Examiner Spotlight: Kris and Joe Kiefer

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Kris Kiefer was meeting with several information technology examiners in the OCC’s midtown Manhattan district office. The 39th floor of the W. R. Grace building gave a clear view of the World Trade Center. Before 9/11, the twin towers recalled a happy memory as she and her husband, Joe Kiefer, were engaged to be married at the Windows on the World restaurant atop the north tower.

“That day … was gorgeous,” the retired district Deputy Comptroller recalled. “It was a perfect day.” Then the group watched a plane fly into the north tower. As she and the others in the office watched, both towers collapsed.

Joe Kiefer normally worked two blocks away from the towers as an OCC examiner for retail credit and mortgages. On September 11, however, he was on assignment in Delaware.

Once realization hit and the city shut down, Kris Kiefer joined other OCC employees in midtown and walked to Penn Station to get home. “On the street, you could see people covered in ash,” she said. “From the train, you could see the smoke rising from the towers; the whole train was silent.”

The two worked from the Edison, N.J., field office, not returning to Manhattan for a few weeks. When they did, Joe Kiefer worked in midtown to avoid the overwhelming smells and debris that permeated downtown.

Because of 9/11, they decided not to commute on the same trains together—just in case of another attack.