September 11th, 2001 – where were you?

Kevin_Hassenpflug · September 2018

September 11th, 2001 – where were you?

I was Active Duty US Air Force stationed at Aviano Air Base Italy. We were 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so around 2pm Local (Italy time)/8am Eastern Standard Time it was “time” for the afternoon cappuccino to get me/us through the rest of the day - I decided to go buy a bunch for the folks I supervised. So after I got back we were outside drinking a few (it was a gorgeous fall afternoon), our peace was shattered when a younger Airman came running outside and said those tragic words “OMG A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center!” So every rushed in to see to what was going on, watching on live TV we saw the 2nd plane crash into the South Tower, I remember looking to my friend and saying “We are under attack”……… about 30 minutes a plane crashed into the Pentagon and my greatest fears were realized – we are under attack and we are going to war.

Every 9/11 – I shed a tear, for those lost, for innocent lives gone, for Husbands without Wives, for Wives without Husbands – children who lost their parents and parents who lost their children.

To the Men and Women of our US Armed Forces, even though I passed the torch years ago - thank you for all eternity for the sacrifice you make every day to ensure our safety; call on me ever again if needed.

caco_ethes · September 2018

I was a sophomore in college and I woke up to the news that a plane hit the WTC and immediately thought good lord, what an awful accident.

It wasn’t until 11 or so after my classes that I was walking through the commons and saw that there were so many people standing watching the TV in there that you couldn’t even slip through the crowd. I will never forget standing there in utter shock, watching the same clips over and over.

cdlee05mfp · September 2018

caco_ethes wrote: »

I was a sophomore in college and I woke up to the news that a plane hit the WTC and immediately thought good lord, what an awful accident.

It wasn’t until 11 or so after my classes that I was walking through the commons and saw that there were so many people standing watching the TV in there that you couldn’t even slip through the crowd. I will never forget standing there in utter shock, watching the same clips over and over.

This was basically the exact same as me...in my college dorm room just getting up and ready for class when my roommate showed me on the news what was happening and then seeing the second plane hit.

iMago · September 2018

i was at Ft. Huachuca in AZ.

was working a detail during the AWIC (a big intelligence conference with a ton of high rollers basically) was going on that day and when they realized it was some sort of attack happening they evacuated everybody who wasn't essential from the post. they figured we would've been higher on the list of places to be attacked next.

put us on roving guard duty around all the scifs and restricted outside communications. stayed like that for a few weeks before things started to settle down again.

nothing ever happened of any interest other than i remember someone found an unmarked package, that had to be detonated to be safe. i think later on they determined it was some delivery that had been dropped off at the wrong location and that was it.

i did end up with a new roommate a few months after everything had settled though. he was some near 30 year old ex history teacher. said he joined up because of the attacks and he wanted to make a difference.

Pour_Decisions · September 2018

I was at work in a complete panic for my friends (former co-workers) who still worked at WTC. I would've probably still worked there with them had I not moved out of NY. Who knows. I'm grateful they all made it out alive but boy those stories.

Lounmoun · September 2018

I was at home in rural Kansas with my baby. It was sunny and quiet where I was so far away from the events we were seeing on tv. I remember how blue the sky was over the fields.

J_NY_Z · September 2018

I was working nights at the time. I woke up about 10:30 am and drove to my then mother in laws house to do laundry. When I got in the truck I turned the radio on and I remember Dan Rather saying "The World Trade Centers have fallen" and I thought "What the *kitten*"? I listened to the radio further and got the story. I live in upstate NY, 400 miles from NYC. People were calling from other states to inquire if we were OK. The events had all taken place before I woke up so I didn't witness them live but I sure remember. Later the same day here a man took off in his crop duster to do something on his farm. All flights of any kind were grounded by Federal order. The man was met by 2 F-16s out of Elmira. I can't imagine how fast he filled his pants with *kitten*.

Unknown · September 2018

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urloved33 · September 2018

Standing frozen in my living room - I turned on the tv just in time to see second plane hit - I had to call my dad and ask "is this about something that happened in the past" and he said "no darling this is live" and I stood there frozen for several hours.

Jboogieonthefloor · September 2018

When the attacks happened I was five and living in Germany because my dad was stationed in Heidelberg. I remember my mother crying and my dad looking afraid, which was an emotion I rarely saw from him, but the magnitude of what happened wasn't clear to me back then. My parents allowed my sister and I to watch some of the news, but when the second plane hit they told us to go in our room and they found a network showing cartoons. Shortly after the attacks, my dad was deployed to Iraq and then to Afghanistan a couple years later. I can't imagine the fear of so many who were in the service during the time.

RunHardBeStrong · September 2018

I was at an early morning work meeting. The tv was on in the background. Once we looked up and saw what was happening everyone fell silent. We were glued to it the rest of the meeting. No work talk was happening. We then drove to work, patients were cancelling appts like crazy. We were watching it all on our computers. It was the quietest day in our office ever.

I was 6 months pregnant. A rocky pregnancy so I had restrictions and only worked half days, I left work got in my car and just cried. I was driving home, I live near the air force base that they took President Bush to. Air Force One was coming for landing as I drove down the interstate, it was surrounded by fighter jets. I thought they are going to kill us all, the next target will be this certain air force base and here I am right next to it. I cried some more thinking I would never meet my son that I was carrying. It was an extremely somber moment that I will never forget.

Just_Mel_ · September 2018

I remember everyone panicking and rushing to the gas stations to fill up. There were huge lines at every station. Did that happen everywhere else? It was such a bizarre sight.

RunHardBeStrong · September 2018

Avocado_AS5 wrote: »

I remember everyone panicking and rushing to the gas stations to fill up. There were huge lines at every station. Did that happen everywhere else? It was such a bizarre sight.

Yes. It happened here too.

RachelElser · September 2018

9th grade- Mrs. Rich's English class. We didn't do our journal entry that day and were off by one the rest of the year.

2kellymike · September 2018

I was working in D.C. I rode to work in a car pool and then took the subway from our parking place to my job. My carpool buddies had to leave without me and I was stuck in D.C. for most of the day. The subway was shut down until about 7 PM. I finally got on the subway and the line I was on passed under the Pentagon, which was still on fire above ground. We went through Pentagon Station very slowly and it was pitch dark in there. People on the subway were crying and praying. It was unforgettable.

tkyerxa · September 2018

I was nine years old. I had stayed home from school, I was pretending to be sick to miss a math test I didn’t study for. My mother invited me out of my bedroom to watch some tv and relax on the couch while she folded laundry. We were laughing at Good Morning America, something funny happened before they swapped to live view cam.

At nine years old, I watched as the first plane hit thr WTC. It was a shock, I looked at my mother who had this horrified look on her face, as she turned to me and tried fumbled with the tv remote to try to change the channel, but she wasn’t able too. We watched as the second plane hit... We live in Canada, not far from the US boarder. My dad worked on the Military base not far from out home, everything shut down.

I never missed another day of school. Until I got to high school, that is.

go_cubs · September 2018

I was in first period art class

Everything got quiet and the tv was playing the headlines.. even the birds outside where quiet

hesn92 · September 2018

I was in 7th grade math class.

steveko89 · September 2018

I was in Mrs. Henderson's 7th grade English class. I always thought she looked like you dressed up Yurtle the Turtle as a pilgrim with a bowl cut. The principal came over the PA and told teachers they could "turn on the news to keep up with what was going on". Puzzled, Mrs. Henderson flipped on the dusty old CRT mounted in the corner by the door.

nooshi713 · September 2018

I was at school/college. I remember getting searched a lot after that. And some even close friends of mine were making comments like "deport all Muslims".

Jay_d2020 · September 2018

I was in auto shop in my junior year of high school, I remember we were doing book work at our desk and they came in and told us to come out in the commons area where they told us what had happened and we watched coverage of it the rest of the day.

I would like to thank all the military, and first responders for their past and present service!

tinak33 · September 2018

I was 21, in college, in class, when my teacher ran out of the room. Then she ran back in, said "a plane crashed into the WTC!" and ran back out again. We were all sitting in there like, what just happened? What did she say? What's going on?
Then she came back in and said "Another one hit the WTC!"
Class was dismissed, I went down to another building where there was a TV, and everyone was crowded around it seeing footage of the 2 planes hitting the WTC. They closed the college, and dismissed everyone. About half the students left and traffic was crazy. The other half of us sat in our cars listening to the radio and crying. People speculating about who was next, others trying to contact family members.... I had no cell phone at the time, so I didn't try to call anyone.
I just sat in my car and cried.

klkarlen · September 2018

I was at work in a tall office building in Hartford, CT, my husband who worked from home called to tell me that a plane had hit the first tower. We all thought perhaps a small plane, and we all started trying to get to the news on the internet and it was not happening. So I stayed on the phone with my husband and shared the news with my team, and as the news got more ominous and the first town fell, I decided to go home for the day. When my husband asked why I told him that I would rather be home than a sitting target in a high rise office building.

We sat at home numbly watching the TV, waiting for our 6 year old daughter to come home, and try to explain it to her. They didn't sent the kids home early that day, so I don't know what their experience was like in the schools.

Some time later my dad told me that his former office in the Pentagon was 5 doors away from the section that was hit. He had retired two years earlier.

JDMac82 · September 2018

17 years ago today...

I woke up after a long weekend doing an operational readiness exercise. I got ready for class, flipped the TV on to see the first plane had hit WTC. Watched wondering WTF happened??? Then boom second plane hit. I knew something was off. Called my unit, got the info needed. Walked to class, called my mom, she works at a Govt Bldg, she was being sent home, bldg was locked down, security actually had weapons on them she said. Went to class, sat thru and don't remember any of it. Second class, walked in Prof said class was cancelled due to the events on the East Coast. Went to the union, saw some other Mil friends, we discussed it and then two of them said they had to report. Haven't seen them since, but they are still around. Went to practice, and tried not to keep looking at my phone, wondering wjen the call would come.

Fast forward 5 years, Iraq deployment 1. Have been fortunate to be home the rest of them. But my nephews, nieces and son have all grown up safe and free. Not because of my service but due to our grandparents and parents.

In my opinion 9-11-01 was the United States 21st Century Pearl Harbor, if you will.

Before so many had never known what a punch to the face and gut felt like.

But today 17 years later, I will NEVER FORGET the feeling of watching Terror knock at our door step.

Sep 11, 2001 is not the only reason why I wear the uniform. But it's surely one of a few defining moments that keep me servicing!

renovagirl · September 2018

@JDMac82 - it might be cliche but - thank you for your service and sacrifice.

JDMac82 · September 2018

@renovagirl thank you for your support

KosmosKitten · September 2018

Sophomore in high school. Chemistry class. A teacher ran into our room and practically screamed at our teacher to turn on the television. We spent the better half of the morning watching everything slowly fall apart as events unfolded, all work forgotten for the day.

Classes did not really commence for the rest of that day. None of the teachers had the heart to do much of anything, but we were all required to be there all the same.

elsie6hickman · September 2018

I was working in Washington for the DoD. I had a couple of people in my office and someone stuck their head in and said a plane just hit the World Trade Center. We all thought it was just an accident. A few moments later, same guy said "the other tower was hit". Rumors were flying everywhere - that the Pentagon was hit (it was) and the State Department was hit (it wasn't) and that planes were headed to the Capitol and the WH. I was supposed to have a meeting with some contractors, but when they came in, we just sat around the conference room in shock. Out the window, we could see smoke and we knew it was the Pentagon. One of my colleague's brother was killed in the attack on the Pentagon. He worked for the Army budget office and was an office on the E (outer most ring) where the plane crashed in. They released all of the government employees to go home all at once. It took me 3 hours to get home. I will never forget seeing the sign "Defcon D" (meaning under attack). That night, everyone who ever knew me and knew I had worked in the Pentagon called me to see if I was okay. I was worried about a number of friends - they were on the other side of the building and they said they just felt it shutter.
For months after, every time I went to the Pentagon, all I could smell was jet fuel. People talked about seeing dead bodies in body bags out in Ground Zero (the middle of the building). One of my colleagues was at the bus stop right outside where the plane struck. He said he didn't hear it, but felt the concussion. He didn't get back the building for hours and we didn't know if he was hurt or not. For days afterward, friends that worked in Crystal City said there were papers blowing around the street - a grim reminder. No one wanted to go to any of the shopping malls around the Pentagon, because no one knew if it was a singular attack or if there was more to come.

A week after the attack, we were told to tell our employees to have their prescriptions, and a blanket stowed in the office, because we were a soft target and if there was another attack, they would be required to shelter in place. For weeks, the Washington Post wrote articles about the people that were killed, articles about people that were severely burned and were saved by someone or helped save others.

I will say this: we had a pretty tight knit office before that, but after that it was even closer. A few people I knew had to take disability retirement - some who had seen the plane crash into the Pentagon and one woman in my office whose mother lived a couple of blocks from thee WTC. She became extremely depressed and fearful and could no longer stand to come to work.

leex2782 · September 2018

I was at a job interview at a Disney warehouse when it happened

SoleTrainer60 · September 2018

I was in a Sears store. They had televisions on display. The special news bulletin came up suddenly on the screens. It stopped me in my tracks. I started praying for our country and was praying for my family.

dmcnur · September 2018

I live in Australia and work as I registered nurse. I woke up to get ready for a morning shift and could not believe what I was seeing and hearing on the news.

September 11th, 2001 – where were you?

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