Remembering the day that changed the world

After a year of heartache and anguish, Terry and Linda McMahon, of Chester-le-Street, will see for the first time the site where their son, Gavin, died. In their only media interview ahead of today's anniversary, they talked to Emily Flanagan about the message Gavin left on their answering machine, calling from the World Trade Centre shortly before the terrorists struck, and how gestures of support from across the Atlantic have helped them cope with the pain.

AS Gavin McMahon dropped his father off at the Port Authority bus station in mid-Manhattan he asked his dad what the date was.

"Tuesday, September 11. Why?" replied Terry.

"It doesn't matter." His son said.

But hours later, September 11 became a date that would be remembered as a byword for untold grief, fear and a lasting and deep-rooted sense that the world had become a much less stable place.

It had been a pleasant trip for Terry, who in September, 12 months ago, travelled from County Durham to his son's home in New Jersey, where he helped him decorate.

As the two bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways - Terry on the bus to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to see his sister and Gavin to a breakfast business meeting - neither realised it was to be their final parting.

Gavin, 35, who worked in high-risk insurance on the 99th floor of the World Trade Centre's South Tower, died hours later when the second plane crashed into it.

His father was still on the bus when he heard the news.

"At about 11am, the bus taking me up to Cape Cod stopped at Providence, Rhode Island, for a half-hour stop. As we got off, the bus driver mentioned the terrible thing that had happened.

"At first I thought I hadn't heard him right and just could not believe it. I asked him, 'What did you say about the twin towers?' And his words were, 'They're gone buddy, they're gone'."

In disbelief, Terry got back on the bus to complete the last hour of the journey, but as the bus pulled in he caught sight of his sister's face, and Terry knew his worst fears were confirmed.

Gavin's long-term girlfriend, New York attorney Bridget Fitzpatrick helped the thousands of others looking for their loved ones in the chaos surrounding the centre of New York. At home in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, Gavin's mother Linda returned from a brief trip to the shops to find 12 messages on her telephone.

Linda remembers: "He had phoned me up and said on the message, 'You're out again. I've put dad on the bus'. Then everybody started ringing, but I told them, 'He's just left a message on the phone.' But it must have been left half-an-hour earlier."

In the dreadful moments while she sat at home trying to glean information from the chaos, Linda feared she had lost both her son and her husband.

The answer phone message has been preserved and put away, ready for when Linda feels she has enough courage to listen to it again.

She has done the same with countless sympathy cards and letters she has received from around the world from Gavin's colleagues, friends, former school mates and their mothers.

Both Linda and Terry McMahon can remember in vivid detail every word spoken that day. But now they are facing the challenge of visiting the place where their son died.

The couple have been steeling themselves for the trip for some time and it is the first time the family have visited New York since the attacks. Both are unsure what to expect.

The last time Terry saw the twin towers, it was at 6.15am on the morning of September 11, as Gavin drove him to the bus station. He remembers the landmarks as looking peaceful.

When he and his wife return to the spot, in place of the monumental towers they will find memorials, flowers and thousands upon thousands of people from across the world paying their respects. Authorities and organisations in America will come to a standstill or arrange some form of homage.

American Congress is set to hold a special joint session of Congress in New York, the first in the city for 200 years and only the second session to be held outside Washington in modern times.

A delegation of 340 police officers from nearly every UK force, ranging in rank from constables to chief superintendents will attend the memorial. Their New York counterparts on patrol and fire-fighters will also go to the scene.

While Bridget and Mr and Mrs McMahon pay tribute in New York, Gavin's cousin, Clive, and his wife, Pauline, will represent the family in a memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, London. On the same day, mass will be said for Gavin at the family's parish church, St Cuthbert's RC, in Chester-le-Street.

While in America, the McMahons hope to get to see a memorial patchwork quilt, which contains a patch for every victim of the attack and covers an area bigger than a football pitch. Gavin will be represented by the red and white stripes of Sunderland FC, his favourite football team, and discs with the names of his favourite music.

His parents say that other thoughtful gestures from the other side of the Atlantic have helped them through the pain of the past year.

Several months ago, the couple received a letter from Nasa containing a small American flag. It was one of 6,000 taken on the twelfth shuttle mission to the international space station in honour of the September 11 victims. When Terry read the letter he realised that months earlier he had witnessed his son being commemorated by astronauts in a space shuttle which could be seen from his Chester-le-Street home as a bright star in the night sky.

Such thoughtfulness has helped the family through a year of painful anniversaries and reminders - the passing of Mother's Day, dealing with the repeated images of burning towers and Gavin's funeral.

The family had been on the verge of holding his funeral, when his body was found after being identified by DNA profiling and returned to England.

There will be many more reminders and anniversaries to come, but hopefully visiting Ground Zero should mark some kind of turning point for the McMahons.