Kevin Woods does not easily frighten or get very emotional, especially during the times in his life when all hell breaks loose.

And all hell did break loose on 9/11, calling him into action just minutes after the planes hit the twin towers.“Early that morning I was in our office in Queens when a phone call came in informing us of the first airplane strike,” said Woods, who retired from his supervisor’s position with the New York City Transit Authority three years ago.It took well over the usual 40 minutes for Woods to get to his Manhattan office from Queens, and with no service to Times Square, he had to walk the last 3 miles.“Everything was so surreal,” he recalled. “Fighter jets were flying overhead and police sirens were blasting through midtown. By the time I arrived, both towers were gone. Nothing was left except for smoke and dust.”Woods, who had begun working for the Transit Authority as a token clerk in 1985, concentrated on getting his workers out of the subways.“I put my faith in God and kept going.”The father of three sons described the downtown area as a “war zone,” with cars destroyed by falling debris and everything covered in smoky dust.“When I got to the subway station, there were already transit workers there moving people out. I could see the fear in everyone’s eyes. Many were crying. They were so glad to see us. We moved them to safety as fast as we could just in case more explosions were coming.”Cellphone service was mostly out so Woods had difficulty contacting his wife, Saundra, who waited for his call from their home in Albrightsville.After a 36-hour work shift, in which he remained calm and kept everyone moving to places of safety that were set up in the city, he stayed overnight to continue to assist his workers.The following morning Woods, who had made the commute from Albrightsville to New York City and back every day for more than 20 years, could finally take a train into New Jersey where his wife had driven to pick him up.“We didn’t talk much in the car,” he said. “I think then is when it all hit me and I felt overwhelmed. When I got home, I didn’t watch anything about it on TV. I had seen enough. I curled up on my bed and went to sleep.”Upon his return to work the next day, he realized that nothing would ever be what he calls “normal” again.Many transit employees stayed away from their jobs for quite awhile. Some never returned, leaving with mental stress disorders or from respiratory conditions caused by inhalation of the thick smoke and dust.Woods readily admits that he does not like to talk about what happened. As anniversaries of that tragic day come and go, he still chooses to pay no attention to memorials or to TV programs that revive the nation’s collective memory.“I guess my way is to keep it suppressed inside,” he explained. “I try not to think about it. People tell me I have to address it, but like I did when I was on the job that day, I’m always thinking about the next thing that needs to be done. I keep moving along.”From once directing NYC subway transit, he now works as a flight instructor for small aircraft pilots at Mount Pocono Airport.Whether it’s underground in subways, above the clouds in airplanes, or directing people to safety, Kevin Woods stays true to his nature.He puts his faith in God and keeps moving along.