Reverend Shares Lessons From His Mom Who Died in 9/11 After Going Back to Get Her Purse

Elizabeth Holmes, one of thousands who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, originally made it out from the 84th floor of the south tower that day. But after reaching the staircase with her friend and realizing she had forgotten her purse, Holmes ran back inside.

Her son, Reverend Miles Travis Boyd Jr., was just 12 years old when he lost his mother in the terrorist attacks.

On the 25th anniversary of the national tragedy, Boyd, now the senior pastor at Sharon Baptist Church in the Bronx, sat down with TODAY to reflect on his memory of Holmes, what her decision to retrieve her belongings represents and how he is carrying on her legacy.

Boyd, who released a book about the experience ahead of the anniversary, “The Purse She Left Behind: A Son’s Memory, A Mother’s Legacy,” explained why he explored his grief, faith and purpose through his mother’s accessory.

“When I think of this, I think of my mom and what that meant culturally for women, right, you don’t leave your purse just anywhere, your livelihood is in your purse,” Boyd said of the book’s title. “So I decided what way to better tell her legacy by speaking of the truth that she was impacted by at that moment.”

Boyd told TODAY hosts Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin and Al Roker that at the time of the attacks, he was sleeping at his aunt’s house in Manhattan. That morning, Boyd said, his uncle woke him up told him to turn on the news and to call his mother.

“I immediately called, and to no avail, I got no message or any pickup,” Boyd explained. “I called her boss, and I called her supervisor, because I was the kid who had everyone’s number. All the lines were busy at that point. My uncle took me and my cousin onto the roof just to see what would happen.”

While he wasn’t able to reach his mom, Boyd recalled that he still believed that she would come home — especially since she had already survived the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 that killed six and injured thousands more.

Over the next few years, Holmes was never found, but Boyd said he still held out hope that she would turn up and walk down the aisle at church years later. It wasn’t until he went off to college that Boyd came to terms with the loss.

“My first day in college, I am putting up pictures on the wall, and there was this one little picture of my mother and I left, this perfect square of the picture, and that’s when I realized that Mom wasn’t coming home,” Boyd said.

Since the attacks, Boyd says he’s also been remembering his mother beyond the loss, reflecting on her lessons from having a strong faith, to the importance of education and leading a life dedicated to making a difference.

For 14 years, Boyd taught kids in his hometown in Harlem before pursuing ministry full time.

Rev. Al Sharpton, a Baptist minister, civil rights and social justice activist and radio-television personality, took in the then-12-year-old after the tragedy to provide a sense of normalcy and support when Boyd’s family was searching the city for his mother.

Al Sharpton surprised Boyd on TODAY with a video message, commemorating his dedication to his mother’s legacy.

“Travis, I’m so proud of you,” Sharpton said in the video. “I remember 25 years ago how you stayed with us. Every time the phone rang, hoping it was that your mother was calling. She never called, but you never let her down. I’m so proud of you, and I know she is.”

Boyd’s book, “The Purse She Left Behind: A Son’s Memory, A Mother’s Legacy,” is out now.