Courtesy Mercedes Martinez
Emilio Martinez
Joyce Brute called Emilio Martinez her guardian angel, her San Emilio.
Blatter, 74, was one of seven strangers Martinez drove to Denver for free from Omaha Airport in Nebraska on September 11, 2001, when their plane was grounded due to a terrorist attack.
Martinez died in 2016, but his daughter and Las Vegas radio host Mercedes Martinez made a call on social media before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 last week to find her I hope to remember the seven strangers touched by my father’s kindness.
When Emilio Martinez’s plane from Ohio to Denver was grounded at Omaha Airport, he immediately rented the largest van he could find and scribbled on a piece of cardboard that he was going. Denver, and gave seven people nearly 500 miles to ride home for free.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think she filled some stories for me and really gave me some end,” Mercedes Martinez said after talking to Blatt on Tuesday.
Blatter, who lives in Colorado Springs, heard about the task of finding passengers in the van of Emilio Martinez after a loved one saw the story in the news.
“Two hours ago, when we were talking about 9/11 and where we were, I just told my daughter-in-law this story, and sure enough, she saw it soon after,” Blatter said.
That day, Blut was flying from Denver to Chicago, visiting her parents when her plane was grounded on the way. After wandering around Omaha Airport to figure out how to get home-all rental cars are booked and no planes take off-Blut called her late husband and he told her to be patient and they would find a solution .
“Literally, I hung up the phone with him and Mr. Martinez was holding this sign,” Brute said. “I can’t explain to anyone how amazing it is. A guardian angel is there.”
Blatt said that people began to flock to Martinez and his sign, and soon she, another woman and five men began to follow him to his van.
“There has never been a feeling of’should I or shouldn’t I?'” Blatter said. “This is a miraculous moment for all of us.”
After getting in the van, Brute said that Martinez listened to the National Public Radio and the passengers began to learn more details about the terrorist attack. Blatter said, the car was silent, and the woman next to her began to tremble.
“Everyone just sat there, numb,” Blatter said.
Over time, Blut said, eventually people began to share the little details of their lives: whether they were married, whether they had children, and what they depended on for a living.
“Do I remember their names or what they said 20 years from now? No,” Blatter said with a smile. “If I remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, I would be lucky.”
Brute said they stopped to go to the toilet, filled up the gas, and everyone got snacks and drinks for the rest of the drive.
Because Blutt lived in Denver, Colorado Springs for about an hour, she told Martinez to take her to the Meadows Mall in Lone Tree Park, where her late husband would wait to pick her up.
Over the years, Blatter told the story of a stranger treating his family well, and her granddaughter even shared Martinez’s good deeds in class as an example of the impact of 9/11 on everyone.
“I’ve been thinking about this person,” Blatter said. “I will never forget him.”
Blutt said that she and her current partner go to Las Vegas several times a year.
“Joyce told me that when she found the plane was landing, they didn’t know why, she was initially frustrated because she didn’t get the cup of coffee she ordered on the plane,” Mercedes Martinez said . “I told her that next time she was in Vegas, I would buy her that cup of coffee or a glass of wine if she wanted to. She said she would take me to drink.
“I think my dad will smile and say that we have reconnected all these years later.”
