By Kristin Goodwillie, Northwest Region

Sometimes, even 25 years later, Glenn Lockwood says he can close his eyes and still smell the smoke.

Every day for eight weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Lockwood walked the edge of Ground Zero between Red Cross assistance centers. He passed the rubble where emergency workers searched for survivors and families searched for answers.

Lockwood had been with the American Red Cross for 28 years when the attacks occurred. At the time, he was in Hawaii serving as a Community Disaster Program Manager. Within days, he boarded a direct flight from Honolulu to New York City, where he would spend the next two months supporting the response at Ground Zero.

"I'd walk along the edges of the perimeter. You can't help but feel the heat of it," Lockwood recalled. "You knew the heat was coming off that building. You shared the hopeless path they were experiencing."

The Red Cross operated multiple assistance centers to support families who traveled from across the country searching for loved ones, as well as the first responders tirelessly working at the site.

"We had a role to play between family members who came wanting answers," said Lockwood.

New York City opened a family assistance center on a pier along the Hudson River, where the Red Cross helped provide support and guide families through an unimaginable situation.

"No one wanted to think they'd have to be in a situation like that, and they were suddenly thrust into it for the rest of their lives," Lockwood said.

One memory that has stayed with him is watching Red Cross mental health and spiritual care volunteers escort family members to an observation deck overlooking the recovery effort.

Lockwood said emergency workers would pause when they saw family members arrive, removing their helmets as a sign of respect.

"I saw humanity change," he said. "They didn't like it. They were angry about it. But they put that aside and stepped forward to help."

The experience changed Lockwood as well. He said 9/11 broadened the way the Red Cross approaches disaster response. Rather than simply responding to disasters, the organization plans for and prepares for events long before they occur.

In his 53 years with the Red Cross, Lockwood says 9/11 remains the largest disaster response of his career. As he reflects on the 25th anniversary, he plans to reconnect with fellow Red Cross volunteers and staff who stood beside him during those difficult weeks.

"They were a family that worked together," he said. "I can't remember a single squabble."