‘No one should forget’ life of Melissa Harrington-Hughes focus as West Springfield marks 9/11
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Someone recognized Robert Harrington the other day and asked him if he is the father of Melissa Harrington-Hughes .
Yes, he replied.
And he went on to recount how his daughter called him from the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He'll recount how he encouraged her to find a stairwell. Neither of them knew that stairwells were already destroyed.
"I figured if anybody could get out of there, she could get out of there," he said Wednesday. "I tell that story to everybody who wants to listen to it if I tell it. No one should forget it happened."
Robert Harrington shows a photo of his daughter, Melissa Harrington-Hughes, on her wedding day in 2000. Harrington-Hughes was on the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Sept. 4, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Remember so it doesn't happen again, Harrington said.
Friends, neighbors and townspeople will gather at 8:30 a.m. Thursday on the Town Common near the eternal flame memorial to Harrington-Hughes. The ceremony will occur at about the same time of day as the first plane hit the tower.
Harrington said he always joked with his daughter about being the first woman president. A Suffield Academy and Dickinson College graduate, she worked in the International Relations Division of the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., as a trade specialist with China. She went on to work at the Stanford Research Institute in California, where she also specialized in international relations. She also was the director of business development for Slam Dunk Networks in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Harrington-Hughes, then 31, was also able to call her husband that day. Asleep on the West Coast, he didn't pick up. Her voicemail has been included in documentaries.
On September 11, 2001, West Springfield native Melissa Harrington-Hughes called her father, Robert "Bob" Harrington, from the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center. On West Springfield's Town Common a 9/11 memorial stands with her name on the base. Sept. 10, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
She was one of 2,996 people killed in the coordinated terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the air over Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
Other area observances Thursday include:
— 11 a.m. at the Public Safety Complex, 32 Payson Ave. in Easthampton.
— 6 p.m. at the Memorial Monument, Riverfront Park in Springfield.
— 10 a.m. at the Westfield Fire Department will hold its annual ceremony of reflection and remembrance in honor of fallen first responders at Fire Headquarters on Broad Street.
— 11 a.m. Families of Westfield natives who fell victim to the attacks with a wreath laying at the 9/11 Monument, located at the head of North Elm Street, across from the Westwood Building at 94 North Elm St.
— 6 p.m. Sons of Erin will observe 24th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11 with a ceremony and reception to remember the Westfield victims, Tara Shea Creamer, Dan Trant and Brian Murphy. The Sons of Erin is located at 22 Williams St.
Stories by Jim Kinney
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