Six years ago...

From the Star Tribune, published on September 13, 2001...

Late at night, when fatigue sets in and work no longer occupies his thoughts, Dean Kopperud grudgingly gives in to memories of Tuesday.

The harried 33-floor descent down the stairwell of Two World Trade Center. The explosion and ball of fire moments after reaching the street. Falling bodies. Body parts in the soot-covered street as he made his way to his apartment two blocks away. Cries of young children and mothers in the early afternoon darkness of his apartment.

Daylight and the arduous task of rebuilding Oppenheimer Funds Inc., where he is national sales director, have kept those images at bay for most of the last four days. But at the end of the day, reality hits.

"It's been like watching your own funeral from the background," said Kopperud, 48, who lives in Eden Prairie with his wife, Sue, and their two daughters. "Sue has had about 200 calls from people who want to give their support, some from people we've been removed from and haven't talked to for years.

"The number of people who have called, it's like getting a chance to understand how much people would miss you and grieve for you."

Several times each day, he has called his wife and daughters, Katie, a junior at the College of St. Benedict, and Anne, a freshman at the University of Minnesota. "Just to tell them I love them and that everything will be OK," he said.

Kopperud, who commutes from Eden Prairie to his office in New York City, said he is booked on a flight back to Minneapolis on Thursday. He plans on doing nothing more than spending time with his wife and daughters until his scheduled return to New York the following Tuesday.

Professionally, Kopperud said, he's been floored by reaction in New York City. Rival firms offered office space. He has moved into the Rye, N.Y., offices of Tremont Advisors, which Oppenheimer Funds is in the process of buying.

Kopperud said his company had 591 people working out of its World Trade Center offices. All have been accounted for. Not all have been as successful as he has been in dealing with the horrifying images of Tuesday, he said. He said he's told those struggling not to rush it, to take a trip, visit family or get counseling and to return to work when they are ready.

Kopperud said he has allowed himself time for only one reflection:

"Did I do everything I could for everyone I saw in trouble along the way [Tuesday]?" he said. "To be honest, I didn't see anyone who was hurt. Just the body parts. But I've replayed that tape, asking myself if I missed anything.

"I don't think much about the 'what ifs?' I try to stay away from that."

-- Dennis Brackin