Where Were You on 9/11?
a
able
about
accident
across
actually
after
again
air
airport
all
almost
already
also
always
am
america
american
amp
an
and
another
any
anything
are
around
arrived
as
asked
asleep
at
attack
attacked
attacks
away
back
be
because
bed
been
before
began
being
believe
best
big
bless
both
brother
building
buildings
burning
bus
but
by
call
called
came
can
car
center
changed
children
city
class
classroom
close
cnn
college
come
coming
could
couldnt
country
course
coverage
crash
crashed
cried
crying
dad
daughter
day
days
did
didnt
died
disbelief
do
doing
dont
door
down
driving
drove
during
early
end
even
events
ever
every
everyone
everything
eyes
families
family
feel
feeling
fell
felt
few
finally
find
fire
first
flight
floor
fly
flying
for
forget
found
friend
friends
from
get
getting
glued
go
god
going
gone
good
got
grade
had
happen
happened
happening
has
have
having
he
hear
heard
heart
help
her
here
high
him
his
history
hit
hitting
home
horrible
horror
hour
hours
house
how
husband
i
idea
if
im
immediately
in
into
is
it
its
just
kids
knew
know
late
later
leave
left
let
life
like
listening
little
live
lived
lives
living
long
look
looked
looking
lost
loved
lunch
made
make
manhattan
many
me
minutes
mom
moment
more
morning
most
mother
movie
much
my
myself
nd
never
new
news
next
night
no
north
not
nothing
now
ny
nyc
of
off
office
oh
old
on
once
one
ones
only
or
other
our
out
outside
over
pa
parents
pentagon
people
period
phone
picked
place
plane
planes
put
radio
ran
ready
real
realized
really
remember
rest
right
room
running
s
sad
said
same
sat
saw
say
saying
scared
school
second
see
seeing
seemed
seen
september
she
shock
shocked
should
show
since
sister
sitting
sleeping
small
smoke
so
some
someone
something
son
soon
south
st
standing
started
station
still
stopped
story
street
strong
students
such
sure
t
take
talking
teacher
teachers
tears
television
tell
telling
terrible
terrorist
terrorists
th
than
that
the
their
them
then
there
these
they
thing
things
think
thinking
this
those
though
thought
through
time
to
today
told
too
took
tower
towers
trade
tried
trying
turn
turned
tv
twin
two
under
understand
until
up
us
v
very
waiting
walked
walking
want
wanted
war
was
wasnt
watch
watched
watching
way
we
week
weeks
well
went
were
what
when
where
which
while
who
whole
why
wife
will
with
woke
work
worked
working
world
would
wtc
year
years
york
you
your
Eindhoven, Holland I was on vacation on grancanaria spain, just can back fron shopping and got a ticked back home earlyer 3 than planned together with my best friend. I was watching CNN becouse that was the only channel in the hotel we could understand becouse we are from holland.
I saw 1 tower in fire while my friend was making coffie. I told him about it and he coulnd beleve it. I called home to my parrents and girlfriend, they coulnd beleve it when suddenly the seccond plane hit the second tower. i droped the phone and broke it. later we saw the footage of the pentagon and penselvania, Totaly shocked and still am when i see the footage.
I was… At school in 5th grade. I live in the Bronx but I Go to school on Long Island so I almost had to sleep at the school. But we finally got police escorts to take my bus across the Throgs Neck Bridge. I didn’t leave school till 9:30pm and didn’t get home until 10:35pm on 9/11. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND NEW YORK CITY! We Will Never forget!!!
I was watching the “Today Show” about to go into its third hour (new that year). I had just turned 46 the day before, and was eating leftover birthday cake. When I was small, and ever since, I used to see my life as a long, black time line, empty with no dots, but it ended on my birthday in 2000 with a big, black dot, the beginning of the new millennium. While the events of 9/11 unfolded, I realized I had been off by one year. Many statisticians, etc., feel that the new millennium really began in 2001. The last plane went down only two hours from where I sat. When that happened, I calmly drove to my daughter’s school and picked her up. I was certain WWW III was about to begin. I later found out that Amy Sweeney, the attendant who on Flight 11 who first tipped the world off to what was happening, had been married to a high school classmate of my younger sister’s. A man who worked at the same company as my twin brother also perished on Flight 11.
Brooklyn I was reading to my first grade class across the river in Brooklyn. It was our 4th day of school…
Chile DEANA KAM minutes outside of SOLANGE
I was in school and the principle told us to turn on the tvs… we watched the second plane hit live and then he told us to turn the tv off… so we did and then a few minutes later a fellow student was dismissed..her uncle had been on the plane from boston. We also later found out one of the pilots of the plane from boston was from our rival school just over the bridge. We will never forget that day and everytime we see it on tv it gives chills. I am in the military now and only wish the 16’s went up right away to stop this
I was in between jobs at the time. About 8:50am, I get a phone call from my brother to turn on the TV. I asked him why and he said ‘just turn it on’. I turned to the Today Show with Matt Lauer and they showed the Tower on fire and were speculating what had happened. Then a little after 9am, the other Tower was hit and there was no more speculating. Seeing that imagine is the worst thing I have ever seen on TV. I don’t know if it’s possible to compare it to the folks who saw JFK get blown away on TV in 1963 because both were terrible, traumatic events. No one will ever forget 9/11/01, nor should they.
I remember coming home from school and seeing a replay of the second plane hitting the tower. I’m from Britain, so by the time I came home it was probably about noon in America so the clips being shown were of the aftermath of the buildings collapsing. And I can vividly remember one clip of a fireman looking through the rubble and seeing him pick up a doll, and hearing the commentators say at the same time “I think there might have been a creche inside one of the towers” (i’m not sure if it’s true, but those 10 seconds of what I watched that day haunts me even now)
I was in kindergarden. I just remember my mom telling me what happened after she picked me up and seeing it covered on nearly all the channels.
Clifton, NJ I was at work in New Jersey.. only a few miles away. I remember a co-worker, a hard core Viet Nam vet walking thru the office with the news of the first plane strike. He was visibly shaken. I thought it would turn out to be a small plane. Then the report of a second plane strike. I thought some jerk in the tower at one of the airports is directing air traffic right into the city. We had a tv in the office. As I approached that end of the building I could see a co-worker who was standing and watching the tv. She was always a picture of beauty and stature. But what I saw was a contorted tortured woman. I felt my stomach drop. I watched in horror along side her. We could see smoke and ash in the sky as we looked out the windows. Than news came of the Pentagon attack. I then realized we were under attack. All I could think of was to get to my 2 year old daughter.
I forgot!
I was eating my breakfast cereal before pre-school. My mom told me that I wasn’t going to school that day and all I remember was playing at the park with mom and younger brother. I also remember or japan trip was canceled because of that. Years later I asked mom about it and my heart hasn’t stopped aching for those in the planes.
Michigan I was in third grade. It was one of the first few days of class, and the school had no idea that anything had happened. I remember that it was a beautiful sunny day outside…
When I came home my mother was already there- she had left work and turned on the TV. I sat on the stairs and watched the news programs for hours. Eventually my brother arrived home from high school, and all three of us hopped into the Jeep and bought as much fuel as we could, then we made a trip to Dairy Queen. I believe I understood what was going on pretty quickly.
I’m a senior in high school now, I may have missed the beginning of the war but I can’t shake the feeling that it will catch up with me.
sorry everthing one i was using ma mums lap top to find out were i could get my hair done in perth and this came up i thought it was a site to find places. i didnt know in was the 9/11? so sorry
were can i get my hair and nails done in perth(scotland)
I was 4 years old in New York. As I was washing my hands with my mother in my 6th avenue and Bleecker street we heard the sound of a very low flying plane. We thought little of it. this was the first day of school where the parents left the kids there for the day. I went into the classroom and heard a huge scream from outside. ur teacher got a phone call and then rushed out of the class room. pretty soon our parents picked us back up. As I left the school we heard a whooshing sound, and the first tower fell. Then I remember seeing these people walking away from the tower that were just covered head to toe in gray ash. People were spraying them off with hoses out of their windows. soon after the second tower fell and I remember looking downtown from my apartment and asking what happened to the twin towers.
I was eagerly awaiting my 5th birthday party, which was two days later, when my dad literally yelled “OH MY GOD!!!!” My entire family sat in my parents room, watching the news. I started to cry and question whether the terrorists would come attack California. I started crying harder. I am a very sensitive person and get scared quite easily, even now, and I am almost 14! I will always remember 9/11 as the worst birthday that I have ever had. God Bless the deceased in 9/11…<3
Plano, TX i was in class in first grade in Northern Texas when the planes hit. My teachers were crying and I didn’t understand what was going on until the next year. We had a moment of silence in school the next day about the same time the towers were hit.
your location (optional) I found this video about this on google. If you need the link contact me. It’s best to embrace it to this weblog
Columbus, Ohio I was at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in my dorm room, asleep, on the morning of Sept 11, 2001. I was a freshman in college and Tuesday was the only day I didn’t have early class. I woke up to a frantic phone call from my mom telling me to “WAKE UP AND TURN ON THE TV”. This is ridiculous looking back, but it was my nieces 1st birthday on that day and I thought that she was on TV or something. Ha. Anyways, I turned on the TV and watched the footage of the first plane crash into the tower. Then the girls who lived on my floor began opening their doors and everyone was in everyone elses room, freaking out. We sat and watched as the second plane crashed into the tower. My roommate came back from class shortly after and was really confused. She knew something was going on but didn’t know details. We continued to watch the footage throughout the day as rumors began to circulate about other big cities being targeted. I was very concerned about my family in Columbus. There was some confusion about a plane en route to Cleveland and there were reports that it may have been hijacked. That turned out to be false, to the relief of myself and many of my dormmates. Class was cancelled for the rest of the day and I believe the next day.
Even as an 18 year old college student, I am not sure that I understood the severity of the attacks. I remember joking with friends about going to war and becoming hippies. We then began to hear about all the people who died and the rescue workers who risked their lives and it became incredibly serious.
I was in my 3rd grade music class. The teacher was outside of the classroom, and some people were talking, but most of us were just staring at the TV. The news was on, and we were staring at footage of the burning building when the first plane crashed. And then the second plane crashed. At first we thought it was a movie, but we saw the look on the teacher’s face, and then we realized the horrible truth that it was really real and that people were dying. Nobody could say anything.
Pennsylvania I was 5. I had woken up and came downstairs too my Mom and step Dad on the couch. I had asked my Mom why she hadn’t woken me up for school. She told me about what had happened. The rest of that day, we preyed for the fact that we all were still alive and together.
My opinion.
I think that the people of Iraq had suffered enough. We got our revenge for those who had lost there lives in 9/11. Its not fare for the whole country too suffer for what happened behind there’s and our backs. I think we should start pulling our army out of Iraq.
Thanks too everyone who risked there lives on 9/11.
R.I.P. 9/11
I was in kindergarten when the attacks happened. I was very young, so the only thing I can really remember was coming home from school and my mom was sitting on the couch crying while she was watching the news. I thought this was strange, because when my mother did cry, she never did it in front of me. I can also remember that my class didn’t get to go on a field trip to the Bronx Zoo because of it, and when I asked my mom why, she said that it was because there were bad people running around New York City. For a while after that, I would ask her if the bad people had been caught yet.
Chicago, Illinois I was 10 years old and home sick from school, I remember waking up and discovering the aftermath of the first plane on my television downstairs, my Mom didn’t want me to be watching this and turned off the TV and she went upstairs to watch it herself. I feel like I realized that something terrible and significant was happening and I turned the TV back on to our local news station, this following image horrified me and will stay with me forever, as I watched the 2 anchors try to figure out what was going with the live feed of the towers in the background of them, the 2nd plane hit and the entire studio went completely silent, both anchors had the most blank and terrified looks upon their faces, I was absolutely stunned I couldn’t believe what I was watching and now 9 years later, I’m graduated from High School and this tragedy has been with all of my generation through the majority of our lives, but we can all cope with it, we can all hope to make our country even greater than it was before and have a brighter future for all American.
only young and dont rember… but i think the terrioists should suffer greatly for what they did
Near DC I was in Pre-K. I lived near the pentagon and saw the news. My babysitter started crying and I saw smoke rising in the distance. My mom was stuck at work and when she drove home, the highway was empty. I didn’t realize the full gravity of the situation.
i was working for airport security, it was the most surreal experience every, everything changed so fast, everything we knew and thought was under scruitiny. The atmosphere of fear was outstanding and incomprehendable.
Louisiana I was 4 years old, still innocent, I still trusted everyone. It was a normal Tuesday, as I slept in my bed, waiting to wake and go to my pre-school, in New Orleans. Suddenly, at what seemed like so much earlier than normal, I was shaken awake by my mother, who was absolutely distraught. All she said was “I have no idea why, but something terrible is happening”. As a 4 year old, I had no idea what she meant, but seeing my mother, a strong woman, completely break down filled me with a sense of dread. She scooped me up and carried me close to her, to the TV room, where we watched the events unfold. As I saw the second tower hit, my mother was sure. She already knew it could have been terrorists, but now she had no doubt. We sat there for what felt like a long time, silently crying. My dad rushed home from work just as the first tower collapsed. We were stunned. We were so shocked from the planes hitting, we just assumed they would sit there forever, certainly not collapse. When the dust cloud covered Manhattan, It felt like a nightmare. New York represented strength and power to me. And now it was falling. It was time to send me to pre-school, but my parents both were terrified. See, we lived near many chemical plants, oil company headquarters, and many things that would devastate the country if they were attacked. So my parents thought there was a chance of some of those places being targeted. Everyone thought there would be countless bombings, that the whole country was about to be destroyed. From that moment on, the news was always on. When I saw the people jumping, I think I lost my trust in the world. I started wetting the bed, and crying all the time again. My mother says she regrets letting me see all the devastation, but she could barely comprehend, much less make competent choices on that day, full of terror. That day truly was one of the worst in my life, and my parents life.
I am surrounded by some of the happy, sad that some people did not like, I have been saying, this is not true, not true.
我周围有些在庆幸,有些人丝毫没有难过的样子,我一直在说,这不是真的,不是真的。
manahawkin i was in school 3rd grade i believe and i was walking to my music room to go to class when a bunch of teachers blocked the doorway standing around the TV and finally the bell rang and we all gathered in the room and our teacher explained to us what had happened. i was born in staten island was i knew exactly what the trade centers were and my father worked in the city. so i was scared. when i got home that afternoon i finally found out my father was save he didn’t make it into the city that day he had called out sick from work. i at the time was living with my grandparents. i remember the footage so clearly.
I was in the 4th grade; an administrator had come in to tell my teacher of the terrible news. She whispered it into her ear, and my teacher suddenly started crying. School wasn’t shut down, we continued on with many awkward moments since the students still had no idea. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw the towers on TV. I’m graduating tomorrow..can’t believe this was almost 10 years ago..
it was the first day of second grade for me in a new school I was so excited there was even a party until the party got shut down when parents were coming to pick up their kids everyone was panicking my eyes finally understood once I got home and turned on the tv
it was the first day of second grade for me in a new school I was so excited there was even a party until the party got shut down when parents were coming to pick up their kids everyone was panicking my eyes finally understood once I got home and turned on the tv
your location (optional) I’m definitely happy that I found your website, it had just about all of the information I’ve been looking for
I live close to DC. I was only 5 at the time (going on 6) and in kindergarten. My parents never really said anything to me about it. They didn’t want to scare me I guess. But I remember one day my mom told me there was a near by fire so a lot of kids would not be in school. Well, including me, only 4 kids showed up, and one teacher absent. I am pretty sure it was the day of 9 11.
My uncle works in DC as like a spy or something. Know one really knows; I guess it’s pretty secretive. Needless to say, he knew a woman who died in the pentagon that day. RIP every one who passed away on 911
Washington D.C. my mom was driving us to a Smithsonean mueseum, i think it was the American History Mueseum. On the radio we heard about the crash, and we could see smoke rising above the buildings. We went straight home and waited, watching the TV.
I was in 3rd grade and our principal came over the intercom saying “two planes have just hit the world trade center”
I was’t even Born
abdrhaman dfhj
hjl;hjkbnj
your location (optional) I care for your blog, Its good to discover not everybody is just posting a ton of nonsense now a days!
I was sitting on the back porch [because I had already called in sick to work] the first plane hit and I thought, “That’s messed up.” When I came inside and saw the second pane hit, watching the towers finally collapse. Then I loaded my guns and sat there waiting for the end of the world as we know it.
your location (optional) Nice one, am looking forward to see your next post
Vancouver, BC I was asleep when my sister, whom I lived with, was getting ready for work came into my room and said “A plane went into the tower”. That’s all she said. We lived in Vancouver, BC – I had no idea what tower she meant, nor did I even question it. She could have said ‘Boats fly cows’ for all that matters – she was shocked and instinctually I felt the gravity of her message. We ran downstairs to the living room, turned on the TV as my neighbour from the apartment next door ran into our livingroom, and we watched and cried in silence as the second tower went down.
your location (optional) I was just wondering how long you’ve had this game site for?
I woke up early to get ready for school (3rd grade), and my mother was crying. I asked her what was going on, and she said “some bad things happened in the world today”. I finally convinced her to tell me what happened. I didn’t really grasp the meaning, but I knew that it was very bad. I went to school, but I was very scared and ended up following the principal around for the beginning of the day, visiting classrooms and making sure everyone was alright.
your location (optional) I just visited this page trough my iphone and the page messed up a bit for me, just to let the admin know. Anyway keep up the good work.
Asher, oklahoma at home with hubby and almost 3 year old daughter. Was watching a rerun of Little House on the Prairie, when my mom in law called and asked if we were watching the news. My hubby said no and and asked why…my mom in law told him that he wouldn’t believe her if she told him-JUST turn to the news.We did…and our jaws just about dropped.
I was in Queens, New York City, at the time. I was in the fifth grade and in school. My class and I were making collages, of what, I do not remember. All of a sudden, students began leaving the class because their parents had called the school demanding that their children be returned home immediately. I stayed in school till the end of the day.
When I finally returned home, all the television channels were malfunctioning. We received many calls from relatives, asking about our well being. My father was working in Manhattan during that day. I thanked the higher power that he was unharmed.
i was in kindergarden to me it felt like a regular tuesday but it wasnt i was at my dads job when my mom came rushing in and took me and my sister home and just watched tv but thats all i remeber
I was at home, in the US. I went for coffee and came home. I called my Mom to ask her what was happening. At the time, only the first tower was hit. She didn’t realize the magnitude-no one did. While she spoke, I saw the second plane hit, live, and I screamed. The next word I heard spoken was by my mom: “terrorism!” I spent the rest of the week, sobbing, watching around the clock news. When I wasn’t watching the news, I watched fighters fly over my backyard, patrolling the skies of my great country.
I was in 1st grade, of course back then I didn’t realize what was happening while I watched it on the TV but the way the people around me reacted it assumed it wasn’t good. Looking back on it today I almost cry, I didn’t lose anyone close to me that day. For all of those that did lose a loved one I am sorry. Who ever did this, whether it was the U.S. Government or Al-Qaeda; I don’t care, all I do care about though is that Justice is served for those that died. Always Remember 9/11.
Ireland I was only 11 and I was having my dinner when the news was on and I saw the tower then I saw a plane fly into it and then I saw the tower collapse I’ll never forget it, it sent chills down my spine it was so shocking i still remember the tower and all the breaking news images
in india
New Jersey I was sitting in my third grade class. All of the sudden the phone rang, which in third grade is a source of great excitement, and the teacher then pulled out a student and spoke with him for quite awhile. Not too long after, kids were being pulled out of class. The teacher tried to explain what was happening and decided to turn on the news so we could watch. It was then we discovered that some kids were being pulled out of class to learn that parents had lost their lives at work.
Valencia, Spain I was having lunch in the kitchen. The TV was off. My brother was watching it in the living room. He shouted me to turn the TV of the kitchen on, and the first image I saw was the TV news and an image of the first tower taken from the air, from a chopper. The reporter was still considering it was an aircraft accident, and in 3-4 minutes I saw the second explosion live. The position from the camera in the chopper didn’t have the right angle to record any image of the second aircraft, because it was more or less at the opposite side, but the explosion caused a big shock on me and the reporter was also agitated. I shouted to my brother: have you seen that?? Afterwards we could see all those poor people leaning out of the windows asking for help…but when I successively saw both towers collapsing down I thought it was getting kind of surreal. I couldn’t hardly believe what I was watching. I had to do some formalities that afternoon, but I was too shocked to do them. It seems that the news had spread out very fast as everybody was talking about it. Rest in peace all the people who died there and in every terrorist attack of insane fanatic people.
Columbus, Georgia, USA I was in Pre-K at St. Anne Pacelli Catholic School at 2020 Kay Circle in Columbus, Georgia, USA, 31907, who offer Pre-K through 12th grade education at affordable prices.
I was in Kindergarden at a Catholic School, I didnt know what was going on but it was story time and I remember the principal walking in and telling my teacher, who started to cry. Soon after I remember headed home still unaware of what was happening until I got home and my parents turned on the news.
your location (optional) I was…
NC During 9/11 I was in third grade. I remember my class was running on the track (PE) and the principal coming over the intercom calling for a moment of silence. I looked around at all my friends asking what was going on, completely lost. It wasn’t until i got home that day that i found out. I remember walking into the house and seeing my mom sitting in the kitchen with her eyes glued to the screen saying “your cousin was almost killed today”. Some what shocking news to hear if you’re only 8. Turns out my cousin had a meeting on the 24th floor in the 2nd tower but someone had hit her car the day before so she had to cancel. It really is sad when you can remember what the world was like before 9/11. Everything and everybody was so carefree. So full of life. R.I.P to everyone who lost their lives. and for those of you who lost someone, you’ll remain in my prayers.
New Zealand I was 11 years old… my parents were both asleep when I got up to watch cartoons on tv. I turned on the tv and all that was on every channel was ground breaking news about the World Trade Center and how a plane had crashed into it. I had no idea what the World Trade Center was or what exactly had happened, but I knew it was important. I remember going and waking up my parents, only saying that something bad has happened on the news. They got up immediately to see what has going on and I remember seeing the shock and devastation on their faces. We continued to watch the news, and we learnt about both planes crashing into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93, because of the time zone difference they had all happened, so we didn’t watch these events unfold live. News about 9/11 is pretty much all we watched for at least a week after it happened. I continue to be saddened and shocked by these events, and my heart goes out to all the victims of this heartless attack.
your location (optional) Hi awsome blog i fount the information very useful thanks a lot.
Phoenix I was on my way to the store to buy a can of Copenhagen. What a nasty habit that I quit a year ago last February. It’s very sad, and I still think of 9/11 every day. The people frantic, people jumping, planes flying into the building. The thoughts going through the peoples mind on the plane right before impact? What’s even more sad is 5 billion has been spent to rebuild something on that site and they aren’t even done with the demo years later. Money gone, nothing built. Oh the corruption is making me sick. Our government is rotten at its core.
I was in the Republic of Korea in the U.S. Army. We were watching the attack unfold on the Armed Forces Network, it was evening there. Then the sirens blasted signaling an alert, we ran. An hour later we were in our defensive battle positions. Scary time.
Ga. In first grade. Nobody really told us what was happening, everything just seemed different. I went to my moms classroom after school and saw the replays on the news.
I was at a friends house watching a movie after school. When we turned the movie off the news was on every channel. I was in 2nd grade.
At my uncle’s house in Fife, Scotland. I was off school that day.
I was at school at royal oaks elemetary school.
I was with my wife. we had the news on while she put the strap-on in my butt
in my second grade class room ):
Canada I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, I remember that morning, waking up, getting dressed, stepping outside and smelling that crisp end of summer morning air!
Meeting my friends at the corner, when you’re 11-12 the world is perfect & nothing is evil, well that changed, when I got out to lunch I remember walking home, and when I reached my house, I could hear people talking one sounded like my grand-father, I thought ‘Hey I’m going to mcdonalds, cool’!
But when I got in I remember my father explaining what was going on and he told me to watch, and I did, and I remember turning to him and saying ”So, the world truly is cruel or…’ He replied ‘when you grow older you’ll have the answer’
All I can say for sure is 9/11 marked the end of childhood innocence for alot of us.
Any child who watched 9/11 unfold I dare you to watch old cartoons, that nostalgic feeling, is the best. Takes you back to when it was easy and when we thought the world was peaceful!
Simon
in school (6th grade) taking an I.Q. test. Principal walked in, told us what happened. Not an hour later everyone was gone, picked up by their family. It was a ghost town, and I was in the city.
Minneapolis. MN I was only 6, so the memories are pretty hazy. But I was home sick that day, and lying on the couch. My mom saw that we had a message on our answering machine and it was my dad telling us to turn on the TV. We did and I watched it all day with her and my 2 younger siblings.
I remember thinking that the world wasn’t what I thought it was. 9/11 really marked the end of my childish innocence. It was then that I realized how cruel people could be. And it’s sad because I wish I could have held onto that naïvity for a little bit longer.
i was in 3rd grade and suddenly the teachers turned on the TV’s and kids started to be checked out school. I remember coming home and seeing he 2nd tower get hit. I’ll never forget it!
whare were you yesterdayI was…
I was sick so I was in bed… I remember my parents coming to wake me up and told me what had happened. I still remember all the images I saw on the news.
I was in 2nd Grade. I can still remember sitting in the library watching the tv, while everyone cried. I didnt really know what was happening at the time, but I will never forget to images I saw. And by the way, those of you who mock 9/11 should be ashamed! What if someone you loved was in there when it all went down? I dont think you would think it was funny then.
i was watching neighbours and then the news flash came on i could’nt stop crying i was evestaded for all the familes that lost a loved one RIP
many thanks to all the people who helped out on 9/11 you are my heros
xx
I was in newjersey I lived right across th bay I remmemer looking at it ever day when my mom would walk me to school but I wa in first grade and my mom picked me up early ad when we got him only one tower was standing and the air was gross and when I got home I wasn’t allowed to look at the tv plus my aunt left and hour it happened thank go and my mom picked up my aunt and cousins from my and they were covered in debri
9/11 all over agian wid ur mum im in her pussy
in britan i planed it m8 il cum for u blud
up ur ass u dirty yank
i was in my 3rd grade class and i remember that all the teachers turned on the tv’s and were looking at the news and none of the kids including me knew what was going on. We were scared and when i got home i figured out what was going on.
England In the car driving home from school.
I was…in High School in the auditorium having a senior meeting. When the principal came in and got on the microphone and said America has been attacked the Twin Towers were hit by two planes…my history class went from past history to present now history due to 9-11.
Dave S.
Pittsburgh,Pa
dshultz87@gmail.com
19 floor on north tower i heard a boom heard screams heard sirens was scared
I was at preschool and my mom had to get me early before the Air Force Base we lived on closed.
mississippi i was at school and when i heard about it i started to pray for all those in need and the ones that lost there belofed ones
where were you yesterday?
My mother was there in 9/11. She survived…
Thank god
She was a about to go on the second plane with the terrorists.
new york city
blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahbye
i was there
nkjhblin i dnt remember
I was 2 years old.
I was in college at Oklahoma State. My GF was getting ready for class and i was laying in bed when i saw the second plane hit live on TV. I skipped class and watched CNN all day.
I was in my school when the towers fell. I came home and saw the horiffic news on cnn. i was only 6 at the time.
i was in the building next to the twin towers
i was in america next to twin towers when they got hit it was the worst experince ever in my life i was scared.
I was in the house.
London I was in London. I was only in Year 2 (equivalent to First Grade I think) and didn’t really know what was happening. All the teachers carried out their lessons like normal and at the end of the school day I went home only to find every channel fixed on the World Trade Centre. I remember our TV was not working that day but my cousin came that day just to fix it for the news. Now being older I wonder how i would Have felt
I was…in my fourth grade classroom, nine years old at the time. We were interrupted with the horrific news.
I was in the 1st grade. I was only 5 years old. I didn’t understand much back then but now being 15 I understand a lot more. I understand what happened that day, that horrible day, I am so fascinated in the topic that I have spent HOURS online learning about it, what happened, all the dumb conspiracy theories and such. It was a day I don’t remember well, but will always, always, remember for the rest of my life. God bless America and may those who passed away on 9/11, Rest In Peace.
i wasd in first grade in new york when all i remebered was treachers crying saying there was an attck i had no idea what it was…. i was confused i got called down to the office my mom came to my skool cryn n my sister came to the office too we took a cab home real fast i was scared all i saw on tv was smoke n firemen police everyrthing it was really crazy.. i will never forget that day.. but things could have changed if we had a better president many lifes could have been saved this was all planed out somethn could have been sdone to save many lives
In my first grade class. It wasn’t mentioned at all at school, but when I came home, my parents were watching the news. All I remember is that every single channel was about 9/11. I was six, so there’s nothing else I really remember.
I was like in Kindergarten I think and all I remember is my mom(In the Air Force stationed in Turkey @ the time) and dad(stationed in D.C. @ the time) having an arguement because my dad was trying to get me away from Turkish people I guess cuz they were muslim IDK
I was on the 64th floor of the South Tower. I got out in time.
WAT ARE U DOIN
i was 4 when it happen im 12 now me n my dad put the news on n we saw the plane raw into the towers my dad left becaue he is in the army so i got to go i was in the truck i was scared like never before u try staying in a truck as a buliding is falling its not fun n my dada is going to iran n afganasta i want see him for 3 years
i was 4 when it happen im 12 now me n my dad put the news on n we saw the plane raw into the towers my dad left becaue he is in the army so i got to go i was in the truck i was scared like never before u try staying in a truck as a buliding is falling its not fun
I was in first grade at the time. I often wonder what it would be like if this happened when I was older and what would I think then, but it didn’t I remeber so clearly we watched the news for about 5 munutes I had no idea what was going on I remember thinking who could have done this, this part is so clear that it’s like I see everything to the exact same, my princpal at the time came in sat on a desk and said “some kids in new York today lost there moms and dads” we went on normally with our day then I went to daycare after school I remeber my sister talking with this boy saying I will not go fight suppose they go make me fight in the war. They were in the 4th grade what do expect. On the ride home from daycare my dad was talking about how someone highjacked two plans and ran them into two buildings. When we got home my mom dad sister and me were sitting around the tv in pure horror. My mom was crying a little but that was it me and my sister then when out to play with the neighborhood kids not one kid was out . I remeber asking my sister why is no one out? She said there prolly all watching tv . And that was it I will never forget that day
I was getting off work and someone said that a plane had crashed in to a builing in NY. I went home and was stuck to the tv all day. and later found out that FF I knew were enroute to the crash in PA.
In school, i was only 7 at the time, but i understood clearly what was going on. We later watched it on the news. Some kids never understood. but now that im older, im doing a project on it. therefore, leading me to this website.
Saskatchewan I was in Toronto, where I had moved to exactly one week prior in hopes of starting a new chapter in my life. I was crashing on an air mattress at a friend’s apartment. I had been out drinking the night before, after another friend and I had tried to get into some Film Festival screenings. I was feeling pretty rough. Around 9:30 am my buddy (who was at work) had phoned home to tell his girlfriend to turn on the TV. I’m not sure exactly what he said to her but she replied “Does this happen a lot?”. We turned on the TV and couldn’t quite process what we were looking at. Both towers were burning, as we had missed (thankfully) seeing the second plane hit the south tower. I was glued to the TV. At 1pm I had to go meet the producer I was going to be working for. I met him for lunch, hungover and totally confused by the day’s events. The craziest part of it was remembering the conversation I had the night before. While my buddy and I were drinking we got on the topic of Bush and politics. I started going off on a tangent about I had a bad feeling that someone out there was going to challenge his tough guy, cowboy talk rhetoric. I had a hunch that someone, out of fear or sense of opportunity, was going to attack the US. The words I think I used were “there’s a big smackdown coming”. I had no idea when or how or by whom. I just had a feeling. Pretty general feeling when you really think about it. But what an unfortunate coincidence.
After the next day, it took my buddy over a week to call me back.
Ireland I was in school when my teacher got a phone call from her husband telling her that his business meeting in the towers had been cancelled and that she should turn on the news as there had been an accident. As she turned on the tv there were hands simultaneously raising to ask what was going on? what the towers were? And why was it happening?
I was listening to cash money millionaires back when lil wayne was actualy good
I WAS ON MY WAY TO LASVEGAS
i was at home wishing it had never happend
i was in 3rd grade when this happened and i remember that my teacher asked us to draw the twin towers. and i had no idea what was really going until now. i live in OR and i know that this touched us all and our hearts are with those who lost their loved ones on that day. may God bless you all!
-Diana S
i was a kid in school
i was at me grandmas
I was sitting in my second grade classroom. I had no clue what was going on. I look back on it & wonder how I would have felt had I been a little bit older.
your mum? beating your mumma with my pole
eating dick
America I was in fifth grade that day, an American child just going about her life when I went upstairs for my second class. All of the TV’s were on and none of the teachers were at their desks, we didn’t think anything of it. So all of my classmates and I just sat there and watched the TV without understanding what was going on. We watched the first tower burning, then we watched the second plane hit, we didn’t understand it was live until the cameras started following people jumping from the windows. After that everyone started getting nervous, the class was a little more quiet, though at that time I still didn’t understand that this was in America, and that the whole world had just changed forever. The Pentagon was struck, but it didn’t make anymore sense, and everyone was chattering mindlessly.
Then the first tower fell, no one said anything, but right then it was like the whole world was screaming.
Finally our teacher showed up and turned off the TV, and she continued class like nothing had happened. I didn’t learn anything more until I went home.
My mother and father were there when I came in, sitting in front of the TV as if it had become their whole world, and my father was so angry it was palapble in the air.
His fists were clenched and his hands were so pale and he was talking and I didn’t understand any of it. He eventually took me to another room and told me he wasn’t angry at me, which I already understood perfectly, but he was furious at the people who did this.
He promised me that whoever it was, he had no doubt America would hunt them for the rest of their miserable existence.
The days passed, fear turned horror, horror turned to despair, then the despair became rage and I remember sitting in front of the TV watching the towers falling again and finally understading what had happened. That was the first time I knew hatred.
I then took up that mantra most Americans adopted in the aftermath: We would never forgive, and we would never forget.
God help us that we would never forget.
in my job with the residents
canine enzyme dental spray tooth cleaner megans place tea milwaukee Order Duphalac impulsive control disorder in children gay nude males with large penis the history of ofd syndrome
http://rxdrugs24×7.com/category/other.html
USA Why not just ask them? celexa online order http://www.wikipatterns.com/display/wikipatterns/Buy+celexa+online celexa patient assistance Thanks for sharing!
Amazing work! breast cancer and celexa celexa drug prescription
celexa eye problems Done.
Australia I was sleeping though as soon as i woke up i went into my mothers room to find her crying watching the television. I thought the world was ending. I was only Seven and i was so scared.
I was in 3rd grade on my way to California
We were in Nevada
I could have a small frig too. ,
The system is exploiting the positive future of so many African American students. ,
Northern BC 9/11/01. I was preparing for a normal day at school. I was in grade 4 at the time, and I live in Canada, in a remote community, where the school is a 35 mile drive from my house. I vividly remember the entire day, which always was weird to me. It was a beautiful day in our part of the country, and I was sitting on the couch, the time was 6:53AM PDT, which means both towers had already been attacked. I was getting ready to leave the house, when we received a phone call. It was one of my mother’s friends. “You have to turn the television on, there has been some sort of a plane crash.” She put the phone down, and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on.
“What are we looking at, mom?” I questioned, as she flipped through the channels to find CNN.
“There’s a plane crash on TV.” She muttered, changing it to CNN. As the picture flickered on, I remember seeing both towers, the bellowing smoke, and the headlines, “World Trade Center Disaster”. My mom was just standing there, gasping with her hand over her mouth. Naturally, since I was only 8, I didn’t really know what to make of it until later that day. Seeing both towers in flames and smoke made me just think, “plane crash” and “accident”, since those are the words my mom had received over the phone. My mom told me and my sister it was time to go, we turned the TV off, and went down to the truck to wait for our friend, who was carpooling to school with us. I remember the words that he said when I saw him that made me take a different viewpoint of the whole situation for the whole day.
“Terrorists” He said. “My dad says this is terrorists. America is under attack.” I had never heard the word terrorist used before, up until this day. The moment he finished his sentence I asked,
“What’s terrorists?” Of course, he didn’t know either, he had just heard it from his dad, so both of us turned to our parents, who were gathered outside of the truck in a circle, talking, which didn’t happen normally. All of us got out and walked to them.
“This is terrorism, we saw the second plane fly into the god**** building. He turned and lined up for it!” Stated my friend’s dad, who was a pilot.
“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” My mom said. I had figured out what was going on before we got to school, and by then, I really didn’t want to go.
“But there’s no TV in school mom, I can’t see what’s happening!” I argued with her, trying to skip school for the day. Unsuccessful, I walked up the stairs to the school and was passed by the senior students and their teacher, taking them to his house. They were going to watch the news for the day, it was a “school project”, which I later found out was just an excuse so the teacher could watch the events unfolding that day. The entire day I was extremely envious of the senior students, I wanted so bad to see what was going on, but alas I was stuck in the classroom the entire day. Finally, the end of the day was here, (2:50PM PDT) and as I climbed back into the truck, I immediately began bombarding my mom with questions. Questions she really didn’t answer, and we headed home. The moment the truck stopped moving, I practically fell out of the truck, scrambling to the house, leaving my books and everything. I remember vividly seeing no TV on the stereo case, and ran back outside, down to our cafe, where the entire room was filled with people, watching our TV that my dad had moved to his workplace. Both towers had already long collapsed, but I remember seeing the replays over and over again, the sight of the towers collapsing, and the United 767 flying into the building, on camera. It seemed so surreal to me, I didn’t really know what to make of it. The headlines “America under attack” were etched in my head for the rest of the day. Misinformation also had us scrambling for knowledge out of Whitehorse, YT, where Korean air 85 was supposedly hijacked and crashed into downtown, just 4 hours away from where we lived. We were all relieved to find out that it was a false alarm and that the plane had landed safely. 9/11/01, I know I will certainly never forget.
I was at work in the brake room watching cnn when flash news came on .A plane has just hit the world trade center in N.Y.C.I ran out to my unit and told everyone what was going on.All the Tv’s when on.The only thing i thought of was my sister that works at the World Trade Center.I was going crazzy because i couldn’t get a hold of her. I try for hours nothing finally i got through to her cell phone.What a relief as she told me she was not feeling to well so she took off that day.Thank god it was a miracle.She tells me she got another change at life.God bless all the survivors and god bless the fa. that lost a love one on that day.GOD BLESS AMERICA
i was listening to the joe duffy show on rte radio when it was interupted to say a small plane has just flown into the wwtc i straight away turned on sky iwas watching sky for the next 24 hours
John i was in art class, when the news came on tv after the first tower was hit.then the whole class was watching it for a few minutes before the second tower was hit.it was one of those moment, that you could not believe what you were seeing and hoping that it was a cruel joke. But it was not and I WILL NEVER FORGET…
i was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia i just came home from school my mother told me America is being attacked
i was so happy it was one of the best days in my life
Inshallah something bigger will happen very soon
i was at school in forth grade):
Japan Hello,
baserdasew
clomid infertility
If you find it hard to understand the way to use the Clomid properly, you better ask your nurse, pharmacist, or doctor to explain them to you.
clomid 100mg
It?s always a better decision for you to follow the instructions from the doctor who treats you.
http://grandavenuemcalester.org/ – clomiphene citrate
You?ll be able to come up with desired results only if you intake Clomid exactly according to your doctor?s prescription.
Macomb, Michigan I was in 3rd Grade. A teacher rushed in, crying, saying to my teacher: “Turn on the TV!! Sometiming horrible has happened!” She turned on the TV and was in complete shock that the North Tower had been hit. I, being the little kid, was unaware that this was a terrorist attack. Then she shut off the television and resumed teaching.
Only later on, did I learn what really happened that day.
Oregon It was the year that I moved to Oregon after my dad had retired from the Navy; I was asleep when the first plane hit. I woke up to the radio station that I was listening to, I think it was syndicated out of Miami, was making jokes about it. At that point in the morning I did not know what had happened, I was not fully awake. When I got on the bus I noticed that something was wrong, everyone was quite and the radio was on but it was on a radio station. It was finally when I arrived to the first class that I discovered what was happening. Every class that day had the news on, we saw everything that happened. I think no one will ever forget where they were when the towers fell.
We lost many lives that day and every day after due to a war that is repeating history. It will not end until we leave, they have been fighting wars since the beginning.
I was having sex with Steven Penny at the Tropical Inn in Lloydminster Alberta, then the phone rang….
I was back east visiting my family on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was a good visit after a week long excursion at Burning Man in Black Rock City, Nevada the week prior.
I was awakened a little bit passed 8:30 am that morning by F-15 fighters taking off (full afterburners) from Otis Air National Guard Base just a few miles from my parent’s house where I grew up. We were used to hearing the fighters all the time, but not that early and that loud in the morning.
They were on an intercept course for the 767 American Airlines flight 11 – which was first to hit striking the North Tower World Trade Center after the FAA notified the Air Force that the passenger plane had been hijacked.
I took a shower and as I was getting dressed I heard my mother yelling for me to come in to the living room where she was watching Good Morning America on TV.
The first tower was smoking and no one knew exactly what had happened whether it was a bomb or aircraft collision… anything?
We sat and watched for about 20 minutes wanting to know what happened and before our eyes, we watched on live TV: 767 United Airlines flight 175 fly in to the South Tower World Trade Center.
My first thought was “It finally happened… they attacked us.”
I called my longtime friend from high school who happened to be vacationing on the Cape the same time I was.
He thought someone was messing with the instruments. It was a beautiful clear day and pilots don’t fly directly into buildings whether their instruments read: “all is well” or not I thought to myself. This was deliberate!
I watched with my mother for a little while and she made some phone calls and I decide to walk down to where my friend (I called) and his family were staying which wasn’t very far from my folks house.
It was a gorgeous and quiet September morning as I walked down a long dirt road to the main road.
My uncle stopped and gave me a lift as he was driving to work. I told him what had happened and he didn’t even know. He thought I was joking.
He was half awake and finishing a toasted bagel late for work. He dropped me off at the beginning of the street that led to my friend’s house where I was headed.
As I walked down the street in a quaint tranquil neighborhood passing green lawns and fluffy flowers and picket fences I passed a man in his driveway working on his truck. I then heard his wife telling him to come inside repeatedly. He acted as if it was just another nag attack from his wife and mumbled as he went inside. He had no idea what had happened either.
All I could think at that time was how surreal the whole morning was.
I go to my friend’s house and his wife was taking care of their baby as we watched the south tower collapse and then a little bit later the North tower.
I was supposed to return to the west coast a couple days fallowing the attack, but my flight was canceled do to the no fly restriction and when it was lifted, it was almost impossible to rebook a new flight. I would try and book a new flight out of Providence every morning and find it canceled in the evening.
I watched the coverage of ground zero on all the news channels with my folks the next couple of days. I remember wanting to go to ground zero and help those people search the debris for survivors and… well, just help. I was only four hours away. It was upsetting and frustrating to just sit and watch. I just felt like I had to do something. To me: it was us –our people in that rubble –Americans, dead on our own soil. It pissed me off!
I had to step away from watching the coverage and just breathe.
I later called my work to tell my boss I was having trouble getting home for obvious reasons. He said don’t worry, just be safe. He then told me that the niece of my coworker was on American Airlines flight 11. She was a flight attendant.
I remembered talking to him just before I left for my vacation. He had asked me what airline I was flying on and he mentioned that his niece worked for American Airlines and worked the east-west coast flights. To this day, I can still see the picture of his niece on the wall next to his workstation. She was a beautiful woman.
After the third day losing my flight again and again, I decide to just go to the airport the next morning and find some way to get on a flight.
I went out to a bar with my brothers the evening before I left. All I could think about was my plain flying into the Sears Tower since my original flight had a connection in Chicago ending up in Oakland, California. So, I made peace with it and accepted the possibility.
My dad brought me to the airport in Providence and I got in line and finally got my ticket. Turns out I was flying to DC and on to San Francisco, so it was no sears Tower for me.
I thanked my dad and said good-bye and boarded a small jet craft headed for DC.
We flew over New York City. It was a morning not much different than that fateful day.
Brisk, but crystal clear; a smoldering plume still lingered from the rubble as we passed over ground zero in flight. It was very quiet on that plane. Everyone was peering out the portals to view the devastation.
I landed at Dulles Air port in Washington DC and I waited to board my connection onto San Francisco. It was another surreal kind of experience as I watched people in the lobby and waiting area. The world as we all took it to be would never again be the same.
My flight back to the Bay Area was a smooth one. The folks on board got real quiet when we approached SFO for landing.
When we finally landed everyone on board clapped and cheered.
I was fortunate not to have lost anyone special or dear to me on that dark day, but I do know some folks who did lose people dear to them and my heart goes out to the fallen and their families.
Part of me doesn’t want to remember that day, but the other part of me has to.
That’s where I was on September 11, 2001 and I’ll never forget it.
IN MY DAYCARE
I WAS IN MY DAYCARE
I was a senior in high school and had just walked into my Money Management class, probably a few minutes before 10. Our teacher had the tv on and as everyone started filing in to take their seats the shock and disbelief started to show on our faces. Then the towers fell. We watched the coverage for the rest of the day.
I was asleep. I live in Australia. My friend rang and woke me up to tell me. I fell back asleep thinking it was a dream, then woke up the next morning to the images all over the TV. I was so freaked out by it that when some fighter jets flew over my house (as a rehearsal for a parade later that day, I found out) I was seriously convinced that the whole world was screwed.
I was on my way to work in DC as a contractor for a government agency.
I left my house for the metro before anything happened. The planes hit while I was on the metro, or on the walk from the metro to my building downtown. When I got into the office, nobody was around and the internet traffic was really slow. I tried to chat with a friend of mine and she told me to turn on the TV. I went to the closest TV to my office and everyone was crowded around that one TV watching. While I was in the office we started getting reports that there was a plane over the Mall, near the White House, which turned out to be false, but then the plane hit the pentagon.
Our building ended up being the evacuation site for the White House staff, so they told all “non-essential” staff that they could go home. As a contractor I was clearly non-essential, so I wandered the streets for a little while and ended up at my friend’s office until it was clear that there weren’t going to be any attacks on the Metro.
I was in the car and turned on the local Milwaukee radio station while driving to the bank to take out money to buy a car that day (which would be ever after remembered as our 9-11 car). I was horrified, of course. At the car dealership, in between processing paperwork, customers and employees gathered in the lobby to watch the sad events unfold on the TV there. Frequently heard and felt was “Oh my God.” And I knew I was not alone in my tears and prayers for those most immediately impacted.
As a parent with a daughter in high school, I had to wonder how she was receiving the news, but I trusted that the high school would handle it to the best of their ability.
Finally, as a church music director, thoughts turned to having a school prayer service the next day – what could we sing that would make sense, what could we say that the kids would understand and that would not add to their fear? As for the parish, we didn’t immediately have a prayer service, but I realized that I had to change some of the songs I had previously picked for the weekend because of the enormity of the event. I picked a song called God is Love which has words in its 2nd verse: “And when human hearts are breaking under sorrow’s iron rod, then we find the self-same aching deep within the heart of God.” We were also to sing America the Beautiful, which would never be the same again, its vs. 4 saying “thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears.” And, God Bless America would bring comfort to people as a postlude and sung whenever possible in the weeks to come, not just at church, but at baseball games, too, during the 7th inning stretch.
at home (I’m retired). My wife was working in downtown DC, a block from the White House. She called to tell me to turn on the TV. When the Government closed, she couldn’t get to her car; so she and some co-workers started walking — seven miles. About half way, some ladies in a car picked them up.
at preschool
I was in my social studies class in 7th grade when we had just finished an in-class video. Popping the video out, the TV returned to the regular cable programming, which was showing where two planes had just hit the WTC.
Milwaukee At home doing laundry. Husband called to tell me to watch tv. Wow I will never forget the fear I had when I saw the White house being evacuated.
i was in 1st grade i didn’t know what happen until the next day i was thinking that it would be over in 1 week but… it wasn’t
I was in kidnergarten and my parents had told me to not watch the news because there was stuff that a 5 year old shouldnt be watching. So the teacher turned on the tv and I saw the exploding buildings but I though, being the ignorant 5 year old I was, that it was normal news stuff. I didn’t find out what it was till I was 7.
I was in our regular Crisp County Commission meeting for the month of September. We had gotten started and were moving down the agenda. Soon, our sheriff who was only there to speak in behalf of something going on, began to check his pager. Our local tv guy filming the meeting, began checking his pager. They both stepped outside to soon return. We stopped our meeting for a briefing by the Sheriff, of what was transpiring, yet nonone knew why or exactly what was going on. A member of the audience suggested we have a moment of silence and a word of prayer, which we did, then we continued on with our meeting until finished. As rest of the day, and the ones to come, followed, who could have ever imagined what they would begin to unfold.
I was working for a U.S. Senator in Washington. As I was walking from the Union Station Metro stop to the office, I heard a reporter walking behind me talking on a cell phone to someone about a plane hitting the WTC.
I walked into the office and watched a TV as the second plane hit. Then the staffer who handled military matters (a Marine officer on loan) came out of his office and said there had been “an explosion” at the Pentagon. He suggested leaving the Senate office building, but the Capitol police came on the phone system and said to stay in our offices. Then someone must have changed their minds and they came back on and said to evacuate. Everyone ran out of the building.
When I got outside, I heard jet engines and eveyone started looking up. It must have been the fighter aircraft that were sent from nearby bases. I walked over to my new wife’s office on the other side of the U.S. Capitol (taking a roundabout route to avoid walking right past it) and found she and her coworkers had left. I then followed the crowd away from the Capitol to the neighborhoods nearby, and found a coworker’s house and watched the coverage from there.
She drove me home later since the Metro was closed. I finally found my wife (who I’d married two weeks earlier and returned from our honeymoon the Saturday before) at our house later. Definitely weird sonce the DC cell phone system was so jammed you couldn’t get through.
I was in my office on the 19th Floor of the 191 Building in Atlanta. I got to my office just after the first tower was hit, turned on the TV to see the second tower hit and watched the events unfold in horror. When it was rumored that Atlanta buildings were the target of another plane, the building evacuated and I returned home to my family.
Me and my 23 mos baby was on board of NWA got diverted to Canadian AFB in Winnipeg Manitoba….It was an unforgettable moment. We arrived Winnipeg 11am but didnt get off plane until 930pm….
I was a home watching it on TV
unbelievably at the Georgia State Capitol for a special session of the Democrat-controlled legislature, which did not adjourn even after the horrific terrorist attack.
I was at work. A co-worker announced that a plane just crashed into the World Trade Tower. I thought it was a small single engine plane that crashed. We spent all day at work watching the news about what really happend. The city had coordinated an evacuation plan for those working downtown by using the city buses right after the planes crashed that morning. It was a tragic and scary day. Even today, I still find it hard to look at the images of 9/11.
I was in my school in the 7th grade. I remember the principal coming over the P.A system and saying that a national tragedy had occured. At the time, we didn’t know what to think, after all I was only 12. I remember switching to my 9:00am class and smelling burning. I told my teacher about it and he joked “If something’s burning I’m not going over there”. Little did we know, we were being attacked. Kids were getting pulled out of school left and right, but because my mom worked in my elementary school, I was to stay put. When I went home that night and sat on the floor watching the footage over and over on t.v my mother went to go put the American flag outside of our house. I was terrified because I thought that the terrorists were nearby and they would know that we were American. I now appreciate my mom’s act because even in the face of terror, we Americans prevailed. God bless those poor people in the towers and everyone else who went to work that day and had to experience these terrible events.
I was 7 years old sitting in my 3rd grade class. My teacher came in crying and said that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. She tried her best to explain to us what had happened, but most of us thought that there was a plane just sitting in the middle of the building. It wouldn’t be until a few hours later that I had really known what happened.
I was on my way down I-75 to KSU. Heard the news report on 104.7 The Fish and thought it was a Cesna that wasn’t watching where he was going. Thought it weird, but not a major story – just another small plane crash. Got to school/work (same place at the time) and found out the real story.
I was in-between 1st and 2nd period my freshmen year of high school, when a classmate mentioned something. The following period was my “social studies” class, in which we stayed glued to the TV for the remainder of the day.
I was on the I-75 from Macon to Tampa, heard the news on the radio, pulled off the interstate, went to a Shoney’s in Valdosta that had a tv, and watched in horror. Turned around and went back home to be with my family.
i was in shool my senior year, first period went on like normal. Then i walked in my next class and the tv was on, i watched it all from my desk. Very sad day.
Roswell, GA I was in P.E. my freshman year of high school. We were running in the gym and knew something had happened, but the coach would not let us stop to inquire further. Only when I reached my next class did I come to understand what had happened.
I was at the Georgia Capitol, listening to the debate on redistricting. When I tried to return to my office, I was blocked from entering the parking deck and told the building was closed, as were all tall office buildings. I went home and with my husband, watched the horror on TV. Our 6 and 4 year old played in the next room, with no notion of the terribly tragic events of that day.
I was…in Los Angeles late for my job. I had to be there at 7am so I called a cab and heard on the radio about the first plane. When I got to work at the coffee house there was a TV that my boss brought in. I saw the second plane hit, then the collapse of the south tower. Worried about my loved ones in NYC. Our coffee house shut down due to the tragedy. All of my coworkers came to my house to watch CNN. I will never forget the feelings I felt on 9/11/01. Never have I seen such sadness and tragedy and I hope I never experience that sadness again.
WE were:
http://atlantapoliticsonline.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-of-rememberence.html
Atlanta Bloggers share their memories
It was my first semester of college and I was in my dorm room getting ready for an Accounting test. My roommate turned on the television and almost immediately called out to me that a plane had flown into a building in New York. We watched the news coverage in horror as the second plane crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. We were both completely in shock. I will never forget that day.
Newnan, Georgia I was in AP U.S. History when the planes struck the towers. Another teacher came to our class to tell us that we should turn on the news, but ironically our teacher thought we needed to keep learning our History. No one really knew that it would be such a defining historical event.
I was at recess when i came in to hear the news of the twin towers. The speaker came on and told the whole school what had happened. The teachers cried. I didn’t know why until later. I just new that a tradgety had just happened!
I was at home in California getting our girls ready for school, wondering if my husbands cousins had made it out ok. One had not gotten in to work yet and other got out right before the building she was in came down. Absolutely terrifying to watch and wait for news about family members.
I was in Alpharetta, GA. My wife was supposed to fly home from LaGuardia that morning and I had dropped my 4 year old son off at daycare. In the car I heard about a plane crash in NY so I went home and turned on Fox News just in time to see the second plane hit. I went back and picked up my son and we waited for 3 days while my wife drove home.
South Georgia I was at home with a new baby, my husband, and 2 year old. My husband woke me up in time to watch the second plane hit the towers. Then we waited to see if he would be needed in Atlanta in case of an additional attack. I have never seen anything that horrible before or since that day. Since this terrorist attack, my husband has served one tour in Iraq and is currently serving a second tour.
I was at work in Holbrook, NY about 45 minutes from the Towers. We heard about it by family members calling the office. We all ran outside and from that far away you could see the smoke….
Cleveland Tennessee in class at Lee University. During class someone came in and told the professor what had happened. All classes for the rest of the day were cancelled. I went home and sat glued to the TV with my roommates for the next three days watching the horror. Perhaps one of the greatest memories that I have is when President Bush climbed up on the rubbel at ground zero took the bull horn from the old fireman and addressed the nation. What a powerful moment. I cant believe its been eight years.
St. Charles Missouri I was in Mr. Odell’s science class my sophmore year in high school when an aid from the office came down to tell him about the first plane hitting the first trade center. I was in my English class when the second one hit the second trade center… I remember watching it on the tv as it hit and broke out in tears. We will never forget the fallen of NY and the people that continue to suffer from the effects of this terrorist act!!!!
I was in the Air Force, a Financial Management instructor at Sheppard AFB TX. The first plane hit and I went across the hall and told a friend “maybe it was a small commuter or something”. Then the 2nd plane hit and all hell broke loose.
I was in my 9th Grade Civics class in Blairsville Georgia
Atlanta, GA I was in class at Georgia Tech where we were reviewing for a final. When class was dismissed we walked outside and starting giving a hard time to a classmate who had missed the review. He was in the ROTC and told us that a plane had hit the Pentagon and the towers. We ran back to our dorms to watch the coverage.
I was in my office — a law office in south Georgia. One of the attorneys called and said a plane had hit the World Trade Centers. We turned on the TV in time to see the first tower colapse. The attorney I worked for turned to me and said “The world will never be the same now. We are at war.” He encouraged us all to continue working — to not let the terrorists win. The day moved on in slow motion.
I was in American History class with Ms. Thomas when a fellow teacher, Ms. Graff, interrupted the lesson to speak to Ms. Thomas on the side. While two teachers having a sidebar was not common, it wasn’t unusual either. As long as I live I will remember the look on my teacher’s face as she came back to the class to tell us the news. We had a television in the room, which she immediately turned on and the class began watching the news coverage in complete silence. When our principle got on the PA system and instructed the teachers to ignore the news and continue with their lessons. Ms. Thomas said that we were going to continue watching the news because this was “history in the making” and it was important for us to see. She then stood at the door, keeping a lookout for administrators. For the remainder of the period we sat captivated by the images on the screen.
Tulsa, OK I was a freshman in high school, sitting in math class. I remember the librarian coming and whispering something to the teacher. She turned the TV on in time for us all to see the second plane hit… Unforgettable, we were all in shock. Our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones that day.
Scotland, UK – I was feeding my 3 month old baby son. I rang my husband who did not know anything about it. He and his colleagues then found a television and watched as the events unfolded. I also watched the whole event and saw the second plane hit the tower. I sat there crying my eyes out and still do when I see it again. It was the worst act of terrorism I have ever seen. My thoughts are with all the people who lost loved ones and friends on that terrible day.
Conshohoken PA (Outside Phila PA) I was working for a company in CONSHOHOKWEN Pennsylvania called US SUPPLY Company.. I was an IT Manager there at the time … We heard the news — my co worker and I immediately went to a tv in time to see the 2nd plane hit.. We were almost immediately told to go home and get your children from school and wife from work.. Still brings tears to my eyes !
I was in at school my 9th grade year. It was during my gym class and we had gone outside to play kickball. When I went back inside to go to my keyboarding class the teacher told us that the Twin Towers were gone. Apparently they had made an announcement before but we didn’t hear it because we were outside. It didn’t hit me at the time what had happened.
In Arkansas
I was…in the office mourning the loss of a coworker’s wife. Heard the news and assumed an accident. Then heard about the 2nd one, followed by DC and the PA crash. Had coworker’s and family in DC and at WTC, and worried all day until they were all accounted for.
Lawrenceville, GA I was at the dentist. The radio was on talking about the first plane. At that point they were describing it as a small plane and I thought some pilot lost control somehow. Of course it wasn’t much longer before we realized what was really going on.
I was in a meeting in a conference room in our maspeth office. A secretary came in an told us that a plane had just crashed into the WTC. After watching the TV for a few minutes, some of us went up onto the roof of our 2 story building and looked across the river as smoke poured out of the tower. A horrible, helpless feeling watching a building I had previously worked in for 5 years die.
I remember being told to leave our local post office that day because someone called 911 and said they were members of the group that brought the towers down and they had planted a bomb in our mail distribution center and post office I remember the swat team rolling into the building telling everyone to leave immediately
I was in a classroom in Dublin watching the news and realizing that the panic that my parents went through during the troubles was now hitting the biggest nation on the planet and how the nightmares were just beginning it was unreal to see police standing guard outside the airport it was unreal to have England become completely locked down that day it was unreal to have NYC completely and totally on lock down
I was at home with my four year old son. The television was on. I watched as the second plane hit. We prayed.
I had just returned from working out and getting ready to go to work in my home office when my wife and I saw it happen on television. My first words was this was no accident and when we saw the 2nd plane hit I said we were under attack. I will never forget the feeling I had knowing so many had lost their lives in that instant and so many more would die before the day was over, including family members of some dear friends.
I was at a community centre in London, England serving food and it came on the lunchtime news. The group I was with (over 50’s west indian people) were all eating and we just watched in amazement. We thought it was an accident at the time but then saw the 2nd plane hit and then realised it was terrorism. Then I left there and went food shopping in Tesco and everyone was crowded around the TV displays watching as the towers fell. It was very scary.
Indiana I was in 6th grade changing for gym in the locker room. The Principle came over the intercome and was talking and we couldnt hear him finally we got quite and heard we all went to our ‘home rooms’ and watched the news after that. I was only 11 and confused on what was happening but it was still sad.
I was in my 1st Period History Class in my 10th grade year when a teacher came running in to get our teacher…it was surreal like, what do you mean the Twin Towers are gone? Looking back at 16yrs old it didn’t quite hit me until I got home and turned on the tv. A truly tragic day that will live with all of us for the rest of our lives. None of those people deserved what happened and here we are 8 years later, with more victims being added everyday.
Scotland I was in school. I was only 6 years old, but I remember leaving school and watching it all on the news, at about 3.45-4.00pm. I remember sitting with my mum, aunt & uncle and watching footage of the towers falling, the planes hitting, again and again. I was young, but it’s my most vague memory.
i was picking mushrooms when i herd. thats to bad sombody so cruel would do such a thing
I was brushing my teeth… getting ready to walk to school. My stepdad came home from the night shift and told me to turn on the TV… I told him that I didn’t have time but he told me to anyway. I did, and when I did, I was in utter shock. I could not believe it. Still can’t believe it sometimes. School was hard to get through that day. We had some really amazing teachers that really helped us get through the day.
In my car driving to work, heard the news on the radio and sat in the parking lot listening to the news
I was 11, after rumours all day at school and walking home, I relised when I was home what had happened. A terrible and tragic day that I will never forget.
miami, fl I had just walked into my office and took a look into my computer, when the first plane hit one of the towers, and I was speech less, and started crying to see how is that we did’nt see this coming – or did the President did know?
I wonder…
not born yet
just woke up, and getting ready for school. and I saw the T.V. screen I was the 3rd grade at the time, so I was confused.
San luis obispo, CA I had just gotten up for school when the first tower was hit and I was watching the news. Then I saw the second plane go across the screen and thought it was odd tha a plane was flying that low then I saw it fly into the second tower.
I was at work. Someone brought in a TV and set it up in a conference room. All of us on the floor made our way to it throughout the day. A group of us watched the first tower fall and someone said that looks like a controlled demolition. A different person, when the second tower fell said the same thing.
asleep in bed and my wife who worked for American Airlines, called to tell me to turn the TV on and that her flight from Seattle to New York had been canceled.
taking a standardized test at a high school in Indiana
I was working at the USF&G tower in Downtown Baltimore. The talllest building in Maryland….
your location (optional) I was…examining a roof for possible hail damage,
at home in Seattle getting ready for work.
I was at school, going into french class. Confused.
I was checking into the security building into los alamos when i saw the news. Needless to say things got significantly harder to get in almost instantly.
6th grade class
I was in my 2nd grade reading class
I was in homeroom in 6th grade.
in my eighth grade history class.
asleep in a basement about 25 miles away
in bed
In my 8th grade French class
Pulaski, NY Sitting in my eighth grade social studies class.
I was in 7th Grade English. When the second tower crashed, my father picked me and my sister up. There were three different pairs of parents there to pick their children up from school.
lol
i was considering starting a website………..it would be an imageboard website called……………4chan…………..then i realised id be happier becoming a male prostitue in mexico
getting told a story by a bunch of school children. it was the first time i finished a book
I was behind my snare drum during band in 7th grade.
I was presenting a grant proposal in Michigan to a bunch of people from a company in New York City. We stopped and watched it unfold on TV.
Flying a plane…
I was watching the morning news while lying in a hospital bed recovering from a heart attack the day before.
I was eating a bowl of cereal watching it on the news when it first happened
I was at school…In computer class…a day i will never forget…we watched the second plane hit on t.v.
in my dorm room just waking up for classes around 9 a.m.. I then had to hear my very naive roommate state, “I didn’t think planes were allowed to fly that close in the city!”
Trying on my mother’s bras and panties
Sleeping at home
singing torres gemelas from delfin hasta el fin, ay ay ayyyyyyyyyyyy
I was in my English class. I was in 6th grade. the principal dragged every classroom in the hallway out to tell us the news and that we were going to be dismissed from class early.
At school, I was in 4th grade. The school didn’t tell us anything, neither did the bus driver. When I got home, my mother was crying and I didn’t know why.
I was witnessing the shocking event on TV at the time..
The story of where I was is rather appropriate. I was a freshman in high school and was in my choir class. We were in the process of voicing for our parts. The song that my choir teacher used for voicing was “America the Beautiful.” As one of my choir mates was singing the song, the other choir teacher for the upper choirs came running in flailing his arms about. “A PLANE JUST HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER!” David finished singing and then we watched the news as the second plane hit.
In school. Had just walked into Language Arts class to see the TV News reporting what was going on an the LA teacher looking shocked. Was pretty young (7th or 8th grade) so I didn’t really understand what was going on.
Park Hills, KY I was in my freshman honors English class in high school. An announcement over the intercom let us know that something had happened. The teacher turned on the TV to watch the news. Five minutes later we watched as the second tower hit. We stared in shock, people cried, someone asked why anyone would do such a thing.
Waking up with a strange feeling as the first plane hit the tower. After that, I was glued to the TV.
at the airport
wanking
…coming down with what later proved to be double pneumonia. I was sitting in a chair in my house in Prescott Arizona, feeling horrible and coughing my lungs out, when my eleven year old son came in and shouted, “Dad, come quick, an airplane just hit a building in New York!”
at work in a nursing home.
installing ceiling tile at a Church just off of Hwy 71 in Austin, TX
Grandmas couch
I the backwaters of Prey Vang province looking for ordinance. Found out about the 9/11 a few days later. Kinda wrecked my day.
i was smoking a big fat blunt
i was smoking marijuana
I was in work, I heard about what was happening when my sister phoned me, I was getting the details as they happened, I was shocked and tried to tell my colleagues but they wouldn’t listen to me, I realized what an ignorant bunch of B*******s they are. I don’t work there any more.
I was hitting on the large breasted girl next to me in high school physics.
I was at school when I heard about what happened. I was a senior in high school at the time. I remember people talking about terrorist, starting a war and people being drafted. That particular start off differently than most as well…….
I was sitting in my second grade class room. A teacher from across the hall rushed in and turned on the television. I remember they kept talking about “Terrorists” and “The World Trade Center” but I had no idea what that was. My mother picked me up from school early.
I just lit a candle to join with fans from all around the world to paying their respects to Michael. He’s gone, but not forgotten.
You can to
Just like this candle that will burn forever, your music, your unmatched ta
lent and good heart will live on forever in us. RIP King of Pop! We love you MJ.
England I was work at the time, when a colleague mentioned that events were unfolding in the US with a plane crashing in the US. Shortly, afterwards the second plane hit the other tower and clearly this was something more than intially expected.
When the towers collapsed, thoughts immediately turned to the loss of lives. Many felt compelled to watch the events unfold on the news.
I remember a year on from 9/11 where we held three minute silence to remember the ones we lost. It was very moving, as we all gathered outside on the street to stand together. People were stopping in their cars and getting out, construction work that was happening next to our offices at the time stopped. It was a surreal moment, the area I was in fell into complete silence, even to the extent the wind became still.
It felt like the world had held its breath for those three minutes.
I was…in my home with my mother who was in the last stages of liver cancer. I saw the planes hit on TV. It was a horrible combination of events as my mother died soon after.
I was getting out of the shower at 6 am in California when I saw the TV
I was at school, out on the playground. It was recess. We were lining up to go in when I was called to go to the office, my dad had come to pick me up. I didn’t think anything of it until I got home and found out mom was still at the base, stuck there because of a lock-down. She had called my dad to come get me so she knew I was in a safe place until she was able to leave again, after the lock-down was over. I still didn’t know about what had happened, but then dad showed me the newspaper. I showed no real reaction to it, but I am aware of how horrible it is. A few months later I got to visit NYC and got to see the rubble that once was the towers.
Big Creek Elementary, Ohio I was at school at in 4th grade and there was gossip our school was gonna get bombed. And our class went to the cafeteria for a message that everything is fine. I just thought everyone was being dumb and should get back to class. I know kids were getting taken home but I didn’t know why or care. When I got off the bus at the end of the day my mom was waiting for me and I thought someone in my family was sick or something or my cat died or whatever. I got in and for the first time that day (that I remember) I saw the news and she was hugging me. I was just confused and didn’t honestly care. Not to be mean or heartless, it’s just it didn’t affect me directly and I didn’t really understand it. My mom was all tears, though.
Mission West Elementary School Richmond, Texas I was at school I was in 4th grade my teacher was contacted on a phone that only went connected to the front office he spoke to the person on the line for a few minutes he then turned on the tv that was connected to the computer and showed us a link from his email on cnn.com he explained what was going on and the significance of the buildings we put our heads down on our desks and where told we could pray if we wanted later the principal came on the intercom and explained what had happened many students where being taken home by their parents who feared the school could be a terrorist target when lunch time came around we had to eat “silent lunch” where talking was not allowed by lunch about half the school was gone and the lights in the school where dimmed to help keep us quiet after lunch the teacher turned on the tv to CNN and we did not go to music class or gym the bus ride home was silent and had about 7 out of the 30 students that usually rode it and that’s where I was
in Montreal
I love you…mine…
I was out in the middle of the Arizona desert building a highway bridge. During our mid morning break the foreman informed us about it. At lunch I drove 10 miles to a truck stop that had a television. What I saw shocked the hell out of me. I had watched those towers go up, and now I watched them come down. At first, I was depressed. Then I became ANGRY! This means WAR!!!!
In bed in Australia…I wondered what the hell was happening to be honest
I was getting ready for school and walked past my mother watching the ABC coverage, she looked upset so I sat down next to her and watched as the second plane hit. I was only 7 at the time but my teacher talked to us all about it when I got to school.
I was in school as a 2nd grader, not really knowing what was going on. I didn’t even find out what had happened until my friend told me the day after.
On 9/11 – Michigan Technological University Walking back to my dorm room after a chemistry class my freshman year in college. As I walked through the door my roommate looked at me, his complexion much whiter than normal. He then said to me in a tone of much more seriousness I was used to, “Look at the TV.” He didn’t yell, he didn’t even point, actually he almost muttered the words. Fifteen seconds later I saw the second plane crash, on live TV, into the tower. I then understood why my roommate was not his normal self. I continued to watch the news coverage with our dorm room door open for the next couple hours. Honestly, I don’t know when I stopped watching that, or what I may have done afterwards. I just remember walking into that room, the look on my roommates face, watching the second plane crash and both towers fall…and the rest is history.
I was in Georgia, in my parents room, in a lazy boy. I was 14 and the day before had broken my collarbone while rollerblading. On the morning of September 11th, I was in a lot of pain and up playing Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64. Even though I could have easily played all morning, I turned it over to the television. They were just beginning the coverage and I was just in time to see the second plane hit on live television. I don’t regret breaking my collarbone. If I had not, then I would have been in school. In school the teachers didn’t let anyone watch it. I’m very grateful for the broken collarbone. After all, I’m a semester from graduating college with a degree in criminal justice. I plan on being a police officer and seeing where that takes me. September 11th played a big part in that decision.
Galion, OH I woke up early that morning. I had my son and I was getting him ready for…….something. He was watching something like Rolly Polly Olly when I saw the news on the kitchen t.v. that the towers were on fire. I thought to myself “well, the FDNY will put out a simple fire”. I had no idea what had happened. When I saw the towers collapse I was devastated. I went to work that night with a hole in my heart. Meanwhile, some local gas stations jacked prices up to, and can you believe this, $2.50 a gallon!! Against company policy, I closed our store early and held a moment of silence for those who lost their lives. One of the most nervous days of my life.
Tempe, AZ While it happened I was asleep, however I first heard the whispers about it when I got on the school bus. I was in 6th grade at the time and all the teachers at school (especially the social studies teachers) were upset because the superintendent wouldn’t allow them to play the news footage. Not until I got home and watched it fully did I understand the full scale of it.
Seattle, WA I was sleeping at home in Seattle… i remember my mom coming in and saying “There’s something the kids and teachers will probably be talking about.” and she told me all about it. Being only five, i didn’t really understand the severity of the situation at the time, but i remember seeing clips of the towers blowing up and hearing about all the people that died.
Red Hook, NY I believe I was in school at the time. 6th grade. I think it was during lunch that someone first told me, though I wasn’t really sure at first what was happening. We went home the period after that and when I got home I watched the news when it really sunk in what had happened.
I was sleeping in my dorm.
I was just getting off work at the fire station in tulsa ok
I was in sitting in on a distance learning Latin class when word spread that something happened in New York. Throughout the day we all moved from class to class watching the news or hearing dreadful rumors concerning martial law and forced drafts (what imaginations!). My mom picked me up from school and, standing on my sidewalk in front of my house, I looked up at the sky. We live under flight paths south of O’Hare, and are used to hearing planes at all hours, but it was stone silent. There was nothing in the sky- not even a cloud, and the sky was a clear blue. That’s the strongest memory I have of that day.
Santa Barbara, CA I was getting ready for school
Sittin in History hopin i wouldnt have to run in a cross country meet that night.
I was in my first hour english class.
in my school lunchroom. yay.
Everett, Wa at home with my kids, and ny son came into my bedroom and said”Mom, I think something bad just happened…” Just minutes later we witnessed the second plane hit…an awful day in our History!
Council Bluffs, Iowa I was in my social studies class, 7th grade, with Mr. Bloom, in Jr.High at Kirn when all of a sudden the announcer tells every one to turn their classroom t.v.’s on and there it was… We had no classes that day, we just went from class to class watching as the story developed.
Portland, OR I was sleeping in…it was my last week at home before heading to college, so I had already quit my summer job. At around 10:00 AM Pacific time (I’m on the west coast) my mom walks in and wakes me up, says I should turn on the TV because a big terrorist attack had happened. By this point it was already 1:00 PM on the east coast, so the towers had long ago fallen. When I first turned on the TV I couldn’t even figure out what had happened right away, because they were still showing so many clips of the towers standing and burning…so at first I thought the tower were still standing. But then they showed the live shots with the towers gone, and I was like “they COLLAPSED?” Then it dawned on me that everything had already happened long ago that morning…
I had a friend who was backpacking in the Olympic mountains that week, and didn’t learn what happened until 4 days later when he came out of the woods. Imagine HIS surprise.
I was in my French class (10th grade). Our neighboring teacher came in and told her to turn the tv on because of the events. My teacher refused and said we had to study our French verbs. The entire class walked out then and there.
i war at home watching city pulse news when the plane hit the second tower
Phoenix, Arizona i was waking up getting ready for school, i was 13 at the time and my dad was telling me what was going on, i did’nt fully believe him but when i got to the living room it was on CNN and so me and my sister she was 11 at the time also, we were still dressing for school when the towers fell i called my parents from the kitchen when it happened it was probably the most horrifying thing ive ever witnessed.
i was in my kindergarden class
I was walking into my 6th grade classroom. Our P.E. teacher had come into the room and was staring at a portable TV in disbelief. We sat down, saw smoke billowing from the Twin Towers and watched for the next hour.
I was on the couch recovering from a night shift at the hospital. It was a very beautiful day. I usually watched the news in the AM before going to bed, but for some reason, I was watching a movie, “28 Days” with Sandra Bullock. Our apartment door opened, and my husband came in, I will never forget the look on his face. I thought someone in our family had died. I ended up not sleeping the entire day and going back to work that night. I will never forget it.
I was in my classroom at Wood Elementary. We Had to stay in our classroom almost all day.
I was 9 at the time; I remember it because I had been off school that day unwell. I was lying on the sofa feeling awful and it was on the news. I think I started off annoyed because something I wanted to watch had been cancelled. Then my mother was really shocked and I kinda realised it was much more than a little inconveniance.
i was at school in year 6 (england) and i remember walking home at the end of the day in the most perfect weather i have ever experienced. i reached home, turned on the TV and every channel was covering the events.
louisville, ky at your mother’s house..
louisville, ky busy..why should i help you?
busy..why should i help you?
hello
I was…in kindergarten, I can’t believe it’s been, 8 years already. Well I’m a teenager now and at that time I was learning my abc’s I still remebed what happened I always knew when people were upset espeially my teachers they never told us anything cause we were too young I understand but when I got home my parents were crying which to me was not normal my little sister died at birth so my parennrs hired a mentee you can call i sorta like a big sister we were all gonna meet up with her at the empire state building cause she had something planned for me, as I grew older I began to understand what hapened my parents told me we never ended up going cause my dad had to work in ct my mentee was apart of it she herself had to work she died. I’m crying while writting it coulda been me and my family I misshersomuch I can’t believe she’s gone she was like a sister to me I love her and miss her never forget 9/11
Alberta, Canada I was vacationing with my wife in Vancouver, BC, Canada. We flew down that Sunday for a week away… and what a week it turned into! When the USA closed their skies to all air traffic, Vancouver took in a multitude of international flights with nowhere to land.
I remember scores of people pulling luggage down the sidewalks in search of lodging.
I also remember being glued to CNN from 9:00 a.m. on late into the night.
So much for a “vacation” away from home. During this time of horrible tragedy, all WE wanted to do was BE HOME and since we flew in it was looking like a long drive home.
I now understand my parent’s generation talking about where they were when JFK was assassinated – the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon have generated the same sort of response from everyone that I know. Fear, disbelief, anger, and opening our hearts to everyone in their time of need.
I have to admit that although it’s been more than 7 years, I still feel emotional whenever I read a story, watch a video, or see pictures about that horrific day.
Colorado I was living in Pennsylvania at the time…. I had just returned home the previous day from a birthday trip to NYC, and 9/11 was my first day back to work as a radio DJ. I was one of the morning show DJ’s, and my on-air shift ended at 09:00. At 09:10, I was passing on some information to the mid-day DJ, when the Program Director from one of our sister stations came in and said a plane just flew into the WTC. Since he knew I had just visited NYC, I actually thought he was joking. When he didn’t smile, I knew he was serious. I ran into the news room where there was a TV, and watched in horror as the events were unfolding. We immediately changed from being a music station to a news station, reporting the events as we were receiving the news from the AP Wire. For the next week or two, we did not play music. We talked about the events, had guest speakers who either were there or knew someone who was, and clergy who talked about the feelings people were expressing. It was a very emotional time… I broke down on the air once or twice while talking about the horror. To this day I cannot hear about the events of 9-11-01 without getting emotional.
I was…in first grade. Mrs. Richey was reading us a book because it was story time. I was the first one to leave my school. I remember going home and my mom and dad crying. I watched the news and then went outside and played with my best friend in our pool. Hey, I was only 6! And, I remember us running inside because the sonic boom happened. I was so young and I never realized how much had changed. I really didn’t know what was happening.
i was making love to my woman indeed yes im the ladies man
I was in a high school tech class.
It was my fourth day teaching 1st grade in Brooklyn. I had just graduated from Penn State and I was so excited to be living in NYC…I didn’t realize how much my life was about to change…forever.
Indiana I was in 6th grade. I was in my first period which was gym. We were in the dressing room getting changed for the class and the principle came over the announce asking for a moment of silence and telling us to go to our home room. Everyone was talking and girls were yelling for everyone to shut up. We walked out into the hall and sat down and our teacher came out crying. I was still confussed to what was going on and getting scard. When we got to our home rooms they had the news on and i saw what was happening. Then the second plane hit and I didnt know what to think. Some people started crying and others like me just sat there in shock. A few minutes later a annoucment came on that school was getting out early. My mom came and got me and told me what all happened. I was scared because I didnt know what else was going to happen. Later that night i cried when they were talking about all the deaths and i saw footage and the people jumping out of the buidings. I didnt go to school the next day because of it.
I was getting dressed for my speech class in college when my sister phoned me and told me what was happenning.
Everyone at school was acting weird, like zombies in disbelief and shock.
Suffice it to say, I just went back home to watch everything unfold on t.v. and cried my eyes out for America and our grave loss.
People around the world just don’t understand the circumstances and our pain because it wasn’t their country being attacked. America has not been right for many years now and I don’t think things will ever be the same again. I will never, ever forget that day as long as I live.
i was 14. i was at a burger joint across from my high school ordering fries (yes in the morning). as i waited for them to be prepared, i watched the tv since i noticed everybody’s eyes were glued to it. i was confused. what the hell was happening?
I was at work watching it on tv
i was becoming 5moths old
i was 8 when the wtc collapsed. i never new what the world trade centre was. The wtc collapsed at 10:30 and uk time was 15:30 so it must have been a shock to find within 1:30hrs of the working day the both fell and how little time people had to get out and in califonia they would hav collapsed before people had got up. osama bin laden was mentioned on the news to quickly for me to beleive it was organised by him. AT 9:30 US time osama was being mentioned on the news, on youtube evidence is unproveable about the terriorist still being alive, no one can prove that but the pentagon hole is obiviously to small and the 2nd plane to hit the wtc looks black. i don’t want to beleive it was an inside job but i don’t think 10 terrorist could have brought down the wtc’s with only small knifes to take over a plane.
On a 757 NWA plane that took off at 8:00AM from Boston Logan airport. My flight took off between the AA and United flights that were highjacked.
I was a sophomore in high school. It was second hour and our fire alarm went off. This created some confusion because some people had heard about what happened and some had not. After our school filed back inside we were instructed to go to our third period class where we watched the news and the second plane hit. It was a strange day, nobody could even laugh or crack a smile. It was a sea of worry. You couldn’t help looking up into the blue blue sky and feeling profound sadness when there were no planes landing and taking off from O’Hare.
Oh, and somebody had an accident in chemistry. That’s why our fire alarm went off. But how ironic….
i was here
I was in college. I went to an art class and the Professor had lit candles. I had no idea what was going on and she broke the news to the class as if we already knew. I went back to my room and turned on the news and saw the footage. I have grown up watching so many things blow up in movies I was not moved to tears or anything. However, I did immediately start calling my family in N.Y. My Mom called me (in W.I.) very concerned about my safety! I guess she thought that could be the start of some huge attack. Anyways, I guess I was just in disbelief.
I was just getting to third period Chemistry with Mr. Ellis (I was in 10th grade) when another teacher Mr. Hejazi came running down the hall to tell us to turn on the news. I stayed home sick all week and just watched the news constantly. It’s very hard to believe that it’s been 6 and a half years since then….the world keeps on turning.
i was not born yet SORRY loser oh and dont look in your
closet bitchs
asasas
Dallas TX I was in the skies over Florida.
Fishing in Nantucket, listening to the radio
Albury / Wodonga Studying for an exam while watching cable news.
on holiday in austria packing to fly home the following day.
i was working in a factory
At my friends home in the town of Britain at the age of 16 of course then I didn’t clearly understand the full effect of what had happened.
I witnessed the planes hit the towers and witnessed my friends dad sobbing over the tragedy. During school the teachers gathered into the science block to watch the television images of the towers…
It got so bad that some of my teachers actually left the school to go home as they were so upset.
From your friends and allies in Britain I must say that you maintained a decent position during the whole catastrophy and can merely only apologize for what you all felt on that horrific day.
Love from Britain,
Joshua Govus
jork I consider that beside Your site there is future!e
new Your site is very interesting and useful
new These prayers help me to keep God in my life, especially with the many distractions I encounter.”
jork Da nu Nah
Rochester, MI i was 12 when it happened. I was supposed to be in school but decided to stay home sick and sleep in. my mom woke me up around 9:20 and told me the news. i feel guilty now because i didn’t know what buildings the world trade center were. Anyway i went downstairs to look at the news with my dad, and i watched as both towers crumbled to the ground…. I had no emotion, until it hit me that there were people in there, and in the planes.. it wasn’t some scheduled demolition.. somebody attacked the buildings. I became more informed from news that day forward.. i had to know what happened… and what was going to happen.. later that night i cried in my room, just out of disbelief and sadness for all those sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers who weren’t going to come home that night to their families.
Austin, TX on my way to class at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
new I you all love!g
new I you all love!
jork I like it and the background and colors make it easy to reade
new Sentimental and nostalgic. Great.
new Please, do not delete the given message. Money obtained from spam will go to the help hungry to children ugand
i was at school n i didnt know what happend till 2day 11-21-08
Australia Very Nice Site! Thanx!
Whole Ass Amateur
it was the night of 9/11 and I was at my bording school in the dorms that night we had chineese food and I got a really trippy fourtune in my cookie. It said “The Events of Today Will Be Barried By the Sands of Time”
Western Australia On my way home from an AA meeting in Perth Australia. Driving down Warwick Road and I heard the news on the radio in the car. Everyone was asleep when I got home so I rang my Dad and told him and we both watched on our TVs. Told my husband when I went to bed but he didn’t remember when he woke up. All internet news sites were down but it was still on TV all next day.
jork Your guestbook is example of middle-class guestbooks. Congratulation! Ill show your site and guestbook to my friends.t
springfield missouri it was my day off. i was cleaning house as i always did on tuesdays. i was wearing jeans and a white tank top. i was trying to figure out why my vacuum wasn’t picking up, holding the hose in my hand. the phone rang. it was my mom. she said that something horrible had happened in nyc and i should turn on my tv. i never watch daytime tv and my mom had this sweet little habit of making little mundane things sound like world war 3, so i thought this was one of those times. i turned on the tv. the first image i saw was a young asian woman sitting in a truck. she and the truck were absolutely covered in what looked like white powder. the chaos was unreal. i listened to the newscaster’s voice and it started sinking in. i started to cry. i saw the ruined towers, saw the footage of the planes crashing into them and it was just surreal. it was nearly noon here in springfield, missouri before i found out. it was just insanity. my husband came home from work, something he’s never done before. everyone was scared, no one knew what to believe. he’d heard this rumor that something might be done to shut down the gas supplies. we filled up our cars and picked up our son from school. we just wanted to be together. other parents were doing the same thing. everyone was walking around in shock, some crying. in the blackest days of america’s history that followed, my friends, family and people i encountered were just shell shocked. we cried without warning. we were scared. we didn’t sleep. even writing this now is getting to me. i pray nothing this horrible ever happens again.
repairing a hardwood floor at the mall in Lake Wales, Florida. My girlfriend had just boarded a plane to Atlanta. I freaked.
new daite na pivo
jork Nice site… Cool guestbook…n
new Hi! Definitely nice and neat site you got there.
in 3rd grade. I remember we were all sitting around the white board learbing how to divide fractions, then my classmate’s brother came running in out of breath (we were on the top floor) gibbering about something about terrorist, then I remember he said ‘we are under attack’ and Hope ran out of the class with her brother. Everyone one was shocked and confused (we didn’t know what terrorist were, but we knew what attacked meant) and my teacher brought in the TV and we watched the plane crash over and over again. My classmates were leaving and crying and I was wondering wear my mom was because she was suppose to come back on that flight (she missed it that say, the power shut off in her hotel) and I was just….numb.
In my 6th grade class, I remember our teacher telling us that it was her birthday that day.
new Nice post. I\’ll return.e
at home looking at the news
i was taking a bath
I was in college in 2001. I didn’t have class that day and had decided to sleep in, but my mother called me at about 8:00 CST and told me to turn on the TV and a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center tower. I watched the television the rest of the day…while calling my sister, who was at school, to tell her to get home immediately (somehow, I just wanted all of my loved ones at home). I slept with the radio on and my car keys beside my bed for two weeks….just in case.
jork Pretty nice site, wants to see much more on it!
at your mamas house
I am a Fire Officer in South Africa, on that awfull day I went fishing with my dad and son in a river in Mpumalanga, a province in SA.
When my dad came over to me and told me about the planes hitting the towers I went cold and we prayed for the trapped and the familys of the dead, being what I am my concern was for those who went in while others runned out…….Never will we be the same, never will we look at a night sky and think of your city without feeling …….My heart and thoughts go out to all who has to live there, to see the emty space where once two giants stood to all who lost a loved one, especialy the Firemen,their families and brothers in arms…….I was not there, but I am with you in thought now
new This is very interesting site….
new Great site. I will bookmark for my sons to view as well!!!
new Wow!!! Good job. Could I take some of yours triks to build my own site?
i was in my 3rd grade class doing fractions
teaching religion to my first grade class. We had just finished praying the Our Father and a child asked me what “Thy Kingdom Come” meant. I tried to explain when our asst principal came over the intercom asking us to pray for our president. Then, a few moments later, my principal came to tell me that the twin towers were hit by planes. Later, she came to tell me that the pentagon was hit by something and so was a field in PA. I told her to send the students home since we were located so close to DC. We rounded up the whole school, with many parents helping out, and dismissed every student to their parents’ waiting cars. I remember how silent everyone was, especially those who had spouses working in DC, the pentagon, and out of town.
When I finally drove home, I remember how surreal the day was given that we were under attack. My brother and I were both expecting babies, he a son and me a daughter. It was strange to feel joy at that time. My daughter was born 5 days later and my nephew exactly one month after that. It was so emotional and scary.
I was in bed, when my mom came in my room. She usually woke me up to get ready for school and most the time she would lie about silly things to get me out of bed quicker (such as, it’s snowing, ect ect.). This day she came in and said “Get up! They’re attacking New York. I really didn’t believe her, so I stayed in bed maybe three minutes longer. She came in again and dragged me out of bed. After that I was glued to the tv until I went over to my friends house because her mom and my mom went off base for something. We lived on an Air Force Base at the time and it was on total lock down. No one could get back on base if they had left, like my mom had. It was just a crazy day.
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was at home, in Richmond,KY. I was in bed asleep after working at my 3rd shift job. My roommate came and told me the news. It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about.
Fort Worth, TX I was on my way to college. I heard it unraveling on the radio and by the time I walked into the common area at school to see it on the news the second plane hit. It was surreal. I will never ever forget. The thing that sticks out the most is when everyone was covered with ash and there was no longer black or white or whatever. It was just people. People living a nightmare.
I was getting ready for my third week of highschool that morning, listening to a radio station and thinking “how did a plane hit a huge tower by accident?”
I walked into my parents bedroom right as the second plane hit the second tower and I was in complete shock. It was like I was watching a movie… it didn’t seem real. My mom was calling relatives to make sure they were okay, and that they knew what was happening… Thank goodness everyone was alright.
I was just waking up. Someone told me we got bombed. I got in the shower. School was canceled. …Talk about a baller and bummer of a day.
BIDDEFORD, ME I WAS A FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL, AT BIDDEFORD HIGH. I WAS IN 2ND BLOCK AND MY TEACHER CAME INTO THE CLASS BALLING HER EYES OUT. SHE HAD ALL OF US GO NEXT DOOR TO ANOTHER CLASSROOM WHERE THERE WAS A TV. AT FIRST I DIDN’T BELIEVE MY EYES… UNTIL I HEARD IT WAS A TERRORIST ATTACK AND THE 2ND PLANE. IT’S A SCARY WORLD =( I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY….
I was training at a daycare about 20 minutes from the Pentagon. We shut down the daycare, sent all the kids home and one of the workers drove me back to my hotel. The freeway was completley empty on the drive back. I stayed in my hotel most of the day watching the news.
I had just stepped out of work for a second to get my
mother a birthday card. While at the counter paying,
the person behind the desk said that a “small plane”
had just hit one of the twin towers. I looked at my watch,
and it was just about 9:17……He was listening on a radio,
and the broadcast was relatively calm. When I returned
to work, however, TV’s were on and reality began to sink in……I looked at the screen for about 20 seconds and
thought to myself……”we are at war with somebody”…
I was at home, making coffee when the first plane hit the WTC. I thought it was an accident at first, until I saw that second plane homing in on the WTC. I knew then it had to be terrorists! I spent most of the day crying in front of the TV. It was a horribly sad day for the entire country. We all pulled together then, and I wish we could have held on to that, but it wasn’t to be.
Seattle, WA I was working at the library reference desk at one of the Environmental Protection Agency libraries. The first tower was hit and someone heard about it. They spread the word and people started running into the halls to watch the tv. Some people came in the library crying. Then, the news about the plane sent us all over the edge.
I remember repsonding to a reference e-mail from someone in the southeast right at that moment. I jsut had to cut it short, not knowing what to call “the incident” with the towers. The news about the plan in PA had not yet come on… Thing were happening in slow motion.
Being a government agency, we were told to close up and go home. Before I left the building, I called my mom on a land line. I was afraid to go outside at first, then made it to the parking lot. The line to get away–home–from work to the freeway was unreal.
When I got to my house (sharing with housemates who were also in grad school), we just watched our fuzzy television.
I had rugby practice that night and we went anyway, all hoping for some semblance of normal ending to our otherwise upsetting day.
On September 11, 2001, I was a new freshman at Franklin College. It was only the second or third week of school and we were all still adjusting. I didn’t have class until 9, but because I am who I am, I was seated in the classroom at 8:40 am. I had no idea what was going on outside the halls of the classroom. My class was World Literature I. There was this girl… she had some Italian name, that always came in late. September 11th was no different. She showed up five minutes late; however, instead of creeping in and quickly taking her seat like normal, she interrupted the professor to ask if anyone had heard what was going on in New York. As college students, CNN was not the first thought upon waking, and I highly doubt anyone had even been awake for more the 10 minutes when she asked. Everyone shrugged their shoulders and the professor asked her to please take her seat. We conducted class not knowing anything.
When class ended, I had decided to skip my next class to figure out what this girl was talking about. I headed over to my dorm room. My roommate and I had opted out of cable to save money, but there was a lounge with a tv. As I walked by, I saw my roommate sitting there, silent, with tears on her face. I sat down beside her, and watched with disbelief. I didn’t cry initially, I think I was too shocked. Instead, I hugged this girl I’d only known for three weeks and headed to my room to pack cloths. I wanted to go home. So, I did. I drove home from college and listened to the radio the whole way. I just wanted to see my family, to know that everything was going to be ok.
It took days before I finally broke down and cried, it really just took that long to get over the shock. I wasn’t even directly affected by the tragedy. A girl in my introduction to political science class couldn’t even discuss the event without crying because her uncle was a firefighter that died that day. Even though no one I knew died, I took 9/11 really hard. I was at that age when everyone believes in the world. I was young, naive, and full of hope. I wanted to remain so forever, but suddenly it was gone and my heart was broken. It felt like someone had died, and perhaps that someone was the America we once knew. It will never be the same.
Remember. While we should all go about our lives and continue living and rebuilding America… we should never forget.
at school in 7th grade in the lower level of the library
getting to celebreate my b day. I got my kids off to scool and was watching the tv while wathing the tvand saw the whole coverage, I called my neighbor I dont remember much after that
new york i was in my school watching from a class room window
I was sitting on our bed, watching “The Today Show,” and eating leftover birthday cake (I had turned 46 the day before). My daughter had just started kindergarten. When I was a child, I used to think of my life as a time line, with it stopping at the year 2000, on my 45th birthday, when I thought the new millennium began. Actually, the new millennium began on January 1, 2001, according to scholars. I was off by one year. I am a direct descendant of the original settlers of Manhattan Island, and felt this at a visceral level, yet I remained calm.
I live in central PA. When Matt Lauer said a third plane had gone down only two hours from here, I calmly got in my car, drove to the Catholic School, and got my daughter. I wasn’t the only parent coming for their child. I truly felt it was the beginning of the end.
My younger sister graduated from high school with the husband of Amy Sweeney, the stewardess on Flight 11 who was the last voice heard before it slammed into the North Tower. My twin brother also lost a colleague from work on the same flight.
I remember that, about two weeks later, when a regular commercial finally came back on, I finally fell apart.
I want to take the Praxis this coming nOV. 15. Is there a testing center in Cebu, Philippines?
i was living in emma missouri, only 25 miles from the air force base where the stealth bombers are. my husband was in minnesota. i had the kids. my boys were 3 and 4. My neighbor said we just got bombed. It was frightning. I watched the second tower go down on cnn.
manhattan born in brooklyn i was living in manhattan at the time and i still do…anyway me and ma friends to school it waz around 8:32 or somethin…we stopped near a deli for drinkz an i stood outside looked at the towers…so my friendz came out of the store an we decided to just chill around..then a couple minutes later we heard a roaring like sound an we looked up as well as other people then we saw a plane hit one of the towers..and waz like damn an shocked…people gathered up to watch..filming and stuff..i waz in 5th grade.
Philadelphia I was in between jobs when 9/11 happened… I went downstairs around 8:30 am to make some breakfast and got a phone call from my brother to turn on the TV. He had just moved into his new place and the movers had turned on his TV to make sure the reception was coming through. Anyway, I turned on the TV to “Good Morning America” and could not believe what I was seeing… of course Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer reporting had no clue it was a terrorist strike… they just thought it was an accident like everyone else at the outset. Upon first notice, I could not believe how big the hole in the WTC was… it was so surreal; it looked like something out of Hell with the smoke and fire… I thought I was watching that old movie “The Towering Inferno”… a little after 9am, the 2nd plane hit the other WTC building and by that time, it was evident that we were being attacked.
I remember flipping around all the channels and out of respect for those who perished, some cable stations stopped their broadcasts. During that day and for the next couple of weeks were some of the most uncertain, frightful moments I have experienced, especially with all the bomb threats, and the warnings of possibly more attacks.
I was living in Philadelphia, PA and had Tuesday, September 11th off work. I fell back asleep on the couch with the TV on when my phone starting ringing and ringing. I finally answered it and it was a relative telling me to turn on the TV. Because I was sleeping, I didn’t immediately recognize that it was New York City as the first tower had already collapsed.
Of course, that shocking news woke me up immediately and by that time, a traffic jam was in progress in downtown Philadelphia. The downtown skyscrapers were being evacuated, stores and malls closed, schools closed (the entire week), and the national historical sites (Liberty Bell, Independance Hall, the US Mint, etc..) were closed and heavily guarded. The streets were almost in gridlock by 11 am.
My roomate worked in New York City and went in late that day. He had made it to the Trenton, NJ train station and heard the news and headed back into Philadelphia. His family and friends were calling the apartment as well, relieved to find out that he had only made it to Trenton, NJ. He worked in lower Manhattan only blocks from the World Trade Centers and his co-workers were in the groups of people running north out of lower Manhattan. Their stories were gripping and emotional.
Since I lived in downtown Philly, the news and media advised downtown residents that it would be best to have an emergency plan should we need to evacuate. At that point, the attacks were to our north in New York, south in Washington DC and to the west, where flight 93 went down. The officials did not know if Philadelphia was targeted in any way and wanted residents to be alert and prepared.
By 2 pm that day, downtown Philadelphia was almost a ghost town. The traffic was gone and basically everything was closed. I remember going for a walk to find a bite to eat, and had to walk blocks and blocks to find a local deli still open. It was eerie. The fellow residents were all were somber and were very polite which was such a radical change from normal.
It was a surreal day that I will never forgot.
in parkersburg wv, getting dressed to go to work, i am a pilot and i was going to fly to pissburgh that day to start my trip.
i was in a little town north of mahomet,Il
watching the news at home
i was in kindergarten at school. i knew what was going on because my teacher turned it to the news channel and she watched about it.
i was in kindergarten and i remember coming home and watching it on the news with my parents.
Tampa, FL I was at home, and had just finished sending an e-mail to a friend and was signing off of AOL. At that time, breaking news would appear on the “welcome” screen and there was the picture of the first plane having hit the World Trade Center. I didn’t stop to read any text, and I just thought for a second from the picture, “what a terrible accident” and couldn’t understand how a plane could veer so off course as to cause this horrible accident, and then it quickly dawned on me that this might not be an accident. I yelled to my elderly mom at the other end of the house, “Turn on CNN!!” She did, and we watched in horror as the second plane hit the other tower.
I hurriedly called my husband, who was shopping, to tell him the news. Then the Pentagon was hit and my sister called from several states away, screaming into the phone, “What’s happening? What’s going to be hit next??” We live near what was at that time Central Command, and were afraid of an attack on our local air base. We then learned of the downing of the plane in Pennsylvania.
I remember not crying at the time, but rushing into the bathroom and feeling severely nauseated, but numb. Of course, we stayed tuned in to the television for hours, days, as the horror continued to unfold.
It was a few days later when I was driving and had stopped at a busy intersection at a long red light that I finally began to cry, then sob, over the recent events on 9/11.
My sister’s birthday is 9/11, so of course there was no celebration that year, and actually we did not celebrate it for the next few years to any real extent; it felt disrespectful to do so, and she seemed to feel guilty for having her birthday on that day.
My neighbor’s sister was a flight attendant who would have been working on the first plane that hit the WTC that day, but had called in sick due to a severe cold. She and her family were relieved, of course, but heartsick that several of her colleagues and friends, and the passengers on board, had lost their lives in such a horrific way.
The United States changed forever that day. Never again would any of us who were aware of those events look at things in quite the same way. Never again would we recapture the relative innocence and feeling of security we had always enjoyed as Americans. None of us have ever truly fully recovered.
My heart went, and does go, out to the families of those who perished that day, and in the aftermath, 9/11/01. I did not have family or friends involved, and I hadn’t been to New York City in many years. But we all died in a way that day. We truly will never be the same.
I was…at my house clening up when it came on the radio i couldn;t get over it i just want to send my love to everone how lost some one i cant even think what your going through but i just want evey one to no god is with you all lots ov love sara jayne white xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx my pace xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Burma kill downloader program rub offr worm rub off windows antispyware removing malware malware rub off removing adware removing trojan horse worm scanner of charge antyspyware
The phone rang early that morning it was only about 6:30am our time (in CA)so that was unusual but I just figured it was my step dad being called into work. Then my mom came busting into my room yelling that a terrorist attack was happening back east. My mom over reacts a lot so I didn’t believe it at first. Though when I walked into the living room and saw the tv I knew it was real. My grandma was visiting from back east and was suppose to fly home in a couple days. She ended up being stuck with us for an extra week. Our phone was ringing off the hook because we go back to Boston very often since my sister lives in New Hampshire, and everyone was calling to make sure we weren’t coming home. My dad also had just recently gone to NYC alot for business so I was so excited when I reached him by phone. My mom made me stay home from school that day, I was 17 at the time and had just started my senior year and wanted to go be with my friends that day. But my mom claimed since we live in southern California so close to LA that I was not going anywhere. After a few hours though I convinced her to let me go into work that day right near the house. At work we had customers coming in crying, hardly anyone was talking and we had the tv on all day. After I got off work mom and I went to the grocery store to stock pile things and most the water was gone. A clerk had brought a fresh box of water jugs out and people were breaking the box open for water, we managed to get some and went home. Later I went to my dads house nearby and my little brother was 6 and came up to me and saw I was wearing a flag pin. He asked, “is that for the people in the planes?” I remember trying everything not to cry because I felt his and every other child’s innocence in a way was stolen that day. Though for many kids they lost a lot more than just there innocence and we have prayed for them all so much. I did not travel for a full year after that but have since flown to Boston and New York over 30 times and even just booked another trip 2 days ago as well as another trip to NYC for the Ball Drop on NYE. I do not let the terrorists fears stop me from doing what I want to do, I just wish we could have gotten Osama by now. Dude its been almost 7 years!
Wichita, KS I was a junior in high school, and in history class. I would soon be watching history being made. The teacher from the adjoining room barged in with the TV on wheels trailing behind her. We sat glued to the screen as the second plane hit just a minute or so after we turned the set on. The bell rang signaling class change, but nobody moved. We remained in a terrefied trance for the next couple hours, occasionally speculating about the attacks and asking the teachers questions. We thought Wichita would be on the terrorists list- because we are the air capital of the world… Eventually the administration made us catch up to our class schedule, but we talked about little else for the rest of the day. Looking back, I wish I would have gone home to watch continuous coverage.
Is there a year associated with this?! but if you mean september 11, 2001 with the World Trade Center incident. Then i was watching Court TV the nathaniel Brazill trial when all of a sudden the Channel went into some weird news report interupting a trial i was intensly into for a few weeks recording it and watching it daily anyways then i flipped to Cartoon Network no interuptions there then my moms came home and told me what happend and i was like holy crap whaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! sad stuff that day huh!
I was in the 2nd grade and i was very aware of what was going on because I grew up with my brother who is into all that type of stuff and I thought it was horrid. and I still do till this day.
I usually didn’t arrive to work until about 9:30 am. Typically I would listen to the radio during my highway commute, but on the morning of September 11th, I’d decided to leave it off. I hadn’t yet learned of the attacks.
There was something strange with the behavior of drivers around me that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Everyone seemed to be moving more slowly and driving more politely than I’d ever witnessed.
When I arrived at work, I overheard my co-workers talking about the World Trade Center towers. Logging onto my computer, I tried to access MSNBC.com and noticed how incredibly slow it was to load the website. The headlines there made it clear that we were under attack.
Most of the major news websites were rendered useless and inaccessible due to the high traffic overwhelming their servers. I tried some foreign news sites like the BBC and was able to get more information there. Some organizations were already speculating that the attacks had been the work of Osama Bin Laden.
Eventually we all began to huddle around a small TV in a spare cubicle of the office. By this time, the South Tower of the World Trade Center had collapsed.
When I returned to my desk, my mother called me and asked if I had heard the news. Her sister –my aunt– lived in and worked near New York City. Fortunately, she was not in Manhattan at the time of the attacks, but knew plenty of people in the towers. Mom cried for a moment before we said our goodbyes…it was important that we all made this connection with the people we loved during such a horrific time.
My girlfriend and I exchanged brief emails. I remember her writing, “I am scared.” So were we all.
Throughout the work day, most people milled around the office like zombies, running through the motions of their daily tasks but spending the bulk of their time tuned into the TV, on the web or speaking on the phone with family and friends.
There was a rumor spreading that gasoline stations had been driving gas prices to upwards of $7 a gallon. As I drove home, I witnessed many gas stations with lines spanning around the block. Obviously, many people had heard the same rumor, though the gas hike never really happened. Price of gas at that time remained around $1.36 a gallon.
That evening, all major news stations broadcast and re-broadcast video footage of the attacks. It reminded me of both the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt and the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
The effects of that day have never really worn off, even after nearly seven years. Our world is forever changed and it’s clear future generations will never understand a pre-9/11 America.
i was at my house wach tv when this hapend
I was having a breakfast at my flat in london before going to work when i had a phonecall, it was from the houses of parliament where i was working at the time, the person said that we should be off work that day because of security reasons, i did ask what happened…and he told to me to check out the news on tv….I did.
i was at school in forth grade.
Well I remember being in elementary school when one of the teachers turned on the TV and the news was on and there were talking about all that happened in New York,I think I was like 13 or 14 at the time,it has been so long that I can’t seem to remember,God Bless America and never let anything like this happen again.
Brussels I was in brussels working on my laptop. And i don’t why because i’ve never done that before, i was surfing on CNN site when the breaknews announce this tragedy. I was working not so far from nato headquater which is near the International Airport. I was very anxious.
i was in my 5th grade class when the teacher got pulled out into the hall with all the other teachers from my grade and they were huddled around the principal. a new moments later an announcement was made that a plane had hit the world trade center and i had no idea what it meant i was just scared. with all this war going on people think that what were doing is wrong but for every life that was lost, every story that is untold, every child who cant see there daddy, is a soldier fighting to make sure that 2,998 more lives dont get lost so some day that daddy can walk his daughter down the isle.
I was on my way to drop my children off at school in Chesterfield, VA when the radio announced that a “Small, possible scenic plane had crashed into one of the twin towers in NYC. While driving, the host suddenly shrieked and yelled that another plane had “just crashed into the other twin tower. I was overcome with confusion mixed with disbelief as I ran the details around in my head. I assumed perhaps the second was a news chopper filming the first crash. It never occured to me that this type of violence could occur in the US. After all, this was something we only watched on TV happening in other countries. We have visited all three crash sites to pay our respect.
I was washing my hands
in fourth grade doing my hw in class.
I was at work – then someone said we were being attacked and everyone went to watch the news. We watched the towers fall in dismay, praying for all those people. We listened to the report that all planes were grounded and still some were up with one heading back to Washington,DC. The local radio announced that Air Force was comming in for a landing- we could see it out the window at work. I still jump when a plane comes over the downtown area or a plane from Barksdale comes over.
No I will never forget.
i was in school, and i didn’t understand what exactly was going on….
SanjaCue, Paraguay, SA in SanjaCue, Paraguay with the Peace Corps. I had only been in country 9 months and didn’t speak the language super well yet when the Principal at the elementary
school told me two planes had crashed in NYC. I thought he meant they hit each other.
I went to one of the neighbor’s houses who had a tv and watched as people jumped from the second tower right before it collapsed. It looked like a bomb went off.
Everyone else thought it was a movie. I started to cry and the urge to go home was unbearable. It was almost 2 days before I could watch the news in English and get a basic understanding of what had happened.
While I was in shock, many of my friends from rural Paraguay were still struggling to understand two buildings 110 stories tall had actually been constructed and then destroyed. The tallest building they had ever seen in person was 3 stories high.
Many people asked me what the United States would do. Would we use nuclear weapons? Would we start a third world war?
With the advent of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars the answer became clear. We watched together as huts not unlike my friends’ and family’s were bombed and we wondered aloud about how we hurt each other.
i was 2 getting ready to leave for a friends and i didn’t understand what was going on and i didnt care……..now i feel terrible that i didnt care
I was at the Social Security office in Portsmouth, VA
I was asleep when my husband was yelling for me to get up and look at the tv. I couldn’t believe what I was watching was real. Then all the sudden the second plane hit the towers…all day I was shaken and upset about it!
i was in my moms apartment at the time that happen in pa and i cry for all them families and my prayes are with you all. april
i was in my moms apartment at the time that happen april
I was at home turned on t v and very sad day son in toronto ont.
BRANDON M.B. CANADA
Anonymous
I was at home turned on t v and 9-11 sad day
BRANDON M.B. CANADA
Anonymous
London UK I was working in a hospital laboratory in London We spent most of the afternoon going backwards and forwards to the break room watching the television in disbelief. That night I got a phone call telling me two of our friends were on the second plane to crash
Kansas City, MO I was sitting in Ms. Miller’s 5th grade Theology (religion) class. Our Vice Principal came in, told us the school was going into lockdown because the Islamic school across the streets was recieving threats. From 10:00AM til 3:00PM, we had two officers posted at the door of our school…
Missouri, USA I was in my social studies class in seventh grade. I can’t remember the teacher — if I think hard enough, I will — but I know I was sitting on the left side of the classroom if you were facing the door, and the television was right infront of me on the wall. When it happened, everything froze, then the teachers did their best to distract us and make us do our work. It isn’t until now that I realize that our teachers were probably even more shocked then we were, and they were trying to keep calm for our sakes. The next day I woke up crying, turning on the radio to listen to a live broadcast of my favorite radio show (which happened to be from TAMPA, FL, so they were usually an hour ahead of us).
yo estuve ayer trabajando
where were you yesterday
brisbane i was with my son aaron and mark . about to go to work;
i was driven to work
Central Florida I was in my computer class. I was in fourth grade, sitting down on a computer…My teacher told another teacher something about calling her sister. I knew her sister was in New York, and I knew something was wrong. She seemed panicky, and I started to listen up. My teacher came in and told the other teacher that her sister was ok. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was dying to know. Soon after, I was called up to the front office where my father was picking me, my sister, and my cousin up. I didn’t know why, but I sure was happy. That’s when my father told me we weren’t going on our trip to New York that December. I was very upset, and I asked why. He said there was an accident with a plane, end of story. I went to my grandmas house and began to watch the news. I was horrified. My family continued to tell me to turn off the TV, but I couldn’t. I had to watch it. I had to know. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I was 9 years old, and being kept up by the fear of a plane crashing into the Kennedy Space Center. I thought that if the plane crashed the Kennedy Space Center, all of central Florida (where I live) would blow up and I would die. It was a very scary feeling. Weeks later, there was a fire in my neighbor hood, and I thought it was another attack. Me and my younger sister were riding bike outside, and I told her to go home, that we were being attacked. I was young, but I remember.
I was in Egypt
I was in sixth grade during homeroom and the teacher got a phone call. She looked shocked, and then left the classroom and came back with a TV… we all watched.
i was at home waiting for my daddy to come home but he never did.
when i was homeless and nacked were you there were you there when i was homeless and nacked and the creed of the colour and the name won’t matter were you there …..
when i was homeless and nacked were you there were you there when i was homeless and nacked and the creed of the colour and the name won’t matter were you there …..
I was on a delta flight coming from kennedy airport,we left at about 845, we landed in ralaigh nc about an hour or so later after getting word about 3 of the 4 planes that crashed I was flying alone and was headed for fla, i stayed with strangers that night still feel blessed to be alive.
i have no friggin idea…
i was woken by ma mum the next day n she told me…
i was like ‘WHOA!!!!!… meh…’
I as in my high school gym during gym class
I had just sat down at a restaurant, eating breakfast with my shift partner after working a 24hr shift on the ambulance. I saw the news on and saw something about a small plane crash in New York. I started paying attention to what was going on when a couple of people started gasping and yelling… the second tower just exploded. I remember stairing at the screen and thinking what are the odds that two small planes would hit side by side towers?? The thought that someone would fly a full size plane intentionally into the towers was just inconcievable. I remember the news anchor saying that they were receiveing reports that as many as 7 aircraft are being reported as hijacked. When I heard that, the reality of the gravity of that moment came crashing down. I just remember standing there and thinking… “Holy $**t… someone is attacking us”.
I remember the first reports that all aircraft were being grounded at the closest airport. I remember sometime shortly after that the report that the Pentagon “was under attack”… The expression of absolute confusion and shock on the face of the news anchor is one I’ll never forget.
I remember the feeling a huge knot in my stomach and just breaking out in a sweat when our Alpha pagers went off with a voicemail for all available employees to return to quarters. I stopped at home, stuffed clothes, extra work gloves, and boots…and headed to the station where I stayed for the next 2 days.
I remember having the “bomb alerts” in the weeks following… recieving word that ambulances may be stolen and/or rigged with explosives to blow up a hospital. The fear of looking under my squad and hoping to God that I didn’t see anything out of place.
I remember hearing how many of my fellow brothers and sisters were missing. FDNY lost more firefighters in one day, than most rural counties have total on their roster.
I remember the flag drapped bodies of FDNY, NYPD, and Port Authority members being carried up the ramp to a full salute with all work stopping.
I remember it all like is was yesterday… I will never forget. Rest in Peace my 343 FDNY brothers and sisters.
i was in the car heading to my sisters caycare. when we got there all the teachers were crying.I asked what was the matter and they told me what happend!
kenton ohio i was…walkin into the burea of motor vechicle noticed everyone was staring at this little t.v. in the upper left corner of the room i seen the plane hi the biuldin everyone was scared and nerves what was goning to happen next i remember that day very clearly it was n still is my fathers birthday
in school
Dallas, Texas It may have been several years ago, but that day is engraved in my memory.
I had just come in from band practice. Being on the sound crew, I was one of the last to come in. The first that I noticed was that instead of getting ready for 1st period like they normally did, everyone was gathered around the low brass’ old beatup radio that was kept on the stand rack. I noticed that some of the seniors were trying to get the forever-broken TV in the band hall to work. Ignoring them, and setting down the speakers I carried, I walked over and asked one of the bass drummers what was going on, and he said, “One of the World Trade Center Towers just got hit..” I remember how quiet and matter-a-fact his voice was. Normally he was one of those guys who always had a smile or joke. I answered, “The ones in New York?”. He nodded and responded, “Yeah.. they think its a plane.”
Of course, as the day progressed, every TV in the school that could work was on and we were watching throughout the day.
A few days later, when planes were once again allowed into the skies, the directors stopped practice in order to watch the first one fly overhead.
Oregon I was in Florida where i used to live in my 4th grade class. My teacher was doing her teaches. and then someone called her on the school phone in the room, and she fled out the room, we were all sitting there wondering what was going on. then after some mintues , she came back into the room, not saying a word but just grabbing the remote control to the TV and turned the TV on.
and im in 10th grade, pretty long ago huh?
It was all over the news. The plane attack was showing all over news. We were just sitting there watching it, we couldn’t believe it. we thought it was joke, it was just too horrible to be true. Some people were crying and everything, then my teacher explained to us what had happened. and that she doesn’t know what is going to happen , etc.
It was sad. And we got to do a memoir or something like that about what had happened. it was nice, i still have it too
Weston, WI i was in my second grade classroom, it was soo horrifing looking at everything that had happened on t.v. & only knowing that you couldn’t do anything to help because you were only like 6-7 yrs old at the time, & could barely help a bird with a broken wing, pretty much.

if you know anything about these things. please email me at sammy_xoxo_13@yahoo.com; i’m doing 9/11 for a history day topic in febuary. & i could really use your help. thank youu.
hope to here from some of youuu.
i was in my school classroom, in second grade to be exact.
I was in England, so it didn’t really affect me though i still heard about it on the news of course. Terrible.
I was in class I had to of heard about it during my second hour class (Math) when I heard about it. My Math teacher walked in turned on the News and sure enough there it was. A plane crashed into the towers. I think the second one hadnt crashed into it yet. I don’t think we even had class. No one was really doing there work or anything. I think everyone had there eyes glued to the T.V. at the time. Lots of chatter, no remote .. . I was actually really schocked because everyone payed attention to ME back in the day. I lost control you know .. .? I think that plane wreck had more of an affect on me more than anybody else. No one talked to me or payed any attention to me at all. It’s like I never existed .. . FOR A FULL HOUR THOUGH .. .? That’s never happened to me before. ANyways I think the fire department was pretty much booked for the rest of the day. And to be honest. I think it was a hoax. By George Bush. He’s a Russian spy. Has anyone ever seen that movie “Breach.” About the Russian spy “Robert Hansen” .. . “The damage to the government is in the billions .. .” That line in the Movie was so fucking lame. We are billions in debt now though. I don’t think ALL the FAMILIES from 9/11 really wanted that war to happen. Not if they knew of the tragedy families from the Military or in bahgdad have endured. Bush just threw them out there at his own disposal. It’s disgusting. AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILDREN DESERVE EQUAL RESPECT IN THIS COUNTRY. I DON’T CARE WHAT A MILITARY FAMILY HAS DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY. I SAW THE DEBATE THE OTHER DAY IT WAS SICK. THE GUY SAID CHILDREN FROM A MILITARY FAMILY DESERVE BETTER SCHOOLING THAN CHILDREN THAT COME FROM AN IMMIGRANT SCHOOL. THAT IS NOT AMERICA AND THAT IS NOT THEY WAY WE SHOULD DO THINGS AROUND HERE. NO ONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DESERVES GREATER OR LESSER TREATMENT OR RESPECT OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT IN A COUNTRY UNDER GOD.
Washington, DC I was in 5th grade. The teachers made us start watching some stupid movie as they all huddled in the back of the room whispering to each other. Then they started calling kids down to the office one by one to be picked up by their parents. When I got called I asked some girl in the hall what was happening and she said that “a plane crashed or something.” Then it started to get surreal when I went around the corner and saw about 100 parents swarming around the office trying to get their kids out. My parents walked me home. I thought we were all going to die.
I was in Jersey City New Jersey and actually was asleep, my boyfriend was late coming home from work. I had worked the night before, and when he called I turned on the tv. I’ve since moved to Cape Cod with my fiancee who was in the same office building in 1993 and 9/11. I saw a posting by anthony fischetti and wondered if its the same one from Aurora in Queens. If so, my name is Leslie McRae and my email address is ciararoisinferg@yahoo.com .
i was in Romania
canada I was in grade 7 on the 2nd or 3rd day of school and on the way to school heard on the radio “a plane has crashed into the WTC” they thought it was accidental so i went on with my day… about an hour later my teacher came in crying, and told us to come to the library downstairs. We walked in ans there were TVs set up and i watched in awe as the World Trade Center collapsed before my eyes… all the teachers were in tears and in shock. It turned out that a boy who was 2 years younger than me at my school had recently moved to NYC and his dad worked in the towers… Thank God He was the last person out of the North tower alive , and barely escaped with his life…. I will never forget 9/11/2001
i was in class on 9/11 my teacher pulled me out of class to tell me that my father was in nyc so i was going home to make shure he was okay thank god he was. god bless the children and familys who lost their dear loved ones. and to the person who is making this a joke go to hell
My son a truck driver phoned me early in the morning, i live in cal. he heard it on the news and called me immediatly, I lived in Queens, LI New York I worked there for five years in the “International Building” he told me to turn on the tv, and I did nothing but cry, how my beautiful NY could have such a terrible thing happen. I worked their in 1952, it was safe and wonderful, it was one of the saddest things to happen in our lives, and god bless all the families who lost loved one.
I was at school at chandler elementary
naples me i was not even born but it was verry sad especally flight 93 they tried to stop the plane and controle it.
I was having a party that night celebrating death of the infidels.
The day of 911 Iwas going to work, my plans change I started looking for ways to help Imade it over to ground zero about 10; 30 PM I started helping every where I could.On the second day alot city ,volinteers ended up at ST charlies place I ran into an old school mate from Queens I forgot his name I believe he lived in middle village Queens,My name is Anthony fischetti from Glendale Queens Its very important if he gets in touch with me I now live bayshore long island. also I was interview with someone from channel 10 news. any help would be greatly appreciated.
centreville ,virginia i was in my kindergarten class!!! i was freaked out when my dad that usually comes home at 7:00. picked me up from school at 10:00. it wasnt just me that was picked up there were alot of children being picked up because of the terriest attack
I was in class
I was in school my mom came to pull me out early to tell me and my father joe raffa was there he was the site formen he helped clean up the twin towers.
http://www.deerridgenp.com/welcome/2007/9/12/where-were-you-on-911.html
El Paso, TX at home asleep with my son. We didn’t feel like getting up that morning so i let my son stay home from school. He was in Pre-K. We slept in late till i heard my phone ringing and ringing. Annoyed by who was calling, i answered it. It was a close friend of mine. She was hysterical. She told me what was going on and i turned on the TV to News Channel 6. I was in shock! I felt scared. I kept my son close to me all day not knowing if Ft.Bliss, TX was also going to be a target. I will never forget that day!
at school in newport gwent south wales when the news broke out and i cant explane how i felt for those wicth lost there lives and tried to save there lives and the bastards who caused that i hope they get wat they deseve amen
Derby, England I was in school at the time, due to the 4 hour difference in time zones. I first heard the news at the dentist’s afterwards, and (mostly due to the fact that I was only 13 at the time) I was shaking too much to be treated that day. I was amazed the next day at the realisation that most of my peers didn’t care because it was “miles away”.
I was…working and people starting talking about a plane hitting the first tower, it wasnt until the second plane hit that i think most people realized the U.S was under attack. it breaks my heart to this day
I WAS TRAINING AT A NEW JOB AT TARGET.
i was on the brooklyn bridge on my way to school scare as shit
I was dropping my daughter off at day care on my way to work.
i was at home because i was only 4 years old when the tragedy happen
I was at work when we heard the news, and watched it the TV. I called my husband who was in the Army National Guard. All he could say was I’m sorry, I love you but now I have to do my duty.
I was at work when we heard the news, and watched it the TV. I called my husband who was in the Army National Guard. All he could say was I’m sorry, I love you about now I have to do my duty.
I was a 3rd grader who nothing about it. My teacher told us that day what had happened andto this day I remeber a child started to cry, I was coloring with a purple colored pnecil, and wearing a green shirt.
I was on the 4th floor of the Bell Atlantic Tower in downtown Philly, waiting for the conference call from the Verizon team in NYC. The call went dead when they hit the first tower. Watching the second tower got hit and saw the whole thing collapsed shortly after that in the conference room. Wondering if we could have gotten out of the City sooner that day, for the City was in a panic mode, try to get out before something happened here in Philly. Couldn’t sleep that night, glued to the TV… angry… scared…
Ridgefield, Connecticut I was in my fifth grade class listening to my teacher’s lesson when my principal came across the speaker saying the towers were hit. I didn’t feel the full impact of what happened until after I went home from school and saw all the damage being done and the towers felling and the Pentagon burning.
I was getting ready for work ,my first thought was controlled demolition it turns out I was right !Investigate 911 !
Next week will be 6 years ago. I was studying for a Spanish test and watching the news. I had just dropped off my daughter at daycare. I was so scared that I cancelled everything for the day and went to pick up my daughter. I have taught my child about our country, freedom and the right of responsibility of every individual. She is 7 now and remembers my reactions from this fateful day.
I was studying for a Spanish test and watching the news. I had just dropped off my daughter at daycare. I was so scared that I cancelled everything for the day and went to pick up my daughter. I have taught my child about our country, freedom and the right of responsibility of every individual. She is 7 now and remembers my reactions from this fateful day.
i was at home!!
scared to death when we got to school we werent allowed off the bus
we haddint herd from my uncel that lived there until two days later!!
I was in bed that day and woke up to my mom saying something about a plane going into the Towers. As i walked by her bedroom door, I saw a replay of the first on her TV, and then the second one hit. Like every one else, i (and my family) were mortified and glued to the coverage the rest of the day, and of course, the days to follow. I was in complete shock and sadness. We found out later that our uncle had been scheduled to be in NYC on business at that time but thankfully the plans were changed. With the tragedy of 9/11, i learned even more to keep those i loved close and LOVED as our life here is short and unpredictable.
i was working..then i went to my friends house at lunch time…from his house to the station was about 10 minutes. when i got there the news was on tv.
then the 2nd motherfuckin`plane just hit the other tower..
i was like stonned..
i dont think im gonna ever forget such of thing.
I had just finished school when my mum told me. I was only 9 so i didn’t understand much and as i live in the UK i didn’t even know what the WTC was at the time. Straight after school my mum took me to the hairdressers and i remember the woman who worked there telling my mum that there were four planes, not three. And they were both very shocked. Then i remember going to my nans and they were all watching the news.. RIP all who died on that horrible day.
in skool and it was breakin news all of us had to go out side and listen to god bless america and pray for those who were lost some of ma friends lost there family members in 911….
Dominican Republic I was at the office. A month earlier I had finished reading the book “Executive Order”, by Tom Clancy, which begins with a 747 crashing on the Capitol building, so when I watched CNN, I had no doubt from the beginning that this was a terrorist attack.
i was in school,
i was in a slight slumber when my mom called my and said “Turn on the News NOW” I sat in my bed thinking what am I wacthing then out of nowhere the second plane hit. I was like what the and my Mom said don’t go anywhere i am on my way home right now
I was on my way to a testing center to take a Microsoft Certification Test and I heard on the radio the 1st plane hit the 1st tower ….by the way which I passed and when I came out of the test found out that the other tower and Pentagon where also hit by planes. By the way I passed the test and don’t remember anything that was on the test.
I was on my honeymoon in Turkey when we heard what had happened, was a very scary thought as we were leaving for the airport a few days after.
i Was in india
lansdale pa i was ..asleep.( i was 21 at the time/in college/class was cancelled.) My father awoke me by calling me at home from his work.. he told me that both the trade towers had fallen.. in a sleepy fog i turned on the tv and went ” no daddy.. the second one is still standing( little did i realize i was watching a replay) then in horror i watched the second one go down during the replay.. i hit the floor crying.. thoughts of going to war were going through my head already- my then boyfriend-now husband was turning 21 in just two weeks.. i was terrified of a draft for months afterwards..i awoke my now husband with these words. ” honey..honey wake up.. the trade towers were attacked by planes..” in a almost sweet sounding voice-he opened his eyes to realize i was sobbing and could barely breath..the sweet sounding voice was me wheezing out the words..
I was in downtown chicago when suddenly we saw people gathering around an outside tv which showed the first tower in flames and we were worried if they were going to attack chicago like the Sears Tower or another place in the US
I was walking my children to school and wondered why everything seemed so desolate in Burbank, California that morning.
Alexandria, VA I was in my car, sitting at at stop sign, on my way to work in Old Town Alexandria. I saw a huge cloud of thick, intensely black smoke off to my left, and I remember thinking to myself, “What on earth is burning to make such a black cloud?” As I was driving south on Henry Street in Old Town, I saw the fire engines racing north, and I thought, “Oh, they’re going to the fire”.
I parked my car, and as I was walking to my office building I saw one of my co-workers (Mike Donnelly) come tearing around the corner, in a full run. “They’ve hit the Pentagon!”, he said and kept on running. (Turned out he was racing over to his girlfriend’s place of work. She worked in Pentagon City, felt the building shake, knew what had happened, and was terribly scared.) I’m not a news junkie, but when he said, “They’ve hit the Pentagon” the thought “Terrorists” immediately popped into my head. Now I knew the cause of that huge black smoke cloud.
I arrived at my office and the place was consumed with the morning’s events. It was then that I learned that both towers of the WTC had been hit, planes had been hijacked, and we were under some type of coordinated attack. Rumors were flying, such as they’ve hit the FAA center in Leesburg. That turned out to be false, but the news of a fourth hijacked plane wasn’t. When we heard confimed reports that it had crashed in an isolated spot in Pennsylvania, I remember saying to my co-workers, “I bet the passengers fought with the hijackers, and that’s why it crashed in a field”. I was a flight attendant for seven years, the last four with American Airlines, and I just knew instinctively that there was a struggle on Flight 93 between the passengers and hijackers.
The business of America is business, so we didn’t close up shop for the day. The man in charge said (I’ll never forget this) the best way to deal with what was happening was to stay at our desks and do our jobs. The women in the office who were mothers were of a different opinion, however. Their kids were freaking out. These ladies had the common sense to go home.
I had just purchased a condo and my home inspection was scheduled for that day. My agent said it was still on. Amazing in retrospect … I was just four miles from downtown Washington, D.C. and it was business as usual, whereas in D.C., around the Captol and White House, is was borderline pandemonium.
I didn’t learn the full extent of what took place that day until I went home and was able to turn on the TV. It was appalling. I sat there, glued until midnight, watching the live coverage on all the channels. I remember thinking to myself, after watching a broadcast of gleeful celebration in the Middle East, “Why do they hate us that much?” I cried. I knew that life in this country had changed irrevocably, and for the worse.
9/11 is a touchstone, just as the day JFK was shot (I remember that day, as well, and the incredible disbelief), as is for our parents the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. … …
I was working that day in at the VA Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. My mother called and told me about a plane hitting a the WTC in New York. I went to one of the outpatient waiting rooms and saw a tape of footage from the first and then the actual footage of the second plane. It was something I will never forget.
I WAS AT COLLEGE IN BLYTHEVILLE ARKANSAS. WE WERE IN THE OUTBACK WATCHING THE NEWS. VERY SAD DAY!!
I was….only after realising i had the chicken pox…i tirned on sjy news and that was when i found out abot 9/11 !!
I was in my seventh grade teachers class. We were in class doing our social studies and all of a sudden the teacher next door comes running in and tells us to turn the t.v. on. We turned it on and all we could see was the news, news on every single channel that we turned to. It was very shocking to be seeing something like that. I was surprised to see the news (live). Seeing all those people jumping out of those building and how the building was on fire and how the plane was just sticking out of the half of the building. I was just a little girl back then, I didnt really feel anything. Now that I look back and think about all that I have seen. It changed my life. Now I am more cautious of what goes on around me and who my friends are. I dont really trust too many people, a lot of people are not worthy of being trusted. That is why everything and everyone should be more secure about there property and themselves. Okay, I think I’m about done.. Sorry for the life story.. (even though you just asked where I was).. Its okay, I know everyone wants to hear my story.. *It’s really deep*…
Tiara M.
Tacoma, WA
I WAS SIX YEARS OLD WHEN IT HAPPEND I DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOIN ON AND I IT WAS SCARY
In class (senior year highschool). We were told to set an example for the younger students and not to panic. Now almost 6 years later I’m married to an Iraq veteran (he lost both his legs fighting in Iraq last November).
I was asleep in Malaysia, and when I woke in the morning my mom told me about it with a morbid look.
I was at my house turning the chanles on the tv and i saw a reporter talking about a develipong story called 9/11
I was at school, I was walking home from the bus and my mom and brother were crying on the front steps. I asked them what was wrong because, they never told us anything in school. They said that a plane had crashed into 1 of the twin towers. We went inside a few minutes later and turned on the tv. It turned out that a seocnd plane had crashed into the towers. It was so sad we all started crying. We were all so upset because ten, TEN days before this disaster we were on top of the twin towers. Me, my two brothers, my mother, and my grandmother were there. I feel really bad sometimes because this little 6th grader at my school’s father was killed in 9/11. Then my best friend in the whole worlds cousin was going to be on the one of the flights but then his taxi was late to picking him up so he missed his flight. We were all so glad he wasnt. I always pray for people who were affected by it.
I was at school in kindergarten and I was walking to class from the lunchroom. Then after school, I noticed that a lot of people had sad faces. I wondered why so many people had sad faces. I never found out until third grade when my friend, LaBaron Anthony, told me all about 9/11 and then onthat very day, I knew why those people were so sad. It was 9/11.
I was at school but my mom and dad were at home when the first plane hit my mom told my dad because he is from New York when the second plane hit my got up and wached the news.
I was in the Fourth grade(im now a freshman in Highschool) and I just remember people telling me a lunch time that a plane hit a big building in New York City. I just thought that they were telling a story they read in class. So I just blew it over my shoulder like it was nothing. Once I came to my classroom my teacher, Mr. Wright told everyone to sit down at their desk that he had something important to tell everyone. I noticed than some kids in my class had actually left. He than said planes have crashed into these buildings called the Twin Towers. I was so confused and lost of words because I remember just a few months before visiting my uncle in New York City and his building be right next door to that building because after we met up with him we actually bought bagels and sat out front of the Twin Towers. We didnt do anything the rest of the school day. Everybody just sat at there desks and we watched the Television in our classroom. I went home after school left out and my mom told me how my aunt hasnt heard from my uncle and my whole family just bursted into tears praying that he was alright thankfully my Uncle called a few minutes later explaining he was okay. It was the first time I ever heard my uncle cry. He saw his own friends die. My uncle didnt let my aunt wash his clothes for months. they were all full of dust it was heartbreaking. that is what i did and where i was on 9/11.
It was my freshman year at NYU, not even a week into classes. I was extremely close to the towers, and I experienced the entire day, and the city’s recuperation first-hand. It is something I will never forget, and in a strange way, I feel honored to have been a part of the city at this desperate time. The kindness and love that strangers can express for each other is quite amazing, and was a privilege to behold, and take part in.
i was at home and had just finshed my last shift at central baths,. i was sat in my living room watching a program that was interupide by a new coverage on the twin towers.
I was getting my permit.
I was in school and my parents came and took me out of school and told me what happen and I was defeisated.
Lillian Warrick
East Liverpool High School in Ohio
Iowa I was walking into my sisters hospital room to see my 1 day old neice. It was right after the first tower was hit and I asked them what the heck kind of movie they were watching and they told me it was the news.
i was sleeping and i woke up and i walk in the room and my mom was staring at the tv and the twin tower were coming down
i was in high my second year at high school it was my friends birthday until my mum showed me someting horrible on tv
Atlanta, Georgia On 9/11 I was in school. I was in 5th grade at the time. I didnt know much about what was going on, untill my teacher turned on the news, and we watched it.
at the police station
I was at the Secondary School for Journalism in Park Slope, Brooklyn
I was 9 at the time and saw it on television. I thought, ‘what is the world trade center?’
I was home asleep when my friend called and woke me. I saw the second plane hit. I look at the pictures from that day and wonder why those planes are gray. things that make you go hmmmmm
I was at home and i saw the 2nd plane crash.. it was such a terrible memory..my heart goes out to all the people that have died and all their families
I was working at The VA Medical center. I didn’t watch the fall of tower 2, But I did see the fall of tower 1.
I was playing at http://www.neopets.com and someone posted on the message board to go turn on the television because a plane had crashed into a building in New York, and at first I just ignored the post, and then other people started commenting on the original post, and I finally turned on the tv, and spent the rest of the day in shock.
St. Paul, MN I was at work in St. Paul. We had a building downtown known as the World Trade Center and also have a small airport near downtown…someone walked in to my office that day and said a plane hit the World Trade Center. I immediately assumed they meant the building downtown, and since my husband had recently become a firefighter I was nearly paralyzed with fear! A few minutes later I/we learned what was going on ~ I will never forget that moment and the days following.
To the person from Paris, France who said the Americans got what they deserved, I bet you and others who think like you would expect help from the United States if you were ever attacked by terrorists. Lord knows we’ve helped you before…
I was sitting in my 6th grade social studies classroom.
Paris, France I couldnt believe what i was seeing i had to see it all on TV. Finally the Americans got what they deserved!
I was on my way to school. My parents were on a flight to Japan so i had to walk. I have (had) to pass the trade center every day just to get to school. We had just moved about 4 blocks away so it was quite a sight to live where i was living. Suddenly i heard an aeroplane fly above me flying at one strong speed. Then i heard a huge crash and a peice of the building came crashing down on me (i was +/- 120 meters away form the building) i blacked out. when i woke up i was in a hospital bed. I now have to go around in a wheel chair and live my life praising God that im still alive.
Denver-I was getting ready for school when my mom yurned in the tv and told me to be quiet. I didnt know that it was such a big deal, i was only in kindergarten.
I had just showed up to work in Phoenix at 6am. We had a manufacturing facility, machine shop, weld shop. Some real tough guys. We had a TV in the breakroom. The guys looked at me and said that a plane had hit the WTC. I said No Way. They walked out of the breakroom, and went to work, just like any other day. I walked in and just watched. They went to work. I just stood there, and then I saw the second plane hit – live on TV. Then I knew. I walked over to my superior and said, this is a good day to be home with your family – I will see you tomorrow. Went to my truck and went back home to my wife. She called on the way, and said that the Pentagon, and another plane had been lost. I got home, and we just cried and prayed on the floor for the people in the middle of all this evil.
By the end of the day, I had that truck packed with everything I thought could help if there were a financial collapse of the US. People don’t think about those things, that was the day I began thinking about how fragile GLOBALISM, and ECONOMY are.
God Bless all the families and children that were harmed on that day. God Bless You, and Keep You, and Make His Face to Shine Upon You, and Give You Peace…
Norway, Tananger I was at school, but first heard about it on the buss from Sola to Tananger (Norway). Spent the rest of the day at a friends place and watched a movie.
i was at school a 4th grader i was going back to class from PE and we walked past the main office and the TV was on with all the techers standing there. they didnt tell us what was going on but after school i was going to go to After School Club but my mom was there and told me what was going on.
I was sitting at Gatwick airport departure lounge waiting to fly to Singapore to join HMS Gloucester.
Paul Taylor
Great Britain
Broklyn I was sleeping.
i was at school
i was at home. i watched the news when it happened….
I wasn’t even born at the time but I heard all about and I do so much research!
I was living in a basmemt apartment in north minneapolis. I had resently lost
three sisters to cancer.
when i saw the Bldgs fall over and over
and over………
my heart sank to my stomach.
Oh how i felt the pain of the lost and the
loved ones.
I decied to make 100 red white and blue
necklasses and hand them out to people
to remind them we will be ok.
We are Americans and we are Strong.
Severn, Maryland I was visiting my son’s grave in Jessup, Maryland when my mother called me on my cell phone to give me the news from NY. My son had died four weeks prior to 9-11. He had just turned eighteen. I was at the WTC in NYC, installing new computer networks for a gov’t agency, when he died. I imagine I was one of just a few people that the news about the towers didn’t have much of an affect on. I was already in self preservation mode. It seemed like a bad dream to me that I was there just before it happened. Everything around me seemed to be death. Everyone at the WTC was so nice. I often wonder who, out of all the people I met while there, is still among the living. To this day, that entire time period is in a fog to me, and I’m fine with that. I remember asking my son to help all the new people entering heaven, and help them to not be afraid anymore. He’d never let me down before, I had no reason to believe he would now. Since I heard another plane was still out there, I called my office in the WTC in Baltimore and told everyone to get out and go home. That night while watching it on the news I thought how someone was going to get quite an award for those fantastic special effects of the towers coming down. Nothing was real to me anymore. My world had gone completely mad.
I was listening to a 2nd grade class read “The Pet Goat” in Sarasota, Florida. I soiled my pants after I was informed.
I WAS DRIVING A SCHOOL BUS WITH STUDENTS, GOING TO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I was in a pub in Helsinki, and before at one lecture about movies
PA. I was in school the teachers knew something was wrong but they didnt say anything. As it turns out they wanted us to wait untill we got home to have our parents explain the situation to us. The the next day we had a big assembley with the whole school explaining more to us and the safety procautions that we were going to have to take place in order to keep our school safer. The school provided counciling for us to talk about everything that was going on and what had happend. RIP- all the amazing people who lost their lives you’re by far are in a better place
New Jersey I was in school. I was in 8th grade at the time. We started hearing things about it in math class, but no one would tell us exactly what happened. In history class, my teacher turned the TV on so we could watch the news. We sat on the bleachers in gym class. The loudspeakers were going crazy we people picking their kids up from school. I stayed in school all day, though.
I still have the AIM conversation saved from my friend and I talking about it.
West Virginia I was still in high school sitting in class all day. none of our televisions were on in any of the classes i had had up until lunch. i was walking back down the hall, and out of nowhere i saw my father running towards me. he told me to get my stuff and leave, and that two airplanes had hit the world trade center buildings and another hit the pentagon. It didn’t register at that point, but i went along with him and went home. i still didn’t really get it until he told me that all the airplanes in america had been grounded. it was the first time i had ever looked up into the sky and not seen any kind of jet stream or anything. it was perfectly clear and blue. we got home and all the tv’s were on CNN, and i saw the towers, covered in smoke. it hit me like a sledgehammer, because I had just been in those buildings not two years before. we had gone in building one, and i was standing in the lobby where they brought the preist out. i remember exactly what that lobby looked like. I’ll probably never forget it the rest of my life. i watched the TV the rest of the day. I was amazed that people would do such a heinous thing, but im still amazed to this day how willing people were to help out however they could.
the day before, i’d painted my nails different colors to be different during my freshman year. i thought it was pretty cool. sitting in gym class the next morning, boys were throwing paper airplanes down the bleachers. the teacher came in and said, “someone flew a plane into some buildings in new york.” we all thought it was an accident until they turned on the tv in my next period science class. i watched the buildings burn and fall, then went home early and cleaned off my nail polish. suddenly, i wasn’t the most important thing in the world anymore.
i was in 4th grade dude
i was sorting the mail at the post office when this tradgedy happened. As i made my rounds on my mail, many customers on my route discussed this horrific terroism that took place as i stopped and watched the newsa with some of them. I was so sick that this happened i just wanted to go home and watch the news to see how and why this would happen.
At home, heavily pregnant , turned on the television and couldn’t believe what was happening
I was at home eating dinner watching one of those black and white mini tv’s.
It was spanish TV then like a cartoon all of the sudden BOOM.
And my mom goes into the other room to see it in color.
I wasnt american atm. She was , she was crying
in school and when i came home i was watching the news and then it toled me about it and i was devistated
I was at my house in Goodyear Arizona, getting ready for work. I was in shock the whole day, I was in shock for months. It is still fresh in my mind. I am still mad and outraged. I still want to go overthere and find Bin Laden myself.
at work
I was at the office in Paris, France. I was watching TV through Internet.
I was in school when i heard it, and i felt bad the whole day because my bestfriends father was in the world trade centers.
I was… at mii babysitters house watching the news and i was eating a doughnet and drinking orange juice and crying my eyes like there was no day!
I was… at skewl.. and we watched it on t.v. and we were all like bawliing ourrrr eyess out.. it made us cryy!
In my home wathing the Today Show!
Jeffrey Lyn Anderson
I was there…Joseph Raffa
Church Point,La./now Alba,Mo i was driving a truck thru Newark N.J.and was in aaw at the site of my homeland being under attack.as an x-army ranger i felt instant rage and pain for my fellow americans that is still as fresh as the day it happen
was in New York, 5 mins from the city I was in my classroom, at the time i was in 3rd grade and living in brooklyn ny. My mother came to get me out early and i asked her why, and she told me the story. The next day my father went to the site and was the site forman for the clean up. He was there from september 12, 2001 to febuary 15 2003. after that he went and worked at the site where they were keeping all the debri ( dont know how to spell it, the dust and stuff) He has difficulty breathing and stuff. The site wasnt pretty… abandond cars and strollers. it is something He helped and devoted his time i will NEVER forget and i can say my dad is a hero, my hero.
i was a school on 9/11
i was on the beach
Portland OR early in the morning. sitting in bed. nursing my 3 week old baby. bored. turned on TV. stunned. yelled to my husband to get out of the shower and come see. at first I thought it was accidental. then the other tower was hit. I was scared.
SITTING ON MY COUCH GETTING READY TO GO TO BIG IRON IN FARGO NORTH DAKOTA WITH A FRIEND OF MINE
memphis,tn I was walkin home from school and i went over my neighbors house and i saw it on the tv screen i remember i couldnt move i was in a state of shock i was so scared i was like 8 years old i was so scared n then i left there house n went 2 mine n instead of walking on the road i walked in the ditch just in case a plane flew over me n drop a bomb or sumtin.this happened when i lived in florida
I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL,AT CHARLEROI PA AND I SEEN IT ON TV IT WAS VERY UPSETTING
I was in my science class, missing recess because the teachers told us that the lawn mower men were there (they weren’t allowed to tell us what was actually going on).
i was in school on 9/11
in new york
I was at the park
At The Park
i was afraid to go to a big mall for 3 years just in case it were to get bombed
i was in my living room watching cartoons before school when my dad called saying to turn to the news because someone said that the effiel tower had collapsed (he was at work and nobody knew the right story of what had happened yet there.)
I was in New York and saw the whole thing. I was there. I was covered in dust and running for my life. There were no fucking comercial planes, They looked like Cargo planes. I don’t get good reactions when I talk about what I saw, because we are all brainwashed by the lie that terrorists attacked this country. It’s just simply not true. This was an inside job. Please, don’t be fooled. What made America great died that day, and Osama Bin Laden had nothing to do with it. If any other eyewitnesses see this, SPEAK THE FUCK UP and don’t get discouraged when no one will listen to you, keep speaking and we will save our nation. Write letters, Call talk shows, Get on the news, do anything and everything you can to get the public’s attention. People will listen and know the truth one day, but it wont be without all of us.
i was getting ready for school i think
In New York crying my eyes out at the horror unfolding around me and my neighbors.
I Elizabeth(Liz) was at school studying for comming up quizes in Wylie/Garland Texas.
I was on a plane going from Deleware to Hawaii.
at school but it was my pops birthday who passed away the year after on that special day.
i was at home
Manchester I was waiting for ny Boyfriend but he could not come coz his Aunt died in America………………
Ithought he was joking BUT no he was telling the truth coz i asked his dad
Kent I was at home playing on my PS2 waiting for my best- friend to call me but she never did coz she went on holiday to America so could she of died in the 911?
canada i remember when 9/11 happened, news must spread really fast because i remeber being in grade five in canada, at lunch recess playing tag, and my friend came running onto the playground, because he went home for lunch, and he told me that the twin towers was hit and the russians were happy, all the talk that day at was a another world war, well..that was then i was young and didnt really see what happened, five years now i was really saddened by what happed that day, and how many people lost their lives, also to the fire fighters…..who sacrificed their lives to save other…….i share my respect to them…
i was in school at the aeggscat time as the crash
I was at my grandmothers funeral in westchester, ny. we had to leave the ceromony just incase
I was in my 2nd grade classroom. All the teachers went out into the hallway and just started crying. I can remember haveing them ask if anyone’s loved ones lived in the towers. I can remember haveing them take people out into the hallway and tell us that our parents where helping stop the fire.=( i can remember crying all the way home thinking my daddy wasnt going to make it. The news crew said that they would call to tell us if hes ok or in heaven. =(…=( I wanted them to call and say that hes comeing homeing come and hes guna be all right and they did they said hes comeing home. But then I got a call from my friend and she was crying. And I remember asking her if her daddy was all right and she just started crying. She said they called and said that he ran in to save someone crying but then he never came out. The next day they found him. I remember crying my head off untill I had no tears left in my eyes. Then the police called and said that her dad was running into the building for her aunt. They found her aunt near her daddy. They where still holding hands. His partener said that if he didnt make it then tell his daughter he loved her. My friend never even got to say good bye. I can remember crying and crying untill I wouldnt breath. My friends mom said it was going to be OK but it wasnt. Because my friend kept on thinking that her daddy would come home someday from a long vacation. This year on September 11th her mom and her went to her daddys grave stone and started crying. My friend said a prayer saying that she started 7th grade now. And that she found his old clothing and put it on. I also can remember haveing my friend have her first Christmas without her dad and on the packages they all said From: Mommy & Daddy. But she new that it was from mommy. I still cry when I think of my friend loseing the only one she can talk to and snuggle with. She still wishes her daddy was here to give her a good night kiss. I still cry when I talk about it cause im so sad that my friend never gets to have the chance to get the hug and kiss her daddy never gave her when she went to school =(.=(.=(.=(.=(.=(.=(.=(. =(
2 year ago i was at school when i hear what happened
i was sitting at home getting ready for school and i called and said happy b day to my friend that day then my other was crying because of 911
I was in my math class in high school. I remember hearing some gossip about something going on. And then I remember the annocement that no one was to leave the classrooms and that we were leaving early. I didnt understand what was going on until I got home and started watching the news. It was a horrible day.
I was…still sleeping
I was at School, when there was an annoncement to turn to the news, and our class watched it all happen.
MN I was working at a blood donation center in Minnesota. We had the television on for donors and the report came of the first plan crash came on… we all thought it was a horrible accident. We also thought the plane was a whole lot smaller than it was- maybe a 4-5 passenger. I watched as the second plane hit the tower… and I remember a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. ‘Something is not right.’ My husband worked at NWA at the time. 9/10 was his last day on the job.
Newport News, Virginia I am 20 now and I was in the 11th grade at the time about to leave for computer class. I remember the hallway seaming quiet i remember the principle coming over the pa system telling teachers to turn of the tvs. And how teachers where locking there doors so they could watch tv. I remember the young girl student who sat beside me crying as she had not heard from her father who worked in the west wing of the pentagon. After that class i left with that student taking here home so that she would not have to be at school and how we watched tv for 9 hours straight like many did. I can hear it now as hear dad called her and let her know he was fine and the burden that was removed from her mind. I remeber it today as it were yesterday.
New York i was in my country and i was worried because my cousin used to work there and i didnt know she quit that job a long time ago.
Adrian Michigan I was in the 3rd grade and really scared that it would happpend were I was at.
chandler I was sitting here at38 years old after neck surgery with six screws in my neck wondering where our mighty airforce was and why we just couldn’t shoot hijacked airplanes out of the air after the second attack at world trade center two, and where were the surface to air missles to shoot the plane to attack the pentegon………personally I think our goverment contracters of defense and republican big goverment are making the big bucks out of 9-11. God bless the honest true heroes that deserve the real truth the police and firefighters!
Virginia I was sleeping in, had to move that day. When my fiance and I got in the car, we heard what they were talking about, and I thought it was some sort of joke, like the “War of the Worlds” Broadcast that caused all the panic in the ’40’s… Then I called my dad, and we turned on the tv…I’ll never forget watching that guy and girl hold hands on the way down, after jumping from one of the towers…
shopping couldnt believe what i’d see on t
California (optional) I was in the 3rd grade but I still remember a lot.My mom woke me from bed (west coast time).She tould me that ‘’something bad is happening in NYC”.I did the same wake up from bed routine,as I enter my kitchen to eat breakfast I watched tv.I watched the first tower of the World Trade Center making smoke as they kept on saying that an airplane crashed into it,as well as the Pentagon and Flight 93.A few minutes later I saw the second plane hit the second tower and I was surprised as the tower blew out firery smoke.Minutes later I saw tower 1 collapse into a huge dust and as for tower 2 also,one at a time disappearing from the blue NYC sky.I was at shocked at how they collapse and the people running from a huge tsunami of dust going through Mannhattan.It was getting late I had to go to school. That’s what I mostly remember on 9/11. Now that I am in my teen years I Know more about 9/11.I did once go into the WTC but when I was a baby.Still I will never forget the day that America changed September 11,2001 .
i was home
in a middleschool science class watching it on tv…….
I was in school
i was scared
I was only 5 when the plane crashed so I think i would have been at school i cant remember but i watched a tv program a few months ago and it looked realy scary im glad that i mite have been at school and that i wasent there
I was in school and heard at the end of the day that the twin towers were struck .
lee mass i was in my house in manhatan when that happend i was about 9 or 6 years old i still new what was going on…know im 13 years old and we are studing about the twin towers at school….i still cant get over that… most of my friends parents worked there it was devastating
at my home
I was at home in brisbane australia, It was late at night we turned the tv over to what we thought was some movie, as it just couldnt possibly be real , then we realised it was the news. Of course we were in shock and immediately started praying for america . Im so sorry it happened and hope nothing like it ever happens again. sonya australia
on vacation in Texas like Bush was for a lot of the time before 9/11
Just comming home from school when my mum told me that there was an attck on america. I was 9 years old when it happened. God bless the souls of thouse who died that day.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 like any other morning I got up around 6:30 am as my wife leaves for work and I get my son who was a year in a half old then, up and got him dressed then I got ready of work. At that time I worked for the handicapped as a Personal Care Attendant (PCA). On the way to work from Plymouth, MA. I would drop my son off at my parents home at that time was in Duxbury, MA. Around 7:45 am. I would then go to work for my client in Marshfield MA. I got there around 8:00 am then I got him ready to go to his day habilitation center and on this day when I dropped him off sometime between 8:45 to 9:00 am, as we walked in the day habilitation center, staff had the TV on, a staff member told me that at small plan of some sort crashed into the word trade center in New York. We all thought that this was a tragic accident; after I got my client settled I left and went back to my clients’ apartment around 9:15 am. I had a lot of cleaning to do for him. When I got in his apartment I turned on the TV CNN That’s when I saw the second plane hit WTC tower #1 at this point I said “This is no accident this is deliberate, Why”? I asked my self. At that point I called my mother and asked her if she saw what was going on and if she had the news on, she said no because Christopher my son was watching Barney. So I told her what was going on then she went up stairs and saw, she said that she needs to call dad and that she would call me back latter. This was around 9:35 am, At this point I believe they announced on TV that all Federal and Government buildings will be closed and employees sent home. My wife works in Hingham MA. EDS for Medicare and Medicaid which I thought was a Government building. I tried calling my wife but the line seemed dead. I then called my Mother back and told her that I couldn’t get Reni my wife at work, around 9:40 am they closed all the airports and shut down the airspace. No one could take off or land and all international flights had to return and couldn’t enter the US but all domestic plain’s in the air where ordered to land at the nearest airport immediately. They believe that there my be other plains but didn’t know how many. I said to my Mother I need to try to get a hold of Reni. I tried a number of times and finally I got trough around 9:55 am. I asked her first if she was alright and if she hard about what was going on. Yes she said I have been listening to it on the radio, then I told her that I couldn’t get through for a least a half an hour then we lost the connection around 10:02 am my Mother called me back around 10:05 and told me that a plane went down and crashed in to a field in Pennsylvania. Then I called my wife back and told her about the plan crash.
The whole time this was going on I would continually look up at the ski. And I would keep telling myself I need to get back to work, I just couldn’t concentrate. But when my family was safe at home later that night we watched the news on the day’s events and my wife and just sat in disbelief and cried.
Adam J Polito
I was in school were the principle does some announcement and we were all forced to be quiet for a while and noone didn’t know what was going on
I was in Hawaii at the time when it had happened. It was around 3:30 a.m… and I didnt get up intil 6:30 a.m. for school. when I got to school we did a memorial service thing at our school because of what had happened. At that time I didnt know what it was for, so I did it anyway. When my mom woke up that morning so she can get ready for work, when she heard about it she came straight to my school and got me. As soon as she picked me up she told me what happened. When we got home a whole bunch of my mom’s friends started to call the house alot, and she called slot of people too. One of my dad’s brothers lives in New Jersey and he worked in New York City. My mom really didnt know where he worked but my dad did. My dad was in the field for a little bit and he really couldnt call the house alot. So my mom asking my dad where he worked couldnt help. So my mom tried to call my uncle but he never picked up. She called him several times but he never picked up. Like 3 minutes later he called back and said he was all right. He said he worked in a building four and a half blocks from the towers. A couple of days later my dad came back home from the field, and we where still mourning from what had happened that day. My dad was wondering if his brother was alright, and we told him he was alright. When he heard that he felt better than he had called him and they were talking on the phone for hours. about a year after, we dropped all the emotional drama and moved on with our lives. My name is Robert and I was 11 years old when it happened.
I was sleeping when I got a call from my best friend telling me to wake up and turn on the t.v. I hate to admit it but i asked her at the time what were the twin towers! God Bless all the souls that were lost that day! xo’s ~Celeste Nagy, Sasaktoon, Sask Canada~
Saskatoon, SK i was at home sleeping and my boyfriend woke me up to see the tv. i then phoned my best friend to wake her up and told her to go to her tv.
I wasat school the teachers thought it was a movie but quickly turned it off after figuring out even though i was young, I knew it happened and I cried
home
Hamilton Ontario Canada That morning I drop my child off at the daycare at College and sat in my class my teacher told us that something terriable happened in New York, USA a plane smash in one of the Sears Tower’s. She put the radio on and heard the announcer screaming that another plane had smashed into the other tower. “Oh My God”! she said, my heart went out for those people, I was so scared that there was 2 more plane’s out there, USA was under attack and for a split moment knew as Canada we have the Nigara Falls Hydro and the CN Tower in Toronto so close by that are teacher told us to go home to our families.
I fastly went and got my son out of daycare and drove home with the car radio on listening what was going on, I just wanted to be with my family. Boy was I scared for the first time in my life knowing this was a terrorist plot to distroy our two nation’s. When I put the t.v on and watched what was going on I started to break down in tear’s. When the third and fouth plane crashed I prayed to God for all the passenger’s and families and cryed like a baby knowing that this will be a war. This day will always be an awaking of what human’s of terrorist could kill thousand’s of inocient people and children in my life time.
Canada send’s our love and support to the USA, as we are doing today with our Army and Navy and Air Force defending our freedom. In Afganistan we have lost more men but we will fight to the better end to destroy the evil. MAY GOD SPEED !!!
I had just gotten home from work. I had a dentist appt. that morning and was laying across the bed taking a nap.The radio came on and the deejay was saying they were getting reports of a plane hitting the WTC. I turned the t.v. on just before the second plane hit the other tower. My wife was at work and it was one of those moments when I just didn’t know what to do or to call .I just sat there stunned at what was happening.
Hutchinson,KS I was in first or second hour class of technolgy or ld class
Alan Reed I was in my first class or my second hour class in middle school it would of been technoligy class or ld class
heerlen buying me some fries after skool cause I was mad hungry
i was at school
i got back and my parents told me a plane flew into a building…
i first thought what a joke… untill i saw the real thing
I was at my ex girlfriend’s.
I was in Brazil
Romeoville, IL I was on my way to work when I heard the news coming live over the radio. I had been wondering why so many of the drivers I was passing had this stunned, jaw-dropped look on faces. I almost couldn’t finish the commute, myself. I was so shocked.
Just coming up from the 1 Chase Plaza Cafeterai with my cup of morning coffee when the first plane hit. That is about a block or so away from the Trade Center ( Ground Zero )
Snook, TX I walked into my parent’s house… what I remember most was the first thing my dad said… “I think we’re at war”
driving school bus and then watching in the library at church
In school. None of the teachers told us what happened. I learned it through the grapevine and when I got home.
On a School Bus Route
i was working in the studio
Ik was in de auto naar Roda
everyone witnessed a little trauma and therefore they know where they were when they heard about the news.
I was behind my PC when some people spammed me on MSN to check the news. So I went to a newssite and saw the pictures of the twin towers… I went to watch the TV and saw the images and paniced news people. Was really intense and hard to believe…
Maastricht, The Netherlands I just came from school. When I turned on the TV I saw the first Tower was on fire and I didn’t realised what was going on. After a while a saw the second plane crashing into the WTC..
New York City getting ready for work. I was late. I was living in the West Village at the time. As I was crossing 7th ave to go down to the subway, I saw crowds of people looking downtown, just standing there- The 1st tower had already been hit, I had a kodak disposable camera in my bag and took it out and started taking pictures- As I was doing this – the 2nd plane hit the other tower.
your location (optional) I was…sleeping in my dorm room. My mom called me early and told me to turn on the tv.
at work in Orlando, FL. One of the members of upper management (who is from NY) came in and was late for a managers meeting. He stopped at a woman’s desk (Also from NY and both of them have kids living there still) and I over heard him telling her something about an airplane striking the WTC. As he walked past my desk to go across the hall to the meeting, I stopped him and asked him what happened and he said 2 planes flew into the WTC. At that point, I was rather confused and I said, “How could that happen?” and he said, “They’re saying it’s terrorists!” At that moment I KNEW it was Osama bin Laden. I called my best friend in Jacksonville and she said it was all over the TV and that she actually saw the second plane hit. I called my mom in NC and she was freaking out about it. I went and got my radio out of my car and we all gathered around to listen to the live ABC feed. We wanted to go into the conference room because there was a TV in there but all of management was in their “meeting”. We later piled into a colleagues office and watched her tiny black and white 10in tv and I could NOT believe what I was seeing. I started crying thinking about all the people they were showing hanging out the windows. Then reports started coming in about people jumpin from the towers and they were showing people leaping out. I couldn’t take it anymore and said I was going to smoke a cigarrette. I went back across the hall to get one and went to go out the kitchen door and stopped to talk to someone when the woman that I overheard the manager talking to when he first got there came in and said “The tower just collapsed!” I was absolutely stunned. I ran back across the hall to the tv and they were showing it over and over again. Once again I said “I gotta smoke….this is just too much!!!” and the woman who’s office we were in said “I’m with you!” When we came back in, they had opened up the conference room (We later found out that they were in there with the door shut watching the big tv) and we all piled in to watch. At one point I broke the silence and said, “If that first one came down, so is this one!” Then someone came in and said my mother was on the phone. I got on the phone with her and we were both crying and she was going on about it being the start of WWIII. I told her “Mom, I gotta call you back” I walked back into the conference room and as I moved my eyes back to the television, the 2nd tower started to fall. At that point I totally lost it. All I could think was “THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL IN THERE!!” I’ll never forget the sounds of all of the firefighters beeping alarms going off. I wanted so badly to go home because I was so upset and in shock but they wouldn’t let us. The rest of the day, all you heard in the office was the sounds of several radios carrying live feeds from the networks. On the way home, on I-4 in traffic, I was looking around at everyone in the cars around me knowing they were listening to the same thing I was since no stations were playing music except for patriotic songs. Everyone just had blank looks on their faces as they drove home from work. I was glued to the TV all night crying and wanting nothing more than to put my arms around my whole family. Now, everytime I see the images, I feel like it’s happening all over again. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years. I just pray that the good Lord above embraces the friends, family and loved ones of those who dies on that day. God Bless the firefighters and police officers who gave their lives that day to help save others, not thinking of themselves. What an honorable and noble way to die. God love them!
Quezon City, Philippines. Just arrived, bone-tired, from work. My brother shouted at me to turn on the living room TV. After seeing the first tower collapse on his bedroom TV, he joined me in the living room. We were both speechless and slack-jawed when we saw the second tower collapse. I had, and still have, misgivings about the USA’s role in history, but my first thought at that time was, THESE PEOPLE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE.
Back in the Philippines. We just picked up my parents from the airport when we got a call to turn the TV on.
Tysons Corner, VA I was at work. I watched the towers fall on tv while I was on the phone with my mother who lives overseas. We later had to evacuate our office because the local authorities were scared of an attack on datacenters located in the area.
arlingonton va. i was watching the smoke rise off the pentagon from my office window in courthouse.
Washington, DC I was sitting in my living room in Adams Morgan watching the news coverage. My roommate at the time worked for USAirways and had just flown to California. He was safe, but stuck there – and had to drive home.
In chapel at college.
I was… in the shower and my roommate came and told me – at first I didn’t believe her, for a while I didn’t believe her actually. Then I got to the t.v. and we began to pray that those who survived would be comforted by God.
On September 11th, 2001 I was in 5th grade. The teachers in many classes had quieted and were sort of moping around the room, not really speaking to anyone. Nobody would tell the students what was going on. I only found out what had happened almost 12 hours later, when I got home. Frightening, yet something I’ll never forget
On September 11th 2001 i had just arrived in Kinglassie
Scotland after just finishing a trip to the Highlands of Scotland. I was with my dad and as we went to our own rooms in the Inn where we were staying I turned on the TV and first thought I was watching a movie it wasn’t that at all it was the first plane to hit the towers. It was 4pm in Kinglassie Fife at the time and It wasn’t a movie I was watching it was the news. Then I was trying to figure out where all this was happening when I found out it was New York I was stund. What the heck was going on? how could this have happen? I went into my dad’s room and told him to turn on the news, i watch it with him for a minute and then went back to my room. The tour we had just got off of had several people from the United States and they where at the end of their holiday. One lady was from New York I never did find out how they made out with getting home, the airports had been shut down for a few days. We still had a week with friends and we had no idea if we would be getting our flight home on time but that was a small problem to deal with when New York was in Chaos…Being from western Canada and not home it was strange to watch this every night with our friends so far away….
On duty as a Paramedic in Chicago. I was dropping off a patient at a local hospital when I heard someone say that a plane had crashed into the WTC as I watched for awhile the second plane came into view and also crashed into the towers all I could was stare at the Tv as others did and say a prayer for those poor people. When the towers started to fall and it was thought to be an attack I was grateful that Chicago was spared. As luck would have it my next call was to the airport.
I was at home doing household chores with CNN news turned on to keep me company. I would occasionally glance at the tv screen when my eyes got glued to the repeated images of an airplane ramming through two tall buildings. I remember thinkigg, “What movie is this?” until I realized it was live drama I was watching.
A friend called and woke me up to tell me to turn on the TV
Burnsville, Minnesota I was scheduled off that day (work at the Mall of America). My daughter called from San Diego and said, “Mom, turn on the T.V….in absolute horror, we both stayed on the phone as the second plane hit. I didn’t want to hang up, we just couldn’t say goodbye.
I was in my car listening to Howard Stern. It was powerful to hear it from persons that were in the city.
I was…just waking up, getting ready for work,I walked in when my roomate was watching the news on tv. I could not believe what had just happened. I went downstairs anmd noticed all the police cars were driving around with their warning lights flashing. I worked until 11 am and then went home. I mourned for days after. 9-11 …we will never forget!!
ft.myers florida i was sitting in my 2nd period religion class with coach hawley, at evangelical chritian school ft.myers florida. our principal walked in and whispered into the caoches ear, then he got this stunned look on his face, shortly there after he told us what happened!!!
Minnesota I was at the cemetery burying my Mother
at home on the computer checking my mail before starting work. My husband called and said, “Are you watching the TV?
I answered no, and he said, “Turn it on NOW!” and hung up.
I watched the replay of the first tower being hit and then a few minutes later watched the second tower being hit in real time. At that time my heart sunk because like most of us, I realized it was a terrorist attack.
I was sitting in my AP European History class I had for second block on B day when I was in the tenth grade at Ocean Lakes High School in Va Beach, Virginia. I heard the announcments come on overhead and our principal Mr. Jerry Deviney announced that terrorists had flown planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was shocked at first, sort of in disbelief. Then when I went to my next class I was angry at the people whom caused this. Ever since 9-11 I always read up on current events.
Jennifer
Fredonia,AZ I was sleeping in bed when my husband came in to tell that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. I got up to come and see what was going on. I stood in shock as I watched the building smoke and then to watch the second building be hit. It was the worst day. My children will always remember watching the TV and then going to school and watching at school. This is a day that we will never forget.
I was asleep
Ontario, Canada I was in the hospital due to comlications with my pregnancy, When my hubby called my room and told me to turn my tv to CNN…I was dumbstruck. The nurse came in and we both just watched, next thing I knew there were 5 nurses and we watched as the 2nd plane went itnto the tower and the moment was just the most surreal thing I could ever imagine.
In that split second my problems seemed so small compaired to what was happing outside of my room.
I will never forget that morning that it seemed that my generation lost it’s innocence.
Ohio I was sitting in the waiting room of the Blood and Cancer Center with my mother who was very sick and my sister. We were watching it unfold on the T.V. When the second plane hit, we heard someone say “that was no accident” and we could not believe our eyes. We watched from the lab where our mother was getting chemo. We wondered how they were going to get everyone out of the Towers until we saw them collapse. We went out to get donuts for everyone who was getting treatment that day and we heard on the radio that there were more planes. We were so afraid because we didn’t know how many planes they had or what was to come that day. It was a very sad day that I will never forget. We lost so many people that day and our mother soon followed. God Bless all those who perished that day.
I was going to work from Manhattan to Queens over the bridge, sitting in a crazy traffic, looking at the downtown`s beautiful view when all of a sudden a plane sliced into the one of the towers. By the time I came out of the shock, another plane sliced into another tower. Traffic stopped, so we were sitting there and watching the Towers going down.
Something you never forget and don`t wish even for your enemies to see.
michigan at work. i worked at a truck stop, it was the truckers who first told me that something was going on. a little bit later one of the ladies who worked up in the office came down and told us what was going on. we turned on the television in the trucker’s lounge and started to watch it. there was a truck driver there with us. he just stood there, staring blankly up at the tv. then he turned and said that his son was in the south tower. he walked off to his truck. we kept checking on him till he finally drove off. the thing that really sticks out in my head is the eerie silence. the major highway right behind the truck stop just ceased to have traffic. no one came in the rest of the day. i think we only saw two or three other cars that day on the ride home.
South West Virginia On 9/11 I was in 8th grade in my 3rd period class, which was agriculture. I remember we were doing some work and my dad sent me a text message telling me the power in our hometown was out in a certain part of town, but not on the side my school is. As soon as I read that, my teacher screamed “oh my god” and ran to get a TV on a cart and pulled it out of the backroom and plugged it in. That’s when we saw the second tower going down. We always kept the radio on quietly while working, and she just happened to catch the words WTC Terrorist attacks. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
I was in Japan, a homemaker and mother of 5 supporting my husband who was serving in the Air Force. It was evening, and we’re in the middle of a typhoon, so our base was shut down. My husband called me in, as he’d been watching the news when the second plane hit. I didn’t realize the magnitude yet, but was immediately moved to tears by just the thought of the people on board the planes. I didn’t have any idea of the size the loss could be.
My husband was tired, so he went to bed, but I decided to watch some coverage on our downstairs television. I was finally starting to understand the scope of the disaster when Jim Miklaszewski of NBC news said, “I don’t want to alarm anybody, but there has been some kind of explosion at the Pentagon”. That one sentence made this terrible, tragic event into a very real, very personal attack. That single sentence changed my life. Given the time of day it was, I knew that my brother was at work at the Pentagon. Even though I found out within a half an hour that he was fine, nothing was ever the same again.
I was flying as a Flight Attendant to Tokyo when we heard it from the Cockpit Crew
I was driving to work. I had stopped for gas. When I got back in my car, I turned on the radio to listen to the traffic report but instead… I heard the franic news that a jumbo jet had crashed into the south tower. My first thought was… how in the hell did that happen! But before I could answer my own question…. they said “oh my God… the north tower has been hit”. My next thought was… Terrorist… we have been attacked! When I got to work… someone had plugged in the TV in the conference room and we all watched the towers fall and the Pentgon get hit. We were scared and felt the United States is being attacked! It was so surreal, a living nightmare!!!
Holland, MI I was at work…which happened to be at a newspaper. I worked downstairs in the advertising/marketing department. I went to grab something from the printer and heard everyone talking and knew something was going on but had no idea what. Someone said to go upstairs to the newsroom where there was a tv. I quickly made my way upstairs and joined everyone else crowded around the tv. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It’s like you just felt sick and numb and scared all at once. I don’t think anyone realized it was a terrorist attack at first, just that a plane must have malfunctioned and it was a horrible accident, but when the second plane hit we knew what was going on. Then things started to get crazy. They made an announcement over the intercom saying that we were going to print a special wrap section of the paper. They hadn’t done that in a very long time…it hardly ever happens. I don’t remember now what they said, only that it was a big deal to do this. All of the press people that usually come in at night were called in, and the writers were running around getting all the latest information. It was so odd to hear the presses running in the morning like that…they only run at night. People had to take stacks of the wraps to all the locations where we sold magazines to re-wrap them with the new information. I tuned my radio into the news coverage at my desk and listened all day. It was so hard to even get anything done that day. I just remember looking up at the sky…it was a gorgeous day, and there wasn’t one plane in the air…not one. It was eerie, and i just wanted to curl up and sleep. It was too much to even take in. It was hard to even feel like it was o.k. to feel normal after that day, like I shouldn’t laugh, or go to a movie, or do normal things because I just kept thinking about everyone that was so hurt…I felt guilty. After some time passed it became easier, and I think we all realized that to give up and curl up in sadness would have been what the terrorists would want…to go on living is what needed to be done. I will always feel sad on this day, and I will always remember being huddled around that tv in the newsroom, the sound of the presses in the middle of the day, and the quiet skies that night.
Arlington, Tx Returning from California with my sister on America West Airlines. The pilot came on the PA and told us what happened to the Trade Center. We were forced to land in, of all places, Las Vegas. For the next 5 days my sister and I watched, and cried, over the tragedy as it unfolded on TV. It was a surreal experience: no jet noise from McLarren; all the marquees had the Stars and Stripes fluttering in video. The shows started reopening on Friday. I was at the Bellagio when they restarted the fountains. They played “God Bless the USA” and then had the fountains report 21 times… the tears flowed.
Walnut Creek,CA I was at home asleep. My Mom left late the night before on a red-eye back to CT. My husband called me from work ( also a firefighter) just after the first plane hit and asked me what time my Mom was due to arrive home. My Mom was due to land 8:45 AM on a Delta flight. At that time, we did not know what airlines were involved…needless to say I was very anxious and unsettled. I tried calling the airlines for a status report, but all lines were busy. Finally, an hour later, my Mom phoned me to let me know she was safe.
God bless all of the victims and their families. I think of them often and am reminded how precious life is everyday. Firefighters and Police officers are put in harms way everyday. They are amazing people with amazing courage. To them, it’s just their job, but to the citizens they protect, they are our heros. Thank you and God Bless.
Michigan I was listening to a morning news show & reading at the computer. Our three older kids were at school, the 3 1/2-year-old was playing. Bryant Gumble came on & said that a plane had hit the 1st tower. I thought it was a bad accident, til the second plane came in, then realized it had to be on purpose. My brother-in-law called. I remember thinking that alot of people would get out, I didn’t think about all that jet fuel, trapped inside. A cousin of my husband’s stopped in & hadn’t heard anything yet, so we just sat here watching TV. Then the Pentagon & the Pennsylvania Field. I went to work waiting tables at 2:00, of course the place was dead. It was just me, the cook, & the owner. She had a small TV on in the dining room, but we didn’t care for that channel’s coverage, so the cook & I pulled a couple of chairs up to a chest freezer in the kitchen & sat there with a radio & ate supper. We didn’t have a single customer all night, not even our usual group of coffee drinkers. Just today did I realize exactly how huge the area was; the radio said the area left bare at Ground Zero is 15 acres. That put in better perspective for me how huge the area is, even if you got out, how far you’d have to run to be safely away. Bless all the innocents and all the heroes.
Sourthern California I was in bed sleeping.
i was on my way to my high school. I was a freshman and I was in the car with my sister when we first heard about the first plane hitting. I could not even begin to comprehend the magnitude of what happened. I was bombarded with countries I never thought twice about and world issues that I never wanted to think about.
working the 26th floor for Forest Electric on East 41st street between Lexington and Third Ave. Doing electrical alteration work when we heard on the radio that a plane hit the north tower of the wtc. We had a clear view of the North tower from the 26th floor, as we watched the devastation of the plane inside the wtc upper floor, a second plane looked like it was circling to see the damage the first plane had done. It, however, crashed into the second tower of wtc. At that point I told my boss I was going home, and left the job about 930 AM. I walked to the Port Authority on 42nd street where my car was parked and drove up to the Tappanzee Bridge, the George Washington and Lincoln Tunnels were closed, I lived in Bergen County New Jersey. I was at the Tappenzee at 1130 am, when I finally got through to my wife, she told me the wtc had collapsed- I couldn believe it
on 9-11-01, this was my day (written one week after the attack)
that morning i was at work in downtown manhattan (wall st. racquet club)
which is a 10 minute walk away from the wtc (out of the direct fall out).
my 8 am lesson, Johannes, had (i later found out) overslept so i was in
one of the lobbies watching satellite tv when the initial 8:50 am report
came on. i immediately called my dad in north dakota to tell him to
turn on his tv and to let him know i was ok. at this time several
people came into the club to use our phones and see what was going on.
this was a rough time, as many of them were hysterical while
attempting to call husbands working atop 1 wtc and not able to get
through. they were sitting or standing next to me with uncontrollable
tears watching the tv and there was nothing i could say or do to help.
i certainly couldn’t say what i was really thinking.
i later went outside to take a picture of the smoke and the heavy
rain of paper coming down upon us. as i snapped the picture there was an
incredible explosion that shook the ground. i went in to find out about
the 2nd plane and was the the first to realize a terrorist attack was
occurring. the tennis club is located at piers 13 & 14 on the east river at
the foot of wall st. at this point much of lower manhattan was escaping
to the north directly by us – some up on the fdr drive, and some on south
st. many came into the club to get away from the smell and smoke and
were watching our tv’s. you can imagine the absolute shock and choruses
of “oh, my god’s” as these people watched wtc #2 and later #1 crumble
down along with their jobs, businesses, careers, co-workers or family.
we all understood not everyone had gotten out. on tv, we had seen the
jumpers – some on fire as they fell 110 stories to escape the searing heat in
favor of quick death.
as each building fell we were engulfed in the cloud of soot that
shot through the downtown corridors and over the skyline. it was initially a
dark brownish yellow color and for a time we couldn’t see more than a few
feet out the windows. the breeze was blowing it straight toward us all day.
the thick stench was like nothing ever smelled before. it contained a
combination of elements we don’t want to think of. the masses outside
were running with their faces covered by anything they could find.
the phone lines were starting to jam but a couple close friends were
able to get hold of me. i tried to talk but was too shaken to put full
sentences together. i got a message on my cell phone from my brother
dann and eventually i was able to leave a message for him without
crying.
a layer of gray soot had blanketed everything in our area. by 4 pm i
figured the air had cleared enough for me to make the erie walk to and
over the brooklyn bridge toward home. i had a sore throat, a headache,
and was temporarily out of my day job as a tennis pro, but i realized i
was better off than many.
i have been lucky (as far as i know) not to lose any friends or
close students. one of my students, howard lutnick, has been highly
publicized as the head of the firm cantor/fitzgerald and owner of
espeed. he lost just about all (700) of his ny company (including his
brother) who occupied 5 floors (101-105) of tower #1. he was taking his
middle daughter to her 1st day of kindergarten at the time of the first
crash. he had lengthy interviews on all of the networks and looked much
more worn then than he did after an hour and a half on the tennis court
with me the day before the attack.
my ex-girlfriend kara (an artist) had received as grant for a 5
month project on the 92nd floor of 1 wtc. she was going to go in at 10
am that day so she is safe but lost all of her work, mostly completed (8
large paintings & 6 drawings) and all of her tools and equipment. one
of her colleagues was there – his body was one of the relatively few
found.
i’ve been to wall st. a couple times this week to make calls and get
things ready for monday when we try to open the club. it was quite
intimidating walking through the heavy military and police presence.
business is going to be very slow for a while, but we will be there. i
plan on visiting the sight soon so that i may truly realize the damage
for myself
Arlington, Virginia In bed in my dorm room. My then-girlfriend called me to tell me “something happened to the World Trade Center in DC.”
“DC doesn’t have a world trade center,” I said. “There’s one in Baltimore.” I went back to sleep. An hour later, on my way to lunch, I saw that all the doors were open and heard TVs everywhere. I tried to walk as long as possible without looking and seeing what could possibly be happening.
At lunch, another student said to me “I’m ready to join the Army, and go fight those bastards.”
“Fight who?” I said.
His reply: “You know, them!”
That’s when I got a bad feeling.
Plymouth, MA I was on my honeymoon. More specifically I was in the shower getting ready for the day when I heard my husband yell into the room. I got ready quick, we rented a car and drove all day to get home to return to family and friends.
home from work sick
Regina Saskatchewan, Canada At work in the Jail in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada, in the Remand area where staff are not supposed to watch T.V. In a very short time however staff from the Deputy Director on down were perched watching. There was an eerie silence throughout the Jail that day as staff and inmates alike watched the events of the day unveil. Probably one of the most somber days in here that I can remember since I started in 1979…
Having breakfast with my husband at a local diner when the TV there went black and we saw the first plane hit – we immediately lost our appetite and went home. We spent the rest of the day glued in front of the TV, holding hands, and praying….
I was at home sleeping when my mom woke my brother an I up. The tv was on CNN and i was in shock in what has happened and thought it was a horrible accident. Not until the second plane hit the south tower, i then percieved that it was a terrorist attack and something was going on.. wrong. As i went to school, my teacher was cryring and angry on how someone could be so sick and vile to ignitiate a sick attack upon our country. Half my classmates were either gone, or picked up by their parents for safety. It was shocking and emotional to watch those two towers fall and watch people run away in instinct.
I was at work when a client came in and told us what was happening. We had no tv so we crowded around a radio to hear the news. I called my husband, who was at home with our son, because his sister lives in New York City. His mother had already tried to get in touch with her after the first plane hit the towers. She, thankfully, was physically fine. I was glad to go home early that day so that I could soak up every bit of information that I could. I know that not everyone loves America but I just never imagined that something of this scale could happen here. I remember driving home and watching the sky in case I could see a plane. Hearing how people were jumping out of the towers broke my heart. Imagine having to make the choice to burn or jump. I don’t know if I could have made myself do it. I was so glad to see my husband and my little boy. We watched all the coverage because my son was only 2 and wasn’t paying any attention. Who knew if there were more attacks to come? Hearing about Flight 93 made me very proud of those people on the plane. I know I would have fought back. You can’t just sit back in that kind of situation. I do remember that before going to bed wishing that there was something other than news coverage on TV. Just one channel. Going to sleep with those images fresh in my mind was almost impossible. I cried for the people who were trapped, the ones who jumped, the ones who must have just sat and cried as they died, the loved ones who got that horrific phone call and the ones who didn’t. I prayed for all the victims and the heroes. God bless the firefighters. We can never forget.
I was at home sleeping when my mom woke my brother an I up. The tv was on CNN and i was in shock in what has happened and thought it was a horrible accident. Not until the second plane hit the south tower, i then percieved that it was a terrorist attack and something was going on.. wrong. As i went to school, my teacher was cryring and angry on how someone could be so sick and vile to ignitiate a sick attack upon our country. Half my classmates were either gone, or picked up by their parents for safety. It was shocking and emotional to watch those two towers fall and watch people run away in instinct.
I was working in my office at JFK Airport. Because of the clear day, I immediately noticed all the black smoke coming from the first tower hit by the plane. From the distance of JFK I could not tell which tower was hit, all you saw was the smoke surrounding both towers. Shortly later, while continuing to stare at the towers in disbelief, I saw a secondary explosion. Again because of the distance I thought it was a gas main blast in the first tower hit by the plane. I never thought it could have been another plane.
The next day at work and the days that followed, all you saw was smoke in the place of where the towers once stood. Where there was once the constant noise of jets, there was eary silence due to the grounding of all flights in the days that followed.
It wasn’t until I saw many of the funerals and memorial services that followed within my own neighborhood that the emotions really hit me.
We can never allow this to happen again.
Detroit , MI I was sleeping on my bedroom floor with my radio turned down low as I always keep it while I sleep when I was drifitng in and out I noticed there was alot of talking going on instead of music. I was having an odd dream of myself and friends who were for some reason on a plane to join the military for some new war.. I woke up and turned the radio up to hear of an attack..so I ran to the t.v. watching the events unfold as the second plane crashed into the towers. I ran to the other room and called my ex who was scheduled to join the navy within the month as we shared our horror and disbelief. Even years later I can remember those moments so vividly..
sSAN DEGO CA I was at work, manifesting hazardous waste. A customer called me on the phone, to tell me of all the horror, that was taking place. I worked one street away from the largest marine/naval base in San Diego.I turned on the radio, & just could not fathom what was going on, even as I listened. I am a native San Diegan, and never in my life, didi I believe, this could happen to America. It has left me shattered, like so many others. The worst of it, is the sense of security we all had, that is gone. I want to feel good again. God bless America
Greenbelt, MD I was in school at that time & I remember getting up for an early class. It was a small class called visual communication & we were actually all there b/c none of us had heard anything yet– maybe it hadn’t happened yet, I can’t remember. Then, when class was over, I passed some people out in a hallway that had a portable tv on (odd) & I heard them say something about planes, I remember, but they were only talking to eachother and I went on my way. Then I walked outside & noticed that the first couple people I saw were all on their cell phones and then I noticed that pretty much every single person on the mall was on the phone– it was kind of surreal. i still didn’t know what was going on and went back to my dorm where the news-watching, jaw-dropping, and sorrow began for the next few days. My floor had tons of NY and NJ kids– its was chaos for awhile. I also started hearing about things happening in dc inlcuding some more minor, less publicized bombings in DC. I heard about on bomb a few blocks from my Dad’s office & we couldn’t get word from him for hours. We all were paranoid about the metro & but he decided it was his best option to get out of the city. It was just painful waiting to hear until he got home safely. I can only imagine how it was for people with family and friends in the towers.
I was sleeping but scheduled to depart from Denver to Houston in the afternoon. I was stuck at school for my quarter break so my parents went to pick me up from far away. I flew back 2 weeks later and my flight was practically empty. I don’t blame them. I was so mad I wasn’t going to be scared away or stop my life for those cowards!
I was… working at a daycare center answering phones as i usually did from 6:30 am to 9 am before i went into my classroom to teach. a parent had called to say a plane hit the twin towers. it seemed sort of strange to me at first and i merely thought it was a defect in the plane or a mechanical problem. i went about my business and was alerted by a second parent who was dropping their child off, that a second plane had hit the towers and was believed to be a terrorist act. that is when panic struck my mind and fear that we were being invaded.i worked in long island, ny and thought that other planes were flying over us and were going to crash near where i lived.i wanted to go home immediatley but couldn’t because we had children in our center who had parents working in the city and some staff members who had relatives that worked in the towers, so i had to cover their shift. i will never forget my co workers faces that day or the fear in the parents eyes as they rushed to pick up their children. luckily we did not loose any one we knew that day.like many people, i will never forget the day that these terrorists came on our turf and destroyed our lives forever. in fact i do not think i was ever inside the twin towers in all of my life, and if i was i was too small to remember. I hope that we never have to experience another attack on american soil like that ever again. god bless everyone.
Emerado, ND At work, in our business manager’s office. The radio was on in the background with the story on it. I wasn’t really listening, but then it sunk in what they were saying. We turned on the television in our computer lab just in time to see the second plane hit the towers, and we were just horrified by what we say. I’ll never forget
Long Island, New York I was…Driving on Motor Parkway, a beautiful twisty road winding through Commack and Dix Hills. I had the windows and sunroof open and Santana’s Supernatural CRANKIN’! When I got to work at Newsday everyone was standing around stunned, people were trying to tune in a tv station. It was terrible, several employees left because their son was in one of the towers (he was safe we found out later). It was not a good day for advertising…
I was at work i didnt know that anything had happened until my boss told me so we all went into his off and watched the news on his computer…
West Coast I was preparing to wake up my two sons for school when I turned on a morning news tv program. As the picture came into focus, I saw the thick smoke and flames billowing from the WTC. At that time only one tower was hit. Horrified, I asked myself how all of those people would get out. Innocently believing it was a catastrophic accident, I then saw the second tower being struck by the aircraft. For the first and only time in my life, my brain would not and could not process what I had just seen… my mind was just a blank.
God bless all those who lost their lives on 9/11 and their loved ones, as well as all the brave firefighters and police who escaped with their lives. You have redefined the word “hero”.
california I was on the 101 freeway heading to Los Angeles. The one day we didn’t turn on the radio. We didn’t know what had happened until we arrived.
Miami Beach I had just arrived to work, a couple of my chefs ran over and told me planes had flown into the World Trade Center. Because of the strange look on their faces I thought this must be some kind of joke. After convincing me that it wasn’t we went into the office and pulled up a news service on the internet. There it was live in streaming video. The anguish on their faces was overwhelming…many of their friends worked at Windows on the World.
Fort Wayne, IN I was working in a our call center helping clients move their money from closing funds into new appointed funds. I had just answered an incoming call and the women I was speaking with stopped speaking…and then said,”Oh my God, a plane just hit the World Trade Center!” and as she watched her tv. I listen to her give the details and then she said, “Another plane just hit the other Tower!”. We ended our call and then I went upstairs to see the news. Groups of people stood in front of all of the tv’s in our building. Everyone just stood in disbelief not understanding what had just happened. Several times throughout the day we would all gather around the tv’s to get the latest information.
I was on a plane. United Airlines. In mid-air. Headed to Los Angeles. Then the pilot gets on the PA and says they have to land because all the planes across the country have been grounded by the FAA.
I had a fear of flying anyway so this didn’t exactly help. Then the pilot gets back on and says “there’s nothing wrong with our plane, we just have to land now”. So we did, in Vegas. Took 11 hours to find a car and drive home.
Definitely a memorable day, although not for the right reasons. I took solace in the fact that it could have been a lot worse for me because I made it home fine and there were people on planes who didn’t make it home that day.
Muskogee, OK I was on the phone with my mom, when she said to me: “Oh my God, Jennifer! Turn your TV on!” We were both horrified, crying and praying for the lost souls continuously that day as events unfolded before us. It was a terrible thing…. that will not go unpunished. May God bless and keep us all safe… and protect those who fight for and protect our freedom.
I was in my dorm room at college. I had just woken up and was eating breakfast so I turned on the news and saw that the first plane had crashed into the WTC. I called my mom at work and told her to turn on her radio. While we were on the phone trying to figure out what happened the second plane crashed. We both started crying and my mom wanted me to come home. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. I went to school in the Upper Pennisula and The International Bridge that connects Canada to the United States was backed up for hours and hours. They increased security and checked everyone that was trying to get acrossed. That night we had a candle light vigil at the Peace Pole. I just think it’s so sad what happened and a complete waste. All those innocent lives lost…..and still more innocent lives lost to this day in Iraq. When is the killing going to stop?
i was at my friends. our schol was on strike so i spent the night, i woke up and went into the living and we just sat there and watched the news for awhile until we couldnt take it anymore then my friend and i went any got some more of our friends and went and hung out to get our minds off of it.
I was in 7th grade, in band, and i remember that no one in the band new what was happening until other kids arrived at the school. That day, the teachers were not allowed to have any TV’s or radios on and were not allowed to talk about it with the students.
driving in my car to my office when I heard Warner Wolff on IMUS say that a plane hit the world trade center. By the time I was parking my car, the 2nd plane hit. Inside my office they were already listening to the radio. I never felt that scared for the future of mankind than at that minute.
Shelley, New Jersey
Cleveland That Tuesday, I was into the second day of training two students, one from the People’s Republic of China, one from Taiwan. It was a quiet day at work and between 8 and 9 AM I was preparing for class, then from 9 on, teaching. Hadn’t heard a newscast or anything since I had gotten in. At about 10:30, we took a break and I got online to talk to a friend.
“Oh, Loren, it’s terrible!” my friend said.
“What’s terrible?” I asked back.
“Someone flew a plane into the World Trade Center!
Until that moment, I hadn’t heard anything at all about what had happened. I was aghast and shaken badly … but I still had my students and felt strongly about my responsibility to continue their training. We got back to the training after the break and I did what I could to focus on continuing the course. I made a point of taking them out to lunch to a familiar Szechwan restaurant where I figured there was little chance of hassle. My fear was that ANY kind of foreigner might be a target for someone wanting to indulge in xenophobia but that was not the case.
Somehow, I managed to finish the day’s material, though we wrapped up early – my heart really wasn’t quite IN it. I remember commenting to an associate sometime after my students had left for the day:
“I think we’re at war … question is, with whom?”
ky. at work, I could barely hear the news on the pa system, as the radio was on. I heard something about a plane hitting a building. I waited awhile and heard nothing from anybody, so I went to the office and asked to have the t.v. turned on to see what was happening. I was horrified. I was thinking all hell is going to break loose now! Nobody does this to the U.S. and gets by with it. I had plans that evening, but I went home, scared of what was going to happen next.
Long Island sick in bed with a sinus headache. My husband was on his way into NYC for a business meeting. He called me from the road to tell me a plane had just struck the towers and that I should turn on the TV. The next few hours were a flurry of activity at our home as we tried to determine whether my aunt was safe since she worked in the WFC. Once we received word she was okay, we still were not sure if the message was from before of after the collapse. It wasn’t until that evening that we got good news. She had been asked to triage patients at the base of the towers and NYPD evacuated them as the tower started to come down. I thank God that my aunt was spared and feel for those who lost loved ones that day. This day should never be forgotten and will never be in my household.
I was actually living in a motel at the time with my boyfriend, now my husband. We had just woken up, and he left for work. I was all alone in my room, and I turned on the TV. I sat there with my mouth open. What the heck was happening??? I was in shock, so much that I just couldn’t fathom the fact that we had just been attacked by heartless, cold people. Who would do this to our country…TO ANY COUNTRY??
God Bless our heroes…our brave firefighters and policemen…and all of the people affected by 911. Gee, that sure doesn’t leave ANYONE out, does it?
Alabama I was on a ballistic missle submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at about 300 ft underwater. We were actually able to float an antenna wire and pick up an AM talk radio station out of New York. We thought we were going to war and were all ready. We didn’t get to see any actual footage until a couple months later and it was like it was happening all over again.
Clinton Township, MI I was at work, listening to what was usually a very funny radio show. All of a sudden Drew and Mike got deathly quiet and serious. As we heard the news of the first tower attack, we turned on a tv in the office to follow what was happening.
Once I saw what was going on, it felt like my heart fell to the floor as I began to understand the magnitude of this attack. For days, every chance I got, I watched news program after program; and spent more time crying for the souls that were lost than I ever have cried.
I remember phoning my husband, who was on the road, to advise him what was going on, and pleaded with him to “watch the sky” for other potential attacks.
It was a moment that would change my life forever! I have come to appreciate life much more fully and try to take each moment in life as the gift that it is from God!
God will continue to provide strength for our country, our president and our people! In God I trust!!
Dekalb, IL I was at work training for a new position. I work in a hospital lab and after hearing repeatedly that something had occured I went to the lab lounge to see what was going on. We have one TV and the entire day shift staff was crowded into the lounge. I couldn’t really hear or see what was going on. Then the towers fell and the reality that something horrible and probably intentional had occured. I was so distracted that I left work early since there was no way I could learn anything new with that on my mind. I worried for all my friend in downtown Chicago which was feared as a target. When I arrived home I found my father home from work early vacantly watching CNN. He did not leave that screen for almost 3 days. I still get a sick feeling to relive the moment of not knowing what was going on. I hope we can relive the peace and compassion that followed 9/11 when people tried to do their part to make a difference no matter how small.
I was at school, where we talked and remember this day. In honor of all those you lost there life or someone close to them we where red, white, and blue.
i was at work and our driver came in and said that a plane had just crashed into the worl trade center. then the other then the pentagon…i said someone has unleashed the fury of the us and is gonna get their ass kicked
I was at Ft. Dix in a class room when everybodies cell phones went off. When they said the tower was hit, I thought they were talking about the eiffel tower. I had no clue it would of been the world trade center.
Trisha: Garner, NC- I was at work and about 20min before it happened I had a horrible feeling overwhelm me for no reason. I had a friend go outside with me where I just started crying and trying to tell her I didn’t know what it was going to be or to who, but something terrible was going to happen. 20min later our boss came outside and got us and told us what was happening. There were annonamous threats to bomb schools here in our area and I left the office and drove straight to the school and had the office call my girls down. As soon as I saw them I hit my knees and cried hugging them. I took them home and we spent the rest of the day snuggled on the couch watching the news and crying.
Wisconsin I was in the desk kitty-corner from the first seat in the first row, Mrs. Pride’s sixth grade reading class, when the principal delivered the short, shocking news over the PA.
Later that day, at lunch, my friend scared me with more, mostly incorrect information. I had to leave early math class fifth hour to go home, because I had scared myself to a low-grade fever. Mum and I watched the news, crying, with my dog in my lap, for a long time after that. She still has all of the news videotapes we recorded, hours and hours, sitting labeled on our shelves.
I was…pregnant with my first child. I was at home on bed rest, three weeks from delivering. I was horrified by the events that unfolded.
Interlaken, New Jersey I am a teacher and I was in school. The school put the series on events on all classroom tvs so we watch the horror as in occurred. Because I am in New Jersey we were devastated by the events. Some of our students had family who worked at the World Trade Center. It was a very emotional day and we all suffered because of it. I a blessed to have know many of those who lost their lives. I pray for them and their families every day and for all the students who were affected by this tragedy. I am 66 years old and have seen too many tragedies in my life such as the Korean Conflict, the VietNam Conflict, the John Kennedy assassination, the Martin Luther King assassination and the Iraqi War that has my grandson involved in a country where he and we do not belong. I pray that one day we all live in peace and that we don’t ever again see individuals believe that it is ok to take the lives of the innocent. God Bless the fallen and the families of the fallen in all these sad occasions.
Doing laundry at my local laundry mat here in New Haven, IN and they had a tv on at the time. Didn’t pay attention to it at first until the woman working there said that a plane just hit that building. I turned around and started watching it. They also had a local radio station playing on their overhead speakers which kept cutting in with updates on the situation. When I left, I remember staring up at the sky and saying “Lord protect us”. After I got home, I watched the TV until I had to go to work. My thought right before I punched in was that what I am doing today is meaningless compared to the events that have taken place. I worked at a large retailer and I remember that all the TV’s were on a news channel with continuous coverage of the attack. I remember trying to get a copy of the evening paper because I knew this was going to be a historic day that would never be forgotten. I also remember the insane lines at the gas station nearby as everyone panicked about possible gas shortages. Everyone that worked and shopped that day seemed in a daze. Its an event I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Chris
i was on an exchange trip for my high school (in germany) and i was headed for windows of the world but we were late because of traffic into the city
I was at school.
I was in Savannah, Ga on the Savannah River that particular day – It was a shame to hear from the dock personnel when I returned to the port.
I lost two friends that worked with me at UPI – Reporters that were in the Twin Towers – jms
I was getting ready for work and listening to the Today show, when the local New York newscast broke in on channel 4. I wasn’t in front of the TV because I was doing my hair in the bathroom, so I figured it must have been 8:56, and that I was running a little later than I thought I was. I looked at my watch and realized the local news indeed was broadcasting earlier than usual. I went to my bedroom to see why, and the anchors were reporting that it appeared a small aircraft had crashed into one of the WTC towers. I sat and watched them speculate for several minutes on what may have happened, when the second tower seemed to spontaneously burst into flames. At this point everybody was stunned; it seemed that the explosion was caused by some sort of bomb. Nobody knew exactly what in the world was going on, except that at this point it appeared to be an attack of some sort. Then one of the station’s own newscasters — I think it was Pat Battle — called into the station and was put on the broadcast live to report via telephone. She said that a plane had flown into the tower and caused the second explosion — that she had seen it. The station replayed the footage leading up to the explosion, and sure enough, you could see the plane deliberately heading into the building. At this point, I’m thinking — well, not exactly thinking, because my brain was surely addled by these events — that I really was running late by now, and I had to hurry up and get into the office.
I live in Hudson County in New Jersey and worked in Manhattan, and at the time I lived along a street that has probably the best view of Manhattan, just across the Hudson River. I knew that as soon as I walked outside I would see the towers burning. So I finish getting dressed and go out to wait for the bus to take me to the ferry terminal, so I can go across the river. As I’m waiting on the corner, I’m staring at the smoke streaming out of the towers against a beautiful sky, and I’m thinking, “Wow, it’s really going to take a lot of work to fix those buildings.” The ferry bus comes, and there are a few other commuters on it, some staring out of the windows at the towers, others reading and not paying it that much attention. In retrospect, I think we all were in a state of shock, still planning to go about our days, go into our Manhattan offices, and act like it’s business as usual.
I was shaken out of my stupor just a few minutes later when the bus arrived at the terminal, which sits down on the river with a bird’s-eye view of the city. There, a rush of people were coming TOWARD the bus instead of away from it, which would ordinarily be the case during morning rush hour. That alone was surprising. Then, as I was starting to step off the bus, a woman shouted, “Go home! Go home! We’re under attack! They hit the Pentagon and the Capitol!” (Of course, we later find out that the Capitol wasn’t hit.) It was only then that I realized we were at war. I really thought the bombs would start falling any minute.
The ferry terminal was packed, with boats still leaving at that point, but with so many people waiting, I figured that I probably wouldn’t make it into the office anytime soon. I decided to call my boss to tell him, and had to use the pay phone to make the call, since cell service was out. I was standing near the door of the terminal, on the phone with my boss, when the first tower fell. I got off the phone and looked at the mass of dust and smoke coming from the ground when the announcement came that the terminal was closing and that there would be no more ferries that day. As the smoke starts to clear from the initial collapse, I see the strangest sight of the day for me: one single tower, standing alone, smoke still pouring from its upper floors. It was something that had never been seen before. The towers went up together, and they were called twins precisely because they always stood together, each a perfect replica of the other. One standing alone? It was unfathomable, yet I was looking at it. I turn my back to the smoldering mess and the lone tower, unable to look at it any longer. I contemplate what to do next: go home and stay there, or go home, pack up some stuff, and get in my car and head south on I-95 to be with my family and friends.
I walk back to where the ferry buses waited to evacuate people from the terminal, and as I am about to get on a bus, a guy on a bike rides by. He’s whooping and yelling, “Death to America!” I wonder now why no one tackled him.
As I ride back to my apartment, I’m staring out of the window, now just waiting for the remaining tower to join his twin’s fate, wondering, but not wanting to think too hard, about whether everybody got out in time. When I reach my stop, I wonder whether I should stand outside and watch the inevitable collapse of the building, or go inside and watch on television. I opt for the latter because I was feeling completely cut off and needed information. I turn on the television, and moments later I watch the second tower collapse, and hear a scream outside my window.
I was in my school class room
NORWALK, CONN I WAS WATCHING IT FROM FROM THE NEWS CHANEL LIVE FROM START TO FINISH, AND WAS IN SHOCK ON HOW SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN. WE LOST FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THIS TRAGEDY AND WE MUST STAY STRONG AND KEEP THE PRAYERS GOING FOR THE FAMILIES. GOD BLESS US ALL.
Maryland It was a fairly late morning due to being up all night with my newborn son.. I called my mom and she informed me as to what was going on and from there I was glued to the t.v. most of the day mortified… my prayers and my thoughts have been with the families and victims ever since… God Bless this country…
Phoenix, AZ My alarm clock radio woke me to the news but I couldn’t fathom what I was hearing until I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane manuevering and stricking the second tower. Was like watching a movie-only real people died! We need to a better strategic plan to prevent this from happening again….guns and bombs are not the only answers!
CA I was scratching my head and muttering to myself in horror, “What has Bush done now!”
Sweded Me and my mom was on an American Airline flight from Sweden to Chicago, we were on our way to see my sick grandmother in California. A friend at the same time was on a Delta flight which departed from Sweden an hour later.
It was over Greenland that the Captain said on the speakers that he wanted us to pay attention and stop doing what we were doing and something had happend, he would get back with more info in 5 min.. at this time I looked outside the window and saw the icy greenland and I thought that I was DIED and damn #%&¤, #/(## and “”(/”&!
When the captian came back he described it as world war III had started.
We found out that the two towers was attacked and we were to be derouted to Montreal, Canada. My friend on the Delta flight was derouted to Ireland.
We landed on a national airport that the runway was not designed for the plane we were in.. so the captain litterly floored the brakes at touchdown. We got on a transfer bus and bomb dogs went through our things. When we arrived at the airport the first thing I saw was a gigantic fight at the payphones and then I saw on the tv screens the magnitude of the attack..
Granbury, Texas I was working at a pre-school with my little boy at the time. One of the teachers told me to come out of my classroom to watch the t.v. I was in shock! My heart and prayers go out to our country.
Lafayette, Louisiana My alarm clock woke me up with the news of the first two
crashes. My husband called me, and told me to turn on the tv. I was already watching. Horrified, I watched the towers fall. I was pregnant and ready to deliver any day. I remember thinking how glad I was that my son was not born on Sept. 11. Over the few weeks, as I looked in my son’s nursery, it was so sureal. I had decorated it in a flag theme. It was amazing to see the flags bloom across our city. God bless the men who fight for our freedom. Jennifer
I was putting in a heating system on east ave in rochester NY untill I got activated at about noon and told to report to my unit
i was working on 12 st and i see everything from the roof
At my high school teaching job. I will never forget the shocked look on everyones’ face. I was soooo surprised that school was not dismissed, for the horror of it all, and the respect of all who died in vain. Why don’t we have a 9/11 day off out of respect? anyone care to comment on this?
I was with a dear friend at his home, trying to come to grips with a medical procedure – hysterectomy, scheduled for 9/12 (due to recurring medical problems). Although my doctors strongly recommended this surgery, I was still unsure if this was the choice I really wanted to make. But, after the devastation and the evil of men I witnessed on 9/11 – I knew I didn’t want to bring another life into this world that was in such turmoil. And though I cry sometimes about the loss of my ability to bear children, but I know I made the right choice that day.
hawaii Asleep and got a phone call around 4am i woke up and turned the tv on and saw it was horrifying
I was working for Child Protective Services and was so worried about some test I was about to take. I remember driving to work and trying look over notes at the same time. Howard Stern was on the radio talking about some party with Pam Anderson at Scores. I didn’t find out until I walked into the building and went to my floor. By that time, the Pentagon had been hit. And everything I was worried about before seemed meaningless.
I was home and had turned on the new prior to the first plane hitting, then everything changed and by the second plane I was sure we were at war. The Pentagon confirmed my thoughts. I will not forget that day and will not let my family either. We cannot let history repeat itself…
JTD/9-11-06
I was on the computer ordering Halloween gifts from Oriental Trading Co.
Red Wing, MN I was driving down the street going to my usual day of breakfast. When I got to the resturant and I told my freind the waitress and she went to the kitchen and they turned on the tv and kept us update as much as possible. And when the second one hit I was eating breakfast. I continued to watch off and on the rest of the day at home. I will never forget that day as long as I live. So sad and senseless.
I was at home, watching it all on the tv. It was devestating to watch. Britney S. North Bend, OR
I was in my fourth grade classroom. They never told us what was going on. We just saw the towers coming down and people screaming and crying. It was like the same footage over and over again. But, it was all different footage.
Pepperell, MA I was in the parking lot of dunkin donuts when i heard the horrible news, and when i walked into the shop and i repeated what i had just heard, everyone was very quiet. very sad.
New Jersey At work, sitting at my desk, not believing what a co-worker was saying about a plane hitting the North Tower.
My clock radio woke me up with the news. I thought that they were talking about the twin towers in Century City. Took my children to school. Came home, listened to the news and realized what happened.
your location (optional) I was on an Amtrak train coming home from Indiana on the morning of 9/11. I live in upstate NY. I was in a sleeper car with no tv and may have been one of the last people to find out. I had a premonition something was going to happen and had been extremely jumpy to go home for two weeks prior to the attack. I’d flown out there and would have been in a jet that morning but I’d lost my only credit card. I took the train instead and paid cash. I was petrified on the flight out there. People on the jet knew something was coming. We were praying and reading the Bible openly in the first week of August. I keep wondering why I was allowed to come home safely and I keep wondering why I knew something was going to happen.
I was in my 6th grade history class, making a book on greece, mrs. hazelwood was going over how to do the population page and i was working on some other page, not listening to a word she said when all of a sudden, all the corner ceiling t.v.’s (that never ever worked before) came on, as as the principle’s voice came over the intercom, all we all saw way planes crashing into the twin tower buildings. we spent the rest of the day talking about what that was going to mean to america, and how we were know a part of history and kids years later would be learning about something we lived through and could remember…
I was in school, in class when the planes hit the world trade center
DeWitt, Michigan I was at home in Michigan, getting ready for work. My husband was watching the CBS morning show and told me I had to come see because a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. As we watched, live on TV, the second plane hit. We were in absolute shock. After the other plane hit the Pentagon and the other plane went down in Pennsylvania, I called our kid’s schools and asked if they were going to send them home early. The told me the whole district was in lockdown — no one, not even parents, were allowed on school property. That scared the living daylights out of me. The remained of the day was spent with my boss, glued to the TV at work, praying frequently, and crying occassionally. I’ve lived through 3 hurricanes in Florida, but that day is the most terrifying of my life. God Speed to all those who perished that day…please know that we will NEVER forget!
Illinois I was at work, and work that fateful day was a blood drive at our local nuclear power plant. We had just arrived and got set up, only to hear about the Twin Tower attacks. I immediately did NOT want to be at a nuclear power plant! The people in security at the plant told us not to worry, they had security people with guns that would shoot at any intruders…but people with guns could NOT have shot down an airplane, if they had come at the power plant!!! Thankfully we did cut our blood drive short that day, but we should have gone home immediately. I will never forget it, our innocence was lost forever.
I was in gym class in my high school in Williamsport, PA. No one really knew what was going on, although our school would not allow us to see what was going on throughout the day. I didn’t really find out what happened until I got home from school.
Mn I was at home with my young child watching the today show and they were showing the footage of first plane hitting the tower then i thought it was still the first plane then could not belive that it was live footage of the second plane
I was playing golf and a friend told me about the disaster.I couldn´t believe it and i turn on my mobile telephone to read the headlines news, and it was true, the towers were colapsed down.From the first moment i thought that the only reason just could be a terrorist atack.
Suso from Galicia Northwestern Spain
AT HOME
I was so unprepared for a discussion we had about the news of 9/11 (I attended a Senior Support Group). Even though I wasn’t aware then. I soon became very informed listening, watching TV, reading news articles. Just, as today I am still widely absorbing todays recollections of this memorial to (9/11/2001)
Toronto, Canada I was at work. I remember coming in to work a little late to think that some guy in a Cessna had flown off course. I went down to get a coffee a little while later just in time to see the second plane hit. By the time I got back upstairs, the first tower had fallen. I was just in shock. It took a long time to realize what was going on. My wife and I had just found out we were expecting out first child and I remember thinking “what kind of a world were we bringing a child into that could do this”.
I was working at a daycare and most parents rushed to pick up their children but some didn’t – some had parents at the petagon and 2 lost thiers that day – all I could think was that their world and ours would be totally different from that day forward. I’m from the generation that didn’t have nuclear bomb drills and we heard no sirens as we were at our desks and now all these childrens will know about emergency preparedness and what to do if thier parents are the next ones to not come pick them up.
New York City I was crossing the Williamsburg Bridge, from Brooklyn to Manhattan when I saw the second plane hit the tower. I just kept walking into the city, almost like a zombie. I was late for work, and like a New Yorker I was magnitized towards the action. I spent the day wandering around, as work had been cancelled and trying to track down a friend who was an EMT at the tradescenter. I was lost, but united by fellow New Yorkers.
I was at work at Griffis Business Park, formerly Griffis Air Base until clinton closed it. When the news came over the radio, I instanly knew it was terrorism and told my buddies so.They thought I was nuts and busted my chops until the second one hit, then I was a busy man. They sent us home and by thenthat business park again looked very military because of NEADS.
Matt Dentino
Rome, NY
DENVER, COLORADO I had just moved to Denver, Colorado from Raleigh, North Carolina 10 days prior to 9/11 and was staying with my friend Jon for a few weeks until I got settled. I was up early that morning and climbing back into bed with the dog for a few more minutes of sleep before starting my first day at work. Jon, who was always checking his email, read aloud a report that a plane just crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. The report made it sound like a small plane, a Cessna or something of that size, and he didn’t seem too concerned. He left for work and I turned on ABC to see tower 1 burning. I really didn’t want to leave the television set and go to work. I considered calling in for the day knowing a friend of mine lived in NYC and I was worried about him. However, I did go into work and we basically watched reports all day on the TV in the kitchen area. Several people from Corporate HQs who were visiting on business were trying to figure out how to get home because all the planes had been grounded. I remember resenting them for being so angry about having to rent cars and drive back home when more important things were going on, but they just wanted to be with family. I regret that I did not watch much TV the next few days. I feel like I missed out on a lot of stories and information that I can never retrieve. I remember really missing my family back home and feeling so sorry for all the young professionals, like me, who could not find their husbands and wives in the aftermath.
In California. My 12 year old son had the t.v. on that morning. As we stood and watched the towers—we just turned and looked at each other with horror—the night before we had watched a movie called ‘On the Beach’….if you have ever seen this movie—-it scared us; it was like someone up above was trying to warn us. I had just ‘picked up’ this movie as it was a free movie on my membership.
Tucson I worked at a nightclub in Tucson, Arizona at the time. I hadn’t worked the night before but I had gone out. I believe I had gone to Monday night Football at the place I worked and then went out dancing. I went home around 3 in the am. I was thinking about normal stuff. I was happy and carefree! The next morning my mom woke me up around 9 or 10 and said a plane has crashed into The world trade center…I thought that she was joking at first, then I thought it was an accident, maybe small plane. I woke in time to see the second plane hit, then I heard about The pentagon and I knew we had been attacked, that War had been declared on this great republic. I knew that my life would be forever different. I realized that a certain innocence was gone from Modern America forever. I knew that I was going to live through years of war abroad and political strife at home. I love my country, and I am still happy! The silver lining is that 9/11 woke up America in a sense. We know first hand that evil exists…that freedom isn’t free. It is paid for in blood, Sweat and Tears!
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants”
Thomas Jefferson
Sincerely,
Caesar
I was doing an election campaign on the streets of lower Manhattan until someone who was passing by told me that one of twin tower has collapsed so I should go home instead of doing the campaign. I was dumbstruck. I still couldn’t believe it when I got back to campaign headquarter because everything looked so normal. Except when I tried to catch subway to Queens, the train didn’t run. So I had to walk up to 59th St. Queensborough Bridge and pass over the bridge. As I walked, I slowly realized that this was real because everyone was moving uptown. From the 5th Ave, I could see the white smoke rising from far down. When I set at the corner of central park to catch a breath, I saw a guy talking to another stranger as though he was reading a monologue. My files, my office, desk, chair, it’s all gone…. Cars were moving very slowly on the sidewalk of the bridge where pedestrians should be and all the pedestrians were walking on the main road of the Queensboro Bridge. When I looked back I saw white smoke raising from downtown.
concord, ca in bed, i heard on the radio but i thought it was the dj’s being stupid. we had friends staying in an rv with a flight out that day, i had to wake them up in tears and tell them they would not be able to fly out. they drove the rented rv all the way to FL
Norfolk, VA: My husband in in the Navy, and we were stationed there. His ship was due to deply in two weeks, and his parents were visiting. I remember I was taking out the trash, while he was out taking his Mother to the store. He came walking into the driveway and said “Honey, pack my stuff.” I said “Why, you still have two weeks!” He told me what had happened and to turn on the tv. He was certain he would be recalled at any moment – he was right! He was told to report by 2:00 pm. We spent the morning getting him ready to go, and playing with our seven month old twin gilrs. I still have the picture of the three of them I took that day on my refigerator. He ended up being gone for seven months. I watched tv for three days strait.
on 9-11 2001 i was just getting up to eat some breakfast. at about 9;15 or so i turned on my t.v. while i was preparing breakfast, i heard an emergency message a plane crashed into the w.t.c. i think it was a few minutes or so after i had heard the message.
I was in my 7th grade math class. My teacher accidently turned the tv on right as the planes crashed into the buildings.
Texas I was in school. When I got to my Criminal Justice class we watched the continuous coverage on the news. A girl in the class had said that her grandmother was supposed to be on one of the flights. I don’t know the fate of her grandmother, but I hope she was alright.
I was at school when my we had an announcement and they said that it was an early realease but they didnt give a reason. I wasnt scared at first because i didnt know what was going on. My mom picked me up early and i arrived home, my dad was watching the news, i saw what happened, i was stunned. When i saw that the second plane crashed i understood that it was no accident. I was a kid so i didnt know what to expect but i was still worried.
On Sept. 11, i was at 32nd Street Naval base in San Diego, CA. A female sailor came in the room a little after 6 a.m, West Coast time, and said a plane hit a buiding in new York . We turned on the T.V and watched the horrific act unfold. God bless America and those who lost there life. Best wishes with their families and loved ones.–Serving my country, 24 CA
I was just waking up, getting ready to go to my first day of school, when I saw my parents outside watching the news, kind of in shock. Since I was going to third grade at the time, I just knew that the World Trade Center was hit by an airplane.
duluth, mn I was at home getting ready to leave for an 8am class. I never turned on the tv usually in the morning, but that day something told me to turn it on. I was kind of watching the early news….just normal news items when all of a sudden they broke in with the news of the first plane hitting. I couldn’t believe it so I started paying more attention and as they were talking about it and had live camera feeds of the world trade center the 2nd plane hit. I just thought that it was so strange that I had such a strong feeling to turn the tv on….and then the news which I usually never watch. That day in all my classes I remember them bringing tv’s in and all we did was watch the coverage.
DENVER, COLORADO I was on the bus on my way to school. At that time I was in seventh grade so I didn’t have a clue what the World Trade Center was. So when I heard that over the radio on the bus I just sort of shrugged it off. When I got into my first hour class I was confused as to what was going on. My teacher turned on the T.V. and we watched the news the entire period, actually in every class we did, anyway I still had no idea what was going on, but I did realize that thousands of people were killed by the towers being hit and falling. Now that I look back at it I am mad at myself for not knowing what was happening. I mean the World Trade Center was a huge part of America and so were all those innocent people that were killed. I should have been aware of how badly our country was hurting, I am aware now. It is sad though that we are not bonding as a nation anymore. We were for a while and then sadly some people that 9/11 did not personally effect were back to normal lives. I believe we should come together again as Americans no matter what your race, sex, or religion is…..WE ARE AMERICANS. Help each other out don’t just walk by when someone needs help. Care for others as you did on the day this tragedy occured. STAND UNITED ONCE AGAIN!!!
ANONYMOUS,, i was in Alaska during 9/ 11.
Chico, Ca I was in my second year at CSU Chico, waking up to my roommate’s boyfriend screaming that we were at war. After watching the news for a few minutes not knowing what was going on, I called as many friends as I could to wake them up and turn on the TV. When the second plane hit I knew it was no accident. The next few days were a numb fog–seeing the towers collapse over and over again both on TV and in nightmares. Horrible. But also a unifying time for America.
I was in bed, and woke at 6:00 am to horrible cramps. For me to be up this earily was a rarity. I put the TV on to comfort me and take my mind off of the pain. The comfort of the TV turned into a nightmare.
I was… I was at home getting ready for work. My husband called me from his car. To tell me the horrific news.
It was a much anticipated day off & I was relaxing with a cup of tea & some needlepoint while watching the am news. At first I thought there was only a fire in the WTC, then the second plane hit, then the Pentagon was hit. It was a nightmare. I called my husband at work & my place of work to tell them to turn on the tv. Like the Kennedy & Martin Luther King assinations & the Challenger, it’s a moment that will always be crystal clear in my memory.
Eugene, Oregon At 6 am PDT on September 11, 2001, I was, as usual, starting my morning email to my friend in Brisbane, Australia. My subject line, based on an NPR story that I was listening to as I opened a new message was “Something terrible in New York.” I began my email noting that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings and then proceeded to our normal e-conversation for a few minutes. Within minutes I heard that another plane had hit another WTC building. I was, of course, startled and reported it to my friend, saying that that hardly seemed a coincidence. The next thing I noted in my email (between random personal conversation) was the shocking report that terrorism might be involved. I continued to write my friend throughout the morning (we were excused from work that day), reporting as news came over the radio. When they reported the collapse of the first building, I reported it in stunned words to my friend, understanding that there could be 10,000 people inside that building. I continued to write until nearly noon Pacific Time, relating reports of the second building caming down, the Pentagon being hit, the plane crashing in Pennsylvania. Finally, I hit “Send.” When my friend got up at about 1 pm my time, she, as usual, opened her email program. Upon reading the first part of my email, she called to her husband to turn on their TV and that’s when they learned what was going on. My Australian friend and I continue to email each other daily (we are now in our 8th year) and find much to discuss, analyze and agonize over in a seemingly deteriorating world situation. I feel that she and I have experienced 9/11–and all that has followed–together. Two lives 8,000 physical miles apart but intimately linked by the state of the world we share. We are all in the same world–and that’s not always good.
Sacramento, CA I woke up and turned on the tv right as the 1st pictures were displayed, I thought I was watching a movie scene, it took a few seconds to realize what was going on. I went to work downtown (across from the State Capitol) not knowing what else to do and just stood out front staying at all the police cars around the State Capitol. It is a day that will be etched in my memory forever, good bless all those who perished in this horror
Fort Collins, CO I was at my parents house and it was in the moring before I went to school around 8:45am and I remember turing on the T.V to see what was on. I saw the event on every channel and I was confuesed on what was going on. Since I had to go I could not stay long enough to see what happen, and then i herd it on the radio on the way to school, it seemed un real and scary at the same time.
I remember getting a call from my sister who was sent home when the plane crashed in Philly, I was just happy that she was ok.
Atlanta, GA I was in the fifth grade, and the teacher across the hall from my classroom started crying uncontrollably. All of the other fifth grade teachers left the room to comfort her, leaving their students extremely confused. Later that day my friend explained to me what happened, but I still didn’t understand. When school ended I went home, and my parents sat me down and gave me a full account of the events that happened. I was horrified for a while after that.
I was at home
i was in 2nd grda in school
I had just finished re-tileing my bathtub.
Dallas,Texas
Portland Maine On 9/11 I was about to do a 9:00 AM training for Time Warner Cable Company in Portland, Maine. Because of their work they have televisions everywhere, and there was a TV in the training room. A few people had entered the room for the training when an employee came in and said, “Turn on the TV, a plane just hit the World Trade Center.” As people filed into the room quietly we all were there to witness the second plane hitting the second tower. After a brief discussion the training was canceled and I packed the supplies up into my vehicle for the 30 minute ride home, listening all the while to the radio, and feeling like the broadcast of the plane hitting the Pentagon must have been a joke. It was as if I was listening to War of the Worlds. I kept waiting for the announcer to come back on and say, “No, this hasn’t been confirmed.”
Only a few hours later I became aware that two of the terrorists – Mohammad Atta and his accomplice – had driven right behind the Time Warner Cable Company on their way to the Portland Jetport. That very morning, as I’d woken up to prepare for my training, they’d been traveling down the Maine Mall Rd. toward the airport, the very same road I arrived on. It was such a chilling thought, knowing I’d missed them on the road only by a matter of a few hundred minutes, and that they’d been in our midst here in southern Maine, shopped at the Wal-Mart, gone through a bank’s ATM, left their car at the Jetport Parking Garage that morning. It’s so scary to realize that safety and peace is not something we can count on, that in fact sometimes the people to fear are closer than we could ever imagine.
Thank God for all of the good people in the world whose work promotes peace and understanding, something we need so much more of in the face of horror.
Vale, Oregon I was at home with my family getting my kids ready for school as well as myself and I had sat down for a minute to watch the Today show and caught a glimpse of the first plane in the tower, so I called my husband in to look. We thought that the plane was off course until a few minutes later the 2nd plane hit while we were watching……Devastating, to say the least.
Toronto, ONT I was at school in a computer lab. Someone mentioned it and I tried to verify it on cnn.com. But the site was down because everyone was trying to figure out what is going on. Ended up watching it on TV in the grad lounge.
My whole family decided to take our first trip to Walt Disney World because our school was opening late. We left Newark Airport on 9/9. We were having breakfast when the attack accured. We decided to head to one of the parks to keep things as normal as possible for our children. They closed the parks but all the pools were open at the hotels so we tried to have a good day. When we flew home the following Saturday it was weird because there were hardly anyone on our plane going back to Newark, NJ. We felt safe but very sad especially when we saw the WTC site. My father worked in the WTC for 15 years and I have fond memories of the towers.
On my Uncle’s couch half asleep wondering if I was dreaming….Hoping I was.
I was in school. My mom picked me up right before gym, and then I found out what happened.
i was serving in the Navy onboard the USS Shreveport LPD 12 sitting on the mess decks watching in disbelief
I was working at my desk.
on the 50th floor
I was…asleep and my flag was hanging in the halway
Cape Neddick, ME I was at work l;istening to the radio when I heard that a plane had hit the 1st tower. I called my husband at work and told him what happened, he said it was probably some inexperienced pilot and that I shouldnt worry. When the 2nd plane hit I called my husband again, scared out of my mind, it was then he realized that it wasn’t an accident, and it just kept getting worse as the morning went on. Pretty soon, we were all at work watching the TV, wondering what was going to happen next. I kept trying to hold back the tears thinking OMG! this can’t be happening, My husband told me that if anything happened and they told us to leave the building that I should no, and get out ASAP. I watched TV all night long and many days after just crying for all those people who lost their lives.
I vividly remember waking up to my alarm, and hearing George Bush’s voice saying that a plane has flown into the World Trade Center
I was…On a roof in Minnesota, building a house, and saw fighter jets fly over, and the job supervisor informed us of what happened. It took a few minutes to register what happened.
I was getting ready for a job interview. This was a much anticipated interview since I had been unemployed for 4 monthes and was a single Mom with a little 4 year old. I turned the tv on and terror was everywhere and it shot through my veins. A day I will always remember. Now 5 years later, my daughter is almost 10 now and she still asks, “Mommy, have they caught the powerful man yet?” I sadly had to say, “No honey, not yet”…And all she said was “When will they catch him?”. I couldn’t answer her…:(
arriving at my special ed classroom to find my assistant staring at the computer screen with tears running down her face, and a look af awe and disbelief.
I was…on an airplane at that exact time until they grounded all aircraft. So, we ended up at Disneyworld on Sept 11, which was only the second day in history that the park was closed.
KT
Bethlehem, PA It was my senior year of High School. It was the beginning of my Human Anatomy class and I remember a girl rushing into my class room saying “Turn the TV on! We’re under attack!”
I was in the bed. My best friends Mom called looking for her and told me that we had been attacked. She made it sound like there were ground troops outside the door. I turned on the tv and spent the entire morning just sitting in front of it. I went to work that night at a fast food restaurant where I managed. We brought the employee training tv out to the dining room and everybody, customers, employees, everyone stood in front of it all night. Nobody complained about the wait or anything. Sometimes people cried, some people just stood silently. It was the most moving experience because for the moment we were all on the exact same page.
Cecelia C. I was a freshman in college at the University of Montevallo. I was ready to go to my first class but had made plans to meet my friend, Bethanie, for breakfast. I remember my first class was a modern dance class, so I was showing up to the cafeteria in my leotard. Bethanie met me at the door and asked me if I had heard what happened. I was like WHAT?!?! I walked into the cafeteria and saw it was true… the TVs were all showing it. I couldn’t eat. I went back to my dorm and turned on the TV. My roomate was sleeping… but woke up at the sound of the TV. She was mad at me for waking her up, but she soon realized what was on the TV and watched with me.
at school in philadelphia
I was walking my dog and I was just a block away when the first plane hit. I felt the cold dark chill run down my spine… I mean it was horrible. My dog started going crazy . I was just standing there ofr like 15 min, people were really running in every directions screaming, screaming… I eventually satrted running back from where I was coming from. Anyways I hated it and I hate the bastards who caused all of this $hit. Burn in hell whoever did this. You ruined thousands of lives.But karma will slap back in the face.
I was…. in Midtown Manhatten in the office.
When I first heard about it I was in geometry class in 10th grade. Everyone stopped what they were doing and was watching everything on television. When I saw what was happening I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m sorry for the people who have lost loved ones and hope they are doing well today. God bless.
i was at work , as a police officer
CHICAGO, IL: I was driving to my grandma’s house, where I park and walk to the train station to work downtown. As I turned on the ignition, the radio started immediately with Mancow’s morning show. They were talking about terrorism, a plane, something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention, but as I parked the car, I heard him say something about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center in New York. At first, I thought it was a joke. But as I sat there for a minute, I realized it was the real thing, and I thought, “Oh my God, what a horrible accident.” I continued to walk to the train and make my way downtown. The words “plane” and “building” could be overheard from other people’s conversations. When I got to work, on the 42nd floor, my boss told me that two planes had hit the WTC buildings. A second plane? It was then that I thought to myself, “Oh my God, this was no accident.” He continued to watch the news in his office as I and another assistant sat anxiously at our desks. The only phone calls we got were of family members making sure we were all right. Then he came out of his office and said, “One of the towers just fell.” We all just looked at each other. After a little while longer, my boss came back and said the second building had fell. He told us we could go home if we wanted to. My co-worker looked at me and said, “I’m outta here!”, and I was soon to follow. On the train ride home, there was much confusion and anxiety. I came home and turned the TV on to find that almost every single channel had one horrific image. The next morning on the train was eerie; as everyone sat together in silence, each and every person was thinking the same and feeling the same thing, and each person knew what everyone else was thinking and feeling.
just going into a morning meeting near washington DC.
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida MFL Members Remember Sept 11, 2001
September 11th Trip Report
Or “How a Character at Walt Disney World can communicate without speaking”
In honor and rememberance of those who passed away in the horrible tragedy last September 11th, I decided to write a trip report detailed my experiences last year at Walt Disney World.
I had a trip to Ft Lauderdale on September 7, 2001 to go to school. I would be finished with classes on Sept 9th and I decided I needed a little mini vacation afterwards. I had contacted some friends who live in Florida and asked them if they wanted to send a few days at WDW. My friend Patty, who had been there a few times before, would have to ask her husband, Randy, who had never been there.
After several weeks of talking him into it, we decided we could go for 4 days – I would meet them in Ft. Lauderdale on September 9th, we would drive to WDW and I would fly home from Orlando on the 13th.
Me, being the great planner that I am, had to get everything booked right so that Randy would have a great time, and want to go back again. Originally, I booked the Beach Club, but after Randy complained it was too much money, I switched everyone over to the All Star Sports – still on property, I was fine with that, and Randy was fine with the cost. I made a few PSs for a character breakfast, dinner at the Castle, and of course, I planned for Tuesday night at Jelly Roll’s (CM night is great there!).
Well, we arrived at WDW around 4pm on September 9th, checked into our connecting rooms at the All Stars and I immediately said “We have to get over to Epcot.” It’s the very last time that the “Tapestry of Nations” Parade will be going on. The parade was changing over to the “Tapestry of Dreams” parade. We caught the parade and hit a few attractions at Epcot, including Test Track. And then we saw Illuminations and had a great dinner at Marrakesh.
Epcot was closing, so I decided that we would have a night cap over at Jelly Rolls on the Boardwalk. We met some fun people and I, of course, had to make some balloons animals and hats for everyone.
It was late and we headed back to the All Stars. I had a PS for dinner at the Castle on Tuesday, so I decided that on Monday the 10th, we would hit MGM and then go to our PS dinner at Jiko. Early Monday, I woke Patty and Randy up and we headed over to MGM. I finally got to see the BAH even though it still wasn’t complete. We did mostly everything at MGM, it was the second week of September and all the kids were back at school. I got #1 on the fastest fingers at WWTBAM right before time was called. We hit TOT and RnR, and pretty much everything. At around 1pm, it was time for lunch, and I, of course, had to go visit Mom and the Cousin’s, so I headed over to the 50’s Prime Time Café with Patty and Randy. Of course, lunch was unbelievable again, and I had to have them make my favorite Peanut Butter and Chocolate shake – YUM!. And, once again, I made balloon animals for all the cousins and Mom – and, even though I hadn’t been there in over a year, everyone remembered me – it was so cool.
By now, Patty and Randy were tired. I had run them around pretty good. They said that they wanted to take a nap before dinner (at Jiko! – I couldn’t wait), so we headed back to the All Stars. It was now around 3pm. They napped, I wanted to explore! Having never stayed at the All Star Movies, I had to go check it out to see what all the excitement was about. It was so cool – I wanna stay there some time. After checking out the All Star Movies, I wanted to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Even though we were planning to go there for dinner, I had never seen it, and I wanted to check it out in the day light, and see the animals.
I was totally overwhelmed by the resort. It is beautiful and huge and wonderful and….. I could go on forever. I definitely want to stay there sometime. I spend several hours out back watching that animals, talking with the CMs, some of who are from Africa, about the resort, and about my trip that I took years ago on a real African safari. In fact, several of the CMs there had also worked at some of the same safari camps I stayed at when I was in Zimbabwe. And of course, I had to teach the CMs how to make balloon animals too!.
It was getting late, I headed back to the All Star Sports, showered, got Patty and Randy and headed back to the AKL for dinner at Jiko. Once again, it was so amazing, one of the best dinners I have ever had! We had wine and food and food and wine and wine and food. We had the best CMs, we had a newlywed couple next to us, and we had a loud table of fun women having a ball. By the end of the evening, we three tables we great friends! And of course, I had to make balloons for everyone! Time to head over to PI for a night cap and some fun. We hit all the clubs, and of course wished everyone “Happy New Year.” And, of course, I had to show Patty and Randy how fun the Adventurer’s Club could be. And, since Patty and Randy are New Yorker’s like me, (and since Patty had a little bit too drink), they joined right in on the fun and ended up on stage doing the Monkey Dance. It was great!
We got back to the All Star Sports around 3am. The only thing planned for Tuesday was dinner at the castle so we did not really need to get up too early to get to the MK. But I did want to get my hair cut on Main Street. We went to bed…….
And I was woken up by Patty knocking on my door, telling me to turn the television on, the World Trade Center was on fire. In disbelief, we watched the second tower get hit. What is going on! What do we do. We watched, we cried, we did not know what to do. We talked about checking out and heading back to their house, we talked about staying at WDW, we did not know. Finally, we said, let’s have breakfast, calm down a little and figure out what to do. We drove over to the Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. Of course, everyone was watching on television as the first Tower collapsed. We got a table in the restaurant, but no one was hungry, just sick to our stomaches. The place was pretty empty, the characters – Mickey, Goofy came around, we took a picture, but it just wasn’t the same. We were glued to the television, it just wasn’t happening, but it was.
Then, while Patty and Randy where watching the television and I was at the table alone, Chip (of “Chip & Dale” fame) came over to the table – his “Chip” face was as happy as could be – as it should be at WDW, but then Chip signed – he pointed his two index fingers straight up in the air in front of his face, then he took his two fingers to his eyes, down his nose – my eyes watered as I realized what he was signing – the Twin Towers and then tears.
Indiana i was @ school in 3rd grade
going to the dentist’s office and trying to believe that the world was still the sane safe place it was the night before.
I was at work when my co-worker stopped by my office and remarked that a plane had hit the WTC. We both thought it was a small private plane like a Cessna or something. I remember we chuckled and said “What kind of a dumba$$ runs into the World Trade Center?” Right after that we heard about the second plane and realized this was no accident.
i was….. chilling smoking a blunt of arizonas finest and i was devestated to see this shit happening i could not belive it rest in peace to all those who lost there lives in this tragedy
i was at scholol.
I put on the tv, Brian Gumble was loosing his mind, he was in deep denial even when the second plane hit, his thoughts where is was a coinsidence. One my way to work the towers went down, that when the horror really hit me, I had to pull over, I was crying so hard I could no longer see the road. Today, I took my grandson to school, saw the flags at half mast and burst into tears again. I will never get over this.
I am sitting in front of the computer reading a site titled “http://wherewereyou911.net/.
San Diego CA – I was in my office at about 6:00 Pacific time. At about 6:30 that morning a co-worker came in and said he heard on the radio a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We soon went online and saw events as they unfolded. Everyone was sent home about an hour later.
In bed. I awoke to it when the radio woke me up at 6. I immediately turned on the TV and saw the nightmare unfold in silent, snowy fashion. It was so incredible… I felt hardly anything. As the days unfolded, and I learned more and more, I thought Mecca and the Kabaah might become heaps. To this day, it still stands unscathed. Maybe Allah IS protecting “His house”?
I was studying in Chile for my last years of college. I had just gotten out of class with my friend (her father worked in the Pentagon) when our professor came up to us and told us that a plane had crashed. We had no idea how serious it was until we got back to our apartment and saw what was happening on the news. We felt so helpless that we were that far away from our friends and family. We immediately called everyone to make sure all of our loved ones were ok.
I was dressing for a job interview and turned on the news to the first tower burning, I woke up my child to watch as I knew that although we didnt know what was happening …it was history.
i had just got got my kids off to daycare,an stop by a friends house,he was waching tv,and i asked what are u waching,he said,a plane crashed into the first WTCtower
and from then on my heart just sadden
Coldspring, TX 14 years old in 9th grade. In highschool first period class. the principal told everyone on thge intercom to turn the tv on. EVERYBODY was completely shocked and horrified. We stayed in the first period all day till it was time to go home.
I was at work at a court house in Massachusetts, and I heard someone say that a plane had it the tower – I assumed it was the air traffic control tower at Logan. A little while later the court house was closed and while there was no panic people wasted no time getting out. My company met at a restaurant down the street and on the lounge t.v. is where we first saw the two burning towers.
i was 4year old and i was in daycare and i like it to
now im in 5 i went to prescooland i had friends
in bed and the phone rang. It was my husband and it was sometime after 6 am in Southern California. He was in San Francisco for business and had tuned on the television in his hotel room to listen to the news as he prepared for the day. He called to let me know about the first crash. As we were talking the second tower was struck. I remember saying to him, “Peter, our lives will never be the same. . . .”
14 years old/9th grade in my highschool first period class. The principal got on the intercom and told everybody to put the tv on. EVERYBODY was shocked completely!!
I was on a nuclear powered fast attack submarine in the North Atlantic. The captain came over the 1MC and announced what had happened. He said we were to continue our mission. I remember lying in my rack and thinking that history had just been divided in two. Before 9/11 and after 9/11. We were largely unable to communicate with our loved ones back home, which made things a little difficult. It was over a month later that we finally pulled into a port and were able to call our families. The radio guys said that when they first got the news they thought it was a fictional exercise for us. Just a scenario for a war game. Then they realized what circuit it came over. Not the exercise circuit. The news circuit.
Shawnee, KS I was in U.S. History class (ironically) when we learned of the first plane…Hopefully assuming that it was an accident, I went on to third period, Art class, where we saw the second plane crash on the television, and immediately knew it was not an accident.
Shawnee, KS I was in U.S. History class (ironically) when we learned of the first plane…Hopefully assuming that it was an accident, I went on to third period, Art class, where we saw the second plane crash on the television, and immediately knew it was not an accident.
I woke up by this frantic voice of a radio announcer and I immediately turn on the TV to CNN and in disbelief saw the smoked ridden North Tower and after which the strike on the South Tower. I woke up my kids and husband and cannot understand why my kids are witnessing these kind of evildoings. I live in Vancouver, Canada and went to work that morning but I missed my bus stop because I was shocked thinking that i could be one of those unfortunate office workers.
God Bless US All!!!
I was downtown. My office at that time was on Reade
Street just east of Broadway. At the time I was on Reade Street and Broadway and watch as the towers crumbled
to the ground. For five years, any sight of the buildings
burning or not, brought a tightening feeling in my chest and I would fight back tears.. finally, this weekend I watched Flight 93, which had footage of the attacks, and I finally let everything out. I cried on and of for three
hours and finally fell asleep. On sunday I wazs able to watch “Inside the Twin Towers” (i think that was the name ) and I was able to sit through it. While it was still hard bor me, I did not have the same tightning feeling, nor did
i cry or fight back tears. I think i finally came to temrs with the fact that was severly impacted by witnessing the
destruction of my (towers) twin towers and the lives
lost on that day.
I hope that sharing this will help someone else to
cope.
at work when a coworker said the internet issued a bulliten that a plane hit the WTC. Not much got done at the office the rest of the day. Everyone was listening to the radio and sneeking out to the lunchroom TV to see the news. A very sad day I will never forget
It basically started out as a normal day. Beings I was living in CA at the time, I was 3 hrs behind, so when I heard the news on the radio, I was going to my weight training class at my college at 6am. I didn’t go to work until 12:30pm that day so when I got home from exersize, I watched more of the devistation on TV and of course that is all we talked about at work and everywhere else for a long time.
I was sitting in my first period computer class, senior year of high school. For the rest of the school day we were shuffled from movie room to movie room to watch what was happening on the big screens.
I was at home nursing my 3rd child when it came on the news. Both my husband and I work for American Airlines and he was flying. I sat in shock and disbelief, even as the facts were coming across the screen. I knew most of the crewmwmbers. It is still a haunting memory, every time I go to work.
I was at work, had just started the day when we heard. I don’t recall how we heard, whether someone called us up, but we heard about it within minutes of the first plane hitting the towers. The one that had my neighbors niece on it, Karen Martin, head flight attendent on Flight 11. She was the very first person killed that day, as she tried to block the hijacker’s access to the cockpit.
Our controller had a tiny tv set on his desk, but we weren’t allowed to gather around it because we had a modern day nazi for a boss. She REFUSED to allow us to leave – and my brother was an American Airlines pilot at the time, didn’t find out he was okay until late that night – until after 2:00 pm, and she was PISSED because she had to pay us all for an entirely lost work day. She even tried to force some of us to make sales calls, but the phone systems in the US were rapidly overwhelmed by people trying to call loved ones, so we weren’t able to do so. Those few people we could get through to, we cried on the phones with. No business transactions took place – no one cared about business the moment it all started.
All of us were shocked and completely horrified, first by the events of that day as they unfolded, and second, by the fact that we worked for a completely heartless, money-hungry woman.
I didn’t see any of the footage firsthand, but in the hours upon hours of video replays, the visuals were indelibly burned into my brain nonetheless. The footage that tore my heart out the most were the two people who held hands as they plunged to their deaths.
I was…on a flight inbound to LaGuardia from Frankfurt Germany on Continental Airlines. The stewardesses appeared red eyed and frantic, and there were some whispering before the pilots announced that America had been attacked. Alot of people that flew that day later said that they didnt know what had happened until they landed–many in another country than their original destination had been–because the airlines were afraid of inciting panic on the planes. There was no panic on my flight, just a quietness and then people sharing cellphones and sympathy and sorrow. They didnt tell us where we were going to land, but it ended up that we had enough fuel to land us back in Frankfurt–a 16 hour flight to nowhere. After spending one year overseas, I spent 4 extra days stranded in Germany with thousands of other people, which was better then being with those stranded in Canada. Continental was able to put up the entire flight in a hotel for two nights, meals and a daily charter bus back to the airport included–forever grateful for their willingness to help, I havent heard of another airline being that generous. After that, I spent the one night in an apartment that was donated by a local Tech firm. The last night was spent on the airport floor. When the airspace reopened, you were only guaranteed a flight back to New York, after that it was whatever was available to wherever was close to where you were going. I flew into a city 4 hours from where I live and my boyfriend picked me up. We hadnt seen each other for 9 months and weve been together ever since. Some things can bind you together just as much as they can pull you apart.
Silver Spring, MD I was in a calculus class at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD. I was my only class that day. I wasn’t aware of it untill I got to my car and listed to DC 101 on the radio. Elliot was comenting on a plain that had crashe in to one of the Trade Centers. He said they weren’t sure if the collision was an accident of a deliberate atack. Then they said that “oh! there come another plain. OOOHHH!” The radio host was watching it on tv. I was un real. I thoug something like that could never happen. Then I rushe to a friends house and saw the replay for myself.
I was…at home in bed, i skipped school that day i was a senior in high school. i went to mcdonalds to get breakfast for me and my boyfriend, on the way there the town was like a ghost town everybody must of already went home. It was rainy and chilly, there was a lil boy and his mother in rain coats on the corner giving out papers about the attack. i went home and stayed in bed and watched the news it was so sad.
I was working at 90 John St about 5 blocks away, and thanking god that my 7 month pregnant wife was no longer with Goldman Sachs right in front of the WTC’s.
I was here at work in Ohio at one of the local community colleges. It was in between quarters. Consequently, there were little to no students or faculty around. I remember going down stairs to the cafeteria to get coffee. The televisions were on and one of the few workers was standing and watching which made me stop and watch. The first tower had already been hit by the time I got downstairs. Then the second tower was hit. As I watched in horror the second building came down. Then the first bulding came down as I yelled out loud “OH MY GOD NO–God NO!!!!” I left to pick up my child from school and called family, friends and loved ones to see if they were all okay. All’s I could do was cry and pray, pray and cry.
finished with my first group therapy session and I had gone into another building and I heard/saw it on the television. I sat there for 30 minutes staring at the television. My son, who is an Air Force pilot, had just gotten married and was immediately sent overseas. My daughter-in-law, who had just gotten out of the Air Force was immediately re-called back to active duty. I remember that I had a friend that worked on Wall Street and that had a son that worked as a stock broker in the WTC. I could not reach her on the phone until late that evening. I learned her son had escaped but was not heard from until just before I called her. The day was an entire blur otherwise.
I was at work. My girlfriend phoned me and said a plane had crashed into the WTC. I didn’t believe here, until everyone went rushing to our staff dining area to watch tv.
We sat watching tv while the other plane hit and then the buildings came down. Was the worst thing ive ever witnessed in my life
My thoughts go out to everyone affected/involved
at school not believing what we were seeing on tv
my alarm woke me up and the t.v. was already on all i saw was the twin towers buring i didnt know what was going so i sat down and kept watching and thinking ive never seen anything like this before and then the second plane hit i thought i was still sleeping so i woke my wife & she was in disbelief.i didnt even go to work that day.
I was in my apartment in Los Angeles, California…I awoke a half hour early and had CNN on. When I saw the plane and the smoke in the first building, I sensed that this was a deliberate act right away. I was on the phone with my ex-girlfriend and she was freaking out. When the next plane hit, I tried to keep her sane but it was difficult because she was after blood. We had been dating for four months and things were going ok but right after the attacks, I saw a totally different person in her. I know what our country has done in the past and why some people hate us for our policies around the world which date back decades. I was trying to explain this point to her but it was futile. All she really wanted to do was to find a way to join the FBI, CIA, DEA or any branch of the federal government to avenge this. She had lived in NYC for years so there was also a strong connection for her. I knew that the beginning of a war, some war had just started on that day. We did not make it as a couple. Two weeks later on my birthday we broke up primarily because she could not get revenge out of her mind. I don’t think an eye for an eye is the way to live one’s life but apparently that was the only way she felt we should respond. Today, we have a president who doesn’t look into the eyes of the American people and see the grief, disappointment and utter despair we feel toward him, we have a president who speaks over us. He will do what he wants because what the American population thinks is not his concern. He is lead by another master and that is why war will never end. For war to end one side has to say, stop. This will not happen until one side listens to the other. And that is not happening now.
long island i was in school it was sad :’(
I was in my 11th grade Italian class, I remember my teacher turning on the telivision just as the second plane hit the second tower..it was one of the worst days of my life..I will never forget it for as long as I live..
pennsylvania i was in sixth grade..someone came in my class and told our teacher what happened. i had no idea what was going on. i went to my next class and on the computer was the pictues of the towers, at that time still burning and in the air. i remember one of the students was crying. when i got home my parents wouldnt let me watch the tv. that night i remember lying in bed and i was so afraid. i know i wasnt really near any of the attacks, but i still feel affected by it because it happened to our country. i pray almost everyday for those who lost their lives that day and their loved ones..i also pray for those fighting in the war. God bless America!
Louisiana I was getting ready for work for a grantwriting and loan business. Well my mother called me and told me a plane hit the WTC; me thinking it was just a pilot that lost his direction because back in 1950’s a plane hit the Empire Building in NYC. Well as I got to work on my cell phone I looked at the TV and I notice another plane hit the South tower I was shaken to bits, I did not know what was going on because there is no way logic that two pilots can have misdirection. I remember talking to a best friend and let her know that we as the US is under attack. I do not know what was going on it was so confusing to see the pictures and news coming in at the same time. I will never forget that day, nor will I never forget how we as a nation come together as one.
Staten Island, NY In math class when my principal went on th PA telling the school that something happened in Manhattan. She asked us to stand for a prayer (I went to a catholic school) and I didn’t think much of it. Then, hundreds of parents came by the school to pick up their children. Pretty soon, 2/3 of the school left. After lunch, we didn’t have class because of the kids that left. As I looked out the window, I saw a fighter jet fly overhead. It was then that I thought, “How bad is it that we need fighter planes over our city?” On my way home, the streets were barren. My dad told me that there is no more World Trade Center. I couldn’t even imagine how bad things were. Anxious to see how bad it was, I turned on the news. The first thing I saw was Lower Manhattan with a huge cloud of dust where the twin towers used to stand. After that I looked outside my bedroom window and I saw the dust cloud taking up half of the sky.
I was at working at my job. When this guy came running
inside the store. He said that a plane had hit the trade
center. I didn’t understand what was going on When I went on my break that is when I saw it on TV.
i was at home getting ready for work, needless to say the rest of the day was horrific, spent in prayer and sadness
I was at school, like most people. When I got home, my mother sat me down and explained to us what had happened. A neighbor of mine was on flight 77, and another neighbor was at the Pentagon but got out ok…SO A PLANE DID HIT THE PENTAGON! NOT A MISSILE!
I was working at George Weston Bakeries in Totowa, NJ. The woman who sat in front of me turned to me and said that her mother called and said something about a small plane hitting the WTC. I assumed it was a business commuter plane, it was an accident and I didn’t really give it too much thought. Not much later, she turned to me and said the second tower just got hit by another plane. That made me nervous. We all tried to get on the internet but it was getting jammed due to volume. Some of us ran downstairs because we heard there was a tv in the depot. That is where we saw the tower go down. Everyone was crying. I went back to my desk and heard the Pentacon was hit. At that moment I thought for certain that this was the start of WW3. I grabbed my purse, told my boss I was leaving and headed to the high school to pick up my son. If anything was going to happen I wanted him with me. We drove to the top of the hill where we lived in Hawthorne, NJ and could see the tower remains burning. We found out the next day someone from our town lost his life there.
I was…taking my child to a birthday party at the zoo.
ITs funny my daughter and I noticed how after all this happened American Flags and pride were everywhere, and now its like people forgot. I will always have a day of memory for this day. We who forget are fools!
at school
Dallas, Texas I had the day off from work and was taking my friend to the DMV to get her ID card. We were on our way back when we heard the horrible news on the radio and even thought it was a bad joke at first! When we walked through the door we were just in time to see the second plane hit. I was in total shock! I then called my mom at work and just cried! What a horrific day that no one will ever forget! Thoughts, love and prayers to the families of all that were lost.
I was in my room and watching television when it hit. I was awed. It was very sad. I just hope the person(s) who did this got a swift and just punishment.
I was at my desk at 46th & Park. Someone yelled out that a plan just crashed in the WTC. Everyone thought it was an accident, until the second one hit. Then we all knew. Was stuck in NY that night but was able to go home the next day. It was surreal watching everyone outside the buildings walking around in a daze looking up into the sky, mothers with children trying to hide under building overpasses. Felt like a war right in our own backyard. I hope to God that nothing like this ever happens again.
lying on the couch in my girlfriend’s apartment, resting and waiting to go to my early afternoon classes on campus.
I was at home in bed when the first plane hit…I woke up and turned on the T.V. to see the 2nd plane flying in.
I was at home and had just woke up. I turned on the television and sat down to check my email when I seen what was happening. I tuned in just after the first plane hit. I was glued to the television the rest of the day.
in my bed sleep i was 2 hrs behind in texas so i didnt find out about it until about 8 when i was in class
I was sitting on the foot of my bed as I had just woken up, turned on the tv a saw the entire thing. I was mortified and very frightened. cried all day. It was a saturday morning.
911 and the day Kennedy was killed will always stand out,.in everyones mind,I am sure.
i was at school, while my parents were on the train. all of my friends got dismissed from school early by their parents, but i was stuck tehre until 6 when my parents could finally come :[
Waldorf Maryland i wrote that last 1
In my Fourth Grade Class…all of a sudden i noticed that alomost my whole class was gone to be dissmissed with in 10 minutes, as well as most kids from my school..my school was only 15 or 20 miles away from D.C..still it was a big impact, i had no idea what was going on, im not sure if my teacher did either, we had a tv in the room, never was turned on, we had no notice that it was a day of terror…later after school, i was dropped off at my old baysitters house, my mom picked me up after her work shift and my mom and her were asking eachother what had happened, both of them had already known, my mom said ‘two planes crashed into the twin towers’
i had no idea what that meant or what was going on..it seemed like a normal day, i eventually found out what had happened, i was 9 or 10 at the time, but i didnt understand, i didnt have much sorrow at the time sadly..i did not understand..within this past year, i have felt such sorrow for those lost and what had happened, and i also wish that i had seen all of the original WTC standing to this day
I was working in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill for a Congressman. A few of us were sitting around waiting to have a staff meeting when we saw the first report of something hitting one of the WTC towers. Our initial reaction was what a terrible accident, but my boss knew what was going on right away. He said it wasn’t an accident – it was terrorists. It wasn’t too long after that, when the second tower and Pentagon were hit, that we realized it was time for us to leave our office. The rest of the day we were glued to the television at my house, about 10 blocks from the Capitol building.
I was sitting in the community center of my college campus… on my way to class I saw SEVERAL people surrounding the t.v. I watched the second plane hit the tower. I remember thinking, this is some sort of joke — some sort of very unfunny spoof of the movie, Wag The Dog. I went to my class – Humanities in the Western Tradition and was told by several classmates that it was an American Airlines plane that hit the first tower and a United plane the second, and indeed not a joke. I immediately started panicking… My father was a pilot for American Airlines at that time and I knew that he was supposed to be flying that day. I started calling his house, the cell phones were saying circuits were busy. I went to class and tried to pay attention — still calling my father’s house & cell phone every twenty minutes to no avail. I went to my following class — the class that was supposed to be a discussion of the previous… someone came to our classroom and said that our campus was being evacuated due to terroist treats (we have a very famous polymer science department). I remember driving home, trying to get my dad… Finally at 3 or 4 that afternoon he was able to call me. That was the happiest moment for me, just to hear his voice. He wasn’t feeling well that morning and didn’t fly. He called off sick. Isn’t it interesting that the most simple of decisions could mean life or death. Once I got a hold of him, I was glued to the television. Once I was able to breathe again, I watched in awe that something so horrible could actually happen — Here!?! We are America! What nonsense was all this. I knew people didn’t like us, I knew we were the “ugly Americans” but I couldn’t and still cannot seem to wrap my head around that kind of dislike and hatred.
Kansas I was a High School Senior in a small town in Kansas. I first heard about the attacks going from one class to another.
I was recovering at home from bone surgery, talking on the phone and glanced at the TV only to see a plan crashing into the Twin Towers. I actually thought I was glanceing at a movie preview, then I told my friend who was on the phone to hold on…my remark was “what in the _____, Oh my God.” I told her what had happen and we both hung up quickly. My first response was to call my daughter who travels to New York and Washington quite often and make sure she was in her office and not flying. I cried all afternoon like many others did and could not tear myself away from the TV. My daughter left work and came to sit with me, realizing how it could have easily been her at the Towers. It makes you want to slap yourself in the face and say “wake up fool, stop taking every thing for granite , like your freedom and stop acting like horrible things only happen to other people in other places”. We have got to realize that our loved ones can be jerked out from under us in a split second .
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada I was in bed sleeping when my girlfriend at the time called me from school to tell me about it
Fairfield CA I was on my way to work when a fellow worker called to inform me of this horrible disaster. At the time it wasn’t elevated to the level it eventually became. Once I got back home I started watching all the news footage and shock pervaded me and my family. The magnitude seemed to grow in front of our eyes, and the looks of despair and frustration will never leave our minds. We wish to extend our heartfelt sympathies to all who were affected. The thoughts of it will never go away as long as they shall live. Although it’s often said that “time heals all” this is something that probably won’t [heal]. It’s just too unthinkable and horrific.
at work in ohio, the plane that crashed in Pa actually flew over our area. No one knew what was going on, or when it would stop. There was a terrible fear. But the next day there was such pride and unity in our country
Powder Springs, Ga It was my sophmore year of high school. I was in math class just like any other day and when I left class someone told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I told them that there was no way it was true and it wasn’t funny to joke about. Then I saw the new reports…
I was in my classroom and did not hear about it until i came home from school.
A I was at work. Shortly after 9 am my wife called and ask did I hear about the plane that crashed into the WTC. I said no. I was just finishing a customer interview. I dismissed the urgency at first thinking that a small engine plane just got off course and grazed the building. While still on the phone my said, “I can’t believe it. Another plane had crashed into the other tower. Hold on a minute sweetheart, you mean two planes have crashed into the WTC? Yes. Two air liners. I metioned this to my immediate coworkers. They appeared stunned. I went to one of our Director’s office that had a television on. There she was staring blankly and astonished as pictures of both towers of the WTC wer on fire with tremendous flames and smoke. Others were now coming in and we were all awestruck knowing full well that life in our nation and our world on this planet had forever changed. Our children would live differently beyond 9/11. No matter who was at fault. No matter the previous circumstances. Our lives changed for the remainder of our time on this earth. God forgive us. God help us ! Amen.
I WAS AT HOME.i HAD DECIDED THE NIGHT BEFORE TO CALL IN AND GO SHOPPING WITH MY DAUGHTER THAT DAY. YOU KNOW A GOOF OFF DAY. wELL WE WERE UP GETTING READY AND SAW THE NEWS.wE WERE DEVASTATED AND OF COURSE WE WENT NO WHERE. iT WAS SUCH A HORRIBLE THING. i HAVE A HARD TIME REALIZING THAT IT HAPPENED HERE,IN AMERICA. i AM BORN AND RAISED HERE IN AMERICA,AND PROUD OF IT. i AM NOT PREJIDUCE AT ALL. aNY ONE THAT THAT WANTS TO BETTER THEM SELVES i SAY AMERICA IS THE PLACE.
on my way to work with my sister when we heard. Tragic for the rest of the day.
I was…in NYC, lower east side teaching students with special needs. I just moved to NYC from Florida. I had no idea the extent of this tragedy until we were all sent to the cafeteria in the school’s basement. It was then that I saw the look on the teachers’ faces. My main priority was the safety of my students and to be with them until they were picked up by their parents. We all tried to distract them from the details, but teachers, staff, and students were all beginning to share the details. Initially, it seemed like local event and I wasn’t aware of the magnitude until I tried to call my fiance and family back home in Florida. I couldn’t get a line out and I could only hear the chaos that existed beyond the brick walls.
On my walk home, which was near the UN, I’ll never forget the look in everyone’s eyes.. a look of stillness, fear, absence and utter shock. As my co-workers said good-bye to go and hug their family members, I entered my apartment alone and afraid. It was then that I broke down in tears and called my mother to let her know that I was safe. On this day, I realized that nothing in life is permanent and I stopped taking my loved ones for granted. Hugs, love and appreciation are now a part of my daily practice.
Michigan In a high school class
southwestern USA I was likely the last airplane in the sky, I was flying and monitioring Bighorn sheep telemetry collars. I was flying without my aircraft radios on and did not know about the disasters until I landed about two and a half hours after the attacks on the twin towers.
I was driving to drop off my two toddlers at Grandma’s house for childcare while I went to work for two financial advisors in Colorado. My husband called my cell and said a plane had hit the towers. When I arrived at Grandma’s I watched the TV briefly. In shock, but not too terribly concerned since New York seemed quite far away to me at the time, I then said, “Take care of my kids, we’re under attack.” Grandma also in shock just said, “O.K.” and I left for the office. When I arrived we watched the rest unfold on TV in the office of one of the advisor’s that didn’t show up for work – turned out it was also his wedding anniversary. I remember having trouble concentrating on work and then going outside and eerily seeing no planes or jetstreams at all, since all planes had been grounded nationwide.
University of Kansas, Lawrence. I was at work. Someone came in the office and told us that a plane had just hit one of the Twin Towers and then the bad news just kept coming…my husband was on a business trip in North Carolina…he was stranded there for two days.
stationed in Germany.I had just got home from working at the middle /high school.My parents called to tell us the towers were hit.I was in shock, I turned the television on and was shocked .The base went to tight security and people were in there homes,leaving only if necessary.As a military spouse ,it hit home because deployments came to mind.It was a terrible day in history!
Upstate NY I was at my best friend’s house, having coffee and listening to the radio when the news came that a plane had hit the north tower. We couldn’t figure how a plane had hit the tower and I really thought that it was one of those tur planes or something, the idea of a jumbo jet doing this on purpose was inconcievable… We turned on CNN and it was them we realized no small plane could have done all that damage. We watched as the second plane came and mt friend asked it they were suppose to fly that close and I said no they are not and then the second plane hit. I can’t even describe what I felt, to this day I cannot see this without starting to cry. I was horrified when I saw those people jumping to their deaths, I will never forget those images. I went home and turned on the TV there and started making phone calls. I lived on Long Island then and everyone from there either worked in NYC or knew someone who did. I remember the emptiness and the utter silence when the planes were grounded, it was always so much backround noise and the absense of them made things so silent. I lost friends there. I miss the way things used to be and I used to go into NYC so much but I haven’t been once, except to drive through the Bronx when visiting LI; it is just too painful. It is something I will never forget and no one should ever forget.
I was home in Connecticut with my wife. We were talking to a friend who had recently been hospitalized while on vacation in England. We did not hear of the attack until we hung up the phone and another friend called us and asked us to turn on the tv.
Salt Lake City I was laying on the couch, having stayed home sick from work. I couldn’t believe what I was watching when news of the first plane hitting the tower. I was completely fixated on this horrible accident, then when the second tower was hit all I could do was look over to my two tiny kids and cry….and think about how different of a world they will be living in after today. I will always remember!
Lansing I was at my part-time job as a cashier for a chain retail store (the one with the bulls-eye) and I was walking into the back to get something. An elderly customer stopped me and asked me if I heard the news. I told her that I hadn’t. She told me that one of the towers had been struck by a plane. I didn’t believe her so I called home and was told that both towers were hit and that they thought it was an act of terrorism. I was shocked. I ran up front to tell the others and my manager grabbed a radio so we could listen to the news broadcast. I went home and didn’t sleep all night. I just kept watching CNN. I think I was up for 48 hours praying that more people would get pulled from the wreckage.
KENTUCKY AT THE TIME OF ATTACKS I was…At a life changing doctor’s appointment, that morning I was preparing to have a life changing surgery the gastric bypass, as my husband and I sat to see the surgeon we heard about the first plane, my husband is a US Marine (13yrs) and all He– broke loose where we were, that day I knew my life was about to change with the surgery but being a marine wife I knew we were heading to war, and I was right, my husband has been to Afaganastan and Iraq and I am a lucky woman he came home to me, unlike so many that has died for what happened on 9/11. As for me personally I have major complications with the bypass and I will never forget that day as I was changed as was all those that lost loved ones, plus seeing my husband return from 2 wars due to this senseless act of haterd..Well that is one Marine families story, nothing to compare to those that has lost loved ones in this mess. My life changing experience with this will be with me until I die, and I will never forget, as I live with my problems that remind of where I was and what I was doing that morning…God Bless all those that are still here and Thank You to those that aren’t…
Marine Family
Camp Lejeune NC
Aylmer Ontario Canada I was deep in the woods of Northern Ontario. We came out for supplies on the 12th. When the store clerk asked what we thought about the incident we thought it was a joke until she showed us the newspaper article and pictures. It became a very sober moment for us and we felt the anger and the saddness envelope us all.
I was at home getting ready to go to my office when my wife told me to come into the living room and to see the news on the TV.
I was at my mother in law’s. My husband’s aunt called and said “Are you watching the news? A plane just hit one of the twin towers!” I turned the news on just in time to see the second plane hit. My husband at the time was in the Army and stationed at Fort Hood, TX. I think it was a diferent kind of fear, knowing the father of my child could be called to war at any moment.
At a life changing doctor’s appointment, that morning I was preparing to have a life changing surgery the gastric bypass, as my husband and I sat to see the surgeon we heard about the first plane, my husband is a US Marine (13yrs) and all He– broke loose where we were, that day I knew my life was about to change with the surgery but being a marine wife I knew we were heading to war, and I was right, my husband has been to Afaganastan and Iraq and I am a lucky woman he came home to me, unlike so many that has died for what happened on 9/11. As for me personally I have major complications with the bypass and I will never forget that day as I was changed as was all those that lost loved ones, plus seeing my husband return from 2 wars due to this senseless act of haterd..Well that is one Marine families story, nothing to compare to those that has lost loved ones in this mess. My life changing experience with this will be with me until I die, and I will never forget, as I live with my problems that remind of where I was and what I was doing that morning…God Bless all those that are still here and Thank You to those that aren’t…
Marine Family
Camp Lejeune NC
Pennsylvania I was thinking about how we were going to celebrate my daughter Laura’s 13th birthday that day, when I saw on Good Morning America about a small plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers in NYC. I’ll never forget the reaction of Diane Sawyer when I watched in disbelief as the second plane flew into the other tower! Later that day, we ended up scratching our plans to have our traditional birthday dinner at a restaurant, and I made dinner at home. It was very difficult to turn off the TV while we tried to celebrate Laura’s birthday. It sure did overshadow the happiness we should’ve felt that day. Today is her 18th birthday and we still remember that sadness of the day 5 years ago.
I was in a hotel room with my family getting ready to attend the funeral of my uncle. My mom and sisters had an adjoining room with my 2 brothers and we opened the door to see if they had the t.v. on as well. When we arrived at the funeral, it was a sureal experience to know what had just happened.
I was in SLC, getting ready for work, wondering what was going on with the tower in NY airports. We were then shocked to see the 2nd plane go into the building.
I was…living on Holloman Air force Base in NM. The phone rang to call my husband and the sirens went off. I immediatly turned on the TV to find the twin towers up in flames. My daughter stayed home from school for 2wks, she slept in my bed and was afraid to stay on base. We wanted to drive to El Paso to stay with my parents but they shut down the base and locked us all in. No one could leave or come in. My husband was deployed soon after. My daughter now 13 remembers it as the single most tramatic event of her life.
I told he to keep the experience fresh in her mind to always appreciate what we have and why we have it.
I was working as an inmate at a recycling center when the detail officer told me that a plane had hit the WTC. When the second one hit, they said, “Load up, we are headed back to the prison.”
Bonn, Germany I was working in my office at the faculty of law of Bonn University. I was in a very sad mood already because of my mother’s illness (last stage of cancer. She died on the Saturday following the attacks.). In the afternoon (Central European time is 6 hours ahead of Eastern time) suddenly one of my collegues came into my room and told me about the attacks. So, I turned to the CNN website and watched how the catastrophe developed and when the second plane hit. I was just stunned. I cannot recall whether I cried. Only gradually I remembered that half a year before the attacks (in the week before Easter) my mother who had been very ill already at that time told me of a strange dream that kept returning every night during the whole week about a plane crashing into a sky scraper. I remember trying to comfort her and telling her that it would only be a dream and that she should not be worried. But she didn’t want to listen to me. She said: ‘This is different, Friedrich. It somehow keeps returning, and it’s always exactly the same dream. I see the plane and then suddenly it’s all flames.’ I asked what kind of house it would be and she answered: ‘It’s looking like the one on the postcard you sent me from New York.’ (I had been presenting a paper at World Trade Center One in 1999 at a congress on the 55th floor where Pace University used to have an institute.) I am a Christian and I don’t believe in parapsychology and such stuff. But this has shocked me very much. I want to add that in this time which was very difficult for me personally president Bush’s determined response has comforted me very much. God bless America.
I was working for EDS, the first thing that keyed me into knowing something was up was I was testing a web based application and the network traffic suddenly spiked. Next thing I knew I had like 20 some emails from friends telling me to turn on a TV, radio or something all heck was breakin loose. I tried cnn.com, foxnews.com, local paper everything was timing out, finally hit with bbc.com.au and slashdot
Alexandria, Va I was in my Geometry Class when a teacher told our teacher that something had happened. They locked our door and told us we weren’t allowed to leave, but the teacher said it would be alright if we hooked up the TV. We started watching around 9:30. Because of our close proximity to the Pentagon, no one was allowed to leave the school and we were locked down in our class rooms. I remember watching the news with everyone and just hearing planes over head being diverted. When we heard another plane was en-route to DC we started to become a little scared because we still heard planes above and were afraid it could miss it’s target and hit nearby. And it all started out like a normal day…
I was at work thinking how beautiful of a day it was. A coworker said a plane had hit the WTC. I didn’t think much of it, must be a freak accident, until I was told another plane had hit the WTC. I plugged my radio in and began to search the net for information. When I learned of other missing planes, I prayed for those aboard to not be afraid.
Nevada I was…on the bus on my way to 10th grade about the time that somebody confirmed to Bush and his cronies that their plan had been a success, and that we could move in for all the Middle East power and oil we wanted.
Pittsburgh, PA At work in a conference with my VP from California. My phone started ringing off the hook and I left the conference room to see if it was an emergency. It was my dad calling and telling me what happened. I tried to log on to CNN.com but the site was down. As I was on the phone with my dad, the second plane hit. At that moment I left work to be with my family glued to the TV set. My VP drove from Pittsburgh, PA to California since he couldn’t get a return flight.
Huntington Beach,CA I was entering into my first day at work at a new job. As I walked into the room, instead of a warm greeting, I noticed everybody was glued to the TV. I thought to myself “Cool, this is going to be an easy job!” Later, as I realized what had happened, again I thought to myself, “I hope this is not a bad omen to this new career I am embarking!” This is why my anniversary date is very memorable.
syracuse, ny At work, at taco bell, and completely unaware of the mornings events, when a coworkers husband called to tell us. We turned on the TV and saw the towers on fire and the pentagon had been hit. I remember feeling so vulnerable and afraid and wanting to get my husband and daughter and go home. I was just in shock, that this could happen. I went to my class at noon, and it was all anyone could talk about. I remember my instructor saying “I don’t know who it is you pray to, but now is a good time to do it.” They closed school at one, and I went and got my daughter and my husband and we just watched the news all night.
Tallahassee, Florida I was sitting on the couch with my 7 month old twin sons, feeding one of them as the other lay by me and slept. I looked up to see the first building on fire, and not knowing what was going on, I continued to watch, as the second plane hit tower one, my eyes welled up with tears. I couldnt believe my eyes. It was scary for me that this was an attack on our country, because of George Bush, and I am in the capitol of Florida, where his brother reigns as Governor, would we be next? My twin sons are now 5, and as I walked them to class holding both their hands this morning, I realized that the 9/11 generation, is all the babies born from 2001 to 2002, and they are all 5, just like my sons. Its tough enough to explain life in general, but to have to see the footage on tv and think that some mother has to explain to her baby that their parent was in that building is something that I dont wish on my worst enemy. My heart goes out to all the mothers who lost their best freind, husband, children and to all the sweet babies, who are now 5 just like mine, who lost a parent. I was only 20 at the time, and I had never witnessed such a tragedy in my 20 yrs of life at that point. I have read some of the stories of the ones who are blessed enough to fall in love again, to carry on and to be strong for their children. I still have the People magazine of all the babies, and I have followed up on their stories because as a fellow mother, parent, woman and human, seeing so many lives destroyed broke my heart, and I never witnessed it or lived it in the flesh, just from the news. For all the previous things that have been entered below, if you wasted one of your breathes laughing at this situation, your not an American. It doesnt matter if your black, white, asian, green or purple, nor Republican or Democrat, that day, race, color and creed didnt matter. Yes, the US is wrong letting every tom, dick and harry into OUR country, but all those deaths are in no way humerous. My heart has been filled with sadness all day, and when your 5 year old asks you why that plane just hit that building and made big fire, and did it hurt people, then you realize that you are a part of a day when the whole country just wanted to stand as one and help out our fellow americans, not pausing to laugh. God Bless America, and I cant wait for 2008!!!!
Awakened by a call from my wife as I worked nights. Her call came after the second tower was hit and I watched the towers fall and heard about the Pentagon as it happened. I do not have anyone that was lost, but feel that those who do deserve to know what happened. God bless!
I was on communte from San Antonio to Dallas. I commuted daily via aircraft to Love Field where I was employed. We were unaware of the attack, which began when we were in the air. We landed and they were evacuating Love Field and we heard they had attacked the World Trade Center and shortly there after we saw the attack on the Pentagon. My heart goes out to all those that were effected by this horrible attack,
Virginia Beach, Virginia I was in 10th grade and I was the second person to walk into my religion class. My teacher was watching the TV and the headline read: “Attack on America”. I looked up and hoped to God that it was some movie my teacher was playing. Together we watched the towers fall. Then my principal came over the loudspeaker and we had a moment of silence and together said the “Our Father”. I don’t think as kids we had ever said those words with as much meaning as we did that day. I remember the halls were more quiet than usual. In most classrooms everybody was watching the news. Many people knew someone who lived in nyc or worked in the Pentagon. My cousin is a nyc fire fighter and it took us three days to get a hold of him. Students and teachers cried and kids were being picked up early from school. Many of us were from military families and had our parents shipped out that day. My dad was one of those and he said that for a while he had no idea what exactly had happened. From the moment I got home I never stopped watching the news. I cried so much that night, and I cried myself to sleep. The images of those people trapped in the towers have never left me. I still get shivers when I think about 9/11. I had taken pictures of the towers one month before 9/11 and I visited ground zero four months later. On 9/11 I was scared and horrified by the acts of these terrorists, but it did not take me long to realize how resilient we all are.
I was just waking up, and sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the news. I was in shock as I watched the first plane crash into the first tower. I then watched in disbelief as the second plane crashed. I was in shock, and it just didn’t compute with my brain what was happening. I remember sitting there, crying.
I called all of my family….even though we live out here in California…..I just needed to know that everyone was okay.
What a horror…what a tragedy. Thank God for all of our heroes.
California I was in 6th grade in September of 2001. After waking up, I went downstairs, surprised to find that the TV was on. Smoke was coming from one of the two towers. I assumed it was only a fire. A fire in such a tall and crowded building was not a good thing, but they would be able to take care of it. Why was my mom staring at the TV like that? Still half asleep, I put some English muffins in the toaster for breakfast. “A plane hit the world trade center,” my mom said. Oh. That was worse than a fire. But planes crashed all the time… I was eating the English muffins when the second plane crashed. This is when I started to wake up. But not understanding why any of this had happened, I was thinking more along the lines of, “Well that really sucks.” School that morning went on as usual.
Tulsa, OK. I was at the intersection of 51st & Sheridan here in Tulsa taking my kids to school. It was 7:57 and I was flipping stations, landed on KBEZ. Cindy Bear was giving the intial reports of a small plane crashing into one of the towers, so I looked at the clock and switched to KRMG since I knew they’d be about to go to news. Wrong, they were already in coverage and by the time I’d driven about a mile, the 2nd plane hit.
I’d just de-planed in Pittsburgh, expecting to make a quick connection to Ft. Lauderdale. My connection was delayed and when I inquired as to why, I was told that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Like millions of others, my first reaction was: how could that happen? I assumed it must have been an GA aircraft, an inexeperienced pilot. I found an open bar with a television and saw the second plane hit the second tower. My immediate thought was: we are at war. Even so, the unreality was such that I still expected my flight would take off, and went to the gate to check…..
I was in 5th grade, just about to go to recess, and one of the 5th grade teachers ran into our room & screamed “Turn the t.v on someone has crashed into the World Trade Centers”. I remember they told us we could go to recess or stay in and watch the news. I choose to stay inside. About and hour later my mother came and got me from school. I will remeber that day forever.
Northampton Pa i Was at home laying in bed watching Jerry springer when the show was cut off to go to live breaking news! That was when i saw the second plane crash into the other tower.
Göteborg Det var en solig dag i Göteborg och jag hade cyklat ut till Saltholmen. För det mesta brukar jag ha min lilla radio med hörlurar. Men just den dagen hade jag lämnat den hemma. Då jag på eftermiddagen mötte en väninnan frågade hon mig om jag hade hört på radion eller sett på teve nyss. Nej, vadå? Två flygplan har åkt in i en skyskapa i New York. Va??? Jag trodde att det var en olyckaoch min väninna visste inte mer heller då. Väl hemma rullades infernot upp och jag trodde inte mina ögon. Då jag såg en människa hänga utanför ett fönster högt upp och sedan dingla utefter husväggen blev det för mycket. Vilket fasa. När den andra skyskrapan sjönk ihop blev det bara för mycket…
Jag är rädd för vad framtiden ska innebära av terror och ondska.
I was in Physics class in high school, and it took a while to realize that my teacher wasn’t teaching. I got a glimpse of something on the computer, a shot of the second plane hitting Tower 2. I thought maybe it was an action shot from some movie. We discussed the situation using, “If the towers have been hit…” The first tower had already collapsed by the time we heard anything. I will never forget people talking gossip at lunch, like nothing had happened, but I knew that our world had changed. My French teacher told us where she was when she found out about the assassination of President Kennedy, and she told us we would always remember where we were when we heard that unfathomable news.
I was had been at work for a couple hours, when I heard a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers in NY. Not knowing what kind of plane had crashed I thought, “How odd, whoever did it must’ve been flying awfully low and it just is a weird accident to loose control then to have hit the tower.” I also thought, “Well, that’ll seem strange to someday visit the tower and have them say ‘Here is where the plane was.’” Then a coworker said, “Another plane just hit the other tower.” I knew then that it could not have been an accident, but something intentional, something planned. I had been in NJ during the WTC bombing in ‘93, and that had just seemed incompetant to me then. We went to a reception area to see the news on TV, then went back to work and checked the ‘net for details. Then we heard about the plane hitting the pentagon, then a plane going down in PA. It just seemed too weird.
My first conclusion was “What could we have possibly done to make anyone hate us so? Why would taking innocent lives on such a scale seem to be justified to anyone?”
When the towers collapsed, I felt whoever had planned this must’ve also researched how the towers were built and concluded the heat from the fires of a large plane crash would bring the towers down from the weight above. I thought, “Such engineering research and careful planning… what a waste of human talent to devote it to such destruction.”
I went home that night to my wife and young kids. My thoughts went from wondering how or why to anger against the people who had done this. Revenge wasn’t the right word, but I was angry at whoever had worked this plan, whoever had aided their cause, whoever instilled in them the idea to just kill anyone to make a statement. I didn’t know where “they” came from or why they did what they did, but I knew it was wrong in every sense of the word. I knew my feeling wasn’t right either, but that didn’t make me any less mad. I prayed whoever had worked with these people would see what they had done was wrong, wrong, wrong.
I still don’t know what the right response should be.
I was working at the VA hospital in Cleveland OH. I was paged repeatedly that there was a national crisis in progress and that all essential personal were to leave the hospital. I am a doctor and considered essential. We heard that the one aircraft had passed over the facility (this was the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania). The veterans kept coming in for their appointments so we were unable to leave and it was very difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Very difficult day for even the people not directly affected that day.
in 1st or 2nd period in 8th grade on Long Island. And I didn’t really know what had happened until I got home from school.
Levittown, NY I was in 7th grade…in Italian class…about…10:30AM when I heard the news. I didnt believe it at first. But later that day in math I heard someone say the pentagon was hit…and then an anouncement was made saying what had happened…obviously I knew it was real at that point…
Pennsylvania in my 5th grade classroom, in english class, learning about prepositions.
South Carolina I was in a training class in Columbia, SC for Windows 2000 Server. My wife text paged me that someone had flown a plane into the Towers. As the news spread, more and more pagers started going off. We went into the break room at the training center to see the replay of the first tower being struck. As we were watching that, we witnessed the second tower being hit. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day in the breakroom watching the events unfold.
Rochester, New York I was…in spanish class when my principal made an announcement over the loud speaker that a plane just flew into one of the World Trade Center buildings. Our class was allowed to go down into the cafeteria to watch the news. Since it was live, I then witnessed the second plane come from the right side of the television set and hit the second tower. I was only in 7th grade.
Ishpeming, Michigan I was sitting in my science class my junior year in high school. A teacher aid came running in and turned the TV and my classmates and I were talking about what was going on.
I was working at a call center in Chelmsford. I had just made a call to New York. Someone mentioned do’nt you know what is going on? It was just before nine o’clock. Another friend by my side was calling a different area. It wasn’t long before we all went downstairs for a meeting, and were told of the news. I guess it is very hard to describe what we all felt at the time. It was very traumatic to imagine, what we heard. It has been a little while since I heard the song that makes cry still. Today, I am proud to be an American. Everyday after that seeing the flags out it was part of my daily routine. I’m crying now, just thinking of all the beautiful people that died in such a terrible way. God Bless and keep us safe. It has been a wonderful life with freedom we take for granted, until something like that happens. I am very proud to be an American and so proud of all those who protect us. Let our freedom and protector’s keep us safe.
Duluth Mn I was sleeping in my aunts living room. I woke to the sight of the first tower smoking and burning. I remeber feeling soo bad for all those trapped by the flames. Then I remeber seeing the second plane hit, and my feelings went from feeling bad to pure fear. I knew at that moment the world would never be the same.
viriniga.I was in school too,7th grade, the tv was on in the classroom. At frist the kids were laughing but when when the second plane went in we all know that it was not funny anymore. I haven’t lost any one but i felt the sadness and anger after that. this I can say after all this time, people who shouldn’t have died did. There is nothing we can do now but give a shoulder to those still grieving families. sarah@thelincolns.net
Anonymous
Iowa
I haven’t watched TV much for years, so I wasn’t even aware anything was going on till I got online that morning and everyone in the groups I was in were all talking about what had happened, worried that people they knew who lived in NYC and Connecticut might have been hurt. I went out and turned my TV on, just in time to see the replay of the planes hitting the twin towers. I spent the next six or seven hours just staring at the screen, unable to process that what I’d just see had happened.
Every generation has there ‘Where were you?’ moment. I remember my mom talking about what she was doing when the news came on the radio that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. People who came of age in the mid-late 60s know exactly where they were and what they were doing when Martin Luther King and J.F.K. was killed.
9/11 was my sons “Where were you?” moment. They came over to the house, and we watched TV and talked about what had happened, and how such a thing could happen in America. Because fools that we were, we truly believed we were invincible.
I sometimes think that, ever so often, the Powers that Be find it necessary to do something to knock us all off our pedestals and get our attention. I’d like to think that 9/11 could never happen again, but I’m not stupid. The world (America included) is not the nice safe place so many people want to believe.
My heart goes out to all those who lost family and friends in 9/11.
I was sleeping when my wife called on the phone to wake me up and told me to turn the tv on because something had happened. when i turned the tv on i witnessed the second aircraft hit the the south tower . I was horrified !
I was in FBI marksman/observer school in Catoosa Ga. Our instructor was paged when the first building was hit.
Patty Pozywak I was at the dentist’s office and heard about the first plane on the radio. It was the first time I can remember my mother speeding to get home. Saw the second plane hit and the buildings tumble on ABC.
in auto mechanics class in high school. in Mr. Verbekes Advanced auto class
I was in Brooklyn, N.Y. It was the end of my vacation, before returning to school. I remember I was somewhat upset about not being able to go visit the twin towers that morning because my aunt couldn’t make arrrangements for it. It hit me how fortunate I was for not being in this horrible tragedy. And I reaffirmed the fact that it was not my time and I was just lucky. Specially when from the valcony of my aunt’s apartment , as I was looking into the smoking coming out of the towers I realized that what I thought was building debris coming down to the ground, in the TV and from upclose those was desperate people throwing themselves into death. My heart aches for them and many others that perished that day. I will never forget.
I was in school. 8th grade at the time, and I didn’t hear about anything until like 8th period which was 4-5 hours after it happened. And I still didn’t know exactely what happened. I just knew something bad happened. Then when I got home at 3:00 I saw all the footage on the news.
Hawaii I was at my daughters house in Missouri and about to drive a Ryder truck,filled with furniture to Nashville Tn, to my son’s house. I came out of my room and my daughter was standing watching the tv. She said “mom a plane just flew into the world trade center building. We stood there watching the news and talking. We were still standing there when the second plane flew aroud the corner and hit the second building. We all remarked “That is no accident”. We were all shocked and filled with unbelief that this could happen. I felt very funny that day driving the Ryder truckk to Tenn. because of the Oklahoma federal building. We listened to the radio all the way. God bless America and may she ever be free.
I lived in Los Angeles at the time but had just moved there from NYC. My mom called me crying because she couldn’t believe that had it been just weeks earlier, I’d still be living in lower Manhattan.
I was in the train when the first plane hit & in my office when the second plane hit in downtown, Wall street.
I was on 2nd shift, at home watching TV. I was so shocked at the intensity, that I went over to my parents’ house/home business to finish watching it. I cried all the way to their house. On the way, I saw 2 ladies standing and crying- but one looked really distressed. I stopped to make sure she was okay. It happened to be a lady receiving salvation and the other was praying with her. I watched the rest unfold, the bldgs going down – we all just cried. We were distraught, but thank God- not in despair. I think the media in the following years, and the movie producers pushed the 9/11 remembrance down our throats and too soon. I don’t want to see any movies about it. I don’t want to see the pictures. Give us some space. We know where to look if need be.
I ‘m french, when I come back from my work, I’have seen the tv the two tower with the plane, I was dismayed…
Eric
I forgot to say that I was in Dominican Republic in the city of Santiago… but I saw the terror methods of Shining Path in Peru…
Malmoe, Sweden At work, here in Sweden, listened to radio, they broke the current program to announce a plane had hit WTC. I immidiately went to my computer, hooked up to a bulletin board and posted what I heard. Some ten seconds later, a guy I know lived (and lives) in NY posted:
*looking out the window*
Amazing how fast news spread
Long Island NY in the middle of an english class in the 8th gradew, discussing how human behavior brings downfall to themselves
At work, here in Sweden, listened to radio, they broke the current program to announce a plane had hit WTC. I immidiately went to my computer, hooked up to a bulletin board and posted what I heard. Some ten seconds later, a guy I know lived (and lives) in NY posted:
*looking out the window*
Amazing how fast news spread
working… and a friend called me to say that a jetliner crashed into a tower… I do not understood at the moment what tower he was telling me, and a few minutes later I turned on my TV and saw that scene that I will never forget… I think terrorist must die… they did too much damage in my country….
Fairfax, Virginia In Annandale, Virginia at work. We had a TV on in one of the offices tuned to the NBC4 morning show. We saw the images. I used one phone line to try and contact my firiend in New York that worked two blocks away from the towers. I used a second line to try and contact my husband that was working close to the pentagon. I didn’t know what was going on but once I got a hold of my firiend and husband I asked them to just stop and go home. In a matter of 20minutes from the first crash I helped close the office and we sent everyone home.
In Annandale, Virginia at work. We had a TV on in one of the offices tuned to the NBC4 morning show. We saw the images. I used one phone line to try and contact my firiend in New York that worked two blocks away from the towers. I used a second line to try and contact my husband that was working close to the pentagon. I didn’t know what was going on but once I got a hold of my firiend and husband I asked them to just stop and go home. In a matter of 20minutes from the first crash I helped close the office and we sent everyone home.
I was at work in Herndon, VA, right near Dulles Airport, listening to the radio when I heard about the first plane crash. After that I was glued to the radio, scared for what was going to happen next. Being so close to DC and hearing so many false reports on the news about bombs all over the city, really made me panic. I remember trying to leave work early to get my children’s daycare but I was not the only person with that in mind. It usually takes me about 1 hour to commute home but on this day it took over 3 hours. Still to this day I tear up thinking about the people who lost their loves ones on that day.
New Hampshire I was in my freshman year of highschool going into lunch. I noticed a group of friends feverishly trying to get an old radio to work and another group trying to tune in a television to any news station. I was just thinking how weird their behavior was when our pastor came in and asked us to sit down. Once the room quieted he announced that it appeared that America was under attack and that a few hours earlier two planes had struck the World Trade Center towers, another had struck the Pentagon, and another had gone down in Pennsylvania. At first I thought it must be a mistake, perhaps this was a story with a moral about our faith which immediately made me think how cruel of him to make such a heinous analogy. As if reading my mind he hung his head and said, “I wish this weren’t true, let us all take a moment to pray for those involved…”. Half of the congregation began hysterically crying and the other half remained motionless and dumbfounded. I began crying, “no no no no, I know people in New York, please God let them not be in the city, please God please!” as my friend reached out and grasped my hand tightly. I believe we were let out early after the prayer to go home, but I’m not entirely sure. The whole day after that moment seems like a distant dream, or a childhood memory barely retained. All I remember that evening is watching broadcast after broadcast of the footage of the planes hitting each time hoping it would turn out to be a mistake… only to realize now that the only mistake was our not paying attention to the threats outside our nation. If any silver lining is in this cloud it is this: 9/11 can only make us stronger, bring us closer, and make us realize that we are all one nation united, and as long as we remember 9/11 may we continue the fight against hatred and violence and lift eachother up in the spirit of love and friendship.
God bless you all my fellow Americans, and all my love to the friends and family of our fallen heros.
IOWA: I was at work when the planes hit in the morning.That afternoon I was at a local scheduled auction buying the house I have since restored and now currently live in and watched Air Force One fly overhead with the fighter escorts with Bush on his way back to D.C.That afternoon I also learned that one of my best friends lost his dad in NY.He was I believe the only Iowan there on business that day….
I had just started a new job in NYC two months prior to Sept 11. I was in my office in complete disbelief, I was emailing my family and friends to tell them I loved them in case something more happened. I could not get in touch with anyone via the phone. I did not get back to my house in NJ until 11:00pm that night. I take mass transportation and it was shut down. I eventually took the ferry across the hudson river where they were hosing people off on the other side who were exposed to debris from the WTC. It was one of the scariest days of my life, but I am still here working in NYC 5 years later…..
I was walking out of my daughter’s doctors office when my boyfriend, who is in the national guard, called me to tell me what had just happened and how it was believed to be a terrorist attack. I rushed to daycare, dropped off my child then rushed into work, turned on the television and all of the employees sat in front of that television the entire day watching in total amazement and shock. I can still picture the tears rolling down everyones faces as we watched people jumping from the buildings and then the screams of “Oh My God” when the buildings collapsed. Every year I contact everyone that was with me sitting in front of that television on that day just to tell them I love them.
Tennessee I was at work in Knoxville, TN. I’ll never forget the sight and sound of the 2 F-16’s screaming toward Oak Ridge to cover ORNL, K-25, and Y-12 nuclear facilitys about 10 or 15 mins after the first plane struck the first tower, I’ll always remember the feeling of fear and sorrow for the people in the towers and the pure rage toward the UNGODLY pieces of trash who commited such a savage act. may eternally burn in the fires of the Hell they created
I was sleeping as my dad came into my room and woke me up yelling to turn on the tv . I turned on my tv, and watched the 2nd tower get struck, buildings fall, and the other pentagon/PA planes. The thought of WWIII crossed my mind. I thank god that we had Bush in office. God Bless the Bush administration.
I was still in middle school and it was after first period basketball practice. Everyone was in the locker room changing and having conversation which was echoing every which way and the principal came on the announcements and said something about a plane crash, I didn’t really know what was going on because no one would be quiet. I had no idea that it was so big until I got to my next class where the teacher had the TV on and saw the second plane hit.
I had just arrived at my job at a music store and I thought, “That’s odd, the radio in the repair shop is on, but the repair man isn’t here on Tuesdays.” For about an hour I listened in disbelief to the reports. Then I said to my boss something along the lines of, “I don’t think we’re going to do much business today and, all things being equal, I’d rather be at home with my family.”
Central Square, NY I was working at Deluxe Check Printers, Syracuse, NY in their call center when we heard about the attacks. Like everyone else it was unbelievable and very scary. I had to leave work to just be with my kids. It was also devestating as some of our bank customers that we talked to regularly were in the Towers, which made it very hard, although we never met face to face, we would speak to them almost on a daily basis.
I was at work in Atlanta Ga, and the supervisors let everyone come to the break room, brought in a TV and we watched in Horror, We cried and prayed. I will never forget that day – NEVER
i was at home and in total shock!!!!
sorry im asking friends
I was at work Groveport, OH… it was a beautiful clear sunny morning. My birthday. I spent the rest of the day praying for those who were in the planes, those who were in the towers, those who were in the Pentagon, their families, and especially for those who were there for first response for rescue….. I prayed for our Country……
N/A i was at my house during that time
and i herd about it that day it happend?
~Shawn
ATL, Georgia
I tried putting this in best words i could describe in an essay for my college class.
Where were you on September 11th?
I remember waking up and getting out of my bed at age 14. I was a freshman at Harrison High School. I remember doing my hair and getting ready for school, throwing on some Tommy Hilfiger clothes at the time, which was the new “In” style. I packed my lunch and walked out the door to walk with my friend Michael. The bus wouldn’t come for us since we lived right across the street, so we had to walk about a mile to get to school every morning. It was good, well not so good at the same time because I was trying to be cool smoking my cigarettes demanding to look cool as all the teenagers were driving by. (Just to mention I was addicted smoking three packs a day for five years until recently I quit and have been quit for nearly five months). So we are walking trying to look all cool with our cigarettes joking around saying “dude is today 9/11 as in 911 we should get together and pull like a prank on the school like pull the fire alarm or something to get the cops out here wouldn’t that be ironic”. We laugh and carry on, noticing that there are piercing noises like a group of airplanes flying. They bellow over our heads as I count five or six go by. We said to our selves how bizarre that was this early in the morning. We get to school and there’s a line of cars with their doors wide open, with parents lined up trying to get their kids out of school. Behind schedule and clueless to what was going on we finally uncover what was going on, and why people were freaking out. I remember the principal and other members of the school taking us inside and telling us to get to our homerooms before we had been served detention and ISS (In School Suspension) for not doing as we were told. So I make it to my homeroom and everyone’s so gloomy. I know somewhat of the story from rumors in the hall to what was going on, but I have no idea about the trade centers, for all I knew I thought it was a place where people actually traded goods and stuff like that? As we watched the realistic and heartrending actions the people were going through on the television it made me think, how could someone execute this? Is this great country that detested? Are we that defenseless to terrorists? The entire class as time flew we all saw an additional plane come from out of no where, which was sent into the beautiful work of art that was once the trade centers both being struck with a blaze of inferno pouring out from the immense skyscrapers. Smoke bucketing from the top ends of each building. We watch as people, real live people plummet and commit suicide from these scorching structures, each looking a thousand feet tall, tumbling to earth where they were killed. As time went by both of the towers had collapsed. A report goes across our TV screen saying more terrorist attacks on the United States. We found out a plane had also gone down into Pentagon, and another heading towards Washington D.C. to clearly take out our White House. The plane was taken over by its fellow Americans who had made the terrorists crashing the plane in oblivion into a field in Pennsylvania. This day September 11th, 2001 was a day where nearly three thousand people where killed. A day where our country had to be reminded that there was awful and brutal people out there who wanted war with us. A day that ironically reminded myself of my birthday, Pearl Harbor Day. A day when our country had to be slapped in the face to be aware that we are hated, we need to realize we cannot be safe anywhere. But we can sure try out finest to locate righteousness and perpetrators in the world who perform these actions of wrong doing terrorism to be as minimal. It’s inflexible to consider it’s been five years already from the time when it happened but it is as though it was just yesterday. Every characteristic of that day is flawlessly clear. My only hope is that the future of America will be stronger than ever against terrorism and that we never have to live through another catastrophe like 9/11/01 ever again in our existence!
I was…working at my gym training clients when a co-worker told us that a small plane crashed into one of the towers…we all were glued to the television and the whole gym’s operation came to a hault when the second plane hit the other tower. Then word came over the screen about the Pentagon getting hit and a forth plane went down in a small PA field. I was so saddened and extremely angry due to the fact that alot of my clients, friends and others were in the towers that day as office workers, NYPD and FDNY. Alot of lives were lost and families were destroyed that day and for what? I’m SO PROUD that our military is over ther in the middle east making a difference against these terrorists and their terror cells that plague our Freedom and the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA and our TROOPS!
9-11-2001 NEVER, EVER FORGET ALL THE BRAVE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN that made our lives better because of their BRAVERY, HEROISM and most all COURAGE!
i was in class in 6th grade and was watching it unfold on the news
i was visiting my mamal before she got on the plane
Houston Texas I was on a plane from Incheon in Korea to Los Angeles watching the map on the TV monitor because I expected soon we would be served lunch and we would be preparing for our arrival at 2.30. Suddenly the small plane on the screen made a considerable change of direction and a few minutes later the cockpit called to say that we were diverting to Vancouver because of a problem on the West Coast. We landed there just after noon and I was amazed to see through the window so many planes. They like us had been diverted to Vancouver through the kindness of the Canadian Authorities, who didn’t seem to have the opinion that planes that had been in the air for so many hours as they crossed the Pacific would be any danger. They did accept us with great care, however, and we did not leave the plane until 8 o’clock that evening
We spent 3 nights in Vancouver, all the time as the guests of our airline Asiana, watching the television and waiting patiently for news as to when we would depart. My room mate was a serviceman who told me he was flying Asiana because there was a scare that some US planes were to be hijacked so they had been switched to a foreign airline. We were in a beautiful area of Canada but could not take advantage of it because we were all the time waiting for the announcement that we were to leave. That did not come until the early hours of Friday morning. What did we do? We watched the television and the continuing development of the horror in the East.
We asked ourselves ” how could the buildings fall down so easily as many of us had been told that all these tall buildings were designed to withstand a 747 flying into them?” Eventually, shortly before midnight on Friday, I finally arrived at my destination of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 74 hours after my take off from Xi’an, a journey that normally took 24 hours
at work receiving a new copy machine when I heard on the radio the gasps and despair after the first plain hit, the delivery man and I looked at each other confused, then we heard the crying as they watched and described the second plane. I didn’t see it until lunch time and I went to the bar!
I was at work as a teller when a customer came in and told us that the World Trade Center and been struck by an airplane. We all looked at him in disbelief.
I was…in Redondo Beach, CA at my health club watching the north tower of the World Trade Center up in smoke. Those who were covering the breaking news all thought it was some sort of strange accident – not a terrorist attack.
Rick, Hamilton, On
we were sitting on the couch flipping through channels when i caught site of heavy smoke billowing from a rather large building, about 8:45 am, on CNN. when we found out it was the twin towers we were glued to CNN until about 1:00 am the following morning. that’s one day i never hope to see ever again!!! that was to close to home considering we are not to far from NY, NY.
Minnesota Standing at my desk at work watching the TV we moved into the area in utter disbelief. Holy cow!
I was in Indiana (my home state), on my way to take my oldest child, then 4 to preschool. I also had a 2 1/2 year-old and was pregnant with my youngest. I remember sitting in the preschool drop off line thinking, do the people in the cars around me know what is going on? I drove to my mother’s house in a complete daze, barely able to see the road for the tears. I also remember in the days following being terrified to bring another child into such a cruel world. This is a day that will not be forgotten. GOD BLESS AMERICA
I had just dropped off my son and his friends at school, and was on my way to the office when I heard that the first plane hit. Then, at the conclusion of the news story the announcer made what turned out to be the understatement of his career….”well I suppose that will be the big story today.”
San Antonio, TX Hi, it wasn’t good, but i lived in new york city. and my school is in manhattan, which is only a few blocks from ground zero. I was in class when it actually happen, and they wouldnt let us out, i dont know why, because the empire state building was two blocks over. I was thinking what if someone wanted to fly a plane into that building ,then we would get hurt, because the building is so huge, and i thought it was going to tip over. Anyway when i got out of school , it was so sad and there was smoke everywere. Helicopters were flying over our heads, and we couldnt leave the city. The military were walking down the streets holding m-16s and it was just so sad. I hope it never happends again.
I was…staying at a friend’s house and we wre getting the kids ready for school (California) as I was standing at thre coffee pot, my friend told me that a plane has struck the trade center. A couple of minutes later, the second plane struck, then the third, and a fourth. We got the kids off to school, and sat glued to the TV, the rest of the day. I remeber just feeling numb, and in complete shock, every second of the news coverage, it got worse…
in my car, crying, on my way to work.
on Columbia St. in Brooklyn watching the whole thing across the harbor. Lost 4 good friends(FDNY) that day and knew about a dozen others. Worst day in my 47 years on this earth.
Hi, it was good, but i lived in new york city. and my school is in manhattan, which is only a few blocks from ground zero. I was in class when it actually happen, and they wouldnt let us out, i dont know why, because the empire state building was two blocks over. I was thinking what if someone wanted to fly a plane into that building ,then we would get hurt, because the building is so huge, and i thought it was going to tip over. Anyway when i got out of school , it was so sad and there was smoke everywere. Helicopters were flying over our heads, and we couldnt leave the city. The military were walking down the streets holding m-16s and it was just so sad. I hope it never happends again.
I was at home watching the Today Show waiting for my husband to get back from taking our daughter to pre-school.I watched as it all took place.I was terrified something bad was going to happen in our town.I made my husband sleep on the couch that day instead of in our bed.I burned candles for those who died.
bay city ,Mich I was at my O.B. appointment for my second child,I just pulled into the parking lot and heard it on the radio.I went in for my app and everyone was talking about it I remember coming home sitting down and watching TV crying.Praying to God to save and help all those people. God Bless you all.
Cave Creek, Arizona I was awoken to the words the Trade Centers are gone!!!
What? I didn’t understand what that meant. Then I saw for myself on TV – they the were knocked down. I was shocked and saddend. I remeber them being built when I was a child growing up in NYC.
It still hurts, I cannot beleive they are gone!
Northern Virginia I was working at a local high school as a sign language interpreter for a deaf student. I kept signing from the tv and finally the teacher took us to the office where that tv had closed captioning and we stayed there the rest of the day so she could watch.
I was…driving to my morning class at the college when I heard on the radio that the first building had fallen. I delivered that news to class and we were sent home for the rest of the day.
I was on my way to work in small-town Iowa when I first heard on the radio that a small prop plane had hit the world trade center in NYC. I learned when I got to work that it was much, much worse.
I was driving from an appointment, listening to a c.d. so the radio was not on. My buddy called me and told me about the first plane. As we were discussing what he was seeing….the second plane hit!! No more speculation…we knew there was trouble!
I was sitting at my desk at work….(in a Federal Gov’t. building) when my sister called and told me to hurry up and collect my things and leave the building. She told me to go home turn the TV on and call her. Thank goodness a few minutes later we were all told to evauaate the building becaue of terorist threats on Gov’t buildings. I went home and called my sister and turned on the tv and was horrified. It was a very sad day that no american will ever forget.
I was @ Dispatch/cablevision watching the whole thing from the tv and across the river from the whitestone bridge.
Montgomery, AL. crying all day
i was on a plane over chicago
I was at Battery Park looking over the towers after they were hit.
At home, I came home from high-school, put on the TV and saw the second plane fly into the tower.
Yech..
I was at work when a colleague told me that an airplane had accidentally hit one of the towers. We were al shocked …and then a few minutes later the same person said to me “Sandy, another plane hit the other tower. We looked at each oter – eyes widening – and togeth said, “this was no accident”. I ran to the phone and called my son out of state and told him that I love him very much…in case we were going to be hit too. We were in the MTA Headquarters Building above Grand Central Station.
New Delhi, INDIA I was at work, when a friend called to tell me what’d happened. Didn’t believe him, but when I tried going to news websites, they were _slow_, so I knew it was something big. Later, I managed to get the story from cnn.com… and videos back home. What a sight, I’ll never forget!
I was driving to the office to attend the meeting at 9 AM and on the way I heard the NPR radio news saying, a flight hit the WTC building. I thought it might be some technical fault in the flight and went to the meeting. After 15 minutes, in the meeting, one of my friend said that one more flight hit the other building and then we all were suspecting on terrorist attacks.
After the meeting at 10:00 AM, we heard about the pentagon and again about Pennsylvania. The whole day we were watching the news in the office and talking about the attacks.
Kent, OH I was in the hallway on the way to my American Governement class in my senior year of high school. We got to class and Mr. Romano had the TV on a local news station. The plane had just hit the first tower and they were showing the flames and people jumping out. As we were watching and trying to get an idea of what was happening, the 2nd plane hit on live TV. We didn’t do any work in that class that period. We were glued to the TV the entire time.
Brooklyn I was in my apartment in Queens, NYC. View from the park on the corner looked right over lower Manhattan, and my neighbors and I gathered to look at the smoke. The weather was beautiful that day, felt very weird. Then, I had to find my Dad who had to walk out of Manhattan – took me hours to get to him and bring him home to Long Island. Still get very upset when I see the remains at the World Trade Center.
I was in the mountains in Montana on a hunting trip. I did not learn of the attack until the following Sat. afternoon. We usually have a radio in camp, however, it was forgotten that trip. When one of the guys went into town for supplies, he came back with a newspaper and we couldn’t believe what happened.
Finally saw it on TV the following Sat.
My wife was worried about our flight back, but by then the airlines were running and security was tighter than before.
God bless our troops and Pres. Bush.
Utah I was at home, barely waking, when the phone rang. I thought it was my husband, again (we were still newlyweds). But something in his voice, when I said hello. He asked me to turn on the tv. Then sat, silent, as I watched what he was watching, what we all were watching. He had to get back to his desk after a few minutes. And I sat alone, just watching the towers burn, and fall. I had never felt so helpless in all my life. Just watching.
Caroline from Queens, NY.
My husband and I had moved to Sweden about 3 months before 9/11. Lived there for about 4 years.
I was in my Swedish class filled with foreigners from around the world when I got the news. Class was almost over when a student from another class came in and told me a bit of information that there was an attack in NYC. I was the only American at the time in class. Anyway, I got very little information so didn’t think too much of it and tried to stay calm, but I rode my bike home as fast as I could to try and see if there was any news on TV.
When I got home and turned on the TV there were views of the WTC on every channel in this European country. I realized it had to be extremely serious. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes – the World Trade Center was burning??? Impossible! I just gazed in shock at the unbelievable live shots of smoke flowing out of one of the towers. Felt unreal like I was in a dream. Couldn’t speak, couldn’t think straight. Tried to take in all they were saying on TV about what was happening as to if it was an accident…or what. All of a sudden, another plane hit the second tower. I was alone in the apartment and felt completely helpless and in total frozen shock. Tried calling people in NY but the phone lines were busy. Called two other American students in Sweden(one from OH and one from TN) just to connect and share what was going on back home. I used to work on Trinity Place 2 buildings from the WTC so that area felt like home to me. Always went there to eat, look at the free concerts, shop and even go to the eye doctor. Knew several people who worked there as well. Thousands of scenarios flashed through my head and prayed that the majority of the people would be able to get out.
Wanted to be in NYC to help in some way. I just sat at the TV the rest of the evening in tears. Got many emails the day after that my loved ones were OK thank God, but later heard that some of my former university acquaintances were killed.
For months I couldn’t sleep/had nightmares and grieved for the WTC and all who perished horribly in 9\11…and their families who suffered as a result.
How could people have such hate in their hearts to destroy and kill thousands of innocent souls? I prayed for future peace. Keep faith.
I was junior high age and living in Canada at the time of the attacks. I remember watching the second plane hit the tower, and the way the whole country immedietely banded together to help the United States.
It took a while for me to grasp the seriousness of the situation, but it was a day no one will ever forget.
I feel saddened for all the people who lost loved ones, and admire their strength as they press on.
ddd
I was a Junior in High school when the attacks happened. I was sitting in my history class in Kansas. We were all in shock. We all gathered around the teachers desk to watch.The news was announced only 20 minutes they announced the death of a fellow student. Sept. 11 is a day that no one will soon forget.
getting married in Las Vegas
I was…taking my 5yr. old to school, came back home to rest and my husband said “the world is ending”. I thought he was crazy until we turned on the T.V. At that moment we watched the second plan hit the towers. I had one child at school and my two other children with me, I was in shock and didn’t know if I should go outside. I called the school, they didn’t know what was going on. We waited for further time to pass, as minutes went by, the shock turned into sadness. We continued to watch T.V. All the images re-play in my mind, people jumping,running, just trying to escape the sites that were hit. I just held my baby girl and cried. The moment that hurt the most was when the tower began to fall, even now I feel my heart crush. I am deeply saddened for the families that lost loved ones, I hope your pain has been eased over time.
I was teaching Kindergarten, and we had grandparents here celebrating Grandparent’s Day in the cafeteria. It was a struggle to maintain a calm, cheery “teacher” face while fearing for my little students and my own children in school across town. I will never forget the helpless feeling of being stuck here away from my family, coupled with the urge to protect my students no matter what…..
At work and just spoke to my mom, who worked at St. Luke’s & Roosevelt Hospital. She was at the Roosevelt site and I remember after hearing the first tower fall, trying to contact her and not being able to get through. I didn’t know how far from the towers she was and thank goodness my husband took off that day because it was his birthday and he came to pick me up and told me she was far enough away from them. I tried calling her all day and could not get through. It was one of the most devastating days of my life that I’ll remember. Fortunately, my mom is fine and well, but unfortunately my husband will remember this day forever because it is his birthday.
getting started with my daily routine in the kitchen of the country club I worked at. My daily produce delivery had just arrived, and I was discussing the produce with my vendor when he received a call on his cell phone. He said, “What? A plane just hit the WTC!” I checked my delivery, signed the invoice, and resumed my routine. One of the other cooks had wandered into the bar room of the club and turned on the TV, and watched the second plane hit. He came in and said, “A second plane just hit! And it’s an airliner!” I had to go and see the repeat footage. I was shocked, and horrified. All day long the bar manager would come back with updates, especially when the towers began to fall. Then we started hearing rumors that gas prices were suddenly spiking, as owner-operators began to price-gouge. When I got home, I was glued to the TV for the rest of the night.
I was sitting in front of the television witnessing what severals others did across America that day…two planes crashing into the Twin Towers. It was horrific and devastating.
I was a senior in highschool. The teachers locked down the school, turned off all tv’s and radios, and wouldnt tell anyone anything. So, I found my 7th grade sister, pulled her out of her class, and left. They fought me the whole way, but I’d rather have been at home than to be locked into a school and not being told anything.
on september 11th I was in the seventh grade now im a senior in high school. I stayed home from school that day because the day before i got stung in the eye by a couple of bees my eye was all swollen and i looked really bad so when the first plane hit i was watching an old good time rerun and it got intrupped by the news alert i thought nothing of it and just sayed oh well then my grandma called who has passed since. she knew i was staying home and she wanted to know if i saw the news she informed me and we just watched the news on the phone both of us in tears.
I was at home with my 9 month old daughter.We were getting ready for the nurse to come out to see how she was doing.The nurse asked us if we heard about the World Trade Center we said not yet,we just got up and got breakfast.After she left we turn on the tv and saw what happen.It was so scarey and sad.When I saw a plane crashing into the Towers and all those people who were in there.It is still sad today. I feel bad for the people who lost love ones.I still see Pictures of the Towers having a plane crashing into it.I hope all the people know we are sorry. My name is cambria ILL cambriasheridan@hotmail.com
Somerset PA I was in my humanities lit. class when the first plane hit. After that, I ran back to my apartment to watch the news. When I heard that the plane had crashed in Shanksville (a5 minutes from home) I called my parents who had seen the plane fly over their house
I was in traffic on the George Washington Bridge. Saw the flash of the 2nd plane hitting from the bridge. Everytime I am on the bridge it will always be with me.
I was at work … had a road rage incident prior to that; where some jerk was tailgating me. Wonder if he still does that.
Working. I went to my office, turned on the radio, and got excellent coverage from, of all sources, Howard Stern. He took calls and tuned in to network TV coverage, doing an excellent job of providing the facts. He actually was the voice of reason, telling people not to overreact after he learned of several attacks on Middle-Eastern looking cab drivers.
I was…at the Santa Cruz IRS office and was
ordered to shut down the office and go home.
Las Vegas:
Arrived there on 09-09-01 on a flight from Atlanta.
Stranded 2 days beyond our original itinerary.
I remember feeling very cold and numb as the events of the day unfolded. This feeling was replaced by desperation as we realized we were stranded until the no-fly ban was lifted. All in all it could have been worse:
1) we actually made our original destination point.
2) we were stranded (if you can call it that) in one America’s favorite destination hot spots.
3) we were stranded with the owner of the company I work for. He was very concerned about our comfort & care and spared no expense for the duration of our extended stay.
Watching the news later that day and the next, we realized how many people were possibly dead or missing, but also realized that there were literally thousands stranded wherever their plane happened to land, eating whatever food was available, and sleeping on makeshift cots and beds.
We were indeed very fortunate and blessed.
when the first plane hit the north tower, i was on 71st floor of the south tower.
I was in the 9th grade. I was in my ELP class. We had heard the news, turned on the television and watched the second plane fly into the second tower. They let school out early that day.
On a stone wall reading a book waiting to get in a class. When a friend of mine told me of what happened when the first plane hit the tower. I saw the second plane hit the other tower on the TV.
In Boston, MA trying to find out how I was going to get home!
Getting ready to go out of town and just watching the end of Good Morning America. I was shocked and called co-workers who didn’t know at that time. I was scared and saddened and really still am.
West Virginia I was attending school at The Culinary Inst. of America, an hour and a half north of NYC. I was just getting out of Breakfast Pantry when I ran into a classmate from my sister group on his way into Lunch Pantry. We called him “Crazy Dave” so when he was telling me that they were bombing New York, and that the WTC was going down in smoke I thought he must be mistaken. He was usually a bit manic anyway. I got back to my dorm just in time to see the second plane hit.
My best friend was living in DC at that time and her husband (then fiance) was at a training seminar inside the World Trade Center. There isn’t a single time that I remember this tragic day without thanking God that they are both OK.
A Michigan resident on business in Los Angeles. My customer & I ended up driving from LA to Detroit on 9/12/01 to get home to our families. The eeriest thing I’ve ever experienced.
I was in classes. (H.S.), the bizarre things is that it was at Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville, and they did not allow us to hear or be told of it until the last period, so i was in 8th period class, American History.
it was my 40th birthday, my friend paid for us to go to turkey, she said it will be a birthday to remember, that happened, and i no longer celebrate my birthday.i will never forget my 40th.the more we remember that day and show it on tv, the more the terrorists are getting publicity, for the distruction they caused around the world not just the usa, we were all affected, one way or another. j bell uk
on a seismic boat in the arabian sea…immediately after the attacks we received death threats
the netherlands I was at home, seeying out my grandfather who just visited us, when the 9y old girl next door told us “someone hijacked planes to destroy the WTC”. I immediately rushed back in to turn on the TV… That’s where I stayed for the rest of the day…
at home getting ready for work. We don’t normally have the TV on in the morning but my daughter’s boyfriend had just broken up with her the night before and she had the TV on as a distraction. She called to me to come and watch after the first plane hit the Towers, and we watched the second. It took quite a while to grasp what we were seeing. The horror has never left.
North Dakota I was just getting ready to get up when my mom came down and told me to turn on the television because a plane has just crashed into the Trade Centers. I thought that she was joking so I didn’t do anything. Well, then she turned on the television and I saw the first plane hanging out of the building and then was in shock as I watched the second plane crash. Then came the daunting task of finding out where my friends were at. Unbelieveable to think that 5 years has passed already.
I was sick, and cleaning the Garage out and it was a beautiful sunny day i had the Radio on and then my daughter called from Work she siad mom hurry put on the news
I broke down and cryed so much then i called my husband I will always remember that day
I was on Ft. Hood on lockdown…deployed one month later…
On the bus
at my house sleeping in from a birthday party the day before. When i turned the tv on and saw what had happened i was terrified. My husband is in the air force and he called and said the base had been locked down. I did not turn the tv off for days. I could not believe what had happened. Today on the fifth anniversary I still cry, it is a day that will sadden me for the rest of my life.
Jackson, MS I was at work and heard the news on the radio during the “Big Show with John Boy & Billy”.
Midland, Michigan I was at work, listening to the radio when the news broke in. At first it seemed like an awful freak accident. When the 2nd plane struck, we all knew it was no accident.
I was at work, getting foods & drinks ready. I decided to close cafe & went home. I watched tv.
Louisiana I was asleep. I woke up to hear someone urgently pounding on my apartment door. When I answered the door, it was my mom, and all she could say was, “Turn on the T.V.” She had been crying. My dad was flying home from visiting family that day, and my first thought was that something bad had happend to my dad. We turned on the television and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We both just started crying. Thankfully, my dad’s flight was from Indiana to Louisiana and nothing had happened to him.
A home, getting ready to go to school. I was in South Pasadena and was in 8th grade. It was one of our first days of school.
I was working on the Hudson river just a few miles north of the towers. When I heard the news all I had to do was look south to see the smoke. My wife saw one of the planes fly over that hit the south tower and wondered why it was flying so low. A day I will never forget.
ontario canada I was at work when i heard the news of the first crash. Thought it was an accident. Then the second plane hit. Inew it was no accident. My heart goes out the victims and families .
I was…changing my 9 month old and getting my 2 1/2 year old ready for school. My husband called me into the living room to see after the first plane had hit. We were watching together as the second plane hit. It was horrifying. I listened on the radio on the way to my son’s school as both towers collapsed and cried the whole time. An hour later I was back at school picking up my son because a local radio station mistakingly reported that there had been an attack at a school on the west coast. I didn’t feel safe anywhere!
Portland OR Sitting in the dentist’s chair at 7:00am Pacific time; I had left the house without turning on the morning news and was already extremely depressed over the death of a young friend in a car accident which had happened two days before. At first I thought I was hearing the ravings of some radio shock-jock, but the dentist’ assistant confirmed that what I was listening to was all too real.
I was at home (Sweden) watchin everything on CNN news.
I was sitting in my 7th grade geography/history class. We were marking out maps when one of the science teachers bolted into the room and turned on our tv without explanation but a few whispered words to our teacher. He then ran out and turned on others’ tvs, too. I sat watching, not realizing the magnitude of the situation or realizing the impact it would have on our country in the future.
North Carolina I was… working for a large bank on the east coast. We got a call telling us to secure our last task and head home. The Federal Reserve was closing the banks due to a possible terrorist attack.
I cried as I watched the TV, remembering that I was originally supposed to be in NYC that weekend — for a business trip and the finals of the US Open. My return trip was scheduled to fly out of New York’s LaGuardia airport around 8:00am the morning of September 11, 2001. Through a fortunate set of events, and by God’s providence, I didn’t have to go to New York that weekend. Instead, I was working in North Carolina, like I would any other weekday.
My heartfelt prayers go out to the friends and families of those who lost their lives on September 11th (and the days after).
State College, PA anxiously waiting for my the birth of my daughter, due that day. I was watching the Today Show from 8 am. on and as soon as I heard what was happening, I called my parents to come over, not sure of the stress I could endure. From that moment, I did nothing but cry for those I knew and those I didn’t.
driving to work sitting in traffic when I heard the news of the first plane striking the north tower. I wasn’t sure if it was real or just a joke…it turned out to be very real and then immediately the radio announcer said that it was not a joke…I eventually got to my office about five minutes after nine…I missed the announcement of the 2nd plane striking the south tower. At that point, sheer panic set in wondering what was going on not being able to get online for any information or use the telephones, etc. I immediately was concerned about my brother who is a police officer with the Metro Police at Virginia Dulles Airport. I couldn’t reach him and wondered if he would be called to help at the Pentagon since he frequently assisted at Reagan National Airport as well. It wasn’t until 6 p.m. later that day that I heard he was at his regular site and he was okay. Needless to say, that afternoon was so tense and worrisome but I’m fortunate my brother was okay. I found out later that some of the Port Authority officers who died that day were men I knew as my Dad was a retired P.A. officer. It became very clear that there weren’t any immediate survivors and I said many prayers for the many people whose lives were lost and those left behind and will never be the same because of that day. That night was very difficult to sleep as the possiblity of what might happen next was in the forefront of my mind. It’s hard to believe it’s 5 years already since it happened but it is as though it happened yesterday. Every detail of the day is perfectly clear. My only hope is that the future of America will be stronger than ever against terrorism and that we never have to live through another tragedy like 9/11/01 ever again in our lifetime!
I was at home getting ready for work (west coast). I was getting ready to leave on a business trip that week when my mom called hysterical wanting to now if I had left for my trip. She told me to turn on CNN. I was able to see the second plane hit the WTC. We talked about who did this and we agreed that we were under attack and was no accident. I will never forget…
Visiting friends in Louisville, KY. I was getting off the Watterson Expressway at Newburg road when I heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Since I live in New Jersey and know how large the WTC is, I could not understand how this could be an accident.
On maternity leave getting ready to have my first child. I was watching the news that morning getting ready for a doctors appointment, when I saw the first plane hit the World Trade Center. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Knowing I had to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, I was scared. I thought about all those people who lost their lives and was thinking of the kind of world I was bringing my child into; two weeks later he was born.
I was getting ready for school and watching FOX news. I saw the first plane hit the WTC, I thought it was an accident and moments later the second plane hit and then I realized it was no accident. I remember being scared and crying. When my husband picked me up to take me to school, he too could not believe what he was hearing on the radio. I still went to class, but we couldn’t help but turn the TV on in every room because we still did not know what was happening.
I was driving my car to the mechanics after having worked out at my college campus’s rec center. I remember exactly what I was wearing and can picture it even now. I then got in my friends’ car and told her to listen to the radio, then we went back to my place and ditched class to watch the news coverage with my roommates. Even though we were in Kansas, we were only 15 miles from a large army base, and didn’t know if it would be safe to be outside in case the base was a target as well.
I was at my high school, and nobody knew what was going on or what to expect.
sleeping actually. I was still in college, and didn’t have school on tuesdays and thursdays.
My live-in girlfriend at the time came home, and told me to turn on the television.
I didn’t leave the house all day, or even change my clothes for that matter, as I – like all of America – was glued to the tv.
May God bless America, and have mercy on their souls.
in Maui, just tacking off on a diving trip. It was a sad 2 weeks in paradise. Couldn’t fly home and was commited to our reservations.
Was in class across the east river @ NYCTC. Walking out of the class i heard the news on the radio as i watched numerous emergency vechicles go across the brooklyn/manhattan bridges.
I was on my way to work and heard on the radio that the World Trade Center had been hit w/a plane. Not having travelled much, I didn’t know where the WTC was located and didn’t fully understand what had happened. How surreal it is now, to think I didn’t know anything about the WTC???. When I got to work, all my coworkers were gathered around radios and t.v.s, watching the coverage. I was flabbergasted at what I saw, all the burning people jumping out of that building. I distinctly remember thinking “My God, those buildings are full of people, thousands of people and they can’t get out”. I actually said to a coworker, “those buildings are empty though, right?”. The whole thing made me shake and feel physically ill. We were all sent home that day. I spent the rest of the day glued to the t.v. and crying…not believing the tragedy or the bravery I was seeing. I’ll never forget that day. I felt so helpless and scared. All those innocent people dying because of hatred and intolerance…One God to watch over us ALL, every single one of us.
I was in class…just across the River in Jersey…you could see all the dust and smoke in the sky…slowly people were called to the principal’s office (some with parents who worked in the building)…a couple of hours later, we were all sent home.
i was getting ready for work, and i remember looking back at the tv and just turned stiff i could’nt move,
just fell to my floor in awe and disbelief.
Byron, GA I was in my ninth grade Spanish class when another teacher walked into the room. Both teachers started speaking Spanish, (so that none of us could understand since we were just learning it), then one of the teachers turned on the t.v. We were watching just after the first plane hit. Right before the next plane hit, the people in the office pulled the plug on the cable so that we could not watch what was going to happen. If I remember correctly they set us home early that day.
I was almost to work when my husband called me on my cell phone, ” oh my god- are you by a T.V … an airplane just crashed into the World Trade Center?”. As I was pulling into the parking lot he screamed, ” Another airplane just hit the other building”. Hearing the absolute sound of terror in his voice is something that I wil never forget. I ran into the building- which is a Day treatment Center for chronicall mentally ill adults- and turned on the T.V along with several co-worked and watched as the Towers completely crumbled. I could not believe what I was watching, I couldn’y believe that we- The almighty U.S.A. was under attack! All I could think about was leaving to go get my 4 month old son from daycare and going to the safety??? of my home. I will never- ever- forget that day!
oregon, ohio In school, my freshman year of high school. The teacher wouldn’t let us watch cnn because she thought it was un-important… How wrong was she?
Hollis Center, Maine I was in the Marines stationed in 29 Palms, getting ready for morning formation when my wife called with news
I was at home getting ready for an job interview and watching CNN or Fox, I can’t remember which, just after the first plane hit the first tower…then shortly after I saw the second plane hit the other tower. At first I thought I was mistaken, though. I just couldn’t believe what I saw. After my interview, and by that time the third plane had hit the Pentagon, the news starting stating that we were under attack. When that happened I immediately thought about my mom who worked at the main Federal building in Denver, CO. I was trying to get a hold of her to tell her to leave work, just get out of the building and go home…but I couldn’t get through…I remember the cell phones and land line phones being tied up. I was so worried about her. I got back to my other job at the time and people had TV’s on at work and we were watching the pandemonium. I finally heard from my mom by the afternoon…she said she was safe and sound at home. She told me that all Federal buildings were shut down and everyone was sent home shortly after the attached. When I got home that evening, all I did was watch the news…often crying.
I was in my home watching a news segment on aple picking when it was interrupted with word that a plane had hit the world trade center. it was so surreal. I went to wake my husband, and we were watching the news as the 2nd plane hit. Unbelievable. It was so odd later in the day to be driving on an expressway near OHare Airport without a plane in sight. For weeks I was scared to be in a large shopping mall, etc. for fear of what would happen. My heart goes out to those more closely touched by this tragedy.
I was in my car in the parking lot of K-marts after having dropped my daughter off at school.
I was working at Target in the electronics dept. when a lady came in yelling at us to turn on the tv’s to the news…..we couldn’t do it becuase they weren’t hooked up to cable at all or anything but that’s where I was and then we all went into the break room to watch more about the terrorist acts.
sleeping
I was…going into a small village in the west of IrelandI where Lord Henry Mountbatten had been blown up by the IRA a number of years ago.
at Dept of Defense in Fort Belvoir, VA and I saw on TV that was big upset because my family live in Queens NY and My sister and my brother in law and several friends who used to work at WTC. I go to visit my sister at her office once a while and brought some of my friends to see her office on either 82th or 86th floor . I see no more WTC now. ITs sad. I showed my kids there is no more WTC. Hope to rebuild better one . THanks JMD from Maryland
I was in my dorm room at the University of Maryland. I woke up, turned on the TV, and both planes had already hit the Trade Center. I immediately called my boyfriend and told him to turn on the TV to the news because someone had bombed the WTC. Afterwards, on my way to math class, everyone was talking about it, and some of us went up to the roof of the dormitories where we could see the smoke from the Pentagon. Classes were called off for a couple of days and everyone was panicing that they couldn’t get through to their families.
Roanoke, VA I was in 10th grade in yearbook class. The art teacher came into the room and said there had been a plane crash. Everyone thought it was an accident at first. Once we realized it was a terrorist attack, kids started getting scared and leaving school.
I was 3 weeks into Basic Training for the Army. Though I would never call the atmosphere at Basic Training “lax” at any time, it definitly became a lot more intense. The Drill Sgt’s. were telling us we’re all going to war. I had a great time in Basic Training but 9-11 definitly put some intensity and importance on it.
i was at work in Easton, MD. A co-worker of mine called to tell me that a plane just hit the World Trade Center. I’m orginally from New York and remember the WTC extremely well. My husband is also from NY and has worked in the WTC. It is a very big loss for America but we have come together and will continue to go on. NO ONE or nation can take away our pride, our strength and compassion. The tragedy has made us STRONGER. I love this country very much and PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!
I was living in Vancouver at the time and woke with the tv showing the plane crash into the WTC over and over again. I was in 4th grade no one really knew about it or understood it in school so we didn’t talk about it.
My fiance and I were living with my parents for that year after moving back to the US from Europe. I was asleep when my mother called from work and said turn on the TV, we’re at war and they’re bombing NYC. My brother had just moved there for his freshman year at NYU. My mother was hysterical telling me to get a hold of my brother, etc. Of course for a few hours no one could get a hold of anyone. He called a few hours later. He had been in class and they wouldn’t let them leave. All day we just watched TV. I was working in a hotel restuarant and went to work for the dinner hour…I think we got 1 table all night. My brother took some pictures that night on broadway…there was almost no one on the streets…quite surreal for NYC.
I was driving my son to his doctor appointment when I heard it announced on the radio. Living only an hour away from NYC and in a place where many of us commute to the city for work, I became immediately concerned because my instincts told me this was not an accident. I was so sure of it this that as we walked into the appointment and before the second plane hit I noticed a man in the car next to mine. He was reading a newspaper, without hesitation, I tapped on his window and in one breath told him to turn on his radio, a plane had crashed into the WTC and that I thought we were being attacked and there was no way this could be an accident, there is no possible way a pilot could not see the WTC. I then ran inside the office with my son, trying not to alarm him of the seriousness yet at the same time trying to reach my husband who was to be working in one of the theatres that day. Needless to say all circuits were busy. Just as we entered into the office I looked over at the television and the second plane had just hit. Again,the circuits were still busy. We completed our appointment and decided it would be best to take my son to school and try and keep the day as normal as I could. Only later to find out upon his arrival he was brought to the principal where he was asked what he new of the events. It was then explained he was to not mention a word to any of the other students. They explained that the other students were not aware of what had happened and they did not want them to become frightened and worried as many of them have parents that were at work in the city. My son understood this and I can proudly say he handled this responsibility extremely well for someone in middle school. As for myself and many attempts later I successfully reached my husband about 11:00 am and much to my relief his plans had been changed and he was in CT. I couldn’t help but to cry and Thank God! My prayers to everyone on this very solemn day.
Edmond Ok I was at home listening to the radio when the first plane hit and then on my way to work when the second one hit. I’m an electrician, and was at a small company, and everyone went home. Unbelievable day! I live in OKC and heard and felt the Murrah bldg blast.
Texas I was 13 at the time, and at middle school volleyball practice, when the coach called us into her office, she had been watching the TV. 30 of us were crowded into her teeny room, watching her teeny TV when we saw the second plane hit the towers. I still remember how numb that whole day made me feel, and how parents were panicking taking their kids out of school.
NJ…I was getting ready for work. I turned on the TV and saw the one tower burning. Seconds later, the 2nd plane hit the other tower. I knew, then, that it was deliberate. My heart cried for those poor people. Living within sight of the towers, it was so horribly surreal watching lower Manhattan being swallowed up in smoke. It’s still surreal not seeing the towers, especially after witnessing them being built and living with them every day. Now nothing but a sad, empty sky…
Due West, SC I was a sophomore in college. I was in class until 9:30 that morning & had some time to study in my room before going to convocation at 11:00. My then boyfriend (now husband) called me to tell me what was happening. I turned on the tv. Later that morning, I was afraid to go to convo because it was a gathering of people & I did not know if something would happen to us. I met my friends in the dorm lobby & we walked across campus in silence. Once convo started the campus chaplin told of what had gone on in New York City & Washington, D.C. & we all prayed. We prayed for the victims & survivors as well as their families & friends. The rest of that day was like a fog but that evening, my soriety sisters & I went out to the circle to light candles, join hands & pray. It was a day that changed our world!
I was walking into my first class class of the day. At the beginning of class, my teacher announced that a plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I was thinking about it throughout class until the teacher turned on the T.V. at the end (we were in the library that day) . I was shocked at what had happened, the cameras were clearly fixed on the citizens jumping from the burning skyscrapers. Other kids in my class started laughing, I remember their faces when they mocked the jumping victims. After a few minutes, the bell rang and we were excused from class. Over the day, teachers had brought televisions into the classrooms and announcments about the developing story were made over the PA system. The next day, many teachers showed speeches made by various public figures, President Bush, Rudy Giuliani, AL Gore, Dick Cheney, the Governor of New York and such, but after that day, everything related to the tragedy was banned from school.
Middle Village, Queens I drove to work that day with my husband. We were crossing the Queensboro Bridge and we both commented on what a spectacularly beautiful day it was. I looked over at the World Trade Center and the buildings were shining in the sunlight. Who would have known that twenty minutes later the devastation would begin. Everyone in my office sat around a small TV and watched the horror unfold. I was in shock and I couldn’t stop shaking. I was 7 months pregnant and just wanted to go home. My husband and I left about 2:00pm and drove back over the Queensboro Bridge and this time instead of looking at the shiny twin towers we were looking at a plume of smoke. I am still grieving.
Bossier City, Louisiana I was sitting in an hospital waitingroom while my dad had heart surgery. I was already upset and worried about my dad when i decided to listen to my CD player that doubles as a radio. I started telling my family and other familys in the room what was going on since their was no Tv in the room. I didn’t see footage of anything till late that night when i returned from the hospital.
In Physics class my senior year of high school. I told my friend next to me that the towers were going to fall…less than thirty seconds later, the first one did.
I was…off from work that day, I got up at my usual time and puttered around a bit then logged on to check my email and turned on YIM. A friend of mine who works for ABC IMed me and said ” did you hear the report? ” I wrote back ” What report” He sent “a plane hit the World Tade center” I turned on the news… then the next thing I knew the IM was dinging again ” holy crap a second plane hit”
I went cold and numb all over. One plane hitting a skyscraper is a horrible tragic accident…two…is a deliberate attack. I found myself sitting numbly listening to the reports, things like this happened in other countries..not my country. I found myself frantically looking for friends cell numbers. Then the plane hit the pentagon- I have an Uncle who works there and a friend as well. I tried calling my Aunt but the phones were jammed.It took me almost 20 minutes to get a call in to work and it was days before we finally managed a long distance call out. I was worried and saddened but not frantic the real reaction didn’t set in until a day or two later, I was laying awake trying to figure out why I couldn’t sleep then it hit me….. we lived right next to the airport and it was too quiet.
In the towers concourse ready to go to work on the 95th floor of the north tower.
Concord, CA I was just getting ready to leave for work and I had a few minutes to spare when i decided to turn on the T.V. Good Morning America was on and the first image was showing the smoke coming out of the first tower that was hit, and the comentary was that the authorities weren’t sure if a bomb went off or a light plane had impacted the building and if it was an aircraft, did the pilot have enough experience. During of this discussion the second airliner appears from the right side of the T.V. screen and then there was an expolsion. It all happened so quick that those hosting the show didn’t realize it immediately, they’re comment was ” They’re appears to be an explosion in the second tower”, I said to myself “Did you not see that airplane?”. I was in shock and I woke up my wife and we sat there together and watched everything unfold. It was at that time the GMA hosts confirmed the attack on America. I was late for work, but felt compelled to stay and watch but i was forced to leave. After i arrived to work my wife called me in tears telling me the first tower is gone and I told her “No it can’t be gone, what are you talking about?”, she said , “No, it’s gone, it collapsed” and a chill of anger and dispair ran through my spine. Then a short while later my wife called again to tell me that the second tower had collapsed. A number of my co-workers were very upset and angered by the event that took place that they decided to leave unannounced, but the remaing of us that stayed did not get any work done but stayed by our radios to get up to the minute information. That was by far the dullest day of my life.
South Brunswick, NJ Driving into work on Valley Road in Princeton. I was listening to 101.5 FM in NJ and they cut in with a special report about the first plane hitting. I called my wife who was home with our 5-week-old infant son and told her to put on the news. I then changed my radio to WCBS 880 AM. The anchors were talking to a person who witnessed the first plane, who then started screaming that another plane just hit the other tower. My wife then called me an instant later saying that she saw the second plane hit live on TV. I spent the rest of the day catching news casts where I could and just feeling numb.
I was sitting in the park in Mt. Rainier, MD, and saw all these helicopter flying at break-neck speed, and thought “what the hell is going on.” It was just that, a living hell.
I was puttering around the house with a morning news show on-had gone to the kitchen to put something away and later when I returned to the living room and looked at the tv, I saw they were talking about a movie being filmed and thought how real it looked. But of course, listening to the news, was shocked and scared to see that this WAS real and wondered how could this be happening on our land. Many prayers and support for thoses involved and doing what they believe to be the right thing so this won’t happen again on our land, to our people.
New Brunswick, NJ September, 11 2001. I was sitting in the high school cafeteria. At 16, I distinclty remember knowing full well what the impacts meant. We were all sent home minutes after the plane flew into the second building and my friend and I sat in front of the T.V. as she frantically tried calling everyone in her family, who at the time lived only two blocks away from the towers. We sat and watched every minute of the live feed on location, the second tower was hit, the first tower fell and then the second tower. After hours upon hours (that felt like days) we got through to the people who were at the scene. That entire day the sky was gray…grayer than the average Jersey day. In the days that followed, my family learned of people we knew that were killed and the people who shouldve been there that survived. I’m not a religious person, but it really was a miracle how many people should have been in the towers that morning but got stuck in traffic, or missed the train, or decided to drop their kids off at school that day and were not at the buildings at the time of the fall. This was a place that I saw on a regular basis, a place that I had grown up near, and though I was lucky enough not to have had a family member or a close loved one pass in this incident, It still holds a very dear place in my heart. Always Remember, Never Forget.
Texas I was driving to college and heard on the radio about a plane hitting a building. I didn’t think much about it at the time since I only heard the end of the story. So I went to class. In the first few minutes the teacher was going through her morning lecture when another teacher came in saying that she needed to talk to her. When my teacher came back she said that the WTC and the pentagon had been hit by planes and that class was dismissed. I went home, not wanting to be by myself I went into work early and watched the coverage with my coworker until my shift start. That night I cried myself to sleep and prayed for all our fallen heros that day.
I was in Columia, Ky, wathcing “The Today Show”, listening to Katie Couric’s banter. The banter was soon interrupted when they received word that an airplane had just crashed into the WTC.
I was teaching in a Culinary Arts Classroom in a regional High School in western Mass. The Supt. of Schools came into the classroom and announced what had just happened and to turn on any news, TV’s, etc. to hear more. We then as a school went into the main auditorium to watch the news on the HUGE TV monitor. We were all very upset, disturbed and panicked for many hours. No teaching went on- just crying and shocks of disbelief. We were not dismissed but stayed the whole day in the building.
I believe when we all got home into our houses the media sources stayed on until we went to bed.
I personally prayed for those all who lost their lives that morning. Even 5 years later; it still feels as if it happened just a few months ago. As the country western singer, Allan Jackson so aptly put it~ it was the day the world stood still.
I am thankful for this sight to share my thoughts.
Linda
I was asleep, it was my day off. My girlfriend came home from work to wake me up and told “something terrible is happening”, even before the 2nd plane hit. We were glued to the television from that point on. I remember I had this deep down sadness, unexplanable. I was completely aware then at our vulnerability, even here in the United States. May God Bless us all…
I was lying on a couch watching CNBC, dozing off, since it’s a very quiet morning with kids all gone to school and I was left by myself. All of a sudden, I was woken with the alarmed voice of the anchor. I sat up and watched in horror with the first World Trade Center burning in flames, and the rerun of how a plane crashed into it. And horror of all horrors, another one was aiming right into the second building, all broadcasted live!
Annoymous
I was working at the hospital that morning and my patient’s husband had the TV on and we watched. I remember thinking the first plane crash was just an accident until we saw the second plane crash into the tower and realizing we were being attacked. I was just glued to the Tv set for days after that.
I was just getting to class, and sat down in my seat when my teacher came in and turned the television on to the News. I remember watching what we thought was a video of civil unrest in another country (since it was an American Relations and Issues course), and it turned out to be something close to home. It’s hard to describe the shock and emotions that my entire class felt.
My prayers to those that were there…
New York, NY 10029 I was in my second period English class (it was my senior year of high school) when I first found out. An announcement came over the PA system that a plane had hit one of the towers. Over the next half hour there were several more announcements and updates over the PA system. Even though we were instructed to remain at school, most students including myself left. Even though the school is miles away from the World Trade Center, we could still see smoke where we were, all the way on East 116th St, Manhattan. I had to walk home because the Subway was shut down. It was really scary. I thank God that no one in my family was hurt. I still remember everything like it was yesterday.
We were let out of work shortly after the first tower fell…i walked through the Public Garden/Boston Common on my way to the train…I passed by only 3 people!
the sky this morning was identical to 9/11/01.
I was on a plane flying to San Diego for Marine Combat Training. We landed in St Louis and I sat in the USO for about 12 hrs staring at the TV and waiting for them to release our luggage. I was fortunate to have a boot camp buddy who lived in the area and his parents let us stay a few nights until we could fly again.
I had just dropped my kids off at school. All I could think about was holding them in my arms. Later I thought, how different their childhood would be. I pray for all of us.
Virginia In my mothers office building because I had a dentist appointment her building is directly across from the Pentagon I watched the plane hit the Pentagon
Leechburg, PA I was in my junior year of high school at an appointment with my guidance counselor. I had no idea anything was going on but my guidance counselor wz all shook up, almost crying and shaking. Finally he told me what was going on and that we would have to meet another time. Then I went to the library and informed my friends, and we started watching it on tv and watched it the rest of the school day.
On the way into Manhattan along the LIE, I saw the smoke from the buildings. As I got to Queens Boul. The Police were turning us off of the LIE so the hundreds of emergency vehicles from Long Island could get to the City. The Expressway did not open for hours that Sad Day.
I was sitting at my desk when one of my co workers came in and said that he had heard a plane had just crashed into the Twin Towers. We all ran for the TV. We watched in horror as the second plane hit – then the Pentagon and then the plane in PA. Being from NYC I called all my family to see if they were OK, but it was hard to get through. My sister in law had just changed jobs a few weeks before. She used to work at the Towers. I heard many stories from my family about some of the close calls their friends had. One person had woken up late and just missed his train to the city, one had stopped to buy coffee, and one had a very slow bus ride: Thank God
The tears were hard to stop. The towers were built when I was young in NY and they were always the most recognisible land mark and they were gone…
California I was in the gym of the 24 Hour Fitness in Torrance, California.
I had just started my warmup on the treadmill. As I viewed the tv monitors in front of me ( I didn’t have a headset, so I had no sound, just a visual), I saw the smoke bellowing from the first tower and witnessed the second plane crashing into the second building.
At first I thought it was a commercial for the movie
” Die Hard 3″ or another spoof for the movie “Airplane”. But realized I was looking at live coverage of a very horrific event…my heart just dropped!
I didn’t finish my workout that morning.
My prayers go out to all of America.
Crete, Nebraska I was sitting in hospital bed in Lincoln, Nebraska, watching the news and waiting for time for physical therapy to begin. I has just come out of a come caused by viral encephalytis five days before. On the 12th, I would be able to go home.
I was watching the news and suddenly, the story changed. I thought I had accidentally changed the channel. But the same thing had appeared on every channel. One of the nurses came in and I told her what had happened to the first tower. Soon, there were three nurses watching the TV in my room. They thought it was a terrible accident. I thought to myself that accidents like that just don’t happen.
Then, I had to go out for breakfast and therapy. It was during that time that the second plane hit. I didn’t find out about that until I got back to my room. By that time, everybody knew it had to be terrorists.
The pain and death and destruction were terrible, but my main concern was my family. My wife and youngest daughter were thirty miles away. I was stuck in a hospital in a different town with no way to go to be with them. Who know how many more attacks there would be, or if travel would be restricted on roads as well as in the air. As it turned out, those worries were unfounded.
As adults, we are expected to be able to deal with things like terrorism and the awful results. But it’s too bad the kids have to endure the fear and worry. They should be allowed to grow up happy and carefree. It’s a hell of a world they will inherit from us. I hope they can handle it.
When I walked into my office at work one of my cowokers hung up the phone and said “turn on the TV the world trade center has been hit by a small plane”. Just as the television came on we saw the second tower being hit. We watched together in horor as the events unfolded. Our country was under attack. I remember saying silent prayers for those in distress. Then the utter suprise when the towers began colapse. Lets all pray this does not happen again.
I was…in my car going to work and couldn’t believe what had just happened. I thought I had heard it wrong couldn’t believe it…….
At home in a small city in California. I got an e-mail message that simply said a plane had hit a building in new york. I thought some little private plane had gone off course and accidentally hit a tall building. When I turned on the TV, it was much different. I sat in shock watching the events unfold.
I was…in a donut shop when I heard the breaking news. I hurried back to the house and watched all week for the news coverage (day and night). What an evil act.
Sacramento, California I was on a school bus my freshman year of highschool. We had almost arrived when the emergency systems cut through to notify everyone the tower, and later the second, had been hit. Everyone in that bus was in complete shock.
Wingdale, Ny I was working in my carpentry shop with my son. I had just entered when he told me a plane had just struck the WTC. As we were mulling that over, the second plane struck. We looked at each other and simultaniously said “Thats no coincidence!”. We rushed to the nearest Deli which always had a tv on, and everyone was in shock. I said, “Hang on, it’s not over yet. More planes have been hi-jacked!” When I finally got in touch with my daughter in Queens,(her fiance worked at one of the WTC buildings), I discovered he had not gone to work that morning. I told them to NOT drink or use any tape water from the public supply, and to go immediately to the store and stock up on bottled water. It would have been so simple to do so much more damage if the terrorists had not been so focused on the big show of explosives. Thank GOD they areso primative in thier thinking.
I was at the dentist’s office.
NY NY- I was at school in history class in 8th grade…we thought that it was some sort of “what if” war hypothetical…then our headmaster came in and told us all to call our parents as many of them worked on wall street. Those who could not get in touch with their parents were desrought. classes were cancelled but we werent allowed to go home because many parents werent there. The lower school didnt know because the teachers wanted to shield them from worry. The next day is something ill never forgot, my school was across the sound from the city, and after we all arrived at school and got to class, they informed us we could only leave the building and go outside for lunch. It was very windy, eerily so, and there was ash and smoke hovering over our school. The smell and the fog that was blowing around us still sends chills up my spine. It was if the spirits were escaping from the ruble up to heaven. Damn terrorists.
New York waking up in my new apartment in San Francisco, having left NYC a year before. With no cable TV, and only dial-up internet, it was hard to figure out what was going on from the radio reports, especially since it was all a mixture of past and present tense by the time I woke up. My wife and I methodically started calling all of our friends in New York to make sure they were okay. As it turned out, one friend was (probably) already dead by the time we woke up. We moved back to NYC two years later.
i was on my job nj.08873
I was a senior in highschool and in my cosmotology class. Our principal came over the intercom and said America was under seige. No one knew what he was talking about.
BURRILLVILLE RHODE ISLAND i was at work and it was the craziest day i have ever lived through. Co workers were walking around in a hypnotic state
Here in St. Louis I turned on the tv for my little grandosn to watch Sesame Street and there it was-the first strike. I went to the steps and called to my husband, the St. Louis Post Dispatch night photo editor, “Get dressed and go to work Bob, something very terrible is happening.” He didn’t come home for 24 hours.” He saw ALL the photos which came across the wire–falling, burning bodies, things which couldn’t appear in the paper. He would never speak of it to any of us. He became very very quiet.
I was working in the Magic Kingdom when we found out. After a few hours, it was decided that the park would be closed and evacuated. They made the general announcement over the PA which is never done. We had to stand at the exit and assist guests with their questions. Most of the people had no idea as news doesn’t travel inside the park very quickly.
I was at junior high school 56 at first period spanish class, on the borough of manhattan, lower east side when everyone heard a loud crash and what felt like an earthquake.
Ohio I was coming home from the grocery store and heard it on my radio.. I didn’t think to much of it, because I had heard of another plane at on time hitting a building, but when I got home and turned on the TV, I knew it was true..
I was in math class, Junior year of high school. They made an announcement over the P.A. system stating that a plane had hit one of the towers. No one knew what was going on. I went to gym, and as we were getting changed in the locker room, they announced that the 2nd tower was hit. I went to English class after, and we all just sat there and watched…then the first tower collapsed. Every class the rest of the day had TV’s on.
Currently in NY In Japan, got back from work, turned on TV and saw WTC burning, moments later plane hit the second tower as I was watching CNN.
Staten Island I was a senior at Wagner College withg apretty heave class load. In fact I had a Midterm the following week in my research methods class. I was putting my tape in my VCR to record Passions and Crossing Over with John Edward which aired when I was in class. I had Good Morning America on the TV. It was a light News Day. Dianne Sawyer was interviewing Lara Spencer about her family and the upcoming trip to the Emmy’s. Steve Bartelstien broke into Good Morning America (which does not happen accept at the bottom of every half hour) and it was then that I saw it. I dropped the VHS tape and screamed OH MY GOD! I have Epilepsy so my mom ran up the stairs because she thought I was having a seizure. She said are you ok. I froze. She ran into my room it was then that we both saw the second plane fly into the towers. In my insanity I had to go up to the college after all it was my senior year. I went to work in the computer lab and then heard about the Pentagon. I walked into my boss’ office and said John we are under attack. Classes were still going on. After the afternoon classes were cancelled it was a frantic search to find my friends and my brother. Once I knew my brother was with his friends and ok my friends and I did a prayer circle. I got home and no one was home and I was cery worried. When my family came home we were glued to Peter Jennings all week. It was a mornign I will never forget. I was lucky because I could have been in the city for a deposition but a clerical error made us have to reschedule. My mentor was one of the unsunfg heros. She was a civilian who helped others in the area below wall street get to safety. My mom’s friend at my sisters high school had a feeling her husband was gone. He was one of the FDNY first to respond. That is my story a day I will never forget.
I was… In math class watching the news.
I was in driving in Freiburg, Germany when I heard a special news bulletin on German radio at 2:58PM (6hr time difference) – 2mins before the 3:00pm news – that the WTC had been struck by an airplane. I immediately called my brother on my cell and asked if he knew what was happening. He was about to leave the house to go to work, but he stopped,turned on the TV, and confirmed that there was indeed smoke pouring out of one of the towers. We started to come up with theories on what could possibly have occured. We were both relatively sure that some wacko had crashed a plane into the tower on purpose. Little did we know how right we were – but we were both thinking Cessna. Suddenly, my brother started shouting that the other tower had just been hit also and that it was no small plane more like a 737 or even bigger. The gut wrenching feeling that overcame me at that moment is something I’ll never forget…
I just got to work when my co workers were watching it on tv, I did not want to work the rest of the day. I wanted to go home and be with my family.It was a day full of sadness,I could not imagine what it was like for the ones that were there.It is a day that I will never forget..
New York I Was entering the brooklyn battery tunnel when i see the first explosion, when i got to the other side i was watching the fire in the north tower when the second plane hit, unfortunately i was there and i see it happen
Windsor, Ontario Canada I was…just getting home from a midnight shift and turned on the news, just like any other day. I was a little confused at first and than thought, ” Oh my God, they have been attacked”! And than just before my fiance came home, I saw the second plane hit. Just than he comes through the door, and I yelled at him, ” They finally did it”! I just couldn’t believe it! America was being attacked.
MIAMI, FL I WAS DRIVING TO MY BANK, AND HEARD THE NEWS ON THE RADIO
I had just departed from JFK on a direct flight to San Diego. My best guess puts my plane flying over Midtown Manhattan as the first plane hit. About an hour into the flight the pilot announced that we were making an emergency landing in Indianapolis and more information would follow. As we taxied toward the terminal, people on the plane began to call friends and families and began to scream out about planes hitting the WTC and the Pentagon. I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing until we exited the aircraft and entered the terminal and saw the people huddled around the bar watching the news. I began to shake and feel sick to my stomach as I made my way to the telephones to call everyone I knew to tell them I was OK. I will never forget.
I had waken up around 4:30-4:45 am. Arizona time, to get ready for work. I turned on my TV to watch the news. The news started at 5:00am. Then a special report came on saying a plane hit the twin towers then it showed the second plane hit the other tower. I was so shocked. when I got to work we had it on the news.
Garland Texas I remember distinctly the events of that day. I was at home, sleeping late because I had worked late the night before. Then, for a reason unknown to me I got up and went to the TV and turned it on, which is not my normal morning ritual. Then there I stood stunned the rest of the day.
As soon as I turned on the TV I saw the reports of the first plane collision, then witnessed the live second attack. As well as the reports of the Pentagon, and flight 93.
I immediatley contacted my wife and others close to me and warned them to be careful, and come home if possible. I knew we as a nation were under fire, and had to prepare for the worst.
That day, we witnessed the worst attack on America ever. Immediatley following that day, there was an amazing swell in American patriotism. We stood as One Nation Under God. Does your flag still fly today? I will NEVER forget!!!
Roanoke, VA I was sitting at home watching it on TV. Me and my Grandpa had plans to go to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA that day and decided to go anyway. When we got there they had already closed it. So we went back on 9/12 and all the flags were at half staff.
I was at work
I was driving from home to my university listening to talk radio when I heard about it. After I got to class, it was playing on the projector. We all watched that for a while, then they canceled classes for that day.
Omaha, NE In my cubicle just starting my morning routine. I was elated because I just found out I was pregnant with my first child four days earlier and was trying to decide when and how to tell my boss. My good friend and co-worker shouted over the wall, “A plane just flew into the World Trade Center.” At first I just thought it was some kind of a freak accident.
It’s all a blur now, but I think I told my boss about the pregnancy that day and spent most of the day trying not to break down and cry. I was in a daze watching the footage on the tv in the breakroom. How was I supposed to feel? I should have been overjoyed, but I was terrified and emotional about bringing a new life into this world.
I now have 2 children and not a day goes by that I don’t worry at least a little about their safety and future.
in history class
in outpatient waiting on my daughter to come out of oral surgery. there was a tv in the waiting room and the nurses and doctors kept coming out and watching what was going on….
Meredith Wenham Mass, I’ll never forget that Day.
I was a senior in high school, in math class, when a girl came in and said the Pentagon had been attacked. Our math teacher turned on the projector and hooked it up to the computer, and that’s when we saw images of the World Trade Center buildings burning. Our teacher made us stay in class, but after that period we gathered in our senior break room where we watched the events unfold on tv. It was a scary time, and since we were in Houston there was the possibility that we would also be attacked. Everyone called home to check on family and friends; the rest of the day and those following are now a blur.
I am a lawyer and I was in Federal Court in Jacksonville, Florida. After I finished with Court at about 9:15 a.m., I went to the Clerk’s Office to file a document and that is where I learned of the attacks. I then came back to my office and watched news coverage at the office of another attorney in my building. Needless to say, we did not do much work that day.
I was a senior in high school in a town about 5 mins away from NYC in jersey.I was in my first period class which was sociology and the department head came into the classroom and spoke with the teacher. She then relayed the message that a plane struck the wtc. We turned on the news and horrifically saw the next plane hit. My teacher broke down crying and stated ” This is not good” Everyone from my school just left because so many people had parents that worked in the city. Its still sad to see the empty skyline. And i realize it more now that im working in jersey city!
I was…watching the morning news as I did every morning. My son had just woken up and came in my room and was sitting at the foot of the bed. Our local TV station broke away to New York where everyone thought it was some idiot who had navigated his plane the wrong direction and tragically crashed into the WTC. It wasn’t until we watched live on TV the second plane hit that I realized that it was no accident. My son whipped his head around and yelled, “Mom did you see that? What’s happening? I don’t know why but I knew right away that it was a terrorist attack. I just started to cry and watch in disbelief. As many people did, I picked up the phone right away and called my mom. She had already left for the work and did not have her cell phone on. I called her work and they said that she had not made it in yet. I was in California but couldn’t help but think what was next. Finally my mom called me back and I remember just frantically yelling into the phone “all those people, they’re dead, they’re dead. What do I do? What do I do?”. My mom tried her best to calm me down. It was the looks from my kids that made me come to my senses and forced me to gain my composure. I took them on to school. I remember driving on to work. It was a little overcast that day and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Like a weird movie or something. When I got to work I stayed glued to the radio and talking to coworkers. Our manager gave us the option of leaving early that day. I remember going home and turning on the TV. I had a headache that was out of this world from crying all day. I cried myself to sleep that night. I could only think about those families that waited to hear something, that held pictures crying on TV. It was horrible. That day forever changed my life. My son is 15 years old now and has expressed his wishes to join the marines when he graduates. Oh how I now realize what impact that day would have on my life forever.
I was at home watching it on TV in Wenham Mass.
Tracy, Ca. I lived in Long Beach, Ca. I was 21 when the attacks took place, and I remember that I was running late for work that day. I had woken up a split second after the first plane hit. I was quickly getting ready, when my mom had called me into her room to watch it on the TV. At this point, no one had even suspected it was an attack on the United States. I even remember thinking to myself “stupid pilot- how do you NOT see the largest building in New York, and manage to fly right into it?!” I had left the house right after that. I was in my car listening to the story on the radio, the dj’s were watching the TV and reporting back what they saw over the air. Mid-sentence, one of the DJ’s screamed “OH MY GOD!- a 2nd plane has just struck the World Trade Center- we are under attack, I repeat- America is under attack!”. It was almost an involuntary physical reaction, but I slammed on my breaks so hard, that I caused an accident behind me. The gentleman behind me who was rear-ended due to my impromptu halt ran screaming towards my car, asking me what the hell I slammed on my breaks for. I just rolled down my window, and told him that a 2nd plane had just hit the WTC- the man went silent, and just walked back to his car. A few moments later, I began driving to work again, this time the radio was off. I just couldn’t hear anymore. Even though I wasn’t there, and did not lose anyone in the attacks, I still felt personally attacked as an American. By the time I had arrived at work, all of my co-workers were huddled around this old black and white TV, each with this look of fear on their faces- that’s when I learned about the plane hitting the pentagon. I was working for a government agency at the time, and I don’t think I had ever seen that office shut down so quickly. I just sort of glanced at the TV in passing, and did everything I could to just stay busy. I figured “if I don’t watch, I can’t be bothered by it. Every single call that came to my desk, was someone commenting on the attacks. A short while later, I had learned of Flight 93. When I heard, I hung up my phone, thus hanging up on the caller. I grabbed my things, and left. I didn’t say a word to anyone. America had never been attacked in my short time on this planet, and even learning of previous attacks in High School history class, it still never sank in that we were every bit as vulnerable as any other country. Just because it hadn’t happened in a very long time, did not mean that it never would. This was a reality that came rushing over me in the span of about 3 seconds. I remember driving home that day at about 20 miles an hour on the freeway. It didn’t matter what speed I was traveling, as there weren’t very many people on the road anyway. I just drove home, and went to sleep. Again, I just couldn’t handle what had happened. Though I knew an attack on Southern California wasn’t likely, I still feared the worst- as most Americans did that day. I felt so insecure, like there wasn’t a thing anyone in the world could do to protect us from this, but at the same time, knew it was going to start something that would not end for at least 5 years (war in Iraq).
That following Friday, I witnessed something I never imagined possible amongst the citizens of the United States: on every street corner, on every car, everywhere you looked- people were waving American Flags, burning candles on street corners, dragging balloons of red,white, and blue from their cars. You could hear horns blaring, and people screaming : GO USA!!!, as if something tremendous had just been enacted on our part. I think we were just celebrating the fact that, while devastating, the attacks did not break the spirit of the American population. We were still standing strong as a nation, and were screaming out “You still haven’t beat us!- you cannot destroy us!!” Almost announcing the terrorists failure with this resounding voice. I have never been so glad to be part of anything, let alone the country I called home. While it took a tragedy to unite the nation, we still united. If not for a long time, we were still able to put aside our differences as people, to come together to say “you will not break me”. It was at that point that I started realizing just how great this country is- and that I could not possibly ever live anywhere else. No matter where I go in this world, my home will always be the United States of America!!!!
I was a junior in high school. I was in health class when I first heard, it must have been shortly after both towers were hit. The teachers did the Kennedy thing — one teacher summoned mine out into the hall to tell her and then she came back in and told us. Things must have been sketchy still, because my health teacher told us that “something” had happened to the WTC, that they had been “hit.” I remember thinking “Okay, whatever.” I couldn’t even bring the image of the WTC to mind at the time, I couldn’t recall them for some reason.
I was in the senior cafeteria, eating lunch with my friends when we found out that the towers fell (my lunch period was early, around 10:30-11). We found out because Kara’s mom had called her cell phone to tell her. Then, Dana called her parents to confirm it. All of us were sitting around the table, like “What do you mean … fell?? I don’t get it.” Even then, I still couldn’t conjure the image of the WTC in my head. I just couldn’t remember what they looked like, it had been so long since I had seen NYC. After lunch, I remember going to band class. But, instead of practicing, our band teacher just tried to get the reception right on the old tv we had in the room. I went over to the chorus room, where they had the radio on. From there, I went to English class, where our teacher had the tv on MSNBC and CNN. We just sat there watching it.
The next class, history, was the only class in which the tv wasn’t on and our teacher tried to provide some sense of normalcy by presenting the quiz we were scheduled to have.
From there, I can’t recall much. I know that marching band practice (and all other school activities) were cancelled for the evening, much to my dismay. That was where I wanted to be – on the field in the safety of my friends. So I went home and sat online the whole night, watching the news and sharing thoughts amongst friends.I remember that my mom remarked about what a beautiful day it had been. It was one on which you got the sense that today was going to be a good day — it was unseasonably warm and school had just started. After everyone else logged off AIM and went to bed, I just stayed up watching the news stations until about 1:00 am. I just wanted to make sure the sun was going to come up, I told my friends. I remember that the Weather Channel was the only one that had nothing to say about 9/11. Absolutely nothing. So when we got tired of the media beating on about the attacks, we just turned on the Weather Channel.
We live near a naval/air base, so the lack of planes was very strange. They usually buzz our neighborhood. I recall that, shortly after 9/11, we were at marching band practice one evening and a small prop plane from a local airport flew over. The staff and the students just stopped what they were doing and looked up at it.
At home sick on the couch watching TV and thinking that it was a movie or something at first until I realized that the footage was on every channel. Shocked and scared.
Milwaukee, WI Having coffe and watching the news, in my kitchen as I have done every morning for the past ten years. Thinking how could an airliner crash into a building on such a beautiful blue, clear sky day.
Watching live, as the second tower was struck. Realizing at that monent the first was no accident.
fixing breakfast for my children. The son of the man I was dating called me and told me to turn on the TV. His Dad was on a plane headed back to the US when this started. His plane was diverted back to France, and he was safe..but things were never the same again.
I was just coming into work when I heard the first report over the radio. At first we thought it was an accident much like the one in 1945 when the Empire State Building was hit hit by a U.S. Bomber in fog.
I turned on my computer and got a live picture of the tower and seeing how beautiful the sky was over New York, I knew that the smoke and flames billowing from the tower was not an accident. At that moment the second plane struck and I and my secretary just sat there in amazement.
I then had to leave for the Court house as I am an attorney and had several cases on the docket that day.
Driving back to my office in the afternoon I heard the tape that the first tower had fallen.
When I reached the office I again went to the computer. Several of the services allowed you to make comments if you wished.
While most of the comments were relevant to the horrors of the day– many of them were angry diatribes not only against Muslims but people of all religions . There were statements attacking Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and nearly every religion. It was plain to see that the religious prejudice that caused the attacks on the WTC was not something solely the product of Bin Laden and his fanatics. There is a sizeable amount of it here and it disgusted me so that I wrote a rather caustic response telling these people that they were no better than the men responsible for this tragedy.
I told them that I had been fortunate to travel all over the world and have friends of all religious denominations and there is not one friend whom I judge by their beliefs.
Suddenly a very strange thing happened. I was taken out of the general discussion at the invitation of a person who wanted to speak with me on a private E- mail. So I did and the person thanked me for being objective and rational at a time when everyone seemed to be venting their hatred. The person really wanted to establish a writing relationship but was afraid that I would not . When asked why, the person replied ” I know you must be an American, and I am Muslim- you cannot possibly want to speak with me.”
My correspondent was a young college girl from the Mideast and yes I did want to speak with her. And we did and have been. Though I am over twice her age, it is nice to be able to bridge the culture, religion, and generation gap to hear and help her with her hopes and fears and let her know that not every American is an enemy of her religion or her people as the Mullahs who side with Bin Laden would have her beleive. She in turn has taught me much about her life and culture and how we as Americans are seen.
All in all it has been a positive experience that has come from a horrible tragedy.But there is one thing we have learned from each other.
God made this world big enough so that everyone could share in it and small enough so that we would not be lonely. He made us alike enough so that we could share each others triumphs and tragedies, but different enough so we could LEARN from each other…
nyc
I was in the air enroute from El Paso, TX to Wisconsin via Houston International. (Who understands airline routing?) We were supposed to land at about 8:45 a.m. As we were taxiing the runway, we were told we had to debark at a different gate because all gates were already full. When we finally pulled in to our berth, the pilot asked for everyone’s attention. He said, I have something to tell you that is probably going to change the rest of your lives. Then he told us about the towers being hit by the aircraft. He also told us that all planes were grounded indefinitely, and we’d best try to find hotel rooms as quickly as possible. When he finished speaking, there was a stunned silence as what he’d said sank in. I was traveling alone, and spent the day queing up for hour-long waits for the pay phone because I’d left my cell phone at home. We all had to claim all our luggage and haul it around with us; we were not permitted to stay on the top level where we could see tv and the news, but relied on other passengers with cell phones to relay news to us. Some were able to get cabs and hotel rooms, but many of us were stranded at the airport all day. Airline hostesses passed out blankets, drinks, and food; but who felt like eating? Eventually all passengers were told to go to the very lowest level of the building where busses would take us to emergency shelters. I made it out on the very last bus by about 7:30 p.m… nearly eleven hours since we landed. When we arrived at the hotel ballroom that had been set up as an emergency shelter, many of us were able to see the news for the first time, as the hotel opened its large theater with the live news feed. We had HEARD what happened, but now we were able to SEE what happened. It was like being assaulted all over again. Rumors began to circulate that the city of Houston was going to be evacuated because it was considered a target. I (and I’m sure many others) had no idea what we would do, which way we would go, or how we would get there. It was a very lonely, frightening time for many, many people. Those rumors were finally laid to rest, and people began trying to make plans of what to do next as we weren’t even sure if there was going to be any public transportation available. On learning that the buses would be running, I caught a bus back home the next afternoon. The 14-hour ride home was a gut-twisting time. It almost felt as if we had been taken hostage. No one seemed to feel like talking. We just wanted to get back to the relative safety of our homes. My family was grateful to hear from me when I finally arrived home, mentally and physically exhausted.
ABILENE, TEXAS I was driving back to Abilene from one of my hunting ranches in West Texas when I heard the news on the radio in the truck. My first thought was “those Islamic bastards” finally did it. Anyone paying attention in America should have known that these Islamic fundamentalist terrorists would not stop at trying to bring down the World Trade Center. They tried once in 1993 and failed. This time they did it. A friend of mine in the intellegence community told me about 6 months prior to 911 that there were evil Islamic fundamentalist groups quietly living in America and that we should expect them to attack somewhere in America in the near future. Man, was he right on the mark. When I got home, I turned on the TV and watched in horror as the twin towers fell to the ground. I was in total shock at that point. Seeing the towers fall made me fighting mad. To say I was ready for action would be an understatement. As I watched TV, I loaded all my guns and waited for instructions from government officials. Of course, I knew that nothing would happen on the streets in Abilene in regards to some Islamic uprising. We don’t have a mosque ( don’t want one ) in Abilene. I was ready to drive to Dallas or Houston or anywhere in America that needed my help defending the streets from the Islamic fundamentalist warriors that live here in America. I will never forget 911. I am still angry about how this event changed America forever. Our American culture teaches us to respect other religions. The Islamic religion does not teach repsect of other religions. The Islamic religion is now demanding subservience from America. I hope everyone in America does not forget who and what we are fighting in this religious war. You can sugar coat the Islamic religion all you want, but Islam preaches a doctrine that states that Islam is the only true religion and that everyone else is infidels. We are at war with the Islamic fundamentalist religion that has declared that Islam is the only religion that will be allowed on Earth. Think about it. Do not think for a moment that this Islamic religious movement is going to go away. Wake up America !
Barnesville, Ga I was home from work with kidney stones. I was watching Bryant Gumble on TV when the news came in. I saw the second plane hit and said, “Our world just changed forever.” I was right in ways I didn’t expect then.
iqaluit I was boating at frobisher bay didn,t see any jets fly by was strange was wondering why. didn,t found out till late at evening
when we got back to iqaluit nunavut
I was walking to work by the Sears Towers and I remember looking up at the sky thinking how blue and beautiful it looked. I got on the elevator and it had one of those little TV monitors and they reported that a plane flew into the WTC. Many people my not remember but a couple of weeks before 9/11 some idiot flew into the Statue of Liberty. So, I thought it was another incident like that. When I got to my desk our CEO came on the overhead speaker and told everyone to come to the conference room. When I got there about a minute later we saw live coverage of the second plane hitting the tower. Its an image I still have in my mind as if I were right there in NYC.
I remembered that we where in Mrs. Frick’s class having snack watching the new’s.
Phildelphia, pa (NY, NY) I was sleeping when my phone rang and my mother was ranting about the plane hitting, I thought it was a small lost plane like the one that hit the empire state building and ignored the call, however, a few minutes later a friend called me, being we both worked for the port authority and she was a victim of the original bombing, I heard her yelling to the machine the incindent. I knew it was bad, I jumped out of bed, turned the tube on and saw the towers burning.
I was living in NYC on 22st and 8 Ave and decided to ride my bike down there to see. As I reached a small park at the end of 14st and the west side hghway, I saw the towers in flames, the smoke rising higher then the towers. The scene was surreal, it was a beautiful cloudless morning low humidity and temp. in the 70’s making it more out of place. As I crossed the highway and rode down south towards the towers, I saw buisness men walking up north, talking on thier phones, I saw our people dressed for work that day, walking calmly up north. First I saw a few however, as I reached christopher street the crowds was thick and the terror was more evident in their faces. I saw a high school girl leaning on a bench, crying into a cell phone, a group of little pre-school kids holding hands while the teachers were surrounding them and making them sing a song out of distraction, a man with his shirt bloodied. Now I mangaged to reach Chamber Street, the roads were closed, only EMS vehicles and tv crews, still I managed to get to across the street of the towers, I believe I was on Vesey Street and I froze looking up. I saw people tumbling down, I saw the flames, I saw the horror on everyone then I heard the first tower collapse. From the position I was it sounded more like a tree falling, though when I looked at the standing tower from the base I saw a 15 story section of the first tower protrude from it’s side and then the huge cloud came up on me. I was in my bike so I peddled, as fast as I could and right at my back was this huge cloud of dust chasing me, just as it fell on my back, the wind blew it away towards brooklyn and I was able to escape it. I rode to BMCC and looked back and from a distance I saw what appeared to have been a lady dressed in red falling. I closed my eyes turned back home and finally realized somethings are not to be seen, so as I am riding my bike back and am in the village, I heard the screams of people as the second tower collapsed and the life we created in our society changed forever…Life is strange, that day my entire companies human resoursces as well as my ex boss, co-workers, my life’s history with the port authority was erased. Hundreds of my collegues perished in the towers and though life has gotten better since then, I moved on, not one day will pass and I will not think about the incident, this is something that has lingered in me for so long and I don’t think I will ever forget.
I was a 2L sitting in ConLaw II, discussing the 14th Amendment when a student interrupted our professor by knocking on his door (big deal in law school) and saying “We’re under attack.” Then politely closing the door. Took a few beats for that message to sink in before we all dismissed and headed to the student lounge to whatch the television.
I was…Mastic Beach, NY – i had gotten to the psych ward about 4 in the morning after a drug relapse. at approx 9am i was sitting in a chair and looked up and saw the news show an airplane hitting the towers. in could not believe what my eyes saw, but today i am 5 yrs clean, i have tried all my adult life (48 yrs old) to beat this addiction, and i believe that this is my own 9/11. i pray for all the families that were affected by this tragedy. god bless.
Minneapolis, MN At home, getting ready for work. The TV was my alarm clock, and it turned on to the first plane hitting. The rest of the day I was a zombie along with the rest of my co-workers as we watched in silence. I hate that day…and I hate the people who celebrate that day…
On 9/11 I was in first grade.I was in math when a plane struch the
World Trait Center.I didn’t know about it till I got home.Five years later it is finally getting repaird.
I was just getting up for school and coming down stairs and I remember asking my dad what movie he was watching and he told me it was the news and thats when I watched that second plane hit the other tower. I will never forget that tragic day.
Atmore, AL I was at my parents home getting ready to go to the hospital to see my mom. Who had just had surgery to repair a broken leg which she broke two days before.
This day was also my 44th birthday, the day 4 buildings collapsed and 4 planes crashed.
A day I will never forget.
I was at home with my wife and young son. It was a beautiful day much like today, i turned on the news to see a tall building on fire. I asked my wife, wonder where that is, Asia maybe. I then turned up the volume to learn it was the world trade tower. Moments later the second plane hit the south tower then the Pentagon. I was glued to the TV for the next three days. I will never forget when and where i was on that dredfull day September 11, 2001.
Kevin. Bedford, NH
I was having lunch in a restaurant when the chef came out to tell us what had happened, I then had to pick my son up from school and explained to him what had happened (we had visited the twin towers the year before) He told me (age 7) that if they ever made it into a movie it would be certificate 18!
I was in the first grade in mrs. fricks class when I
heard about 9/11.
Indiana/Kentucky I was a freshman in college, and I had a 1:00 class that afternoon. The school had given the professors the choice of whether or not to cancel their classes. Mine decided that his class was more important than the things affecting our lives at that very moment. I had gotten up early that morning and turned on the tv and I remember watching just as the second tower was hit. I left my house early and stopped to visit my mom, we both stood in the lobby at her office just hugging and crying. When I got to school I joined a group of about 200 students standing in the middle of the entrance watching a small tv, everyone was crying. I also worked at an IGA store as a cashier then, we had the radio on and it was one of the busiest days I can ever remember, there was so much uncertainity and people were so scared. The store was across the street from a gas station and I can remember seeing cars lined up for miles to get in to the station, people waited for hours just to fill gas tanks.
Poughkeepsie, New York I was in my 9th grade Global History class when the first plane hit…I was walking to homeroom 20 minutes later when I found out, but I couldn’t believe it happened. It wasn’t until around 12:45 that I found out it really had happened. My school decided it was best not to inform the students because many of us had parents who worked near the towers.
I remember it like it was yesterday…It was my senior year of college @ GMU (a DC suburb Univesity), after a late out night the house was silent that morning. A made way way down the stairs to a smoke filled living room where my roomate was sitting a J in one had and a cup of coffee in the other. As usual our morning greeting consisted of a series grunts and a head nod and I headed to the kitchen for a bowl of cookie crisp. Focused, I carefully tried to navigate my full cup of cereal through an obstacle course of beer cans, books, clothes, and art supplies littered on the floor of our typical college residence unaware of the drama unfolding as my rommoate watched Bill Oreily of all people commentate. Whats going on I said as I lowered my ass on the couch, able to now hear the TV but still focused on getting seated without losing a bite of my prized beakfast, while also scooting my roomates ex-girlfriend’s demon cat from my spot. Before he could respond I glanced up and could see one of the World Trade Towers with smoke rising from it. When flash an explosion bang the other tower was in flames…..We both just looked at each other in puzzlement. “Holy Shit that was a plane” my roomate screamed as we saw the replay and soom realized none of our lives would ever be the same…..
I worked across the street at 130 Liberty, but on 9/11 I was at home waiting to get my home appraised. The appraiser called me a week before and asked me if I was available on the 11th and gave me no alternate dates. I almost asked her for a later date but something told me to accept it and I’d ask to go into work later that morning.
When the appraiser arrived at my home, the first plane had already hit. I told her I worked across the street and she said,”Well, it doesn’t look like you’ll be going to work today.” That was before the second plane hit and we realized it wasn’t an accident.
I worked in the Deutsche Bank building which is condemed now. Who knows what would have happened to me if I went to work at my usually time. I always think of that appraiser and secretly thank her for not be more flexible in her schedule.
Omond Beach, FL at work in Washington, DC about 5 miles from the Pentagon. You could see the smoke coming across the Potomac River. People were running out of our building and the ones surrounding it afraid another attact would be coming since we were only about 5 blocks from the Capital and White House. Very unnerving experience.
i was just waking up preparing breakfast for my fiance and watching good morning america when they first heard the news and then went directly to their contacts and i watched the second plane hit and the the third and so on. and from that point on i woke my fiance (now wife) to show her in great shock of the destruction and hugged her like never before, that moment brought me to the conclusion that nothing in life is worth anything, money, houses, cars etc if you don’t have someone that loves you at the end of the day!!!! From that day on i tell people like myself to leave you friends and family as if you’ll never see them again because you just don’t know!!
I was sitting and holding my brother’s hand while he slowed passed away in Hospice, he surrendered to his death the following morning. His condition, close as he was to death, was in a comatose state. We watched the entire day on T.V. The T.V. in his Hospice room had already been tuned to the news channel before 6 AM and I talked with him about the events of the day, all day.
In Cedar Rapids, IA, at work. RFK Transportation.
Amy Burroughs
aburroughs@providetrans.com
I was in my first grade classroom when the 9/11 had happen and I was scared.
I WAS IN 1ST GRADE DURING 9/11. WE WERE DOING MATH. AFTER THAT WE WATCHED IT ON TV.
Tokyo I was in Tokyo checking my email in the evening Japan time and watching T.V. after work. I saw it live and called a colleague, also American to ask if he was watching it. We moved from shock to speculation over who had done it. Then I called my folks in the U.S.
I was a newlywed Army bride at Fort Hood Texas, I was in the car on my way to my job as an ER nurse when I heard it on the radio, Truthfully, I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was, I told my supervisor what I heard on the radio and he assured me it must be a joke, I went to my desk and turned on my radio just as the Pentagon was hit, I went back into his office and told him, he listened to the report with me and in hearing him discuss it with another employee they are both retired military, all iI could hear them say is “we are going to war” I thought no way!! Since that day, all I could think about is “they are going to take my husband!” Sure enough he arrived in Iraq March 2003 with our 6 week daughter at home & Arrived in Iraq in Dec 2005 leaving a 9 month old and 2 year old behind. God willing he will be home December of this year! I will never forget the fear each time I watch my husband leave for war, this day has changed me forever in more ways than I can count. As Im sure it did many people all over the world
in bed watching what i could not believe!
I awoke to my clock radio on the west coast, it was tuned to NPR, the second plane had not hit yet. I was in disbelief that a pilot could be so stupid as to fly into the building. When the second plane hit, i was frozen.
I was in my first grade teacher’s class. We were watching it on tv.
I was in Colorado, but a very good friend was not as lucky. He was at a meeting in Windows on the World…I miss him everyday.
Canada, Nova Scotia i was in school when 9/11 happen
I WAS IN SCHOOL ON THE DAY OF 9/11.I WAS IN THE
1st GRADE.I WAS HOLT ELEMENTARY.I WAS AT READING CIRCLE
I had just dropped off my 2 sons at preschool in Cheyenne, Wyoming and was driving to work at an airline when I heard it on the radio. I ran into work and stared at the televisions in disbelief. A couple of hours later I picked up my boys and my boss’ son and took them home and stared at the tv all day and cried! I will never forget that day.
I was in Mrs. Fricks class we watched it on televison .We saw that there was this airplane blown up in the sky.
I was sitting in a law class my senior year of high school. Everyone was talking about it in the halls before the class. Some had heard about it and seen the first plane hit on tv. We were all in shock at the time. Our law teacher had the nerve to keep the tv off and keep teaching class, when none of us had any interest in what he had to say.
To this day that still shocks me that a teacher would think we needed that lecture that day over watching the tragedy take place on tv. We had the right to watch it and he denied us that.
That whole rest of the day was watching that horrific site of the trade cecenters burning and collapsing. I think we were all just scared even though we live in ohio. Seeing people jumping from the buildings and knowing that thousands of people were in the buildings when it collapsed was just horrific.
I do not know for sure who actually was behind those attacks, but i hope whoever did plan that and whoever had any part in it burns in hell!
i was in english class in high school…principal made an announcement over the speakers that both towers were hit and that there were “fires on the whitehouse”…the teacher was an idiot though and continued her lesson
Lexington, NC I was at work when the news first came over the radio. No one beleived it, but all 20 or so of us took off to the break room where the tv is. Even though we saw it it was still hard to believe. We stood crying and in shock. Our office “STOOD STILL” for about 15-20 mins. that awful day. I couldn’t help when I got home but to watch with the world and cry. GOD BLESS the victims families, the survivors, and all involved in the recovery efforts. This is one person that will NEVER FROGET!!!!
I was on the Bus going to work. Tony Karas
I was at school that day of 9/11. I was in first grade.
I was getting ready for work and one of my friends called and asked if I was watching the news. I told her no, since I don’t usually watch the news or turn on the t.v. in the morning. I turned tv on and the first plane had just hit. I watched in disbelief. I got to work and we turned on a tv there and watched the 2nd plane hit and the rest of the day unfold. My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones and the men and women of law enforcement who tried to make a difference.
I was at college about to go to class when an aquitance told me a plane had hit the tower. I thought he was full of it until I got to class an watched the second plane hit. Most of the class were on cell phones calling loved ones. After class, a janitor on a rooftop shouted down to us that he was letting us up to see something terrible. Turned out to be the smoke from the towers running along Long Island.
I was at school watching on my teachers television.I was scared because I didn’t know if some of my relatives were there at that time.
I was at home with my 3-year-old daughter. I remember the horror I felt when the first tower was hit, and then the second, and then the realization that this was terrorism. Then the Pentagon and United 93, when was this horror going to stop? I was sitting on the floor watching each horrible event happen, knowing the world was forever changed. Bless those innocent souls whose lives were taken away – those that did not know what hit them, and those who ran to help, knowing they may not survive. I am British, living in NC, and I am applying for my American citizenship this year. With pride.
I was trying to call a friend who worked in the WTC, I got a strange message that the circuits in the area was busy, I assumed it was some weather related incident, until I turned on the TV. I was transfixed and watched the second plane hit, the coverage and spent days searching the internet and calling to find out the fate of my friend. He was lost, no one in his office survived the day.
I was at work as a EMT in my home town.
At a life changing doctor’s appointment, that morning I was preparing to have a life changing surgery the gastric bypass, as my husband and I sat to see the surgeon we heard about the first plane, my husband is a US Marine (13yrs) and all He– broke loose where we were, that day I knew my life was about to change with the surgery but being a marine wife I knew we were heading to war, and I was right, my husband has been to Afaganastan and Iraq and I am a lucky woman he came home to me, unlike so many that has died for what happened on 9/11. As for me personally I have major complications with the bypass and I will never forget that day as I was changed as was all those that lost loved ones, plus seeing my husband return from 2 wars due to this senseless act of haterd..Well that is one Marine families story, nothing to compare to those that has lost loved ones in this mess. My life changing experience with this will be with me until I die, and I will never forget, as I live with my problems that remind of where I was and what I was doing that morning…God Bless all those that are still here and Thank You to those that aren’t…
Marine Family
Camp Lejeune NC
I was in my first grade classroom during the 911.
I was…I was in france at work. My husband called me on phone to say that planes have destroyed the twin towers. I went out of my office to say that. My colleg answered me: no its impossible, noone can destroy something in USA and of course in New york, not the twin’s. And it was real
liverpool, england i was on a training exercise with the royal marine commandos , we got told after training be ready for some freedom fighting and pay back on the good people we stick by in life . We got told and we all looked at each other and said terrorists beware cos were comin to get use for all the people who sufferd on 9/11 i was in iraq for 6 months gettin ready to go to afghanistan to flust these evil people out
I was at home and turned on the TODAY news program on NBC. They said a ‘commuter plane’ had hit one of the Twin Towers. Then NBC showed video of the towers. I could tell that was no commuter plane. I went to wake my wife and when I showed her the TV the second tower was already hit and smoking. The confusion on TV news was horrible. No one knew what was going on. Rumors were being broadcast as fact. And while all this continued, NBC’s footage then showed the second tower hit falling. I couldn’t believe it happened. It was as if I were watching a disaster flick. Then the second tower fell. I felt sick to my stomach. What the hell was going on? I was physically sick for days.
i was in my car listing to WTOP news Radio in Reston VA after picking up coffee at a local coffee shop for an early morning meeting. That is when I heard the announcer talking about what appeared to be a small craft going into the first tower only to say as he was talking that another plane just went into the second tower. That was when my stomach went soar and new we were under attack by someone. The ride home to Maryland that afternoon took 3 times longer than normal and was strange to see not one commercial airline or private plane in the sky except for an airforce F16 flying around from time to time. The world changed on that day for me and everyone else I know. – Robert R
I was in the computer lab at my school and was just catching up on the news, via the internet. I turned on the TV and felt as though I waws there while it was happening. I couldn’t believe what was going on before my eyes on TV.
On the shitter
I was at 5 Penn Plaza/10th floor (CNN was on 21st floor) in Manhatan. I saw the building collapsed right in front of my eyes from the 10th floor. My heart felt like stop beating for a minutes when I saw that happned.
I was at home getting ready to go to work. I just stared at the tv. Could not believe this was happening. We lost and gained so much that day. God Bless!!!!
I was applying for my marriage license at the courthouse when the first plane hit.
NJ at work (Verizon). Husban worked in New York at the World Trade Center on the 76th floor. Just had relocated to another building. I share evereones lost. God bless.
At home on the couch watching T.V. At the time my father was working at the Pentagon. My wife was teaching and they were watching the news in the school. She called and told me that the Pentagon had just gotten hit. Coincidentally, I had just finished speaking to my grandmother in VA when my wife called. I called my grandmother back and we had a long day of waiting for my father to call and tell us all he was OK.
I was studying C++ program at Jyväskylä Polytechnic in Finland.
I was in WTC getting out of a train and going to work when the first plane hit. There was already some panic inside the building but no one knew why. I got out and saw the building on fire, but noone knew what had happened. Papers were flying from the top and seemed like 5-6 floors were on fire. I stood there for about 5-10 minutes, but I was getting late to work so I started walking away for WTC. Then I heard the second plane hit and when I looked back, the 2nd towar was on fire as well. The sound of the plane hitting 2nd building was pretty scary. At first, I thought it was a bomb blast or air strike, but I found out 1/2 hour later that it was a plane hitting WTC.
I am a crime analyst for Montgomery County, MD. I was at another station, covering for someone when someone came in the office next door and said a plane crashed into the WTC. At first it sounded like a horrible accident, and I kept working, but when someone ran in and told us of the 2nd plane, I rushed downstairs to the TV. I watched in horror for a bit, then went to my regular station. I was driving, listening to the radio when the 1st tower collapsed. And when the Pentagon was hit, my first thoughts were of my best friend who works for Defense Intelligence Agency, and who is at the Pentagon a lot. I called her partner, and for a couple of hours we weren’t sure where she was. She had been at the Pentegon the week before but fortunately wasn’t there that day. I tried to work for an hour or so, but couldn’t concentrate. I went home and literally laid on the couch and watch the news for the next 8 hours.
My sister lives near Times Square and I called her several times, both of us not believing what we were seeing. In the aftermath, she ended up volunteering with Engine 54, the Broadway fire house – collecting and organizing all the tributes from people. This was the beginning of life changing for all of us.
at work. The boss brought in tv’s. Everyone watched the horror in shock.
Aiken, S. C I was in my office seeing patients when my secretary callede me to watch TV and I saw the second plane hit the tower.I really could not beliebe what was happening but quickly realized that these were no accident.
I was on cruise on Russian rivers. Intl. public, amongst
those, many Americans. First info by mobile, later on TV, translated into english by our Guide.
We were in chock and felt very anxious – a feeling many of us still carry – 5 years later!
i was just waiting for my date to go in the royal navy when i seen the twin towers fall, i went in the royal navy in the november then i was shipped out to iraq once passing out from training, serving on hms liverpool i was proud to take part in gettin pay back for all new yorkers who sufferd
Fort Worth I was in a training session for my new empoyer. Being part of management , I was excused to watch the events unfold. It was almost as if we were watching something unreal unfolding before our eyes, that this had to be a movie. We had employees working within the World Trade Center at the time and so this was all too real for us. Fortunately, our employees were on a ground floor and were able to escape, but still we worried and hoped for their survival. I will never forget the day. I called my wife who is a teacher to tell her that I loved her, and told her where to meet me when we were let off work.
Toledo, Ohio I was getting ready for work and I saw the tower smoking. Now I know, it was just after the 1st plane had hit. I was watching Good Morning America and I thought what a tragic accident for a plane to crash right into the Trade Center. I was stuck to the tv, but then continued to work listenening to the radio. As soon as I got to work at an eye Doctor’s office, my co-worker Janice had our little tv on in the break room. We then watched in horror as the second plane hit the other tower. I knew then that this was deliberate. We watched in silence. Then the customers started coming in but we kept the tv on for most of the day. My prayers are with the families that are still enduring lots of pain. God bless America.
Wichita, Kansas I was at home after getting off from my third shift job. I had just got in bed when my daughter called from school. She was in a panic and was talking so fast that all I could get from the conversation was “World Trade Center…airplane.” I asked her to calm down and then she said “Just turn on the TV!” I got up and turned on the TV and watched the news coverage of the events of that day.
My feelings first were for the people of New York and the families of the people on the planes…It all seemed so surreal…After a little while I felt anger towards the terrorists responsible for these cowardly acts on America’s people.
I knew that this would eventually involve our soldiers. Having been in the military overseas during the 1990’s Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield, I knew that this would be an ugly affair, but I had no idea that so many of our soldiers would be killed defending freedom for all people.
I later found out that a distant cousin of mine was actually in one of the towers when it got struck by an airplane. Hearing him tell his story made me recall the feelings of that day; but this time, it hit closer to home….
Today is a day of remembrance – for the people that died, the people the lived the events of 9/11, and our soldiers overseas that live and die to defend the very idea that our country is founded on -FREEDOM.
I was on my way to work. When the express bus got on to the Verrazano bridge I saw them burning. I will never forget what I felt at that moment. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. Then the driver said that plains have hit the towers and I knew that terrorism was behind it. I never thought that was the last time I was going to see them.
Miami, FL I was a senior in high school in North Carolina. Someone brought a note to my ELP teacher that said “the WTC has been attacked by terrorists” and she immediately turned on the TV. We watched for the rest of the period as the second tower was hit and they both fell. I remember being so angry when one of my classmates thought it was funny that people were jumping out of the windows of the buildings. My AP Biology teacher made us take our midterm that day despite everything that was going on. What a moron.
Johnesah I was out camping when the twin towers ere attacked
…working at a telephone answering service near Orlando, FL. It had started off as a normal day, with things quieting down between eight-thirty and nine. Then two of the managers and the training lady frantically fiddled around with our television set. I asked why they were acting that way and the trainer looked at me and said “A plane just hit the World Trade Center.” At first I thought it was a Cessna and wondered if the pilot had been drinking, but when they got the TV working and we saw the smoking building and Katie Couric’s shocked speechless expression, I knew. A couple of instants later the second plane hit and I shrieked. It got worse when the first tower fell and I jumped out of my seat (and tore the headset off my ears).
Palm BeachCounty Around 5-6 AM on September 11, 2001
I dreamed that I was trapped in a cave, – with some other people.
There had been a big explosion and everybody was in a terrible panic to get out!
I saw one lady, brunette, end twenties, wearing businesslike clothe, holding a cellular phone in her hand, making frantically phone calls.
She desperately tried to get out of the cave, trying to climb up the wall. I thought that this was a useless effort!
Then, I called my father on the phone, asking what was happening and he said:” Don’t be so emotional and sentimental, the earth is moving closer to the sun. Terrorists have set off a bomb. They tried this 8 years earlier but didn’t succeed. Now, they have succeeded. Stay calm, we should have seen it coming. “
“ I hang up the phone and…The scenery changed, part of the dream was un retrievable –in the dream, I turned on the TV and saw Newscasters reporting a terrible disaster.
The disaster, ‘the earth had moved closer to the sun, ‘( I got that from a movie I once saw). The TV reporter announced that a huge explosion that had displaced the earth axis and that terrorists (or scientist, or some people) had tried the same thing 8 years before.
at 8AM on 9-11-2001 (I disregarded my dream as nonsense). I took my 2 year old daughter and drove to work. I I took care of another 1 year little girl at a families house. I played with those girls until noon and then went to Mc Donald! I didn’t turn on the TV until much later that day!
Lincolnton, GA. I was watching Diane Sawyer, behind her was a window, which showed a plane flying right behind her head, straight into a tall building. There will never be a way to forget that. Rebecca
I was in Monmouth university, C++ class. Wife was in NYC, Brother and friends were also in NYC. No one at the school said anything, I didn’t know until my wife called and told me. Then we lost the call. Drove me crazy, but all were well. Thank God.
CHICAGO THIS DAY SHOULD BE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY. WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE ALL WHO HAVE FALLEN AND HONOR ALL WHO HAD PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE ON THAT DREADFUL DAY.
Richmond, Va. At work at a media agency that has televisions running throughout the building 24 hrs a day. We all just stood and stared at NBC, Katie and Matt saying that a plane had hit the WTC. Noone could believe what was happening. We were told by the President of our agency that we were free to leave and be with our families if need be. It was such a sad day for me as an American. Everytime I saw the U.S. flag for days and weeks after that I cried….
NJ home. I just turned on the TV but there was nothing but snow. I thought it was the cable but I then turned to a different station and saw the second plane fly into the tower. I told my son who was home to change to the channel and we both watched in horror. I was never so scared as I was that day. We kept hearing about other planes and so much confusion I thought the world was coming to an end.
I was in Sports Nutrition. After class was dismissed I went back to my dorm room. There I found my roommate on the floor crying because her dad was scheduled to be on the flight that hit WTC1. All day we sat with her….about 6:30 that night her father finally got through and told her that he had over slept and had missed his flight. This is a day none of us with forget…nor should we.
i was pregnant with my 3 rd child. she was do on sep,20th. i had just got out of bed,vturned the tv on and the first thing i seen, was these 2 buildings up in smoke. i didnt know what to think. i didnt know what this was, or were it was, or what was even going on.so, when i realized what was going on, i couldnt belive it. i stayed glued to the tv, the next couple of weeks.
I was at my office (in a Detroit suburb where I sell Ford cars) when I heard of a plane hitting the towers. I thought it was a small plane. I ran down to the end of the showroom just in time to see the secong plane hit. I was in total amazement and I could not believe this was happening. My brother-in-law actually did his training for Dean-Whitter brokerage firm in the towers and he had many friends that were killed. It was a very emotional day. We can not let it go unpunished!!!! WE CAN NEVER EVER FORGET THIS ATTACK ON AMERICA!!!!
Oklahoma I was renovating a home and had gone to the local pawn shop for a couple of tools that I needed. The pawn shop owner was watching the television. I thought it was a movie and didn’t pay attention until we were checking out. I asked him what movie it was as I didn’t recognize it. That is when I learned what happened. Complete shock and horror. It still took awhile for it to sink it.
I was in my dorm room waiting for classes to start, when I heard that the towers had been hit. It was the first day of classes my freshman year of college. We had classes that day but they were all cut short so that people could go and watch what was happening on tv.
I was 5 blocks from the pentengon. I heard it it. Then nothing but smoke, police, and fire trucks.
on my way to work in battery park ,when the second plane hit the towers.I look up and saw the second tower on fire I then ran in the building close to where i was with everyone on LIBERTY’S STREET.
I was getting ready for work, when I saw what happened, It hought it was hypothetical and it took me quite a while to realize that it DID happen
Around 5-6 AM on September 11, 2001
I dreamed that I was trapped in a cave, – with some other people.
There had been a big explosion and everybody was in a terrible panic to get out!
I saw one lady, holding a cellular phone in her hand, making frantically phone calls.
She desperately tried to get out of the cave, trying to climb up the wall.
Then, I called my father on the phone, and he said:” Don’t be so emotional and sentimental, the earth is moving closer to the sun. They have set off a bomb. They tried this 8 years earlier but didn’t succeed. Now, they have succeeded.”
“ I hang up the phone and…The scenery changed, part of the dream was un retrievable –in the dream, I turned on the TV and saw Newscasters reporting a terrible disaster.
The disaster, ‘the earth had moved closer to the sun, ‘( I got that from a movie I once saw). TV reporter announcing that a huge explosion had displaced the earth axis and that terrorists (or scientist, or some people) had tried the same thing 8 years before.
At 8AM on 9-11-2001 (I disregarded my dream as nonsense). I took my 2 year old daughter and drove to work. I I took care of another 1 year little girl at a families house. I played with those girls until noon and then went to Mc Donald! I didn’t turn on the TV until much later that day!
Working and management call up everybody to break room. I thought that was an accident but unfortunately was not…
Pat Pittsburgh, PA, USA I was delivering mail from our research project to the Department of Family Medicine when the medical students were gathered around the their special tv room inviting others in to witness the first plane’s aftermass.
I was at home in Naples Fla. with my husband who had stomach cancer and was in the last stages. But he was alert to know what had happened. A devsting time!
illinois I was just getting out of biology class. A friend of mine told me what had happened when I got back to the dorm. From there we watched the destruction.
I was at home, and did see it on Televison , soon my girl called from work saying she will be comming home. Then I called a friend Maria who lived at the Lincoln Terrace,in Lower Manhatan and heard her reaction, was;that they were in shock at what was happening. Shortly after I realized that that was my last contact with her, Maria was not heard from since, and we think she may have died.
Cincinnati, OH, USA I was in Calculus class my Junior year of high school. We turned the TV on and the next screen we saw was the second plane hitting the building.
I was sitting in my High School TV class in NJ. They wouldn’t let us watch the TV because it would be a distraction to us. The teacher scrambled us all into different jobs on the studio floor for our principal to make an announcement. All school activities were cancelled for the rest of the week.
Richmond, VA I was at work at the Visual Resource Center when NPR broadcast that a plane had hit a tower on the World Trade Center. We all thought that it must be a small charter plane that lost control. We kept on working. Then the second plane hit and we knew something was very wrong. We kept working, but hovered near the radio. Then the towers fell, one after the other. They kept talking about other people in the chaos who were looking for their loved ones. I remember being very worried about these strangers and hoping that they found their relatives and friends. But I never did find out if they did. Then all I could think was that I knew people in NYC and DC and I had to find out it they were okay. Everyone I knew was safe.
I was in school, eating lunch. I had no idea what was going on, except that we were getting out of school early. My mom told me the U.S was being attacked when I got off the bus…
I was working and i got a call about the plane hitting the first tower, then went and got a small tv and watched in horror
McComb, MS I was at home, taking the morning off when I received a call from my sister in Atlanta telling me to get up that the US was being attacked!
I was in school…sophmore year to be exact…and i was coming from Geometry to Religion class, then my ex came up to me screaming, “a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center.” i stood there in confusion, until i ran to the class and my teacher had it on. he said, “everybody just sit down and shut up.” he was one to a few teachers that allowed us to watch. and after the class was over, he said, “don’t watch too much. you’ll see enough when you get home.” i’ve never seen a hallway that quiet in my life…
I was 13 years old. That day we were in school, but the faculty members had dragged us all into the cafeteria. We knew something was up, but we didn’t know…Sitting in the cafeteria, I remember my principal walking up to the front of the room and telling us all a very diluted version of the events. I can remember the energy being drawn right out of the room. Kids were worried about parents that worked in or next to the WTC (as I lived in NJ, only 25 minutes from the city) and teachers seemed nervous and even shaky and tearful. When I got home, I saw the actual footage.
Pittsburgh I was asleep in my dorm room at college when my roommate’s mom called us at 9:30 am, waking us both up and told us to turn on the news. We watched in shock and stayed glued to our tv for the next 5 hours. When the rest of our suitmates eventually come back to our dorm all 8 of us went to the local red cross station to donate blood.
Sterling Heights, Michigan I was…in my History class (of all classes) at Western Michigan University. It was my second week away from home and a girl came into my class to tell her friend what had happened. I thought they were talking about a movie. My professor came in and took us into the basement where he found a TV and as soon as he turned it on he cancelled class when he saw what was happening and sent us home. On my way back to my dorm there was an announcement across the campus that all classes were cancelled until further notice. I got back to my room and woke my two roommates and together we watched the second tower fall. I have never felt so alone in my life. My uncle works in the Pentagon, luckily, he survived. My father is a police officer here at home, and watching the officers and firefighters on TV tore my heart apart. God bless those who were lost, and those who survived.
In Santa Fe preparing for the day which would start off with a doctor’s visit. I listen to the classical station to provide a calming segue into my day and did not hear anything about the attacks. As I was preparing to leave for the appointment, one of my sisters called to tell me that I needed to turn the television on because the US was being attacked. I did so and by that time the second plane had hit the second tower, I stood in shock as I watched. My son was in Turkey on a belated honeymoon and called me later on that day to ask that I try and contact his wife’s brother who was working in Mahattan. Of course, all telephone communications were overloaded and I was not able to reach him until several hours later. I felt such an overwhelming fear and sadness on that day; emotions that quickly come to the surface every time we are threatened. All Americans, those that perished in NY, PA and WA and we that were left behind to watch the horror, were robbed of our lives on that day.
standing in Newark near 16 th street, up on the hill. Saw the second plane hit
I was…at work on this day, heard the news on the radio & thought it was a small engine plane that hit the Tower. Pretty soon I did learn it was more than that. I called my boss into my office to listen to the news. I stood up and said I am going to leave and go pick up my son from school, I said to him bad things are happening and I want to be with my family. We were all dismissed to go home.
I can only say my heart just died that day when I realized the horror I saw on TV. I prayed to God for help & compassion to all the people I knew were lost that day. I will never forget the pain of all the families who lost someone on that day, God Bless all of you, stay strong for God knows everything & every heart. I do feel your pain. Kathy
Brooklyn, NYC I was on the F train coming into work. The subway was on the elevated tracks, the highest point in the subway system, as the conductor told us, “If you look out to your right you will see the Twin Towers are on fire”. I looked out and saw smoke coming from one of the buildings. My first thought was of The Towering Inferno. The train went back underground. There were some delays before I resurfaced at 34th St. near the Empire State Building. I saw people standing outside it as I went to work at a fashion company on the same block as the E.S.B. When I got inside people told me what happenend. We listened to the radio for what we could hear. Some one told me that the towers had fallen. My boss at the time had just moved 4 blocks below Canal St. and needed to get home and see her husband. Our company shut down for the day and I walked with my co-worker and boss down to Canal St. White statues of people covered in dust walked past us away from the site as we walked closer. We got as far as Canal St. and were not able to go any farther. We sat and waited for my Boss to get a phone call to her husband. Cars an people covered inwhite dust drove away from downtown as we watched large groups of NYPD and FDNY march down into the scene. I saw two fighter planes overhead at that time. The first plane sounds I had heard all day. We went to a friend of a friend’s apartment to wait. My Boss got together with her husband later. We watched TV in silence. Once the Mayor said it was O.K. to ride the subway I walked to the F train station. The streets were quiet and deserted. A woman was on the phone talking normally and I looked at her in a rude manner. She went down to a wisper. I don’t know why I did that. I just felt like there needed to be silence. The streets were the most quiet I have ever heard them be since living in NYC. I regrouped with my friends at a mutual friend’s place in Brooklyn. The smoke cloud was over our heads and it smelled awefull. We all counted our blessings and made sure we were all accounted for. To this day I cannot watched shows about 9/11 without crying. I don’t know if I ever will ever watch them and not cry.
Beginning oral argument before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Even though we knew a plane had hit the first tower of the World Trade Center we did not know the whole story. When I uttered the words “May it please the Court,” the bailiff interrupted saying the “Court is a target” and the Courthouse was closed.
I was working at Indiana University. My son called to tell me what had happened and I just couldn’t believe it. We went upstairs to the 4th floor where there was a big screen TV and sat and watched, almost hypnotized. Watching those buildings fall, over and over in TV news replays, watching the plane flying into the tower, repeatedly, just made me feel sick to my stomach.
I was a police officer in Baltimore, working the day shift. I remember stopping into the garage to wash my vehicle and gas up, when someone came out of the building and said that a plane had accidently hit the World Trade Center in NY. I ran in to see the scene of horror on the TV. I remember thinking how terrible an accident it was, when suddenly I saw the second tower hit. The sudden realization of this being a terrorist act hit me. I watched in horror . My husband was just getting off the night shift. I knew he was probably in bed asleep, but I called him anyway. When he woke and answered the phone, I remember telling him to turn on the TV right a way. He must have heard the strain in my voice. He didn’t argue about the fact that I had woke him from a dead sleep. He called me back about 5 mimutes later and told me they had hit the Pentagon. I then saw the first tower fall, and knew it wouldn’t be long before the second one fell. We were all being called to report to the station. Everyone, those in the accademy for in service, those at special training courses, those off duty, everyone was called to duty. We all just waited to see what would be hit next. I worked a 12 hour shift for the next 3 days. It was like some kind of dream. I couldn’t get my mind around all that had happened. I remember at first being sad and praying for the ones who were lost, and then I remember being angry. I knew in my heart that no matter what, the ones responsible for this would wish to God they had never been born. I’m retired now. I’m too old to join the military, but so help me, if I were called today to go over there…I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute. I think of all our young men and women who have died in the God forsaken @*^#!!@ hole. I’ve lived most of my life. If I died it wouldn’t leave behind a bright future and children. The world could handle the the lost. Maybe they should ask the older people if they would be willing to go over. I think the world would be very surprised. They list would never end.
I was sleeping in skipping one of my college classes when my roommate woke me up saying a plane just crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings.
at the entrance to World Trade Center two when the second plane hit and blew out all of the elevator banks and
large balls of fire burned people.
I had stayed home from school for some reason that is so unimportant now that i cant remember. I heard my mother in the other room scream “oh my God!” I came in to see the towers burning. Just after the 2nd tower was hit, my boyfriend showed up having no idea what had been happening. We sat together watching, he held my hand as I cried. Just a few months later he joined the Navy. Were married now, 2 kids. Hes been on 3 deployments in 3 years. I thank God he is on a submarine and not fighting on the ground.
I was walking to my third period class in middle school when I first heard. It was just like any other day. My social studies teacher had on the TV and I saw the towers smoking. When he noticed I had come in, he turned off the set – the principal had ordered teachers not to show/tell us what was going on to keep us from panicing. When the whole class was there he turned back on the set and told us that he was showing us this because it would impact us for the rest of our lives. We watched as both towers fell. I still remember how shocking it was.
I was at home, when my son called and told me to put CNN on… At first I told him it was not real… perhaps a movie that was being shot…. and the rest is history. I became a volunteer at 9-11 for seven months after that.
Mynou de Mey – New York
Albany NY I was in 10th grade in Albany, NY. I was sitting at my lunch table after both planes hit, but before the towers fell. We sat there with all the TV’s in the lunch room on, watching what had happened and then watching the towers as they fell. I remember as that was going on a student and a teacher almost got into a fist fight because the student was being loud when everyone was trying to watch. The teacher said “don’t you know whats going on here? We’re having a national emergency, our country and our state has just been attacked.” I’ll never forget the looks on everyones faces and some students and faculty going to call for loved ones since a lot of people in Albany take the trains down to NYC daily for their jobs in Manhattan.
Driving between business calls and listening to Howard Stern on FM radio in Palm Beach County, FL. Howard alerted the audience and continued broadcasting the events of that horrible day. Howard and his team provided news, comments and comfort as well as any “legimate” news team could. He stated early in the day that this act involved Osama Bin Laden.
I was in my car directly outside of the North Tower(West Broadway and Vessey ST.) watching my wife entering the Lobby area as we did every morning to go to work. We happen to be running a few minutes late that day. She worked for Merryl Lynch at the World Financial Center and I worked for AIG over on Maiden Lane and Water St. Suddenly I heard the screechin sound of the turbines followed by the most incredibly loud explosion I’ve ever heard. The rest is known, but, thankfully, after taking off from my current location to avoid falling debree, I managed to contact my wife via cell phone after 3 attempts. Luckily, she managed to dart out of the lobby area in company of another individual and ran full out speed west up Vessey towards Broadway. I managed to get to her and race up the Harlem River Drive uptown. Incredible how people were disregarding safety and stood around looking at these buildings in flames, snapping pictures, etc. Bless those who ran towards to help out and payed the ultimate price.
I was on my morning walk and was listening to music when a news alert reported on the first plane attack and I immediately thought it was an accident. I remember thinking what kind of idiot could have gotten lost and hit a building. After the second plane crash was announced, I got goose bumps and recognized this was no accident. I was still walking and immediately turned around to go home. I actually sprinted and got home to see the first tower collapse. I remember the feeling of horror and sadness for all of the victims but also for us as a country. I cried thinking about how this tragedy would affect our country and today I wonder why we have forgotten the feelings of unity we had that day. I pray for all of us suffering because of what was done to us by a few people who hated us enough to do this.
I was.. relaxing on the couch after having gotten my 4 other children off to school, my then 5 yo son had to stay home from school that day so i was just sitting there watching the news and he was sitting beside me playing w/ a toy and all of a sudden u see this plane crashing into the world trade center and something told me right then that it was no accident,then of course u have the 2nd plane hitting not long after that.
u know even to this day my now 10yo son remembers seeing this on t.v. and i almost feel guilty for letting him see it but i literally could not turn the t.v. off it was so painfully mesmerizing u couldn’t help but watch.
I was…
I dropped my one year old son at preschool and then went back home because I didn’t start work until noon. I heard about the attack on the radio and my husband, who was also at home and I watched in silence as the towers fell. When he retrieved our son a few hours later, he was the only child left in the center. All the others had been taken home. Now, five years later I am divorced. My 6 year old son lives with his father. And, ironically, I’m dating a firefighter. Today is sad for me for so many reasons. I feel like the life I once had fell along with the towers.
I Was at the Petro Canada in Sudbury, Ontario. Canada.I kept my Gas receipt and believe it or not the date is 9/11 and the time stamp is 9:11! Maybe I should put it up on Ebay.
Rick
Richmond, Va. I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, walking back to my hotel from dinner. A merchant I had bought earrings for my wife from days earlier ran into the street and pulled me into his shop. Together we were watching the first tower burning on a small, fuzzy black and white TV, trying to figure out what was happening when the second plane struck. It was well over a week before I could get home.
I happened to be off that day. I remember that when I first turned on the news, no one knew that it was a terrorist attack. Even the newscasters thought it was simply a horrible accident. Then I saw the second plane hit, and I stood there in my lving room with my mouth hanging open. I had errands to run, so I left, and listened to the radio broadcasts. I made it to a store with a news broadcast on the televisions that were for sale just in time to see the first tower come down. There were a number of people standing around at the time, and we just stared at each other. When the second tower came down, we held on to one another and cried. It was a moment that I will never forget. Nor will I forget the feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I was in my truck driving to my next job when I received a call from my then girlfreind and thought wow that’s strange(A plane hitting the world trade on a perfectly sunny day,and then the next call,I thought dammit give me a gun and get me on the next plane to where ever this attack is coming from.It has made me realize,Having my own business and a pro jazz musician in new england,Just how lucky we are and I would die for this country and my free lifestyle that so many take for granted!!
Citrus Springs, FL I was on my way to the vets office with my doggie. I heard of the first attack and when I got to the office they had told me of the second attack. What a sad and unbelievable day.
I was waiting at my office for some representatives from FEMA region II -NYC, for a scheduled meeting at 9:00 AM. As I was waiting for the representatives in the lobby of my office building, I watched the first plane crash. They walked into the building, and we were all crying and I broke the news to them. One of the ladies, husband was moving into one of the towers. Due to the phone lines being overloaded, she was unable to get through. Amazingly, he overslept and changed his plans to move later on in the afternoon.
i was at home. i was eating.
I was in my classroom teaching my 22 kindergarteners. The Principal came by our rooms explaining to each teacher what had happened. I just said to her, ” Oh what the hell will some nut think of next to do?” Her only reply was ” Yeah!!!”
It was a day that I will never forget.
Swaziland at work
I was a senior in college. I had actually made it to my 8am sculpture class on time… we listened to the radio as we sculpted the clay every week. Suddenly the announcer’s voice got scared sounding and he began to report about airplanes hitting the towers. We thought it was a joke – jaded art students. We thought it was like Orson Wells and the Halloween alien invasion… Class was eventually dismissed, and classes cancelled. My roommate was freaking out so we went to the store and bought hundreds of dollars worth of supplies (bottled water, batteries etc) and she emptied her savings account. My mom had left a message by the time I got home telling me everyone was ok.
I was teaching my preschool students in which all the schools were closed
in my english class when my teacher got a phone call from her husband. some people thought she was kidding and then 10 minutes later we got another call that a second plane hit. No one knew what was going on it was unbelievable
I was in Switzerland driving to Germany with my friend Sharon and stopped for some snacks at a gas station. A store employee who spoke no English asked us “Americans” – we said “Yes” and he told us “New York” “Bomb”. We didn’t know what to think! We drove to Germany as fast as we could and stopped at a German gas station/cafeteria and saw the towers collapsing on TV. We thought we would never go home to US. But we did go home – Thank GOD!
I was in my co. car on my way to an account in Michigan – 8 mos. later my position w/ the co. car would be eliminated due to this tragic day, and my life also, would be changed forever. I am just now getting on my feet, due to my age, at the time of the tragidy.
Sao Paulo – Brazil I was attending one congress in the middle of Brazilian Central Plateau when someone at the coffee break time come with the notice that USA was under attack. He sad that two planes crashed on WTC and the another plane was knocked down by air force and that in this moment any plane on air in US would be destroyed by US air force. I thank God I was in the middle of nowhere, but at the same time I feel afraid a world war cause I also was near Brazilian Capital. Anyway, I known the world was definitively changed.
I was running late to work that day in Manhattan. I’ll never forget the look on a co-worker’s face as I got off the elevator and walked to the doors of the office. I immediately knew something was really wrong, and I wanted to turn and run. As I entered the doors, she broke down in tears and told me of the disaster. We had co-workers located in 1 WTC. We were scheduled to move into that building in November 2001. We all hated the idea. No one wanted to move there. Little did we know, everything was about to change.
Sitting in my car in my works parkinglot listening to the local rock station. The DJ in a laughing tone said,”whoa, a plane just hit the WTC! What an idiot!” About a 5 second pause then,”Oh my God, this is real. Another plane just hit the WTC! This is definitely a terrorist attack!” I ran through the parking lot to the building, ran back to the breakroom, and there was 40-50 employees standing there watching the smoke billowing from both of the towers. Not long after, we were all blown away as we watched in horror as the two towers came down. I called my wife, told her to take off for the rest of the day, and meet her at home, just in case we were all being attacked and might never see eachother again. Terrorists Suck!
I was in bangkok, so i was asleep when it happened. but the next morning my mum prayed for all the people who had died, and i didn’t know what she was talking about until i got to school. we sat in front of the tv the whole day.
I WAS IN A DENTAL CHAIR WHEN THE OFFICE RECEPTIONIST YELLED OUT AT APPROX 8:50AM ‘WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!” AND THE DENTIST PUT ON THE TV SET IN THE DENTAL ROOM AND EVERY THING STOPPED AS WE WATCHED THE 2ND PLANE HIT THE 2ND TOWER AND THE DENTIST SAID ‘THIS IS BINLADEN!’……AND WE SAT TRANSFIXED WATCHING THE NEWS OF THE PENTAGON AND PEOPLE IN THE OFFICE WERE CRYING AND I TRIED TO REACH MY COUSIN WHO WORKED AT WORLD TRADE AND DID MANAGE TO ESCAPE…..ALTHOUGH THIS WAS NOT KNOWN AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT.
Savannah, GA I was in 7th grade, sitting in spanish class. Another teacher ran in, crying and told us a terrorist had hijacked a plane and hit the world trade centers. Administration would not let teachers turn their TVs on so that we could see the destruction, however, some could not stand the the thought of someone doing such damage to the United States. September 11 is a day that will never be forgotten. Thank you to all of our soldiers, firefighters, police officers, EMT’s, and every citizen who did their part in the relief efforts.
I was working security at a hospital in the Dallas-Fort Wirth metro area. I could not believe the reports of the first attack, or the plane slamming into the second tower! Many good people have lost there lives in those attacks, and defending us since.
florida i was in 7th grade, laughing with my friends drawing, (i ws in art class),and sort of watching the Today Show. when all of a sudden the teacher let out a gasp. i turned to look just as the television showed what was going on. Every student turned to look. Then the small clas of all these little 7th graders grew quiet, we all knew what a horrible thing had happend. even as young as we were, and we were in florida not anywhere close to NYC, but we all understood. the teacher and some girls began to cry, the boys just sat there in disbelief. The principle broke in over the intercome, to announce to the rest of the school what was happening,as he did so the 1st tower fell,we took a moment of silence and advised the teacher to not turn the televisons on. therest of the day there ws very few laughter and very few smiles, now as i am a little older, i see how great of an impact 9-11 had even on a bunch of 11-13 year olds, a thousand miles away form that field in PA or the pentagon, or NYC. Somethings you neverforget 9-11 is one you shouldn’t and you can’t.
In my pre-algebra class taking a test. It came over the intercom and everybody just froze. We couldn’t believe it. All we could do was listen for updates and hope the ones we love were ok.
Tampa, FL I was at work at an electronics recycling buiness. I was in my office, when my technician ran in and said “A plane it a building in New York!” I walked out into the warehouse and listened to the radio. I then realized the boss had cable TV in his office on a 13″ TV in the corner, that was never turned on. I went into his office and turned on the TV in time to see the second plane hit the other tower. I stood mesmerized for the next hour. The boss got back from his meeting and at first said we had to get back to wrok, then he watched a minute and we stood there quietly, listening to the reports coming in. We watched the coverage of the Pentagon and just were dumbstruck.
I was almost 16 years old sitting in geometry when I heard the news. I thought it was a joke. I couldn’t believe someone could do something like that to the U.S., and to tell you the honest truth, I still can’t.
at work. someone from down the hall came in and asked if I heard about the plane hitting the towers. I said no and didn’t think much of it but turned on the radio. it didn’t take long to realize what was actually happening, that it was not a random accident.
After the initial attacks, I was stuck in gridlocked traffic about a block from the White House, trying to escape Washington. I’ll always wonder if the heroes on that last plane headed towards Washington saved my life.
I was out side at our farm in Indiana. We were selling and moving to Tennessee. There was a barn and a couple of silo’s on the property, that had seen there days. We were that day tearing down the barn and one of the silo’s. It was a shock to hear the news. We turned on a radio outside and the tv on inside. Everyone was just in a somber mood, not knowing what to say. We had after a few moments continued to work, and listen. By the time we were ready to let the silo fall……..it happened at the same time the first tower fell. Something that myself and my family will always remember. May God Bless all who suffer still to this day from all the events that happend five years ago today, September 11, 2006. Remember JESUS loves you!!!!!!!
I was at school and we were watching the towers collapse
I was in my 5th grade class, in North Carolina. I had just moved from Jersey City about a month prior to the incident. One of the teachers at my school came to my class and sat my teacher aside to tell her what was going on. Hours later when I arrived home, I saw for myself what was going on. My family and I were worried, because my grandmother worked inside the towers. We were lucky, however, because my grandmother decided she didn’t want to go to work.
I was responding to an emergency call that was a cardiac arrrest. Later that evening discussed the days events with a boy scout troop. BSA troop 1 Lafayette, Georgia. Georgia EMTP 2010.
Working for a Federal law enforcement agency in the Midwest. We, as Americans, should NEVER NEVER forget what was taken from us that fateful day. Unfortunately I fear it will happen again, very soon.
North Mankato, MN Driving to work after dropping my son off at his college. I was listening to the morning radio show on KQRS-FM out of the Twin Cities. These guys always have their computer monitors linked up to one or more of the national news shows. One of them interrupted another morning crew member to say that he had just seen a plane hit the World Trade Center. He assumed that it was probably a small commuter plane, but after the second plane hit, he knew that he was horribly mistaken. I continued listening as I drove to the high school where I worked, and when I walked into the administration office, the personnel there were all keeping up with the latest reports, many with tears in their eyes. In classrooms throughout the building, the teachers had all but abandoned the lesson plans for the day, concentrating instead on watching the events unfold and doing their best to use it as a springboard for discussion.
I was reading electric meters in Naperville, IL when I heard the chaos on Mancow. Of course being on Mancow i didn’t believe it till I turned on another station. I’ve never felt anything like that day.
I was sitting in a hotel room in Las Vegas having just arrived the day before for an international bakery convention. I was with my boss, who had awoke me by pounding on the door yelling that I should turn on the TV, and we watched the entire thing happen right before our eyes. It was the saddest and most harrowing event I have ever witnessed, and we kept saying to each other “My God, what is going on???” We knew we weren’t going to get a flight home. The next few days were spent pretty much in a fog, I had an 8 year old son at home who had heard about the attacks in school, and had been terrified that I had been on one of the planes. Every time I spoke to him he just begged me to come home. My boss ended up buying a car which we drove home through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen, at once gorgeous and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time shrouded in the pall of the terrorist attack. We met all kinds of people on the road with similar stories; where are you going, where were you, how long have you been driving. I didn’t enjoy Vegas at all, and in fact, found it to be one of the filthiest places I have ever been, and I think I would have thought that no matter when I was there, but being there on 9/11 made the experience much more concentrated. When I think of 9/11, I think of standing outside our hotel that morning, the convention cancelled and the shock apparent on everyone’s face around us; and the dirt, debris and trash blowing by my feet, as people suffered and die on the other side of the country. It was an awful experience.
at school in the 4th grade
Illinois I was home, babysitting my little great niece who called me Grandma. I had a cartoon on, naturally, since she was there! my sister called me, told me about it, and I turned to it just for a bit, but could see it would scare my little Hannah. So I waited till she went to sleep before I could see any more of it! Thank GOD for president Bush, and how he is stopping the terrorists from hitting again here in our country. We do NOT want them fighting on our soil!!
Ohio I was on my way to drop my 6 month old son off at my best friend’s house. I heard the news of the first attack on the radio. I watched some of the events at my friend’s house before leaving for class at the University of Akron. When I arrived at school I was told the university was closed because of the attacks. I went back to my friend’s house and watched the news coverage of the attacks.
PA I was in Ocean City New Jersey on vacation with
my family including my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law, who came from California to visit. I had gone out for a bike ride and remember it was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. I rode by the house we were staying at and my husband told me that a plane had crashed into the WTC in New
York but I thought it was a freak accident of some kind. I circled the block and came back inside to find out it was not.
In court, in Connecticut, about to start talking with defendants (I’m a Prosecutor). A marshal came into the court and said a plane had hit the WTC. It was a perfectly clear day and I remember thinking “not an accident”. We put on a small tv in the lunchroom and, in between running to and from the courtroom, I saw the second plane hit and my suspicions were confirmed.
I was at work with young offenders and I remember how the day just stopped. Even these hardend gang kids were shocked into silence by what they saw on TV. The looks on their faces must have mirrored my own as they all were looking to the adults to explain what they were seeing and we had no answers. I remember how angry and sad I was at the loss of life and the profound sense of grief. This attack will always strike me as my generations attack on pearl harbor. We felt the same emotions as the people that day shock, disbelief, and then rage at what was happening to our fellow americans. This was made worse however by national television. How much more angry would the 1941 American nation have been if they had CNN. I sometimes hear people say the war on terror is wrong. I sometimes hear people say we are as bad as the terrorist’s. My response to both of these statements is what were you doing on 9/11? As a retired Marine and an American my heart and prayers go out to those who lost thier loved ones and to those left behind. To the men and Women of New Yorks rescue services my heartfelt thanks and praise for thier actions that day.
Shawn C Carmin USMC, Retired.
I was at a fertility clinic trying to get pregnant
My husband and I were vacationing at the Jersey Shore. We had not put the TV or Radio on that morning because we were planning to go fishing. When we went to the store for supplies, the man at the counter told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. We immediately went back to the house to watch the news when the second plane crashed into the other tower. It was mind boggling and we felt so separated from our family and scared. We called home to speak with our loved ones and then sat and watched the TV for the next 36 hours straight.
I was a freshman in college, one of the first days of classes. I was in a different state, away from my family, and still unsure of my surroundings. A girl who lived in the dorm next door to me, her father was one of the pilots on the planes that hit the WTC.
I was in Midtown Manhattan coming back from breakfast with my boss when a co-worker told us that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. Thinking that he was joking with us we went downstairs to the big screen tv in the lobby. Soon after we realized he was telling the truth, the second plane hit and all that were watching suddenly realized what was happening to us. That was when the real panic started. That day I walked along with many other New Yorkers through Manhattan, across the queensboro bridge into queens where I eventually caught a ride home with my parents. The fear and shock that was in the crowd was almost palatable.
Chesapeake,VA. I had just taken my two older sons to school and on the way to my youngest son’s preschool when I heard it on the radio. I quickly turned the radio off, got him into class, told the teacher (who had not heard), rushed home and turned the tv on to see the 2nd plane hit. My sister was supposed to be on the plane the went down in the field…she had changed planes just five minutes before boarding so she could get a more direct flight. My brother in-law worked at the Pentagon. We were not able to reach either of them until late that night. My nephew, a college student at the time and living in Maryland, kept calling us to see if we had heard from his parents. A very scary and sad day.
In Hawaii waiting for my Pearl Harbor Tour
I was sitting in my office when I recieved a phone call from the babysitter stating what was happening. We did not hve a radio to hear what was going on. I started work at 8:00am. I can remeber not being able to reach my husband by phone while he was at work. He had to be at school by 8:00am We lived in PA.
I was at work watching it on tv. My husband, then boyfriend was on active duty, and that morning was the last time I saw him for 3 weeks. Everyone we knew got recalled.
It was my 1 day with a new position. Someone came in and said the 1st tower was hit. I remebered my little brother saying he takes the train and comes out of the towers to go to work. I left work, went to my moms and called him. As I was dialing the # the 2nd plane hit. I saw it on TV. He answered his phone in tears saying he was late for work that day and saw the planes hit from the Jersey shore. I will never forget it. God has a plan for everyone.
At school when I saw a few of the kids in my class crying cause their dads were working in the towers.
I was watching the Today show in Tucson Arizona. Thought, when the first plane hit that it was a terrible accident. When the second plane hit,I was dumbfounded, bewildered, and afraid. I couldn’t believe that we were watching this.
At home trying to reach my best friend via cell phone who was driving a charter bus to the towers. I finally reached him just as he breached a hill on 80 where he could see the towers burning.
I was on the back basketball court in my high school gymnasium. My coach pulled me aside, pale face and all, and told me practice was cancelled. Seeing as how practice is never cancelled I kept pressing her for answers. Eventually I saw the news on one of the tvs a teacher had on.
My wife and I were in the El Paso, TX airport for a trip to California when we saw the TV pictures of the twin towers. Returned home to Las Cruces, NM and drove to California that day.
I was…in college. I was attending Tennessee State University. Usually I go to sleep with my tv on, but on Sept. 10 I didn’t. I didn’t find out what had happened until I woke up and walked down to the community bathroom. A girl in there told me what happened. I went back to my room and flipped on the tv. It was heart wrenching. As I went to class, the whole campus was quiet. Later that day, my mom reminded me that my cousin Dwayne Williams was working at the Pentagon. We prayed that he was okay. A few days later we found out that he was one of the victims.
I was in Australia when it happened and had moved there for a few months before. My sister called me really early in the morning to tell me what happened and I sorta just blew it off as a minor thing that happened. When I finally woke up, I realized just how bad it was. I had lived in NYC right before I moved to Australia and unfortunately, I had friends living in the area and working there. I took a few days off from work trying to get in touch with these people to see if they’re okay and thank goodness I finally got in contact with them. Australia, as a country, was very sympathetic and supportive while I was there and the Australians were more than happy to lend an ear if I needed someone to talk to.
It was hard not to go back to NYC and help the USA when I thought it really needed some extra love but I did all that I could while being overseas.
at work watching on tv
In the D-ring of the Pentagon when the plane hit. Later that night I sat in the courtyard and watched the flames glowing with a temporary mourge set up by the firefighters.
i was working in my restaurant. we had a small tv in the back room. good morning america was on and i heard all the commotion. looked just in time to see the second plane hit the 2nd tower. my heart dropped to my toes.i was devasated. God be with all of you who lost family and friends on that horrible day. May HE give you peace.
I was in school. It was during choir class and there was an announcement over the intercom that the World Trade Centers and The Pentagon had been hit and that we could turn on the TV to see. The teacher started to freak out because her husband was on active duty and was in the DC area.
i was in school
Toronto, Ontario My mother was here (Toronto) on a visit from Newfoundland and I had made a big Newife breakfast for us and we had the news on which was my routine first thing in the morning. I heard commotion on TV but thought it was an advertisement for a horror movie (like King Kong) but I soon realized it was in fact actually happening as we watched. We were horrified, and sat enthralled all day to the TV and what was happening to our friends in New York. So many lives lost that day, it made me appreciate the fact that I still had my life and my mother was able to visit. Mom was travelling back to home within a couple of days from September 11 and she had a long hard trip home that year (with security and all). I pray every day that we never see another September 11 again.
I was working nights, so I was in bed trying to get some sleep in the Dallas, TX area when my oldest son called from Orlando, FL area to tell me what was happening.
His initial words were that “we are under attack”!
At first I thought he was pulling my leg. I turned the TV on just in time to see the frist WTC building come down!
From 90 thru 94 I went through the Path station in the basement of the WTC twice a day.
I still have trouble seeing the NY sky line with the twin towers!
May God be with the families & friends of those who died and those who have been affected by 9-11!
God bless you and encourage you, so that you can pass the encouragement to others in their time of need!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have Everlasting Life”.
I was waking up from a 4 day crystal meth binge. A friend was allowing me to stay with him so that I could sleep and get some food as I had no place to stay. On 9/11 I had been using meth for over a year and lost everything, home, family, and self. I have ben clean since then.
5 years and counting.
Bobby
Miami, Florida
New York City I had just voted in the NYC Mayoral Primary and overheard talk at the polling precinct about an accident at the WTC, so I returned to my apartment to check out on TV what was going on. I work about 31/2 blocks from the WTC site. Then it unfolded….
I was on shift at the fire department in Bloomington, IN when I just happened to turn on the Today Show and saw the fist pictures of smoke coming from the first tower. I thought to myself “How could a pilot hit a building in such clear weather?” Then we watched in horror as the second plane hit bursting into flames; we had our answer.
New Orleans I was…bringing my daughter to school. When i got back home and turned on the madness i was horrified. Almost as scary as Katrina.
I was lying on the bed with my infant daughter. I had put the Today show on and saw the smoke pouring out of Tower 1 and out of nowhere came the second plane. Actually seeing it live and hearing the reactions was haunting. I just held my daughter and cried. It was horrible.
I was on Manhattan’s East Side, working on my computer in my apartment. My brother called me to tell me to turn on the TV. I thought it was a movie. I ran upstairs to the roof of my building & saw it unfold live. My brother told me he had had a meeting scheduled for that morning on the 104th floor of Tower 1 but it was cancelled at 5pm the day before. Luckily he was working in the NJ office that day, because his office across from the South Tower was completely destroyed. The wind was blowing towards Brooklyn that day but the next day and for days/weeks afterward, you could smell the fire/smoke.
I was watching the news on T.V., just got home from work.Couldn’t believe what I was seeing! anonymous in New York
scouting for hunting season for deer in PA
I was…working in a school across the hudson, a direct view of the wtc can be seen from the school rooftop. Still a sad memory….MAY THEY ALL REST IN PEACE..
I was sitting in a parking lot outside a restaurant in Missoula, Montana, waiting for the restaurant manager to arrive so I could upgrade the computer system at the store. I had flown up there on September 10th. I was listening to the radio as the reports were coming in of the attack on the WTC. I stayed in Montana for several more days, and then, since all flights were grounded, drove 1,800 miles home.
i was at the WTC when i saw a plane i got out safly with 12 concusions and a broken neck,arm,leg.rib
United Kingdom I was at work in the UK with my husband, tending plants for sale and enjoying the hot & sunny weather. Around 2pm, a customer told us he heard on the radio that ‘America was under attack’. We thought this was a bizarre comment and dismissed it. We drove home some 3 hours later, listening to the news on the radio, not believing what we were hearing. We arrived home and switched on the TV – those images will remain in my memory, probably for ever. The world is now a changed and dangerous place where a large, so it seems, number of the planet’s human population have total disregard for the lives of their fellow human beings. Terrorism and religion seemingly go hand in hand. Religion, so claimed by the ‘righteous’ who preach it, is the glue that holds society together. It is not. It is an evil substance that is destroying humanity – the destruction of the twin towers and the innocent people within those buildings was the visual image of religion in all its wickedness.
i was at school looking at terror
Upstate NY sitting in my secound grade class getting ready to go home.
I was on my way into to a meeting at WTC 2 when I couldn’t get hold of my co-worker who was going to meet me their as well. I turned back to our office in Edison,NJ to await his return call. I survived the 1st bombing and had no idea that it was about to occur once again and that secondly my co-worker hadn’t even gone into work because he’d falen ill until about 45 or so hours later. The longest 45 + hrs. I’d ever had to endure. I lost on a personal level 11 people who were tech’s at Canter Fitzgerald whom I’d both trained and worked with on this day 5 years ago. Sad to say I still firmly believe we still have not been told the whole Truth and may never get it.
I was watching TV when the news struck
I was ….unloading a truck at my work place in Towanda, Pa, when my newlywed wife called and said that the a plane struck the World Trade Center, as soon as I got to my break that morning I saw the North Tower collasped. I will never forget that morning for the rest of my days…..
California I woke early but left late, staying in bed as long as possible, talking quietly with my wife, before just going for it in an hurried, but itch scratching session of lovemaking.
All was pretty right with the world.
Then it was shower, car and off to work.
I was a couple blocks from the house when I turned on Bill Handel , L.A.’s most interesting drive time talk show host.
Bill was doing one of his occasionally ‘out there’ shows, and for a moment, I regretted getting such a late start that I had missed the lead in.
One of the Handel shows trademarks is gripping, unusual radio. So a minute by minute ‘you are there’ Including a graphic minute by minute reconstruction of some newsworthy events, sometimes catastrophic, other times merely interesting.
So it made sense that Bill might have decided to take the ‘war of the worlds’ approach, coming up with a scenario out of whole cloth, then illustrating how it would play out.
That kind of thing.
Though admittedly, Bill would probably give the same treatment to a donut shortening fire at Krispy Kreme if it struck his fancy. He was pretty fat back then.
Back to this morning’s scenario. Bill had really outdone himself. A terrorist hijacking leading to a plane crash into the pentagon. “Way out there Bill.” I laughed to the radio, listening to his tense delivery, waiting for the station to run a simulation disclaimer or some such.
Then Bill went overboard as far as I was concerned. He talked about shifting back to the ongoing situation with the airliner that had crashed into the world trade center.
Correction. Airliners. Plural. Also hijacked. Uh-Huh.
That was enough for me. Shaking my head I exercised my listener’s prerogative and
changed the channel.
Howard Stern would have to save me from all this insane downer radio.
And that’s when my morning went to hell. A good 45 minutes behind the most of the country.
Howard was telling the on air staff that anyone that wanted to go home should get going before it got too much crazier. I was amazed how calm he stayed, dealing with the everyone who all sounded like they were freaking out, while fielding a live cell phone call from a witness presumably on some nearby rooftop.
A picturesque New York rooftop, no doubt, with skylights and slanted stairwells, stalks of tin chimney and maybe a clothesline or two.
I’ve never set foot in the city. Never seen the skyline from closer than Jersey.
But , for weeks previous I’d been doing tons of Manhattan related research for “Daredevil” a big picture Fox had in pre-production.
Lots of that classic big apple detail.
And now that’s all I could see. The skyline, those rooftops, the concrete and brick canyons, the whole near cliché shebang that the big city calls to mind.
They had been part and parcel of my waking, working imagination since well before Labor day.
Now the through the magic of radio, I was picturing its destruction. The only reassurance, at that moment was no picture my head could come up with would be like the real thing.
The caller on the air was describing the towers like smoking matchsticks.
His words conjured something almost comical, like an oversized sight gag from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Good imagery to keep reality at bay.
It was almost comforting, knowing the trade center could never wind up like that.
I looked around, and realized I was driving at a crawl. But no one around me noticed. They were staring ahead dumb stuck. Isolated individuals all sharing the same horrific experience, moving in perfect order at 15 miles an hour. We might as well have been on a conveyer belt.
Then something changed in the caller’s voice. Almost in panic, I reached to turn up the volume, hitting the am/fm button by mistake, switching me back to the Handel show.
“One of the towers has just collapsed.”
I can honestly say, I’ll never forget that feeling of utter disbelief, the helplessness.
In my time at Fox I’ve provided research on “Independence day”, “Die Hard 3″ and “the Siege”.
In a three year period I’d helped lay waste to various parts of Manhattan that terrorist don’t even let themselves dream about.
I didn’t think about alien Spacecraft, Euro-trash gold thieves or even good old fashioned crazy A-rab terrorists.
I thought of, or more specifically I called to God , like I never have before in my life.
Out loud, right there in traffic. I threw my head back back and shouted my sorrow, my hurt my confusion in the same three words: god…God…GOD!!!
I don’t know if it was a statement or a question, accusation or plea. Only that it was from the heart.
The words on the radio became a blur. I drove on taking it all in as I channel surfed, Every station, every language, the words the tone were the same. Something so vast, so Biblical in scope. A latter day tower of Babel.
All the nationalities in it, all the ones spread over the world yammering in confusion. Same words, same pain and confusion. different languages. This was like end times come to life. The fundamentalists of every stripe would be having a field day with this.
I shook my head, cleared my thoughts as best I could. No Bugs bunny, No Hollywood biblical epic comparisons. Just drive. Pick up the pace, get to work, start taping, downloading. Watch the road around you because everyone else is just as distracted.
I became the worlds best driver, checking every mirror in rotation, hands at the 10 and 2.
Watching the road, watching the sidewalk, everything.
To my right billboard for the upcoming Redford flick, An inverted American flag as its centerpiece. “The last Castle.”
I ground my teeth, as the metaphor slammed in, sudden as a car wreck, thoughts of this country I called home, virtually untouched by outside aggression for nearly two centuries.
Inviolate no more, maybe never again.
More horrors were unfolding on the radio, people waving from broken windows, jumping to their death as the fire out raced rescue.
Another billboard. Denzel Washington in “Training Day”.
Training day? No kidding… Time to start understanding the kind of thing that goes down in London, Tel Aviv, Cartahegna with CNN infused around the clock regularity.
You bet your ass it’s training day.
Right across the street from it is one for the new Shwarznegger flick “Collatoral Damage.”
No comment.
Focus. Back to driving. Oh Hell. Theres a plane down in Pennsylvania. Crashed en route somewhere. They don’t or wont say where… but theories of all kinds The radio is white noise I cant turn off, cant make sense of as I begin to speed on Sunset.
All I can think of is an old Don Henley song
“In a New York minute
Everything can change
In a New York minute
Things can get a little strange…”
Concentrate on making every light as if nothing else matters. Shit. Because maybe it does? Is there a plane headed for L.A.? Let alone Century City?
The tree shrouded streets of Beverly hills are deserted as I head into the home stretch to the studio. Our own skyscraper is still intact.
I can only speculate Fox & the other studios own exclusive rights to their destruction.
“The second tower has collapsed”
Bill’s voice has all the cool alarm of a sportscaster describing a beloved athlete stumbling and falling at a critical moment.
I’m speeding again. This time up Avenue of the stars right behind the studio. My researchers mind is already recalling how many people visit, let alone work in them every day.
I drive past the guard and he waves me in like a Disneyland animatronic, no one seems real,
And suddenly, I walking down a New York street on our back lot. Debris strewn on the curb from the building we’ve just shot a building fire sequence in front of days before.
All terribly authentic. I can still see the red fire engines, with their big FDNY blazons.
I think of the real FDNY. Buried under rubble, glowing by flaming jet fuel.
You’ve only heard it. I tell myself. It’s not real. Not yet. Not til you go downstairs and turn on the 54 inch giganto-vision screen and see it for yourself. Stay up here in the make believe New York.”
Some part of me rationalizes ” Up here, the firemen and cops and people are all extras, they’re off being actors. The trucks are safely parked at the motor pool. And unlessAMC is running an airport movie… No jets crashing into anything.”
The sky is gorgeous blue.
“Listen, See? Not a plane in the sky…
Stay up here while there’s the tiniest argument its all pretend.”
I stumble past the time clock, not even punching in.
“Good plan, the voice says, if you’re not officially at work its not real. ”
Down the hall into the research library. Someone has already opened up before me.
The sounds of CNN and the real world rushing to meet me the instant I open the door.
It wasn’t possible when it was just the movies. But this is TV. Now it’s live. Now it’s real.
I should have stayed upstairs in make believe. I should have stayed in bed. But the phone is ringing. It’s the library Manager…
“Are you watching? are you taping? are you downloading? Are you printing?”
And somehow, a half hour has passed since I walked in and the real world had to go and prove itself to me. And somehow, yes I am taping, downloading, printing.
I actually have the presence of mind to briefly wonder what I would have done if God had answered my anguished call back in traffic. But the endless replays of impact and angle, fire and collapse seem to suggest it might be best not to dwell on exactly who’s prayers God was answering that day,
And now its all become fact, and sadly, real life.
And we have to deal with it in our own way, And I will, right up ‘til A movie, or that “very special episode” of some TV show or another comes along, and everything we collected from this sad day is needed to recreate the moment.
But upstairs, are both New Yorks, the fake one just outside the door, and the real one burning and choking in dust…
And it could never go back to being make believe.
Because the New York minute had already run out.
I was on my to work.
I was getting my children ready for school. My husband and I were watching the news and witnessed the 2nd jet hit the tower. Our first reaction was denial, then trying to explain, then realizing it was an attack. We struggled if we should take our children to school, go pick up the older ones who were already at school. My oldest son called, wanting to come home. He was terrified. After hours of watching TV, I had to get away. I finally got in the shower and cried for a very long time.
I was on the 38th floor of the North Tower…
I was with my wife in the ER at the Hospital in Nome, AK. It was just before 5am AK time when the nurse told us that tower one had just been hit.
NJ I was working shift work at the time. It was my 1st day off for the week, & I was sleeping late that morning when the phone rang. It was my wife calling from her office in NJ.
As soon as I picked up the phone, no “hello” or “good morning”, she immediately asked if I was watching TV. When I replied “no”, she told me to turn the TV on quick. I was somewhat confused & still half asleep when I asked her “what channel?”, but immediately knew something big was going on when she replied, “any channel!”
As the television screen came into focus, it seared an image into my mind that I didn’t immediately understand, but now can never forget. My wife began telling me how two planes had just hit the Twin Towers. For some reason, I first thought that there was a mid-air collision between two planes & that the wreckage of the “accident” had careened into the Towers, probably because there are 3 major commercial airports in the vicinity of lower Manhattan and most people here assumed a mid-air collision was only a matter of time given the volume of air traffic in the area.
However, it soon became clear that it was no accident & that we were at war…a war like we’d never known before…
I was at school. I didn’t know what happened until I got home. I turned on the news and watched the aftermath at about 3:00pm
I was… watching kiddie shows with my 3 yearold when a friend called and wanted to know if i knew the wtc was being attacked,when i turned it to the news i could not believe it was happening on our soil, i sat down and starting crying for all those people trapped and for their families
I was driving to work listening to some local DJ’s known for their pranks. They started talking about it and I wasn’t sure if this was just one of their morning gags. Then their voiced changed and added a little panic and terror to quickly let the public know that it was real. I worked directly across the street from an airport with air traffic noise always present. It was quickly filled with A-10’s flying over and then silence. By the time I made it to the office the second plane had hit the second tower. People were running around in a panic. It was the most horrifying helpless feeling any American could ever feel.
I was just new in Canada and it was the first day of my job and I was getting orientation about the products and the services that our Company offers and on break we were watching the television and that was the time I heard the horrified news. Oh God how evil can a mind think was just a glimpse of what we saw….SD
I and my wife were driving homeward from a visit to our daughter who lives in North Carolina. We came east on I-64 through Kentucky, and bedded down at a motel for the night. Next morning — September 11, 2001 — we got started after breakfast and my wife opened the car’s radio to hear some music. There and then we heard the horrendous news, followed soon by the even more stupendous report of the collapse of both towers, plus the first confused reports filtering through about an attack on the Pentagon. We were about 50 – 60 miles from Louisville, but for the rest of the journey I had to watch myself to keep driving safely, such was our state of mind. We shall never forget it. — Andrew Lenard from Bloomington, Indiana
West Virginia at my internship site, just outside of Pittsburgh. The secretary stated that a plane had accidentally hit one of the WTC towers, a few minutes later she said another had hit. I worked in a school building and we heard that there were many planes in the air, all with bombs. Our school was locked down, and no-one could leave. Then we heard on the local news that there was a plane near us, and that no-one knew where it was headed. This was the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. The whole area was locked down. It was eerie to look out the window, as you can see a major (I-79)highway from the school….there was no-one on the road, which is not normal. My parents were in Europe and saw it all on the T.V. as it was happening. My mother thought that it was another Bruce Willis or Arnold Shwarzenegger movie, at first. They were unable to get home for two more weeks. God bless all those who lost their lives, and to those family members and friends who mourn their loss. I did not personally lose anyone, but I remember that day, and pray for those involved everyday.
I Was At home with my 1 year old and 4 year old. I just sent my 6 year old off to school getting ready to take my other son to pre-school when my husband called me and told me to turn on the T.V.
God Bless all those who lost loved ones in 9-11 you are all in our prayers.
God Bless all those who helped in the clean up and recovery you are all in our prayers
Outside Boston, MA I was sick that day and had stayed home from school. I was with my mother doing laundry and listening to reports on the first crash on our portable television when we saw the second crash happen on the news report behind the reporter. We watched on the TV as the reports came in of the other hijacked plane. I had to go to the hospital later that day for an appointment and everyone in the lobby was watching the reports. We were all so silent.
i was near the thailand’s world trade center during new york’s disastrous days..
I was at work wondering, if my brother was alright, since he worked at the Pentagon. The ceiling of his office did cave in, but fortunately, everyone in his office escaped without injury.
I was on the kennedy expressway dring to work. LEO
Manhattan I was working when I heard about the first plane crasing into the first tower. When I heard that, I said no way could that happen on such a clear and beautiful day. Planes aren’t allowed over manhattan that low. A terrorist attack never entered my head, until the second plane hit. Then I heard about the others. I thought, this is my generation’s Pearl Harbor. I remember thinking about all those people who died that day, the photos of missing loved ones, the walk home across the 59th st. bridge, and thinking, a part of me has died.
I’d just had a TV installed in my London internet startup’s newsroom when I heard the news of the first crash, switched it on in time to see the second and then interrupted my CEO’s briefing with a potential U.S. investor to let them know what was going on. Both were too engrossed in financial projections to get up to watch.
I was at a friend’s house oversleeping that day. Suddenly the girl next door called on the phone. My friend said that she’d told her “the country was at war, we were under attack and that they’d already destroyed the Pentagon.” I shot out of bed thinking that a nuclear war was finnally happening. Having lived through the cold war it felt almost inevitable but especially terrible since the end of the cold war had raised my hopes for a long time that it wouldn’t happen after all. For a seemingly timeless period I beleived that was really what was happening and for an agonizingly long time everything that we saw on TV seemed to confirm that belief. It was a numbing dread that the future was empty. It then gave way to a more vivid, morally sickening feeling when we realized what had actually happened.
SAINT AUGUSTINE FL I WAS AT A FRIENDS HOUSE WHEN HER FATHER CALLED AND SAID TURN THE TV ON THE NEWS. WE DID AND JUST LOOKED WITH OUR MOUTHS OPEN. I SAID THEN ITS A WONDER WHY THE BUILDINS DON’T COME TUMBLING DOWN. LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT WOULD BE JUST WHAT HAPPEN THAT DAY.
I was in the shower, getting ready for work in Chicago when the first plane hit the first tower. My then-boyfriend/now-husband came running into the bathroom and told me that a plane had hit the twin towers. I thought that maybe there had been some sort of navigational error. As I was leaving the apartment, he told me that the second tower had also been hit by another plane. I just jumped in my car and went to work because I didn’t want to think about what that meant.
Once I got to work, my boss and the other 3 employees were gathering around the TV. We started talking about how horrible it all was. I think that was when we found out that the Pentagon had been hit as well. Then all of a sudden, we watched in disbelief as the first tower came crashing down. Then the other. We all started crying and hugging each other. I called my roommate who worked in the Sears tower and told her to go home right now.
That was when my boyfriend unexpectedly came into the office. He told me that he couldn’t get ahold of his dad, who had gone to NYC the night before. We spent the rest of the day calling his dad’s cell phone. Around 11 AM or so, his dad finally answered. He was in his hotel, just a few blocks from the towers, and had NO IDEA what was going on.
I remember walking around in a daze for the next 5 days after 9/11. I cried all the time and my boyfriend and I planned a quick escape of Chicago, should there be another attack somewhere. I just couldn’t believe that this had happened and I still get teary-eyed when I think about the events of that day.
Belgium I was at the drugstore. I had watch a thriller on TV the night before, with terrorists intending to crash a plane on a large city. When I heard people talking about the Towers, I thought they had seen the same movie. When I realized it was real, I tried to phone my husband but the entire network was busy. No on could be reached on a mobile for hours
I was driving to a Dr’s appointment because I had found a lump in my breast, heard it on the news and immediately called my husband. When I arrived at the Dr’s heard about the hit on the Pentagon and knew it wasn’t just an accident, it was pure terriorism. Luckily my son who lived in New York was nowhere near the towers but had it been the day before would have been right there. Less than 2 months later my husband died from a heart attack so I know full well how important it is to say I love you every single day.
I was in my classroom teaching my Kindergarten children in Rogersville, TN. A friend,our school resource officer, came to my room (which he often did-his son was in my class). When he pecked on the door, he had this extremely concerned look on his face. I instantly knew something was wrong. He proceeded to tell me about the first plane crashing into the WTC. It was a most helpless feeling. I remember the bright blue cloudless sky above the playground soon after that…but there was an eerie stillness, even in the hills of East Tennessee. I knew that we would never have life as we once had just minutes before. Feeling great compassion for my fellow Americans who were experiencing pain, loss, fear, etc., I prayed for God’s strength, love, and peace to prevail.
I was at home woken up from the alarm clock and there was no music, but a newscast on about the first plane that hit the towers, I woke up and then watched TV and saw the second plane hit.
I was on my way to drop my son off at my parents for a job interview. I didn’t hear anthing about it til I turned on the radio after the interview. It all seemed weird and gave me goosebumps and wonder if it was real. I arrived at my parents and my son was sleeping, so I sat in awe and watched tv with them to see it all over again in slow motion. It brought tears to my eyes and chills down my spine. I will never forget the feeling and the pictures in my head. It just is not right to loose so many people in one day. To give orders like that, they are not human but beast.
Colorado Springs, CO I was on the way to work when I heard the first plane had hit. Got to work in time to turn on the TV and watch the second plane hit. A sad and frightening day.
Working. I remember it was just after my work day started in California, and a co-worker came and was telling me what was going on. At first I was stunned, and then I felt angry and vengeful. I thought, “If you want to fight, then attack us face on…not kill innocent victims like cowards and then pat yourselves on the back as if you’ve achieved a major military victory.”
Lisboa, Portugal I was working. I received a phone call from my girlfriend telling me there was a huge terrorist attack in New York. I have family living in New Jersey. At first I was slightly concerned. At lunch I watched it on the TV and I remember feeling sick like if I was about to vomit.
The attack made me remember the descriptions of the Dresden bombing, the droping of the A-bombs… only this time the US was not supposed to be at war, we were supposed to know who did that. We were assuming too much, knowing too little about what goes on beyond our belly button I guess.
I was…in the cafeteria at my university getting food. It was only the second week of my first year and I didn’t know anyone so I was standing alone in line waiting to pay and i heard the people infront of me talking about a plane crashing into some building and making a joke about it. I went back to my dorm room and turned on the tv just in time to see the second plane crash into the buildings and I realized that none of our lives would ever be the same again.
(Janet, PA) I was a college student in Pennsylvania and didn’t have class til later in the day. I watched all of it unfold on tv. I remember Katie Couric talking about it and when the second plane hit the WTC she said “what are the odds of that happening.” That was a chilling moment when I realized we were under attack. It was a surreal day that I will never forget and one I pray never happens again.
At work at a small College, in the Hudson Valley. A student grabbed me and everyone started calling Family and friends in NYC. I called 2 of my kids in New Paltz, NY and my oldest son in Portland OR. I tried to get everyone in a safe place. A friend at work’s uncle and cousin were missing, we dragged to mass at noon, on shock and cried and cried and cried. It took days to realize the scope of what happened.
My friend went top NYC and became a the same fireman his uncles and cousin had been.
We prepared our campus to be a make shift hospital station to help the wonded……………No one came……
I was at a friends house and we where playing together when her dad came to get us and took us into his study and showed us CNN and what was going on.
I was at the office when my husband called me to tell me that one of the World Trade Center was on fire then suddenly, he began to shout and to cry that he just saw the second plane collapsing into the second tower. I’ll never forget this day and the way I was feeling, hanging on the phone trying to understand what was going on.
IN EUROPE
I JUST GOT HOME FROM WORKING 3rd SHIFT.TURNED THE T.V. ON AND HEARD A SPECIAL REPORT. I WAS STUNNED. THEN WHEN THE 2nd AIRPLANE CAME INTO VIEW, I WAS SHOCKED. I WATCHED THE NEWS ALL MORNING.GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE THAT WERE TRAPPED IN THE TOWERS. ANONYMOUS
I was…at Bonny Island, Nigeria. I was washing my clothes outside, and all of sudden,my friend Dan Jumbo started running towards me shouting, “they have bombed U.S.” . I left what I was doing and ran inside to watch the news. I can still feel the nothingness like so another world war is going to happen in my own time. I remember the next day, discussing it with our team of security experts including two Britons (Norri and Chris) and there fears that the world was about to be plunged into another dark era.
We walked into our 5th grade class that morning to find the TV on. All the teachers were distressed, but we didn’t think nothing of it, and we never really got the concept of what was going on. As soon as we realized this might be something to remember however, we took out our writing journals and wrote these crazy entries about an unknown country attacking. We weren’t scared at all, but kids were picked up by their parents all throughout the day.
I was on a group trip to Ocean City, MD. when we stopped by a duty free shopping area. We stepped off the bus a found everyone looking at the TV and some crying. That’s when we saw on TV the Trade Towers being attached. There was a somber moment . a shock and disbelief at what had happen to those innocent people. I said a prayer and wept for them, this was so close to home for me because I was born in
Brooklyn, New York and now reside in New Jersey. We left the area and no one spoke and immediately cut our trip short to go home. God Bless America and All those innocent people that died that day and all the broave men and women that came forward to help, I was so proud of them and their leaders they courageously came step up to the plate in helping .
i am from singapore n its around 10pm at that time when the plane hit
well i was at home celebrating my maid’s birthday
my maid was born on 9/11
I was…At the gorcery store picking up milk. i had just dropped my daughter to school. i can never forget i came to pay for the milk at the register and a small tv was going on and i asked the cashier and she told me a plane hit the wtc and thought it was a accident and went home asap to turn my tv and see another plane hit the 2nd tower. i thought it was the replay only to realise immediately that the worst had happened and we were under attack. then came all the other news and about the pentagon and the fields in pa. i was shaking and called the school and they told me that they have everyone together in one room and if i want i can come pick her up . i let her stay in school and did not want to scare her . the school did not tell anything to the kids. till she came back from school i did not move from the tv screen and tears were rolling from my cheek. i will never forget that day till i die. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
FT. IRWIN CA. I was stationed with the US Army in Hawaii and didnt know until I was called in for a mission.
I was in work and my phone rang. My mom was on the other end and was very upset as she told me that a plane hit one of the towers. I logged in to the internet news and there it was. Then the second one hit. News from the top boss was to all go home so we did. At home we were pinned to the news channels.
I was…driving through Wyoming where the radio would fade in and out. It was’nt until late in the day when I saw the full impact on the TV in my hotel room.
Pa. I was working,Just got in from dropping my students off at school(bus driver).I came in the lunch room when someone said a plane went in the Twin Tower,I responded as it can happen.
Next plane came and I thought what is going on?This is not good,I could see 1 plane but not 2 planes hitting the Towers..I will never forget that day,I wanted to go to school and get my teenage daughters and be with them.I felt like the world was coming to an end.
My youngest daughter joined the Marines at age 18 right after high school.She felt we needed to protect ourselves and our country.
I was sleeping in late because I didn’t get to bed til 4 am, I woke up and the news was on , the first tower hit.. I dozed…. I thought I was dreaming….
I was at work in Wilmington, DE when a coworker got a phone call from her aunt saying the WTC1 had been hit. Her aunt worked in NYC in a building close to the Tower and she said she was told to stay at her desk. She was giving us an up to minute account. At first it was hard to believe but after the second tower was hit, we sat there in shock. (Ironically, we were told by our supervisor to keep working as normal. This is a major drug company). The Governor closed all businesses in the state of DE around noon and everyone left work to be with their loved ones.
North Carolina, sitting on my couch watching tv and changing channels Then I saw the news talking about the first Tower being hit, and as I watched in disbelief, the second Tower was hit right before my eyes my mouth dropped and tears ran down my eyes. At that moment I felt sad and very, very, ANGRY.
Teresa D.
I was at work in my office at Vanderbilt Hospital. A co-worker came into my office and said a plane had hit one of the buildings of the World Trade Towers. With no TV in the office, we were thinking it must be a small aircraft accident until a firefighter friend of mine called from his fire hall. His voice was shaking as he told me that we, the U.S., were being attacked. I’ll never forget the chill that ran up my spine…Not only had a plane struck, but reality had struck.
I was driving home from a class that morning my senior year of highschool, and I heard about about it on Mancow on q101 in Chicago. I thought it was fake but when I got home I saw the 2nd plan crash into the tower and was pretty stunned by it. I still cant believe it happened.
Getting ready for school….just watching the news, when I just got out of the shower I saw the second plane hit.
I knew from that moment on that all our lives would change forever
I was driving to walmart when I heard It on the radio. I was In complete shock then and still am to this day. My prayers go out to all people that we strive for peace.
Cortland, NY As a handicapped person who was involved with constructing a United Methodist Church that was finished and dedicated 9/11/1996, I was doing volunteer secretarial work at the church when one of the parishioners called for prayer for a “big accident” at the WTC just after the first plane hit. I was also the church’s electronic facilitator who jury-rigged an antennae for a television set that was used for video tape presentations and we watched the events from 8:30 AM until noon, the pastor, myself, and several morning visitors mesmerized until dinner time…
At home at the time glued to the TV and the computer watching all the reports and video comes across the monitor.
driving up 81N from NC to PA to visit my family when I stopped to get gas and a girl at the counter told me that the WTC was hit by a plane. I listened to reporters talk about it for the duration of the 9 hour, loneliest ride home ever.
J.Null
I was at my mom’s house, getting ready to go to work. I remember thinking this is the tribulation and I need to get to my children that were all in school. I had such a feeling of helplessness watching all those people in need wiching I could be there to help but being 1000 miles away and knowing there was nothing I could do but watch. Then the disbelief when not one but two of the towers came tumbling down wishing that I would just wake up from a terrible dream. I don’t remember ever feeling that frightened before.
Lori Miller
North Carolina My Name is Casey Cannon, I am 16 years old, and I live in North Carolina. At the time of the incident, I was 11 years old, watching tv while eating cerial. The TV went blank for a bit, then it showed Fox New’s Coverage of a huge skyscraper bellowing smoke from top. They said it was in New York and it was a building I had never heard of before then, the North World Trade Center Tower. I wasn’t shocked, scared or disturbed, but confused at my young age. What had happened? What was the World Trade Center? Why did they cut my cartoons off(haha)? My dad, who works first shift, had woken up from his daily sleep. As soon as he asked me, “What are you watching?” , the second plane hit. Although I was young, didn’t know what was going on at first, I had the feeling something horrible had happened. Soon after there was speculation that this was an attack. The proof of that was when the pentagon had been struck. After that, the questions were who would do this? Why would they do this? Was this really happening? United 93 crashed, the South Tower Fell, the roof caved in at the pentagon, The North Tower Fell, it was insane. All this information was packed into my brain at an unimaginable speed. Over the next few weeks I heard other information I would have never known before. Terrorists, Afgahnastan, Osama Bin Laden, Al-Queda, complete and utter overload of things and people I would have probibly never heard about. Over the past 5 years I’ve grown, and I know mostly everything about these things. I have read, heard and seen things I know nobody at this age knew when they were still 16 years old. Fact and conspiracy of what happened that day fill my mind now(but, I won’t go into all that). Today is a day for the victims. Today is a day of knowledge. Today is a day for rememberance of what happened.
Thats how I remember September 11th, 2001, and how it effected me.
-Casey Cannon
I was at work only getting a small bit of the news. At first I thought it was a small plane and a rookie error had been made. When we closed our build at noon we went to our favorite watering hole where all became vividly real. the place was packed standing room only. You could have heard a pin drop. We all just watch in disbelief at the images we were watching
feeding my two week old baby and watched it all my heart goes out to all
I was studying music composition in New York City, and had just moved into the dorms three weeks before. The dorms were in the financial section, three blocks away from the Trade Center. In fact, on September 9th I wrote an e-mail to my ex-girlfriend describing the sunset between the towers, how it was like watching the ball drop and announce the new year.
On the morning of September 11th, at around 7:30, I was up and decided to call my mother in Israel and say hello. I called, shared some news from New York, heard that someone I went to kindergarden with was killed in a suicide bombing the day before. At 7:55 I noticed the time, and I said: “Mom, I’ve got a class, I’ve got to go.” I hung up the phone and left the house. The Mannes College of Music, which I got to by subway, was on West 85th St. I got there with plenty of time for my class.
At 9:15, after the class had already begun, a secretary barged into the room and said: Ëveryone get into the auditorium, the governer has declared a state of emergency.” I thouht: Is this something that happens often in New York City?
I was on an 8 a.m. (eastern time) business flight leaving Atlanta to Dallas/Fort Worth. The plane arrived safely; thank G-d, at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport at approximately 9:25 a.m. (central time). We were the only plane on the tarmac; where we waited for about 20 minutes. At the gate, the pilot had to wait another 20 minutes while an airline employee maneuvered the bridge/walkway off a parked place so that we could park closely between two other planes. Three planes were parked in a space designated for two. The passengers had no idea what was going on. The airport terminal was ghostly empty. I did not understand the grave nature of the situation until a company employee from Houston met outside arrival gate. Tried to get a flight home – had to rent a car. Back in the air the following week. We cannot let them change our way of life!
I was a in my fourth grade classroom and the teacher came into the classroom crying
Los Angeles, CA I was still in bed when my parents woke me up and told me that a plane (the first plane) had hit one of the tower. Once I turned on the news, the second plane had hit the second tower.
Hamilton, Ontario I was in my Grade 10 woodshop class when our automotive teacher came into the room from the tech wing office and told our teacher to turn on the tv. I watched the second plane hit the buildings and also saw the first building fall. I know its something I’m never going to forget. You ant forget watching history unfold in front of you
Colorado Springs, CO I was getting ready for work. I always turned on the news after my shower. They had just reported a second plane hit the towers. I stood there in shock. I ran downstairs to tell my roommates. We all watched the first tower fall. I had to leave for work and was at a red light when the radio announced the second tower falling. I looked to my right and saw the man next to me bury his head in his hands. I looked to the left and watched the woman on that site begin to cry. I have a huge lump in my throat now, remembering it. At that moment, I thought of the tremendous loss of life at that exact moment. I then immediately called my mom and exboyfriend to tell them how much I loved them!
As i walked into the office i heard my program manager say “i can’t believe how well coordinated it was”. Because we were in the middle of a project that was slightly out of control at the time, i turned around to find out what she was referring to. At that point i was pulled into a conference room and watched the news broadcasts of the morning’s events. What i remember most vivedly tho is watching the evening broadcasts with my child after picking him up from school telling him he was watching a piece of history and trying to rebuild his confidence in a world that wasn’t as secure as it had seemed to him just a day before. My home is in the flight path of a nearby airport. What accentuated the seriousness of the situation was noticing the eerie silence that had replaced the periodic drone of plane engines passing overhead after all flights were grounded that day.
San Diego, CA I was getting ready for school that morning. I walked pass my family room but then took notice of what was showing on the news. I even remembered thinking that the plane crash was an accident. I learned later, during my bus ride to school, that one of the towers had just collapsed. The rest of the day at school was spent watching the news.
At work….I still can’t believe it.
i was at my house asleep, a loud knock at the door awake me and omg my life was never the same.
I was asleep, and i had a nightmare of something burning , turned the tv on and i was speechless…i saw what human kind can do to another being…being a man i cried i admit it… i cried
long beach, ca
California. My TV was on from the night before and I woke up no more than minute or two before the second plane hit the second tower
I was onboard the USS Harry S. Truman CVN 75, We just finished the maiden voyage and were at the Naval Shipyards in Portmouth, Va getting ready for some well deserved break and repairs. I just turn the tv in the photo studio when the 1st plane hit, it didn’t seem real then the other plane it and the security alarm sounded around the ship, we manned our battle stations and stayed on battle mode for a couple of days. Nobody knew what was going on and we scan the skies for any planes coming towards the ship, it was one of those situations that you never expected to experience and will never forget. 5 years after that day the world is a different place.
W V I was asleep after a long nights work. I was woken up by my mother calling on the phone. She said turn on the T.V. and watch history. There was North Tower burning, on a clear sunny day. South Tower untouched at that point. Some speculated it might have been an accident. I was already saying “no way this was an accident.” then a bit later my thoughts and words to no one were confirmed. South Tower was hit, and I remember having stopped by the towers two days before. I marvled then at the size and footprint of them. Even now in movies I smile at seeing them once more and miss them too.
I was visiting a friend in Los Angeles when another friend left a voice message on my cell phone and ask me if i had the t.v. on and if not to turn it on, so i did just as th second plane flew into the World Trade Center, at first i thought it was a prank like War of the World’s then I realized that it wasn’t.
Santa Clarita, Ca. I was just getting up for work and listening to Mark and Brian on the radio. They said there was something terrible going on. I got up and turned on the TV. I was in shock, and when I saw what happened at the Pentagon, I called my friend who works in the tallest building in LA. I told her to turn on the TV, and not to go to work. of course, she didn’t. I had to go to work but just blindly floated throught the day. I haven’t been the same since.
italy varese iwas in an italian prison in padova doing a video interwiew to a guy that killed the father
Arkansas I was teaching a class. I heard about a plane hitting the WTC just before getting to school, but at that point nobody was really sure what was happening. When we took a break from the class, one of the other instructors told me what had happened, and I returned to the class to let them all know. Needless to say, we dismissed class and went home to watch the news.
Walla Walla, WA Asleep in my dorm room, when my roommate’s parents called. We rushed downstairs to the nearest TV. I remember feeling at a loss as to how to respond. Class was cancelled that day.
On my way to work in Hillsboro, Oregon. (Don’t work there any more; so stuff about work will all be “past tense”.)
I normally didn’t listen to the radio during my drive in; most mornings I just thought and talked to God. That morning, I was talking to Him and He said “Turn on the radio”. I was like, “Uh, well I don’t really feel like listening to…” when He said it again…Louder. “Turn on the radio!” With urgency that time. So I did, and heard the terrible news. I listened to it for the rest of the trip to work (about 30 minutes) and prayed the whole time. I also called my wife (woke her up) and told her about it.
When I got to work, I went straight to the conference room nearest my cube and turned on the TV. I was normally one of the first people to arrive, and that was the case that morning, also. As people arrived at work, they would have to walk by that conference room, and were curious as to why I would be in there watching TV. They’d poke their head in and then see what was going on, and join me. 20 minutes or so after turning on the TV, we watched as the second tower was hit; and a little while later we all stared in disbelief as first one, then the other tower collapsed.
Nobody got much work done that day, or in the week following.
Arkansas I was at home getting ready for a Dr. appointment in New London, Ct. An hour later I heard about the pentagon, where my dad worked at and Shanksville, 9 miles from my grandma’s house. I spent the rest of the day in shock…and disbelief. I was afraid the terrorists would try to blow up the Nuke plant near by. Many of my friends were in NYC at the time of the Twin Towers hit. Thankfully they all made it back, one only because he was late for work. The images of the people looking for loved ones in the streets, and exhausted emergency crews still haunt me. I was just as worried calling all my family in D.C. and Pa. I was lucky…they missed dad because it was his day off and grandma by only 9 miles. My friend was lucky too…he was missed because he stopped for a coffee.
eating breakfast, getting ready for work
vancouver, bc In my parents basement, when my mom woke me up and told me to turn on the TV