9/11/01 Where were you?

I woke up and they were talking about Osama Bin Laden on the radio. I didn't pay too much attention because I had to hurry up and get ready for work. A little later, I was talking to my friend who told me to turn on the TV because the towers got hit. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I worked at the mall at the time, and they sent us all home because no one was out shopping that day. I went home and watched the news coverage for the rest of the day.

I was at work in Washington, DC, just across the Potomac River from the Pentagon. I received an email from a friend about the first plane, and then another about the second (no accident), and then the Pentagon was hit and the sky was filled with black smoke. DC was evacuated. I hunkered down with a friend who lived near the Capital to watch the news unfold. You had to walk. The streets were packed and the subway was a threat. Everyone was afraid - what was coming next?

Later that night, I felt safe enough to ride the subway. I was alone on the train will never forget seeing National Airport look like a ghost town. My wife picked me up at the station and when I saw the little heads of my 3 young sons poking up from the back seat, I broke down crying, thinking of all the people who wouldn't make it home to their families. Even now I cry for them.

Later that day, I learned that one of my best friends, who worked in the WTC, was missing, and then a few days later, we all came to realize that he didn't survive. JR and I played college lacrosse together, spent a month in Ireland together, stood up for each other at our weddings. We were as thick as thieves. We had a lot of laughs. His son was born a month after he died - he was so happy to be having a son.

Tonight I raise a glass of Jameson's for JR, may he rest in peace. And may we all find peace.

OP - Thanks for starting this topic. It's good to remember.

Dave

Sorry to hear of your loss. And yes, very good topic, indeed.

Yes, sorry for your loss.
Many parents were lost that day, several of yet-to-be born babies


http://abcnews.go.com/WN/slideshow/911-family-album-babies-born-fathers-died-attacks-11605680

On a plane home from Indiana. I was really young and didn't understand what was going on at the time, but there was definitely shock that anyone could or would want to do that.

I was probably at work when it happened, but I was at a friend's house when I heard about it. We were all devastated and very scared.

I was living in Portugal & watched it all unfold on TV in the afternoon there,

I used to live & work in NYC back in the day & our company had offices in WTC1, I just sat in tears & watched open mouthed in disbelief as it went on,
The Marriott Hotel in the basement was used to be called The Vista Hotel in those days, company visitors stayed there; it was reinforced after the original car bombing attempt & some of it withstood the collapse of the towers, some people in there survived & got out much to the rescuers disbelief

they just ran a lot of TV programmes here in the UK with previously unseen video, from lots of different people's perspective, still mesmerising after all this time

I grew up on Long Island. I was in 11th grade and just sat down for Spanish class. The principal came on the PA and told us that planes flew into the WTC and Pentagon in an apparent terrorist attack. He then said if anyone has relatives working in lower Manhattan that they should come to his office. Almost half of my classmates in the room slowly got up with blank looks on their faces and left. I remember initially imaging in my head that it was a few small planes with minimal damage. However, it really hit me when my Spanish teacher, trying to hold back her tears said, "it's really bad...really bad" and then just broke down. We sat in silence for about 30 minutes. Everyone had scared and shocked looks on their faces. We were not sent home and no one was really sure what was going on during the rest of the school day. The rumors were flying around that Epcot, the Sears Tower and the Seattle Space Needle were hit too.

When I got home my mom said, "Did you hear about the twin towers?" I said "yeah" then got to the living room where the TV was on and just saw a cloud of smoke over the entire city. I said, "wait, they're gone!?" My mom and dad didn't answer. I sat there the rest of the day watching in disbelief the replays of huge commercial jets crashing into the buildings. The absolute worst part was watching people jump out of the buildings.

Four kids at my school lost their fathers. A bunch of other kids lost aunts and uncles and other relatives. My late uncle was a funeral director in Queens. He was a complete mess for the weeks and months to follow burying victim after victim including emergency workers.

I never will forget that day.

Ignoring the tactless and rude post a bit above in this thread... I actually posted the following in my status this morning:

There are 3 dates that will forever be burned into my memory as times of confusion, sorrow, hurt, pain, anger, and after some time...hope. September 11th is one of those days. The world froze and changed completely. Yes, we were united, but we also became more guarded, more untrusting of our neighbors. It seems as if that day and the hatred I witnessed, despite some unity and love, taught me not to trust. I became a much more cynical person, believing that the good in the world is outweighed by hatred and evil. The sad takeaway was that instead of only trusting in the good of people, we must also be cautious of the bad. I saw people discriminated against simply because they "look like a terrorist". You know who else looks like a terrorist... anyone. Terrorism is not defined by a skin color, a religion, a country of origin. It's a scary thing to realize when you're still a child in so many ways. I was in 8th grade confirmation class when we were told what had happened and turned on the TV, and as a class we watched the 2nd tower fall. We prayed. We changed. In many ways, I became an adult in the fall of 2001. My heart broke for people I didn't know and had never met. Something so far away entered my life and my home and hurt as if it was my own personal tragedy. I still remember the moments of that morning as if it hasn't been 12 years. "Time is passing. Yet for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th." The world will never forget.

I was a sophomore in high school, the first plane hit while we were switching from 1st to 2nd period so people were slowly finding out as parents were calling kids to tell them or come pick them up. In my 3rd period class we watched the towers fall.

It was a confusing and sad day as we had several people who had a family member that either worked in one of the WTC buildings or lived in NYC. They were trying to call and of course couldn't get through.

I grew up on Long Island. I was in 11th grade and just sat down for Spanish class. The principal came on the PA and told us that planes flew into the WTC and Pentagon in an apparent terrorist attack. He then said if anyone has relatives working in lower Manhattan that they should come to his office. Almost half of my classmates in the room slowly got up with blank looks on their faces and left. I remember initially imaging in my head that it was a few small planes with minimal damage. However, it really hit me when my Spanish teacher, trying to hold back her tears said, "it's really bad...really bad" and then just broke down. We sat in silence for about 30 minutes. Everyone had scared and shocked looks on their faces. We were not sent home and no one was really sure what was going on during the rest of the school day. The rumors were flying around that Epcot, the Sears Tower and the Seattle Space Needle were hit too.

When I got home my mom said, "Did you hear about the twin towers?" I said "yeah" then got to the living room where the TV was on and just saw a cloud of smoke over the entire city. I said, "wait, they're gone!?" My mom and dad didn't answer. I sat there the rest of the day watching in disbelief the replays of huge commercial jets crashing into the buildings. The absolute worst part was watching people jump out of the buildings.

Four kids at my school lost their fathers. A bunch of other kids lost aunts and uncles and other relatives. My late uncle was a funeral director in Queens. He was a complete mess for the weeks and months to follow burying victim after victim including emergency workers.

I never will forget that day.

I couldn't imagine living close by when it happened, even here in Phoenix, though it seemed like a world away, the feelings were so intense, but to be there, I just can't imagine how hard it would have been.

I was getting ready for a job interview at a security company. I was running late but for some reason I turned on the TV. Saw the smoke rising from the first tower. Listened to the Howard Stern show on my drive in. They talked about the second plane and then started telling people about a fire on the Washington Mall that they thought was a car bomb (never did hear the full story about that). When I got to the security office I was hired on the spot. Spent the day and the next 2 weeks working 16 hour days checking ID's at a factory.

MAN Not you guys too GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!

Do we still talk about Oklahoma City? Or any of the other attacks that have happened????... this was the day our Government attacked US!...

MOVE ON!!!!

Well well said

Both of you should get off this thread, don't let the door hit you...

I was a sophomore in high school in the library for a computer class. The TVs were on and a group of us were standing in front of the TV watching. We didn't realize how serious it was at first. None of the teachers or librarians told us to go back to our seats. Later that day we leaned one of our classmates' mother was a flight attendant on one of the planes. We all cried because we knew the unfortunate fate the flight attendants had I went home and hugged my mother like I never hugged her before

Walking on the track. Felt sick so I cut my walk short and heard the devestating news on the TJMS.

First week of undergrad at university. I had just woken up and turned on my television right before the second plane hit.

MAN Not you guys too GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!

Do we still talk about Oklahoma City? Or any of the other attacks that have happened????... this was the day our Government attacked US!...

MOVE ON!!!!

Well well said

Whether it was our own government that attacked us or terrorists.. it was still a tragic terrible day and even more so if it *was* our government. And if it was you'll never prove that, it'll remain a theory like Kennedy's assassination. People lost people they loved, people they cared about either to the attack itself or while they were trying to help those who were involved. Whether it was our government or terrorists, the American citizens still need to band together, stand together, stand strong and remind those against us that we will not go willingly into the night. We will not be fear mongered into submission. We will not bend. This is our country and our freedoms to have. Not our governments to grant or a terrorists to take away.

Remembering days like today should remind us of what it is to be an American. What it means to be a republic and what our constitution actually means. Citizens needs to stand up, stand together and fight for what is ours.