Remembering 9/11.

[Embassy]

MSNBC is now broadcasting the Today Show from that tragic day.

[SILVERSURFER03]

wow and to think that was 8yrs ago.....time does fly can you rember were you were when it happend ????

[Embassy]

...can you rember were you were when it happend ????

Yangshuo, China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo_County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo_County)

I didn't know what happened until that evening since China is 12 hours ahead.

[SC Cheesehead]

I was on I-26 heading toward Columbia, SC with a co-worker when he got a call on the cell phone from his wife telling us a plane had just flown into one of the Towers. A little bit later we got a second call from her telling us about the second tower. We didn't know what to think, and the news on the radio wasn't much help; lots of confusion.

We had an extended meeting scheduled with a client that took most of the day, so we weren't able to get any TV news coverage until we got back to Greenville that night. Those images are still seared into my mind.

[TiTo35]

I was in class unaware of anything...I went to a friends house after class and it was all over the news...I tried calling people but it didnt work...BUT my nextel direct connect worked...til this day I said I will stick with nextel just cause of that.

:flag:

[ImpalaSlayer]

i was in 7th or 8th grade social studies class

[Black Dynamite]

I was in Navy OCS at the time. I pulled up BBC news just before I left the house for class and it said "Breaking: Plane crashes into WTC. Details to follow." I just assumed some poor bastard in a Cessna got lost in the fog or something. Got to campus and the whole place was dead silent. Eeriest thing to be walking among thousands of students and no noise whatsoever. Got to the armory for my morning class with the ROTC kids and it was then that I learned the gravity of the situation. Spent the rest of the day watching the coverage in the ward room. Wandered off at intervals to go other classes where we sat there and listened to the radio. We were all chomping at the bit to get out there and do something, but what to do?

[Joe Walsh]

I remember all too well.
I was riding down to a Northern Virginia jobsite with a co-worker and we didn't have the radio on in his truck.
As we crossed the Potomac River on the Wilson Bridge,
I looked up towards Washington and saw a BIG smoke cloud coming up from near the river.
I remarked to my co-worker that there was a huge fire somewhere in DC.
When we got to the jobsite all of the workers were crammed into a construction trailer watching the news.
They told us that 2 jets had hit the WTC towers and another had just hit the Pentagon!
When we left the jobsite we got caught in a gigantic traffic jam near Fort Belvior as all military personnel were required to report to base ASAP.
We headed home and they closed our office early that day...no one could concentrate on work.
I still have trouble believing that it happened.

[SILVERSURFER03]

myself .. at the time i working in a shop turning wrenches...about 15/20miles from dc,va area when the ground shook and the glass rattled the building work stopped for that day... and the tv was pulled out to see all that had happened before what a day

[JUST 1BULLITT]

I was in a Defense Leadership Class in DC -- 8 or so blocks from the Pentagon in Crystal City; the NEXT day we were SUPPOSED to go see Congress in Session and I even had an office courtesy call scheduled w/ my Congressman that next day as well. (12 SEP 01) needless to say our classes visit to Congress was SCRAPPED; I had driven my car to this training instead of flying and in discussions w/ my Congressman's office I ALMOST wound up driving him HOME to the Chicago area! (He was the Honorable Henry Hyde; himself a WWII Era Navy Veteran; so though he said he "ordinarily might have a problem accepting a ride from an 'ARMY GUY' he said under the circumstances he might make an exception! ) :lol: He had a great sense of humor; he's passed on now...of course they kept all those Senators & Congressmen under tight watch and security...but that day and all those events are forever ingrained in my mind for sure...our class was dismissed; no one could get anywhere as NO planes were flying; everyone was jealous that I had my own car and freedom to move out if I wanted/needed. I remember walking around the Pentagon and DC area that day in shock at all that was going on...at one point the Presidents Motorcade came flying down the streets the day after and Secret Service were actually leaning OUT all the windows of the lead and trails SUVs with Machine Guns at the ready! (We all just froze on the sidewalk; didn't even want to risk waving or anything for fear they might see fast movement and open up!! :eek:)

The fires from the Pentagon nearly 2 miles away from our hotel were STILL smoking so badly TWO nights later that the fire department kept getting called to investigate our big hotel because people THOUGHT our hotel was smoldering the smell was still so strong! It was a BIZARRE time; but man, the Country sure pulled together then...how quickly we forget and become complacent again. We just NEVER know what's going to happen. Thanks to ALL our Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, Paramedics and of course Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines everywhere who continue to SERVE and Sacrifice for our Nation. Vigilance is key to preparedness always!

[GAMike]

:flag:In 1995-96 My office was on the 38th floor of 1 Penn Plaza.......... A wonderful unobstructed view south, of lower Manhattan and those majestic towers.

My coworkers and I frequently discussed the possibility of what happend on 9/11 actually happening. Never thinking it actually would..........

Now a couple of us reconnect on this day, so that we don't forget the things an imagination can think of, can become reality, and not all of those things are for the betterment of mankind........

We should never forget or alter the purpose of this day. This day should be an annual wakeup call to never let something like this happen on American soil again. Period.

This should never be swept under the rug or twisted to mean something else. Too many innocent and brave people lost their lives that day and as a result of 9/11.:flag:

[CRUZTAKER]

I was in the basement of Detroit AT&T Main installing a switch.
The onsite called us up to their breakroom to watch the unfolding news.

Shortly later all AT&T Central Offices went lock down and we were told to leave the building.

My wife was caring for our 6mo old Gage, crying, and worried about plane 3 that which just turned around back east within a few miles from our home.

I made it home from Detroit in a record 1hr-40 minutes that day.

[twin03]

I was called to active duty in the D.C. Army National Guard after the plane crashed in PA. We will never forget, or forgive......

[MyTMerc]

I was going over the upcoming schedule with some of my team at Naval Aviation Headquarters when a Marine Master Guns friend of mine called an told me to check CNN. I thought it was a horrible mistake at first until the second one hit. I was on active duty and immediately took on a new task (security) until things settle down.

I had flown over the Pentagon (to/from DCA) the day before. The plane made a hard bank starboard and I was staring straight down at the Pentagon thinking that this wasn't right. We should not be flying so low over this building. I think of that image all the time.

I flew every week back then and the airports were packed and very noisy. When the sky's opened back up, the planes were empty and you could hear a pin drop at the airport. I still fly routinely and security is much better but still needs improvement.

The feeling we had as a nation was one of unity. For some, that moment was fleeting. For most of us, we will never forget.

My song for the day (on my facebook account) is from Toby Keith, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue". Let's Roll!

[rayjay]

I was sleeping in on my RDO when my sister inlaw called to tell me she was OK. OK? whats going on? You don't know do you. Know what Tracy? Turn on the TV. I did, just moments before the second plane hit. I'll clean this up " Tracy get the hellout of there NOW!

[duhtroll]

I had a room full of HS kids. We turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit.

Parents began calling the school trying to take kids home - the last thing we could do was let everyone leave without knowing who was going where.

We didn't call school off though some did - we didn't see the point.

[SpartaPerformance]

I was sleeping after a late Monday night at 2nd job at the time. I was woken up by a friend, who was down on Hudson st (few blocks away) he saw it all. I spent the next 6 hours waiting for my dad to get home from the city. What a horrible day! When I left the house the L.I. (495) was choked with fire trucks going in to the city, nothing but fire trucks for miles in bumper to bumper traffic, every police precinct was barricaded by city buses and cops were patrolling around them with M-16's and MP-5's. The skies were full of police and military was choppers, you could here the fighter jets streaking passed, a sonic boom every so often. It still brings a chill.

God bless our men and women in uniform, and unlike our current administration NEVER apologize for being who we are and what we do!!

[DJCV]

I had just dropped off my first daughter at preschool, and I heard what had happened over the radio. I drove to work, but couldn't help thinking about my again-pregnant wife who worked (at the time) only 6 blocks from the White House. I left work one hour later, picked up my first daughter and headed home. My wife followed soon thereafter and arrived home with us, safe and sound, only 2 hours later.

Nothing shakes you more than the fearing, deep-down, for the life of your family.

[Bluerauder]

wow and to think that was 8yrs ago.....time does fly can you remember were you were when it happened ????

Here a post of my experience from 3 years ago ....


11 September 2006

This coming Monday is the 5th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) complex, the Pentagon, and on UA Flight #93 over Shanksville, PA. A total of 2,973 persons were killed that day. Another 24 remain missing.

:flag: I will be flying my flag proudly on Monday “In Remembrance” of the victims and their families. Hope that you will join me in doing the same. Never forget. I won’t. :flag:

On the morning of 11 September 2001, I was checking out of the hotel at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY following a conference. As I was passing through the main gate in a rental car toward Highland Falls and Newark International Airport, I heard the first announcement of a small plane striking one of the towers at the World Trade Center. Initially, this struck me as very odd. I thought to myself that a small plane would have to work hard to hit such an obvious building. Maybe the pilot had a medical emergency and lost control of the aircraft.

About 15 minutes later, the radio announcer revealed that the second tower had been hit by another plane. The sky was clear and it was a beautiful day, no way this was accidental. I knew immediately that this was a deliberate attack and that terrorists were responsible. I continued on my way south along the Palisades Parkway and then the Garden State Parkway. Several emergency responders with blue lights flashing and rolling pretty fast passed me along the way. As I got closer to the Tappan Zee Bridge, I saw signs that said “New York City was Closed”. No traffic other than emergency vehicles were permitted.

I continued on my way toward Newark airport. Just as I crossed into New Jersey on the Garden State Parkway, the radio announcer said that a 3rd plane had hit the Pentagon (my old office at 3C529 was obliterated in that instant). We were at war with someone. I needed to stop and collect my thoughts – what to do now? A rest stop with gas station was only about a mile ahead. I pulled in and stopped and just sat a few minutes. Get a coke and calm down some – what the heck is happening??? Is the airport even open now?? What about the rental car?? Try to call – fat chance – everything is busy. While debating with myself whether I should continue on to the airport, a northbound car pulled into the reststop. A guy staggered out of his car and sat down on the curb. I rushed over to see if I could assist. He just said that one of the World Trade Center towers just collapsed. I jumped back in my rental car and turned on the radio. I was stunned and in disbelief. The past hour had been surreal.

In that single minute, my decision was clear. I am driving back to Virginia. Screw the rental car, I need to get home. I turned around and headed back the way I came. Back to I-87, then I-287 to I-78 to I-83 and south. All day I listened to reports on the radio. Plane crashing in Pennsylvania. Just words, no pictures, no TV, no CNN news reports. Lots of speculation and the images forming in my head were difficult to accept. The road rolled on. Tried to call home several times – no luck at all. Easton, Harrisburg, and York, PA Baltimore, MD then Washington, DC and out to Dulles Airport. Had to drop off the rental and pick up my car.

As I approached the National Rental car gate, I noticed that it was closed. In fact, traffic at Dulles was nearly non-existent. Very unusual – a virtual ghost town. I stop at the gate and a guy came over and opened it. I told him that I was there to turn in the car. No charge for the car. No shuttles back to the parking lot. One of the National guys offered to drop me off in his personal car as he was departing. Got in my T-Bird and clicked on the radio. More talk and speculation. Four planes total. US airspace shut down completely.

The guy at the parking lot toll booth waved me through. No charge today. Home was still about 45 minutes away. More radio reports. Both WTC towers gone. Pentagon still burning. Many people dead and dying. Still can’t call home.

I pulled into my driveway at exactly 5 PM that night. My trip had been a full 8 hours from start to finish. My wife ran out to the car and just threw her arms around me. For a minute or maybe more we just stood there. Finally, she said “I know you too well …. I knew that you’d be driving back today”. If I said that I didn’t break down and cry briefly at that moment, I’d be lying. The rush of the past 8 hours completely enveloped me in that moment. In the car for so long I had not been able to share my building grief at all of the events of the day. Finally being at home with everyone safe and together, I lost control. There I said it.

I went into the house and clicked on the TV to see the video and images that most everyone else had be seeing all day. Several birthday presents sat on the dining room table. There would be no party tonight. It took more than a week to even bring myself to open any of them. It just didn't seem appropriate.

Over time, I would find out that 22 of the victims at the Pentagon were from Prince William County, VA were among the nearly 3,000 who died that day. One was an usher at our church. One of our VFD paramedics was in New York City on vacation. He died in the WTC collapse after he rushed from his nearby hotel to offer his help. Several other friends and acquaintences had close calls and near misses or just happened to be somewhere else when their offices were destroyed. I am still overwhelmed by the events of that day. Putting them down on paper like this kinda helps. Thanks for listening.

[Vortex]

We had a little tv mounted in the lobby of the US Consulate in Mumbai (Bombay), India, where I was the Regional Security Officer. It was late in the afternoon and a few of the local staff were watching the tv. I wondered what the hubbub was I had a hard time believing it, though I remember I thought it was a bomb, I dont think they had mentioned the hijacking yet. Needless to say it was a rough day (for all of us).

[breeze]

i think i was in "1st mod" or "2nd mod".:lol:
...i didnt find out till 2nd mod n then my sister picked me up from school.lol

[jabird56]

I was in an underground command post out in the mid-west, that day,

[Ms. Denmark]

I posted my experiences on that fateful day, and those that followed, in last years thread. I was in New York City and I witnessed it first hand.

[jerrym3]

That morning, I was at work at our office complex on the Jersey side, right on the Hudson River. I ran outside after hearing about the first impact and was shocked to see the large hole in the side of the north tower and the smoke trail.

Eventually, we saw the Towers collapse from our office windows. Folks in our Jersey City office, which was closer to the Towers, said they could see people jumping.

Our office lobby became crowded as people were boated from Manhatten to NJ, and were trying to get home. The access roads to the Lincoln Tunnel looked like something from a 1950's sci/fi movie as they had been closed off and were completely deserted.

Later on, we learned that an ex coworker, who had recently taken a new job in the Towers, had lost his life.

But, I also remember lunches at the Windows of the World, the amazing view from the restaurant's windows, being on Hudson River evening cruises looking up at these two magnificant structures lit up by hundreds of office windows, and even the slow growth of the Towers during their construction.

I'll never forget.