Where were you? What were you doing?

[Hamradioguy]

Originally Posted by Bradk3

Thanks everyone for posting these. It brings back tears, but it's good to remember.

Yes, it IS good to remember. I happened to turn on network TV news just minutes after the first plane hit. I have a brother who is a pilot for United and I've flown missions with the CAP, so I immediately knew it was no accident. Terrorism did briefly cross my mind but I pretty much convinced myself that it was a suicidal pilot (There was a case of this happening with Egyptair 990 a few years previously.) When the second plane hit the South Tower it was immediately clear that the suicidal pilot scenario was wrong. (NYC is controlled airspace and it was a clear day.)

The hardest part for me was that as a long time volunteer firefighter I knew immediately that the chances of anyone surviving above the fire floors was close to zero and that there would be no effective way to fight the fires. That for me was particularly tough.

I actually loaded up my turnout gear in my car and put the red light on the roof in preparation to head to NYC. Then more rational thinking kicked in- FDNY brothers are a close knit and unionized group and wouldn't have been all that anxious to have an outsider, non-union, non-career volunteer in the thick of things at ground Zero. Plus I was twice the age of these guys- a little too old for hours and days of stressful work.

But the hardest part was watching all day on TV and knowing my cousin, who was a reporter for WCBS radio, was likely right at the the foot of the towers doing interviews. It was a huge relief to hear her voice asking questions at the Mayor's press conference later that afternoon. (A paramedic shoved her under his ambulance when the first tower came down. They found her smashed tape recorder next to the ambulance several days afterward.)

[realitybites]

I was living in Harrisburg, PA at the time and I remember my roommate barging into my room. "Dude, we're being attacked. Wake up."

Knowing my roomie and his penchant for ****** with me, I told him to screw off. It was just the construction crew jackhammering outside, doing road work.

He promised that he wasn't, so I got up, went into the living room and saw both the towers on fire. His parents came over a few minutes later and we just sat there, glued to the TV. News of the Pentagon came, and the numbness started to set in. I remember watching the towers burn and just not being able to comprehend that the NYFD would be able to put them out. 80 stories up. 10 floors on fire.

In the back of my mind, I didn't see how the towers could remain standing, but just figured that there's no way they'd fall. Stuff like that just doesn't happen.

I called my dad. Asked if he was watching the news. He said no. I said you need to turn on your TV. He did, gave me an "Oh my god. Ok, I'll call you later. Love ya'."

Then the south tower fell. We all just sat there, expecting the camera to cut away to a new angle or something and it'd still be there. After that, it only seemed a matter of time till the north tower followed. It did.

I had a job interview that day, and for some reason I went to it. It was just at a Borders, and there were maybe 5 people in the store, walking around in a daze. The interview was one of those "over the phone", press 1 if you have ever stolen something, jobs. I didn't really care.

I drove home and sat on the porch every night that week with a candle lit.

[Graham2001]

I was at home with my sister, watching ( & recording) a cop show called 'Stingers' which means it would have been around about 10pm that the news appeared on the screen about the attack, I cannot remember exactly what I thought at first, but I do remember going to all the channels and seeing exactly the same thing. I watched it to until about midnight. Then I went online and sent emails to various people.

The one I really remember is the one I sent to my parents where quoting a line from the start of WW1 I said that the lights were going out...

Of the messages I read on the various online forums the one that stuck out were several by a witness from an office near what became Ground Zero, both his comment that things looked like 'Twilight 2000' (a WW3 rpg) and his later 'Dunkirk on the Hudson' description of his journey home that I read the next day.

I was badly depressed and scared the next day, I kept looking at the Perth skyline waiting for another aircraft to fly into 'Centre Park' or 'Bondy's Tower' (Tallest buildings in Perth.)

The West Australian ran a free aftenoon editon on the 12th. But I didn't recover my equilibrium for another two to three days.

[Oliver]

Is there anybody in here who feels that "it´s still there" - unquestioned?

[Pardalis]

Originally Posted by Oliver

Is there anybody in here who feels that "it´s still there" - unquestioned?

What do you mean by "it"?

[gumboot]

Originally Posted by Pardalis

It was black because it was in the shadow of the tower, but as I saw it approach, for these few seconds, I am convinced I saw Evil (maybe the blackness helped creating that impression). I am agnotisc, but that was as close to Evil as you can get.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm agnostic myself, but there is just something utterly chilling and incredibly visceral about UA175 coming towards the tower. In my mind I always equate it to a shark, moving in towards a kill.

To me, also, it is evil personified.

As for my story...

I was asleep - it was just before 1am on Sept 12 local time when it all began. I was woken up with the most surreal words I will ever hear: "The twin towers have gone". It took about 10 minutes just to get the whole story out of my sister and mother.

Like others, my day ended up being stuck to a TV - for me, at Film School.

I didn't know anyone living in America, so it was all a bit surreal to me.

I think, personally, the true scope and scale of 9/11 didn't truely hit me until I began looking into it, and found my way here a few months ago. I really owe a debt of gratitude for the people here for finally helping me understand the statement "the twin towers have gone" (It took me a moment to even work out what "the twin towers" WAS)

-Andrew

[Carnivore]

I was at work at a hotel in New Zealand, the night porter came into the room where I was working and told me to turn on the TV - that all hell was breaking loose in New York.I spent the whole night there watching as it happened. I remember thinking that if the terrorists could do it once they could do it again - that it could be the end of commercial air travel. The local paper, the Christchurch Press, printed a special edition in the small hours. The headline took half the front page: "America Under Attack". Our hotel was full of American tourists due to fly home who were now stuck for days. I remember one woman crying and saying "But that's home, that's where we live!" like it couldnt be happening there.

[TxLady]

We were living with my mother in law after returning home from a year in Mississippi. I was drinking coffee and doing a crossword puzzle while my sons got dressed for the day. My mother in law called from work to tell me that a plane had hit the wtc and to turn on the news. I stood in the doorway between the kitchen and living room watching the news with my sons. We saw the second plane hit and watched the buildings collapse. It seems like we stood there in one spot all day holding each other and crying. I remember saying "All of those people." over and over again.
My husband was in an airport waiting to board a plane to California. He called me at some point to tell me that his plane hadn't taken off, he was ok and on his way home.

[Gravy]

Thanks for sharing your stories, everyone.

I was in the Italian countryside south of Florence, leading a group of 24 college students on a 3 1/2-month walking trip through Europe.

Most of the group, last day of the trip, November, 2001. If nothing else, I was successful in educating them about the dangers of Bud Light and the delights of Leffe Blonde. I'm the hairy dude at top left. In case you're wondering, we were not hippies, and only one of the men normally wears a beard.

We were far from news sources and didn't know what had happened until early evening, when we were camped at the ruins of an old palazzo outside a small village. Some of the students went to a bar in town to watch the news on television. When they came back, they were shaking their heads in disbelief. "It was so unreal, just like a Hollywood movie." The big relief was that they said the towers didn't fall immediately after being hit, but they couldn't say exactly how long they had stood. I knew that there could have been as many as 50,000 people in the towers, and guessed that fatalities might have been 10,000 or more, but I didn't tell the students that. We had very little information about the Pentagon. I was unable to get in touch with anyone in New York (it was a very tense seven days before I could get through by phone). I am always amazed at what synapses in my brain decide to fire whenever I hear shocking news. My first thoughts on hearing about the attacks were, "50,000 people!" and then – I swear this is true – "My television reception is gonna suck." I have no idea where that came from. I don't even watch much TV.

Photo taken with a wide-angle lens. The view from my apartment was more like this:

Sometimes I would lie in bed and watch lightning hit the towers. Yes, trees do grow in Brooklyn.

I held a meeting that night to see how everyone was doing, and if anyone had immediate family who might have been in danger (no). I reminded them that first reports from catastrophes are often wildly inaccurate, and to remember that whoever committed the attacks, they were not monsters, but people who in most respects were just like us – a tough lesson in the extremes of human capabilities. The atmosphere around camp was quiet and serious, with not as many tears as I had expected. That may be because 9/11 was not the most difficult issue the group had to deal with that week. We had already had to do much thinking about life and death. It was an eventful week, to say the least, with many journal pages inked.

New York can be a stressful place to live, and it helps to get away for a while. I was lucky enough to travel for a third of the year for several consecutive years, with three of those trips being these long walks. Each year before I left home I would spend an hour or more at the observation deck in WTC 2, and, with crossed forearms resting on the handrail at the window and my chin resting on my forearms, watch the hive at work. The incredible view was compensation for the WTC's host of architectural sins.

This was sitting on top of some papers on my desk when I returned from Europe.

Adding to an already insane week, the very best one of my students had an unrelated family emergency and I had to jump through some hoops to get her on one of the first flights to the U.S. She was as heartbroken to have to leave her new family as she was to face the situation at home. We had a memorable drive through the night, 11 hours on no sleep, fueled by biscotti and Coca-Cola Light, chasing away her tears by singing at the top of our lungs to terrible American pop songs on the radio and shouting "Porca miseria!" at drivers who didn't immediately pull into the slow lane when I flashed the brights. I wore my FDNY t-shirt, a gift from a firefighter at Engine 24. The scene at the Milan airport was surreal. It was nearly empty, except for dozens of military police and a long line at the Saudi Arabian Airlines desk. She was very nervous about getting on the plane, but I told her that there might never in history be a safer time to fly. She planned to return to the trip, but her parents wouldn't allow it, out of fear of terrorism.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, but I couldn't stop thinking about what people were going through at home. It was as if all my friends had been off to war, and I knew I would never understand what they had been through. When I got back to New York, I took a taxi home. The driver was Pakistani. It was fascinating to hear his account of how things had changed. As we pulled up to the curb in front of my building, the music on the radio stopped in mid-song and an announcer broke in: "American Airlines flight 587 has crashed in the Queens neighborhood of Belle Harbor shortly after takeoff from JFK airport.* It was bound for the Dominican Republic, with more than 250 passengers on board. It appears that there are no survivors, and there may be fatalities on the ground. Witnesses described seeing the plane coming apart in flight. It is unknown if the crash was due to mechanical failure or an act of terrorism."

We listened to the reports for five minutes. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" said the cabbie. "This is too much! I bet you wish you were back in Europe!"

"No, it's good to be home."

*This was not the airliner that crashed two blocks from where I live, which I referred to in another post. Hint: I didn't say I lived here at the time of the crash.

[Outhere]

September 11 used to be Emergency Medical Services day, due to the 9-1-1 emergency number connection. I was working for the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services on 9/11/01 and couldn't have imagined how emergency services would come to the fore that day.

When I arrived for work just before 8 a.m., (one hour behind Eastern Time) I was unaware that the first plane had already hit the WTC. A co-worker met me in the hall and told me. He was in the Air Force Reserve and a veteran of the Gulf War. He was not so sure it was an accident.

Forgetting about work, the staff began turning on radios, trying to access CNN on computers. The system soon overloaded and no computer access was possible. When we heard by radio about the second plane, another co-worker wondered what it could mean. I said, "I don't know, but I think we're at war with somebody."

After a couple of hours, the director of the Health Department, of which our bureau was a part, said anyone in any bureau who wished to go home could leave, provided a skeleton crew remained on duty. None of us wanted to leave.

Calls began coming in from firefighters, paramedics and EMTS, all around the state, wanting to know how they could volunteer to help. Within about 24 hours, a team was on its way to New York, joining other teams from all over the country. EMS Day, indeed. I don't know if anyone ever collected accounts of their experiences. I only recall one man who, home again, said he'd seen things no one should ever have to see.

That night, I saw the pictures for the first time. Trying to sleep, I kept seeing the plane flying into the tower, every time I closed my eyes.

There's still a sense of unreality about the whole day. I've compared how I felt on 9/11 with how I felt the day Kennedy was assassinated. On November 22, 1963, I was much younger and thought the world was coming to an end. It didn't, and we got on with life. Now I feel that on 9/11 the world we knew has ended, but what will take its place?

[Gravy]

Originally Posted by Outhere

That night, I saw the pictures for the first time. Trying to sleep, I kept seeing the plane flying into the tower, every time I closed my eyes.

Lord.

I talked with several people yesterday who said they still have nightmares about that day, as did Hal Bidlack in his "Open letter to CTs" that was posted here recently. With all the debunking I've been doing in the past few months, looking at thousands of images and hours of video, I forget how powerful those images were the first time I saw them. In fact, I deliberately didn't see any video of the attacks when I was in Europe, because I wanted to be able to focus on other things and not have those images seared into my retinas. It wasn't until December of 2001 that I finally sat in front of my computer, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, I'm going to do this." How things have changed.

[Dog Town]

Quote:

December of 2001 that I finally sat in front of my computer, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, I'm going to do this.

Everyone here thanks you for doing so!

[Mince]

Originally Posted by TK0001

Where were you? What were you doing?

What, exactly, are you trying to accuse me of here?

[Abbyas]

I posted this over on the SLC board a while back:

My day was punctuated with confusion and what seemed like surrealism.

I had been temping a little less than half a mile away from the WTC. I remember vividly thinking, "I wish it was Wednesday," because the online version of The Onion came out on Wednesday and when you're temping, it's an oasis in a desert of boredom. I was at my desk when we heard that the first plane had hit. My callous self had assumed it was a tiny Cessna, "Bah ha, idiot." When the second one hit, that changed.

I remember looking outside at what looked like a ticker tape parade. As if someone had stood on the top of every building in the area and dumbed a thousand file cabinets into the wind. After we evacuated, I thought, "is it snowing? No, that's ash."

I hung around the building wondering if I was going to get in trouble if I went home before I realized it was time to leave. All the trains were down, so I had to hoof it to Brooklyn.

As I was walking up the highway on the east side, I saw a huge cloud of dust coming towards us and people running. "Why are you running??" "It's falling!" The crowd of people got pushed to the very edge of the island and for a few minutes, I thought I was going to have to swim across the East River.

We figured that we had to get up to the other level of the highway up over some concrete barriers. I remember one gentleman who was great. He was extremely generous in helping people get up over this stuff and the whole time had this bored, tired, very New York face. Perfect.

As I was walking up the highway, I turned to look at the North tower as it stood. You could see details in the flames. I think about this every time a CTer talks about the fires dying out.

A couple of years later, the HBO documentary of the event came out and there was about 5 or 6 seconds of me walking across the brooklyn bridge covered in ash with a shirt over my face to breathe.

I remember watching it and noticing that you could hang a swing on my hips they swayed so much and thought, "Jiminey, who am I trying to pick up on the worst day in our nation's history?"

[Blue Mountain]

I had been laid off from a good job about five months before and was revving up to get a job search going again after taking the summer off. Since I'm a night owl, I had the radio set to wake me just before 8:30 Central time. The first thing I remember hearing was a report that all flights in North America had been ordered grounded. I thought, "Something big must be happening."

The next thing I remember was hearing the announcer report the North tower had also collapsed (8:28 my time) "North Tower" coupled with "also collapsed" was enough to get me out of bed and turn on the TV. I could not believe what I thought I had heard: that two towers, one of them known as the North, had come down. It couldn't possibly be that the twin towers of the World Trade Centre had been destroyed while I was enjoying a morning sleep-in.

It was.

I made a really big pot of tea and had two TVs going the rest of the morning. All the news sites on the Internet (CBC, CNN, BBC) were not responding. Slashdot was still up, but running in "static mode", serving up cached pages instead of generating them on the fly. It was my main source of Internet information that day.

I remember tryting to compute how many people might have been killed at the WTC; at one point I figured maybe 14,000. In a way it was a relief to hear it was less than 3,000.

I had some interesting conversations on IRC that evening, given that I live near the top of a tall apartment building.

It took me a month to find a job that turned out to be extremely crappy, and two years to find a good one.

[Blue Mountain]

Originally Posted by Stellafane

Weirdest part of the day: Got back to my office, my ex-wife had just sent me an email that contained an audio file of some Canadian singer singing this viciously nasty anti-American song. The chorus went "Burn, burn, burn," in apparent reference to the burning of the White House during the War of 1812. Of all days to get something like that.

The song's called "The War of 1812" by the Canadian comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. The song is, to be polite, cheeky. It's an attempt to poke fun at Canadian attitudes towards the States by being deliberately 'over the top'. Personally, I find it too snide for my liking, and I'm Canadian.

Better fare from them include the classic "Internet Help Desk" skit and the song "Toronto Sucks". (They end up concluding that every place in Canada sucks, except for Alberta--but Calgary does. The Trolls are based in Edmonton.)

[Dog Town]

Quote:

I remember watching it and noticing that you could hang a swing on my hips they swayed so much and thought, "Jiminey, who am I trying to pick up on the worst day in our nation's history?"

Now that's a Kodak moment! I needed that joke bout now. Abby, you have great timing!

[asmodean]

Was at work trying to track down a nasty bug in our server software. Idled at our MUD, when one of the wizzards said something about a plane hitting WTC. Was to busy to really reflect on it all, stoved it away as a tragic accident.

A short while later a co-worker came into my office and told me about a plane hittign WTC. Said I'd already knew about that, to which he replied "Yeah, but this is a second plane". Realised it was far worse than a accident. Work stopped that day as people went to the tv-room and watched the news coverage. All of us were quit stunned.

[Oliver]

Bumping for this years anniversary - and for the people who
signed up at JREF after the memorial in September 2006.

[NYCEMT86]

Lets go back 6 years ago, Sept 10th, 2001.

I was 16 years old, a sophomore in High School. I remember it was the start of the second week of school. My mind was focused on what college I wanted to attend after I graduated and how I wish it was summer still. I wanted to be a graphics designer and create video games. Me and my friends hung out after school, going down to St. Marks looking for some cheap CDs and Movies. I talked to my cousins before they started their tours that night because we were going to go play some paintball out on Long Island the following weekend. I went to bed, never once thinking the next day would be the worst day this nation has ever seen.



Today is September 10th, 2007 (The 11th for our friends down under)

I was down at the South Street Seaport getting some dinner with a couple of my high school friends, I looked over to where the Towers once stood and I can remember that day so vividly and I can remember the Towers still standing just 6 years ago, the day before the attack and how my life has changed.

After that day I gave up my dreams to be a graphics designer. I knew that I wanted to be someone who could try and make a difference. Everyday I go into work wearing my uniform thinking about the sacrifices the people who wore this uniform made that day, everyday. Most of my friends I graduated with are either cops or firefighters now.

I look at that day as a wake up call. Never once I realized the true caring nature of this city until that day. I never once really appreciated the dedication of the first responders before 9/11.

It's so strange how one day can change the rest of your life.

[Thunder]

I was in Hong Kong. My friend told me to come outside cause a plane had hit the WTC. I came outside thinking "what an idiot". We watched on BBC world as the second plane came in. I immediately went to the phone and called my folks who live in downtown Manhattan. I told them "stay inside, do not go out". I think my dad went outside to watch. By the time the first tower came down, I was unable to call NY anymore.

I grew up in the shadow of the WTC. Walking down East Broadway to the F train I would always see the twin towers with the municipal building between them. It was always an awesome sight.

When I finally returned to the USA, 5 days later, the air in Manhattan was yellow. My great aunt told us it reminded her of the smell at Treblinka. I can still remember that smell. Smelled like concrete, wood, dirt, and this faint hint of something else.

That experience has stayed with me for the last 6 years..and it will never ever go away. And to this day, I really can't see how any human being, how an American, can use this tragedy as a springboard for insane conspiracy theories.

All I have to say is....shame. Shame on you and what you are doing.

[Thunder]

On September 10th, my city was whole. On September 11th, my city was a site I never imagined possible. That cloud...I will never forget the images of that cloud.

[Dr Harry Rein]

I am on the west coast, so I was sleeping when the planes hit.

My wife, who gets up earlier than I do, rushed into the bedroom saying "They're attacking us", and switched on the TV. It was showing the north tower burning. Took me a couple of seconds before I noticed, "aren't there supposed to be two of them?"

[NYCEMT86]

I was in Washington Square park with some friends skipping school. It was such as nice day and we wanted to enjoy it. We heard and saw the first plane hit. I remember thinking that someone really ********** up. I remember the all of the fire trucks and police cars flying down Broadway. When the second plane hit, my heart dropped. I just couldn't believe what was going on. I remember hearing the news reports on the radios and everyone screaming and shouting.

You said it best Parky76

Quote:

On September 10th, my city was whole. On September 11th, my city was a site I never imagined possible. That cloud...I will never forget the images of that cloud.

[realitybites]

I was sleeping in that morning as I had a job interview later in the day. My roommate barged into my room and said, "Dude. Get up. We're under attack."

Knowing his penchant to be a funny prankster, I assumed he was referring to the road-work and jack-hammer taking place outside our place, and told him, in no uncertain terms to go eff himself.

"No. Seriously."

I got up, put on my glasses, and saw a replay of Flight 175 slam into the South Tower. When the towers collapsed my mind went numb. His parents came over about an hour later and we all just sat there speechless, enraged, scared.

For some reason, I still went to the job interview. It was just at a Borders, and up until that day I was stressing about being unemployed and needing a steady income. Driving to it however, I couldn't think of a more meaningless and pointless task for me to be doing. The store was all but empty. The manager was anything but focused. And I mindlessly answered questions. It just wasn't important to me.

I spent the rest of that week reading on the porch with a candle lit, feeling as helpless as I ever had in my entire life.

[Pardalis]

I understand how you felt Reality Bites, what else could you do?

I was working on some drawings for some silly commercial that day, everything felt so useless. But what else could I do? I just wanted that day to be finished as soon as possible.

[Policenaut]

I was in New Jersey on September 11th. I sleep with the tv on sometimes and when I woke up I was seeing footage of the first plane hitting the towers. A few minutes later the second plane hit. It was shocking and unbelievable. I remember my first thoughts (which were horrible and I still don't know why but it was an instinct) were that this wasn't going to be the end of planes hitting buildings today and sadly I was correct. Later the other plane hit the pentagon and the last one crashed in Pennsylvania. I tried calling my Uncle and cousin probably fifty times that day. They lived in Manhattan and I know he sometimes has business at the WTC and occasionally brings my cousin but I never got through to them. They were fine but they knew several people who died that day. It was an emotional day but I was filled with joy when I saw other countries supporting all the victims and standing together with the US grieving. It's a somewhat sad commentary that today, just 6 years later, countries are more divided than ever in recent history.

[Hal Bidlack]

My diary from that day...

http://www.hamiltonlives.com/dcpics/

I post this only as a tribute to those we lost. I shall answer no questions or make any further comments, beyond urging us to remember, with dignity and grace.

[maxpower1227]

Was asleep in my lofted bed in a Purdue University dorm room, freshman year. I woke up around 9:15 AM (I think) when my roommate came back from morning class (I'm an extremely light sleeper), and in my half-awake haze I heard a guy from across the hall tell him "A plane just hit the WTC. You know how there used to be two towers? Now there's one" That immediately got my attention - I sprang out of bed onto the ground without using the ladder, turned on the tv, and proceeded to utter a string of incoherent profanities for the next 5 minutes. Spent the better part of the day watching tv with 5 other guys across the hall - mostly Bloomberg. Skipped all of my classes except for a lab that I couldn't miss. Was eating lunch as one or both of the towers fell... just WTC1 I think. Don't really remember the other one coming down. Some of it was kinda hazy.

[A W Smith]

I was siding a house for another contractor I know. At a site which was directly under the flight 175 flight path We were listening to the radio and heard reports of a plane hitting the world trade center. The client came out of his house to tell us what he saw on TV. I had just left that site and traveled a couple of blocks to my contractor friends house listening to the truck radio and just as I pulled up and he met me at my truck door. Flight 175 hit. I knew right then it was terrorists and something to do with Bin laden. I went back to the job-site and we watched the Sky's as we worked. I felt an urge to quit the day and head for the jersey city waterfront as it was only about 45 - 50 mins away. But I didn't. It wasn't long that the client came rushing out of the house yelling that the World Trade Center collapsed. 40 mins later the client came out again stunned that the second tower collapsed. I don't remember if i even ate lunch that day. I do remember us watching the sky's and seeing military jets that afternoon. It was not till i got home a little after five that I became glued to the TV and channel surfed from news channel to news channel. That evening I put a flag out off the front porch of our house. It was not until long after the cleanup that i could bear to visit GZ as it was now known. In fact for a long time while traveling up the NJ turnpike across the meadowlands I could not even bear to look east towards the NYC skyline.

[stanleywinthrop]

I can remember it vividly.

I had been up since the wee hours of the morning preparing for a training flight. Of course I was focused on this and nothing else. I caught a quick glimpse of the TV before walking to the jet and thought to myself, "That sucks. Looks like the WTC caught on fire."

About 30-40 minutes later, while airborne, Jax center tells us that they can't let us out of their airspace, would we like to RTB or go to another airport?

Of course not knowing what was going on, we decide to turn around and go home. About this time, over the second radio (tuned to base frequency) we are told that 737s had flown into the two WTC towers.

When we arrived back into Pensacola airspace, we were one of the last aircraft to land. Normally the Pensacola approach frequency is quite busy on a tuesday morning; with two large Navy training bases, a regional airport, and numerous small civilian aircraft transiting. That morning it was eerily, dead quiet with only us and approach talking.

After landing the Plane Captian informed us that the Pentagon had been hit also. My pilot, a Vietnam F-4 pilot with hundreds of combat missions, turned to my instructor and myself and said, "Gentlemen, we are at war."

[Caper]

I was in a black truck outside the pentagon holding about 80 pounds of small plane parts, not having any idea why on earth I was doing this.... I only knew they were paying me alot and was told not to as any questions. Well, at about... oh quarter to 10 I was given the go ahead ran up and down the streets around the pentagon and got rid of my load, then me and one of my co-workers grabbed a lamp post and hurled it out on the street.... geeze we almost hit a guy. Anyway, after we finished that, I heard a massive explosion... I was told by my boss it was just a car backfiring and that I could go home............ Went home and saw it as soon as I turned on the TV. What a day............

[Hans]

I was In Dubai, United Arab Emirates purchasing a washer and dryer when the news came in. (by word of mouth) I remember initially thinking that it was a horrendous accident but the report of the second hit made it clear I was mistaken. I think I got home to see CNN reporting the collaspe of the second tower.

Two of the folks I knew at work lost cousins (or thought they had lost cousins) in one of the Lebanonese businesses in the Tower.

[Unsecured Coins]

was at work getting ready to teach a defensive driving course. We all met at this other unit's motor pool and were in the motor sargent's office. I came in a few minutes after everyone else and they were crowded around this little tv in the office. "hey sarge, a plane hit the world trade center" was my greeting. "Pilot was probably getting a hummer" was my reply, and off we went. The vehicle we were in had a radio, so we all listened to that to see if there was anything new on that plane situation. as soon as we turned it on, they were talking about ANOTHER plane hitting. Right away, we didn't know if it was the same tower or what, so we pulled over to listen some more.

I got a call saying come back to the unit a few minutes after there were reports of a fire at the pentagon. I think I broke every speed limit on the post getting back to the company. On the way back was when the towers fell. We got back to the unit and my CO tells me 8 words - "go home and pack, wait by the phone." I'd been deployed before but this was the first time I couldn't wait to get on a plane.

I got back to my place and my wife is on the couch, looking at me, just knowing I was maybe hours away from getting on a plane. I saw the replays of the towers going down, and more info on the Pentagon, and something about Flight 93. I got about 500 calls from family I never knew I had asking me if I was going anywhere, when was I going, they loved me, and thank you. I couldn't answer anything because I didn't know. I just went to my room and started shoving crap into a duffel bag. Next morning, it took my 4 hours to get on post, and I lived right outside the main gate. Literally. All we did that day was check in, go back home, wait by the phone.

It was like that for about 2 weeks. No calls, and finally we came to the realization that tanks in a mountainous environment weren't the best way to wage war.

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I AGREE

[Digest]

I am tired and cant sleep and well I am here in NYC, like my family has been every year since that day. I am glad that people have not forgotten this day- Its odd that now this is what I associate with NYC - a memorial service. I guess i can share my memory also

In 2001 I was on leave in the US actually had flown into DC on Sept 10 from NYC to meet with the embassy people about a job position. I was new to DC and spent some time walking around the neighborhood seeing the sites my phone rang sometime after the first plane hit - it was my mother who was in NYC- my first thought was what a horrible accident - my mother told me that luckily it was not my cousin Kel's tower that had been hit-- she had just started working in the WTC this year - i was thinking in my mind what a crazy story she would have to tell when i saw her next week- - she said she was going to try and keep getting in touch with Kel so I told her to keep me up to date and hung up the phone.

I still had a few hours and wandered into a cafe that happened to have a tv on that many people were huddled around, It was about that time that the second plane hit - several people inthe diner screamed - and many stumbled in shock. I looked at the tv and thought "i am back in the West Bank." I knew it was a attack - all to familar. My hands shook as i tried desperately to get through on the phone to my mom but nothing was conecting to NYC from the cell lines. I took a deep breath and calmed myself - I ran (really sprinted) from the diner towards the embassy to try and find another way to make contact with friends and family - i found a payphone on the way but was still unable to get through to my mother. About the time i made it to the embassy and was usherd in through the heavy security I called the hotel and checked my messages- I got a message from our liason giving us 48 hours to report in but there was nothing from anyone else-I picked up a land phone and and tried several calls to friends and family with no luck- I then called the SO Liason checked in and found out we were being recalled although they were having trouble contacting everyone - I had to report to Ft Myers in the morning to catch a ride from aircav down to MacDill AFB in tampa flordia. my second clear thought of the day "i am going back to war"

So far I had let myself methodically control my reaction to the events of the day - not really letting anything sink in - at last my thoughts of my cousin sank in and i frantically tried to recall what area of the south tower she worked in. I went to the toilet and just sat in one of the stalls with the door closed - i cried as the events of the day replayed themselves i prayed that those i loved were safe and alive.

I went back out after composing myself and huddled in a office where a TV was - about that time the Pentagon was hit and I honestly didnt think the attacks were going to end anytime soon. I remember checking and chambering my sidearm - why i really dont know - but i distincly remember doing it - my cell rang and I finally was able to talk to my mother who was remarkably calm though i could hear the sadness in her voice - she told me she had been unable to contact my cousin and that she felt so empty - she kept asking how can the world be this dark - we continued to talk and i went out on the roof to look with others at the dark smoke rising on the horizon from the pentagon- my mother was reciting a prayer and it took me back to my childhood - at some point my mother cried out and i looked to the others nowing that something else had happened - someone ran out of the access and yelled that the towers were collapsing. From then on i really have a hard time recalling much most of it is very hazy and dreamlike - I was on base and active within the next week - sometime later I learned that indeed Kel had perished in the collapse of the south tower.

Every year we return and lay lilies for every year of her life. we eat at her favorite resturant and we remember.

I am still sad - I am still scared - I am still mad.

[PhantomWolf]

I was on the computer playing a MU* game, thinking about heading to bed when someone came on the Public channel with a message that was basically "OMG, turn on your TV." Went I goit the message that what was on was big enough that this wasn't just going to be on US TV, I turned on the BBC World and my mouth nearly hit the floor. It did when about 2 minutes later the second plane hit live. I couldn't go to bed after that, the vision of the burning towers and people jumping just too much... but then even worse the South Tower went. I'm not going to say I wasn't surprised, I was, but I wasn't shocked either. I'm not an engineer, but I have enough knowledge to realise that the damage and fire did it even back then, I aslo knew that the North Tower was going to fall as well as of that point. I didn't sleep very much that night, despite the fact I had a course the next morning, a course that was rather somber. I had been the only one that had seen it live, the others were just coming to terms with it.

Incidently I wasn't the only one in town awake on the computer that night. My local paper was the only one in New Zealand to carry the story and pictures in it's morning edition. The local editor had been playing online poker when he had recieved a similar message and turned on his TV. He instantly rang the printing room and did the good old "Hold the Press." Within 4 hours they had rewritten the front pages of the paper and gone to print with the story. It's probably just as well that the CT didn't know that our paper had pictures and was printed in just 4 hours from the event, or they would have been conspiracy over that too.

[PhantomWolf]

Originally Posted by Digest

Every year we return and lay lilies for every year of her life. we eat at her favorite resturant and we remember.

It's hard to lose someone close, and harder when it is in such a way. I can't imagine the pain that you and your family go through with this, and that it is make worse by fools and ignorants. Though it's not worth a lot, you have my sympathy and best wishes for this time and that you will only get stronger through tradgety.

[Hokulele]

We were asleep when the attacks happened, but I had a webcast at 4:30 am, so was in the office early, but somehow hadn't seen or heard the news. When I logged into the webcast, everyone was very subdued and talking about the tragedy. I cluelessly asked what they were talking about, and I can still remember the silence as they tried to figure out 1) why I didn't already know about it and 2) how best to tell me. No one could bring themselves to talk about the actual topic of the webcast, so I logged off and drove back home. My husband was watching the news when I got back, and both of us took the rest of the day off.

Strangely enough, I had ordered a new mountain bike a few weeks before, and the store called asking me if I wanted to pick it up that day. Picking up the bike, I experienced the weirdest sense of guilt I have ever felt.

[ref]

I was on a bus, when I heard some small plane had hit the WTC from the bus driver's radio. I went to a department store, and found lots and lots of people in front of TV sets. I went to find out, what was going on. That's how it started for me.

(It's already 11th here, so I only speak about the 11th)

[Oliver]

On 9/11 I had to work night shift here in Germany - so the first
I did was to sleep for some hours. In the afternoon I stood up
and surfed for a while before I turned on the Television at about
3 pm Berlin time.

There was a burning Skyscraper and I remember that I wasn't
interested in bad news, so I switched to another channel - which
showed nearly the same thing. So I switched again - same thing.
That's when I turned the volume up and learned that both WTC
towers were hit by planes and had collapsed.

First I didn't understand what happened since I completely missed
the whole incidents - and then it hit me like a train when I realized
what happened. I didn't felt sad at this time - I was just shocked
and thinking about what consequences this might have and who
the Attackers were.

I don't even remember what I did the rest of the day, who called
me up, who I called or mailed - or if I left the house. What I re-
member is how silent people were at work the next day. They
rarely talked to each other. It was completely surreal - and I felt
like being in trance for 2 or three days.