September 11th will forever be remembered as the day that changed the course of contemporary world history, and today marks 23 years since the tragic events unfolded in New York.

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Amongst those who lost their life 23 years ago was Brian Joseph Cachia, an American citizen of Maltese descent. His grandfather, Joseph, originally from Zabbar, had emigrated to America during WWII and started a new life on the continent

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On the day of the attack, Brian had been called in to work earlier than usual. A technical problem caused the computer whizz to rush in to fix it. His office, situated on the 103rd floor of the North Tower, was within the trajectory of American Airlines Flight 11 when it crashed into the tower at 8:46 am.

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In comments given to Times of Malta, family members narrate how at the time, 26-year-old Brian was one of the company's newest employees. He had been working for the company for approximately a month and had proposed to his partner the week prior to the tragic events. “If only he hadn’t gone in early… we never heard from him after the plane hit”, Joseph reflects.

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In a haunting YouTube video published on September 20th 2008, user kpharloff (a.k.a Kevin Harlow) posts a tribute to his family friend and recounts intimate memories of their childhood together. Kevin recalls how in times past, Brian had owned a little keyboard and used to write melodies.

In an ode to his friend, Kevin recreates one of his tunes and adds his own twist to it. “Wherever you are now, my personal belief is that the mind cannot cease, it goes beyond the body but that’s my belief. Brian wherever you are, this is to you”.

In total, 2,977 people perished that day - including over 400 firefighters and law enforcement officers – with more than 6,000 civilians and servicemen sustaining serious injury.

Where were you when you first heard about the Twin Tower attacks in 2001?

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