“I’m still waiting for my son ...”: stories of mothers who lost their children on September 11

In 2016, the United States celebrates one of the most terrible dates in the country's history - 15 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

On this day, 19 terrorists captured 4 passenger aircraft, 2 of which crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Another launched an attack on the Pentagon, the latter crashed in the state of Pennsylvania. About 3000 killed thousands of people.

ForumDaily tells the stories of two mothers who lost their sons to 11 September. They had a lot in common: a successful career, a beloved family, big plans for the future. They were even called alike. After the death of Alexander Lygina and Alexander Braginsky, the mothers of the dead united a common grief, which they managed to survive.

Valentina Lygina: “His last words were: Mom, I love you very much...”

Lygin's family immigrated to the USA in 1994, when persecution of Russian-speaking residents of Tbilisi began in the capital of Georgia. At home, Alexander Lygin managed to graduate from Tbilisi State University and become a graduate physicist. Then he began to be invited to seminars abroad. Scientific works Lygina noticed in the United States. PIE Systems offered the young man a job in California, which Sasha simply could not refuse.

Alexander Lygin (left) and his friend. Photos: sites.google.com/site/mysonalexanderlygin

“He and my husband, also a physicist, at first thought that they would continue their careers in Moscow, but they demanded some kind of registration there. We didn't have registration. So, we decided to go to America,” says Valentina Lygina.

Mother, father and sister Lygina settled in New York, and Alexander himself began working as a programmer in California. There he not only managed to understand the intricacies of IT, but also found time for creativity. Sasha began writing stories, essays and poems. Several of his works were even published in the newspaper “Monitor”. Through 2, the programmer decided to try his hand in New York and moved in with his family.

“At the age of 10 he read Yesenin. He was interested in everything, read classical literature from cover to cover. I’m not saying this because he’s my son, but that’s how he was. A real and great personality,” says Alexander Lygin’s mother.

In New York, Alexander received a special license for a photojournalist and started working in Today's Photography magazine. Together with friends Lygin decided to open his photo business. And at the beginning of 2001, a successful businessman received an offer from the company Cantor Fizgerald, whose office was located in the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Family Lygin. Photos: sites.google.com/site/mysonalexanderlygin

“He gave them permission, and then that evening he came home and found a letter from Microsoft. He could not change his decision - first of all, because of decency. Later he told me: Mom, can you imagine, it’s raining on the 60th floor, but here on the 104th it’s sunny. He really loved working on clouds,” says Valentina.

September 11 Valentina Lygina allowed a friend and asked where her son is.

“We turned on the TV, saw it all and immediately went there. We were stopped a block away from the shopping center and were not allowed further. We tried to walk to the towers, but we couldn't. I started calling at work. I called him... and then what happened..." recalls Valentina.

The tower, in which Alexander was in that morning, collapsed in front of his mother. After 15 years, Valentina talks about those minutes, as if it were yesterday.

“How can you forget this? How could my parents forget the first day of the war? We all remember this day in seconds. This is not forgotten. We continue to live, but in a different way,” she says.

Valentina was knocked off her feet - she looked into every courtyard near the shopping center. She tried to find Sasha and believed in a miracle that did not happen.

“If I tell you that I am expecting a son now, will you believe me? Despite everything. Then we ran to all the hospitals, to all the emergency points and centers. We tried to find him,” Valentina says with tears in her eyes.

She still remembers how thousands of people were attacking the site of the attacks. The strangers helped those who wept and prayed on their knees for the salvation of their loved ones.

“Later, people came to our house. I still have letters from people I don’t know at all. Gifts, cards, poems. And people left reviews on Sasha’s website,” says Alexander’s mother.

After 3 of the month, the Lygin family was informed that at the scene of the tragedy, the special services had found Sasha’s driver’s license. A few days later, the remains of Alexander Lygin were discovered. He was 28 years old.

“Three months later my dad died. He didn’t want to live anymore... On December 3st there was Sasha’s funeral and then dad’s. We also had his dog, which cried real tears when he heard our conversations, and the dog also could not stand it - he died of a stroke,” says the woman.

Alexander Lygin has a sister, Natalia, with whom they always had a friendly relationship. After the death of her brother, the girl decided that the family should live in the same house. First, the Lygins left for Florida, and now they have settled in North Carolina, where Natalya works as a microbiologist at a research center. Twice a year - on Alexander’s birthday (January 13) and September 11 - the relatives of the deceased come to New York.

“About 3 or 2 years ago I stood near the memorial and thought about everything that happened. I just thought. And an unfamiliar young girl rushed to me and began to hug me. She cried and sobbed so much... This is an indicator of the attitude of Americans towards the tragedy,” recalls Valentina.

Alexander was going to marry Anna. Photos: sites.google.com/site/mysonalexanderlygin

October 20 2001, Alekseandr Lygin was supposed to marry. He told his mother about his plans on the eve of his death. Valentine still remembers that autumn evening of September 10. Discussing the efforts of the upcoming wedding, Sasha quarreled a bit with her mother, and going home, told her a few words that Valentina would never forget.

“He hugged me and said: Mom, I love you very much! These are the last words I heard from my son. We have lost a lot…”, Valentina Lygina shares her innermost memories.

Now Valentine is engaged in raising grandchildren. Alexandra Lygina’s sister decided to name her eldest son after her brother. He is very similar to his uncle, says grandmother.

“He's interested in everything. Plays the piano and speaks literary Russian. Yes, I have children, and they help me move on with my life,” says Valentina.

Valentina Lygina dreams that such a terrible tragedy will never happen again, like the September 11 attacks. And she really wants to see her son.

“My dreams are impossible. I would like to look into my son's eyes for just one moment. I dream of seeing him as an adult. When I think about it, I can’t even imagine what he would look like now…” says Valentina.

After the terrorist attacks, Russian-speaking residents of the United States who lost their loved ones created a mutual aid group. At one of the meetings, Valentina Lygina met a New York resident, Nelly Braginskaya, who lost her only son Alexander. Now every year the women meet on September 11th to remember their sons.

Nelly Braginskaya: “I am sure that he jumped out of the window ...”

Nelli Braginskaya arrived in New York from Odessa with her son, who in the 1978 year turned 15 years. In the US, they started a new life. Son Alexander graduated from school and went to college. He always wanted to work in the financial sector. Alexander was interested in the abilities of one of the American professors who studied with Alexander around the clock.

“He had one thought - to become a banker and work on Wall Street. A year later he passed the exam. He received a license and was hired to work at the stock exchange on Wall Street,” says Nelly Braginskaya.

But Alexander did not work there for long. Other offers poured in, and the career of a young specialist went uphill. Most of all, Nelli Braginskaya was worried about her son when he was invited to work as a manager in the financial department of the Reuters news agency. On the day of the interview, Nelly could not find a place for herself and waited for Alexander until late in the evening.

“He came home and said that he and the boss hadn’t talked about working at all. We talked about horses, chess, music. I think that this leader decided to simply test the kid, find out how his brain is and what’s in his head. A week later he was hired,” recalls Alexander’s mother.

Alexander worked a lot, and his relatives are already accustomed to the fact that Sasha may not have time to call and report on an urgent business trip. According to Nellie, he simply did not want to once again give a reason to worry. Therefore, in one day, the agency manager could fly to Washington and return to the New York office of Reuters, which was located on Times Square.

11 September at the World Trade Center at 9 in the morning an international conference of the agency was to be held. Top managers of the company reported that Alexander Braginsky would be involved in organizing this event. In order to show the guests New York, Alexander immediately decided that the meeting would take place on the 106 floor of the famous center. And he was going to have breakfast in the popular restaurant Windows on the World, which was located in the North Tower. At morning 8, Braginsky was already inside the building.

These working plans of her son Nelly Braginskaya did not even guess. 11 September she decided to call her son, but he did not answer. She then called the agency office. There, everyone was suspiciously silent and said that they did not know where Alexander was.

“I went to the company and remember that a man and a woman came out to meet me. These were psychologists. They were called especially for me, because you never know what will happen to me. Looking at them and answering their questions, I understood everything and said no need, thank you. “I’m fine,” says Nelly Braginskaya.

Like thousands of relatives who were looking for their loved ones, Nelly traveled around all the hospitals and medical centers. She hung leaflets with a photo of her son and contact numbers. But to find Alexander and failed. He was 38 years old.

Alexander Braginsky. Photo: nbcconnecticut.com

“I'm sure he jumped out of the window. We once had a conversation. It was about a man who was dying painfully. Shurka said that you can’t mock yourself like that. And if, they say, this happens to me, then I will never lie bedridden and wait for death. If you’re a man, then leave...” says the woman.

That day, in a huge queue from a string of relatives, Nellie Braginskaya was talking to everyone, trying to find her son. I spoke with journalists, one of whom put a woman on live radio broadcast.

Nelly Braginskaya with a photo of her son. Photo: kp.ru

“They were taking calls from listeners and a sobbing woman called. She said: “My God, this is Shurik Braginsky... Lord, save him.” I asked who she was. The woman replied that I don’t know her, but my son helped her a lot...”, recalls Nelly Braginskaya.

Six months later, FBI officers came to Nelli Braginskaya and handed the envelope. In it lay Alexander's wallet.

“There was his driver's license, insurance, work pass and credit cards, and on the envelope it was written: found September 12,” she says.

The personal belongings of her son Nelly decided to transfer to the September 11 museum, which was later opened near the site of the tragedy.

These things Nelly Braginskaya gave to the museum the memory of the victims of September 11. Photo: livingmemorial.voicesofseptember11.org

After the death of her son, the woman began to fight for the rights of all the people who lost their loved ones that day. Together with the relatives of the Russian-speaking dead, she sought permission to open a memorial in Asser Levy Park, located in Brooklyn. On the stove you can see a list of names from 18 people who died on September 11. Of course, the attacks took the lives of a much larger number of people, but not everyone wanted to talk about their grief in public.

“My son said that he received everything from this country, and now it’s time to give back. Someone needs to help. He worked for 10 years at NYANA, an organization that helps immigrants, and he was scheduled to give a lecture there on the evening of September 11th. In those years, a lot of Russian-speaking people came to the United States. They had a lot of questions, and Sasha could answer these questions and help,” says Nelly.

In the New York borough of Queens there is even Alexander Braginsky Street (Alex Braginsky Drive). In the same place, a monument to Alexander is installed on the city cemetery, and a park named after him is opened in Israel in the city of Haifa.

In Queens, a street was named after Alexander Braginsky. Photos from the personal archive

“In the constellation Orion, one of the stars is named after my son. It’s called “Shurik”. During the holidays I’ll take my granddaughter and we’ll go to the planetarium. I want to look at this star with my own eyes with her,” Nelly Braginskaya shared her secret.

See also:

Two Russians who survived the September 11 attacks spoke about their rescue

The terrorist attacks in New York and Moscow: how to protect the memory of those killed in the United States and Russia

The US declassified the last part of the report on the September 11 attacks

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