on the 83rd floor, where IQ Financial Systems was located.^[23] The right wing of the aircraft had ripped in to the 83rd floor, where Doi's office was located.^[24]

Melissa Doi made an emergency call from the 83rd floor of the South Tower at 9:17 a.m. During the call, the operator tried to keep Doi calm and extract information from her. Doi complained of having trouble breathing, and the intense heat coming from the floor, and asked the operator if anyone was coming to rescue her.^[25] At the time, Battalion Chief Orio Palmer and several other firefighters were rising toward Doi, having made it to the 78th floor.^[26][27] Doi described hearing voices, which she assumed were her rescuers, however it is unclear what she heard. According to Scott Pelley, it is plausible that she heard Chief Orio Palmer and the men who accompanied him in a nearby stairwell.^[28]

Doi asked the dispatcher, "Can you stay on the line with me, please? I feel like I'm dying." The dispatcher urged Doi to keep breathing and praying, and reassured her that she would be rescued.^[3][29]

Near the end of the call, Doi spelled out the last name of her mother and asked the dispatcher to set up a three-way call so that she could speak to her mother one last time. However, the dispatcher told Doi that she was unable to make the call.^[30]

As smoke and heat began to overcome her, Doi gave the 911 operator her mother's name and phone number in hopes of passing on a last message:

“Tell her...that she was the best mother a person could have, and that I love her with all my heart and soul, and that I'll see her in the next world.”^[31]

After 24+1⁄2 minutes, the call cut off. At 9:59 a.m., the floors directly below Doi buckled, and the South Tower collapsed.^[32]

Aftermath and legacy

Doi's name is displayed on Panel S-46 at the South Pool the National September 11 Memorial.

Melissa Doi's death certificate was issued on September 26, 2001.^[33] Three years after the events of September 11, her remains were identified from the rubble of the World Trade Center.^[22]

The Spence School has established the Melissa Candida Doi '87 Scholarship Fund, in memory of Melissa Doi. The endowment provides a four-year scholarship to deserving Spence students.^[34]

The Sigma chapter of the Delta Gamma fraternity has established the Melissa Doi Memorial Scholarship, which has been awarded since 2007.^[35] This scholarship has been sponsored by Melissa's friends, Lisa Tung and Spencer Glendon.^[35][36]

Doi is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-46 of the National September 11 Memorial.^[1] She is also memorialized at 10 other locations in the United States, including the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden.^[37]

On August 16, 2006, the New York City Fire Department, acting under a court order, released the audiotape of Doi's call to the emergency dispatch. The recording was played during the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui,^[3] and was also featured in the intro to the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty.^[6]

One researcher suggested that Doi's emotional suffering was increased by the false assurance that she would be rescued.^[38] According to this researcher, “false reassurance” can hinder a trapped person's ability to accept their fate, or to end their call with emergency dispatchers and contact loved ones, both of which are palliative.^[39] Some researchers have suggested that there should be standardized training for emergency dispatchers to handle end-of-life experiences, and regret that little attention has been paid to providing this training since 9/11. Most funding has gone to improving communications technology.^[40]

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum hosts several of Melissa Doi's personal belongings, including her artwork, and her rollerblades.^[41] Oral histories related to Doi are also stored there.^[17]

See also

• Benjamin Clark
• Betty Ong
• Casualties of the September 11 attacks
• Frank De Martini
• Kevin Cosgrove
• List of tenants in Two World Trade Center

References

1. "Melissa Cándida Doi". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
2. "Stipulations" (PDF). 2006. Melissa Doi was a 32-year-old, single woman, who worked as a business development manager for IQ Financial Systems on the 83rd floor of the South Tower (WTC 2) of the World Trade Center.
3. Moore, Martha T. (August 16, 2006). "1,631 calls to dispatchers on 9/11 released". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
4. Dwyer, Jim (August 17, 2006). "More Tapes From 9/11: 'They Have Exits in There?'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
5. Powell, Michael; Garcia, Michelle (August 17, 2006). "More Voices From 9/11: 'I'm Going to Die, Aren't I?'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
6. Raalte, Christa Van (1 January 2017). "Intimacy, Truth; and the Gaze: The Double Opening of Zero Dark Thirty". Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism.
7. Alderete, Evelyn. "Inside the Collection: Drawing". National 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
8. "Melissa Doi Obituary". The Patriot-News. October 17, 2001. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
9. Delgado, Jose (11 September 2021). "Reviven la tragedia de perder a los suyos". El Nuevo Dia – via PressReader. (translated from Spanish): "Doi Alderete, of Puerto Rican and Japanese descent, was one of the directors of the financial firm IQ Financial, which she had helped to found...She completed her bachelor's degree in Sociology at Northwestern University. Yet she worked primarily in public relations before approaching the field of finance."
10. "AP News video interviews". YouTube. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 2023-11-09. Evelyn describes raising Melissa at 0:32 seconds in the video. Note that her last name has been misspelled in the transcript included in the video description.
11. Carpenter, Ellen; Murtaugh, Dan (September 21, 2001). "Obituaries - CAMPUS". The Daily Northwestern. Northwestern University. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
12. Marignay, Bisola (1992). "Building Multicultural Alliances: A Practical Guide". Hastting's Women's Law Journal. 3: 245, 250–256. Retrieved 2024-05-13. Doi is mentioned in the footnote on page 245. Note that her name is mis-spelled "Doy".
13. "Melissa C. Doi: Dancing Through Life". Legacy.com. September 2001. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
14. Mulligan, Thomas S. (2002-09-09). "Lessons From the Recovery". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
15. Mulligan 2002: "Melissa C. Doi, 32, whom one customer recalled admiringly as “a take-charge woman...An understanding boss, she once helped a subordinate through a difficult pregnancy by letting her work from home some days."
16. Pelley 2019, pp. 39–40: "Doi brightened and lightened every meeting at IQ Financial Systems -- a firm creating software for Wall Street. Her complexion was light brown. Her hair was absolute black, pulled back in a tight, professional style. But the feature no one could fail to notice was her illuminating smile that tickled her eyes to laughter."
17. "Summer Activities On View in the Memorial Exhibition Gallery". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
18. Pelley 2019, pp. 39–40: "Doi had dreamed of being a ballerina...Later, after graduating from Northwestern, she returned to her native New York City seeking more fortune than fame...
19. Kirsten, Madsen. "New Sports-Related Artifacts Installed in the "In Memoriam" Gallery". www.911memorial.org.
20. Plambeck, Joseph (2012-03-22). "Fluid Reasons for a Constant Allure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
21. LoPriore, Danny (20 September 2001). "Zero degrees of separation in aftermath of terror". HRVH Historical Newspapers. Bronxville Review Press and Reporter. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
22. "The 9/11 Decade: A Lost Cousin Remembered". Ossining Daily Voice. September 9, 2011. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
23. "Melissa Doi". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
24. Pelley 2019, p. 40: "The nose of flight 97 had hit two floors below her. Part of the right wing ripped in to Doi's 83rd floor.75"
25. Adler, Margot (August 16, 2006). "After a Court Battle, More Sept. 11 Tapes Released". NPR. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
26. Pelley 2019, pp. 40–42: "... there was a firefighter rising toward Doi. Chief Orio Palmer...The only recording of his radio transmissions was lost in the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. When the CD was discovered in 2002, the audio revealed that Palmer had climbed far higher than anyone had known...Palmer was now nine floors below Missy Doi and rising fast."
27. Pelley 2019, p. 43: "From his radio transmissions, we know Palmer reached the 78th floor....The nearest survivors to Palmer were likely five floors above him on 83--including Missy Doi and her five coworkers."
28. Pelley 2019, p. 44: "What Doi heard is unknown. But based on the records I have studied, it is plausible that Orio Palmer, Ron Bucca and perhaps some of the men of Ladder 15 continued climbing the intact Stairway A, fighting the fire as they rose."
29. "9/11 victims heard on tapes". Associated Press. August 17, 2006. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Deseret News.
30. Rich, Moore; Content, Contributed (2006-08-17). "'I FEEL LIKE I'M DYING'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
31. Zuckoff 2019, p. 484
32. Pelley 2019, pp. 45–46: "At 9:58 a.m. the exterior columns along the east wall buckled. The failure raced around the corners to the north and south faces. Two WTC tilted to the southeast and foundered on the floors where Orio Palmer was climbing towards Missy Doi.86"
33. Mihalopoulos, Dan; Osnos, Evan; Tribune, Chicago (2001-09-27). "City turns to helping the living". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
34. "Endowment". The Spence School.
35. Scully, Whitney, ed. (Fall 2011). "In Memory". Anchora of Delta Gamma. Vol. 127, no. 3. Delta Gamma. p. 5.
36. Delta Gamma Foundation. "Annual impact Report 2018-2019" (PDF). p. 26.
37. "Melissa C. Doi". Voices Center for Resilience. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
38. Rosenthal, M. Sara (2013). "The End-of-Life Experiences of 9/11 Civilians: Death and Dying in the World Trade Center". OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying. 67 (4). SAGE Publications: 329–361. doi:10.2190/om.67.4.a. ISSN 0030-2228. PMID 24416875. S2CID 19556248.
39. Rosenthal 2013, p. 353: "In this respect, telling callers that firefighters are “on their way” or “in the building” (which was true) is not as accurate as “I don’t know how long it will take them to get up to you” or “I don’t know if they will get to you in time.” Christakis (1999) argues that “false hope” can contribute to greater suffering, and failure to prognosticate deaths accurately leads people to “die deaths they deplore in locations they despise” (Christakis, 1999, p. xiv). Kübler-Ross (1969) showed that the dying do not wish to be isolated, abandoned, or misled. Trapped and dying civilians in the WTC who could not escape still could make decisions about who to call and how to die. Some argue that such decisions were obfuscated by hopeful rather than truthful prognostication from emergency dispatchers."
40. Rosenthal 2013, p. 354-356.
41. "Collections at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum". 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Bibliography

• Pelley, S. (2019). Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter's Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times. Harlequin. ISBN 978-1-4880-5362-7. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
• Zuckoff, M. (2019). Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-227566-0. Retrieved 2023-11-12.

External links

• 911 Call from Melissa Doi on YouTube