My 9/11 experience and why I'm worried about the new threats

[becpee]

All the way in Australia, so far away, we felt your pain, your sadness and your fear.
I worked in a casino and i'll never forget people on their breaks sitting there in stunned silence watching the live broadcast of the second tower being hit.
I had to drive into town after work to pick my mum up and the mental picture of people who had been out, crowded around taxi's listening to the radio, no cars driving on the road.
I had days off and watched tv for 3 days and cried, it was heartbreaking to watch, even being so far removed.
When I went back to work I had to drive through the city, between buildings and I remember looking up into the sky while driving between buildings and seeing an aeroplane in the sky, and I flinched and I still remember that feeling of paranoia and fear.

You're all in my thoughts at this time.

 

[Princess Nancy]

Reading your stories, watching the news brings back that very sick in the pit of my stomach feeling I had 10 years ago.

Over the years, I changed that feeling into anger, but now it all comes rushing back.

We all need this reminder.

 

[Donnainnj]

This is what I wrote on the Dis in September of 2004
"Feb. 26th 1993, the first bombing, I was 9 months pregnant. Was watching TV when the news of the first bombing came through. I watched for a few hours, then couldn't anymore, took a nap, woke up and my water broke. Both my best friends went there to help, one is an RN, the other was an EMT at the time. We lived about 6 miles from the GW bridge then.

Sept. 11, 2001, was my youngest's first day of preschool. I had just dropped her off and the radio announced the first plane. I remember looking at the sky and thinking this could not be an accident. I got home and turned on the TV, at some point only one channel was working, we didn't have cable and the feed for most channels was from one of the towers. I called my aunt to ask which tower her future DIL worked in, she didn't know. I then tried to call DH who works in Jersey City. Couldn't get through. I got on the internet and e-mailed him. He was able to e-mail at some point. He had seen the 1st tower from NJ transit, and was going into disaster recovery mode. Most of the rest of his co-workers were up on the 7th floor watching as the 2nd plane went right over thier building and took a sharp turn to aim it into the Tower across the harbor. I watched on TV as the towers fell. I picked up DD from preschool, and the principal was out and hugged me, boy did I need that hug. I brought DD home, and the DH got through with a call, he said he didn't know if he would make it home that night as they were working disaster recovery for some of thier clients and that they were going to be taking over Cantor Fitz. back office stuff/recovery. That entailed doing what would normally take 6 months in a few days. No disaster recovery plan included the entire staff perishing. I went to get my older one from school at 3pm, had decided she would be better off staying the day, and one of the moms I new from soccer still didn't know if her husband who worked in the towers was ok. (he was) I remember calling my one best friend, her DH is NYPD and she said he was fine, he was deployed to city hall, and had been sleeping at home when it all started. Little did she know, he had arrived just as the 2nd tower had gone down, and was working the pit for about 10 hours before he nexteled her and let her know. My other best friend works at a hospital just across the harbor from the scene, and she went over on a ferry to help out. Really couldn't do anything, so sad. At about 11:30 pm DH got home after one of his co-workers dropped him off at his car at the train station in our town. He watched as they decontaminated everyone who came off the NJ transit trains. I remember hugging him real hard when he got home. I remember hearing to late that a lot of people were coming in on the ferries near our home, not knowing where they were, or how to get home. If I had known I would have been able to help out. I remember having a great need to help somehow. I tried to give blood, but they were overstocked, and there were very few that it could help. I remember hearing that when my Grandmother heard she threw up, she had lived through the depression, WW2 and all the events since, but this affected her worse then the rest.
37 souls died from my town, I did not know any of them personally, but found myself trying to through their obituaries over the next weeks and months.
My head hurts thinking about it in such detail again.
Donna"

 

[Scornelius]

No disaster recovery plan included the entire staff perishing.

That just made my blood go cold.

 

[runwad]

I remember that day home with my two youngest 1 & 3 the oldest was in kindergarten, 1/2 day so she got home around 12. I was folding laundry and my bf called to tell me to turn on GMA. This was after the 1st plane hit. While we watched the 2nd plane hit and then we knew we were under attack. I was scared being home alone w/the kids. DH worked in Cleveland, OH and there were reports of a plane flying over Cleveland. DH wasn't in the office he was out in the field and he had his cell phone but it wasn't on. I was a wreck, this was flight 93 that turned over Cleveland and crashed in PA. But at the time we thought Cleveland could be a target. I didn't know at the time what to do. My neighbor was a cop and he and his wife told me to fill my bathtub up with water along w/any pans. Go get gas in my car and fill up any gas cans. They also told me to go to the bank and get out money. They were as calm as could be and watched my kids for me while I did what they said. Finally DH's boss called me and said they got ahold of DH and he was fine and would call me. I was so relieved but so scared. We saw but first heard the fighter planes fly over our houses that was so scary, we live in a little town south of Cleveland so that is not something we usually see around here. DH finally called and then came home. He now keeps his cell phone on at all times he's away from home. That day changed my life.

 

[ugadog99]

Thank you for posting, Aisling. I'm an elementary teacher in GA. On that day, we couldn't really have our tvs on because of the kids. I used the DIS for all my news until school was out. We will never forget.

 

[M5ward]

A perennial night owl at the time, I was asleep on September 11, 2001, when my phone rang a little before 9:00 in the morning. It was the daughter of a close friend who had her TV on when the first news started being aired. She had moved here from Philadelphia after her marriage and was so upset by what she was seeing that she just needed someone to reassure her that everything was okay (which it wasn't.). She couldn't reach her mom who was at work that morning in Philly so she called me. I put TV on as soon as she told me what was happening; it was just a couple of minutes before the second plane hit the South Tower. Seeing the deliberation of the plane's path immediately made it clear that this wasn't an accident.
After we got off the phone, there was a barrage of calls from friends and family. Three of my children live in Maryland and just wanted to touch base with "home.". After several hours of watching the horrific coverage, I just couldn't watch any more..I needed to go to my special, calming place..the ocean. I rode over to the beach and sat on the bulkhead with the car running behind me so I could hear the broadcasts. Somehow, that special place just didn't work that day so I went back home. That whole time period seems to have consisted of sitting in front of the TV; horrified, angered, saddened. The hope of expected survivors who might be buried in the rubble never was realized. Each day was sadder than the day before.
My oldest son is a Maryland State Trooper; in the days following the attack on
the WTC, he and other troopers were sent to monitor what were felt to be possible targets. My oldest daughter, a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Maryland, worked to ready equipment and supplies that would be needed if they needed more volunteers in NYC. My youngest daughter went to spend time with her college roommate on Long Island; her roommate's close friend had lost his father (a firefighter) in the collapse of the North Tower.
A previous poster mentioned how everyone seemed kinder, more considerate, and gentler in the days, weeks, and even months following 9/11. I think this was true. I also think that the American people were united in a way that I had not seen in my lifetime..and I was 55 at that time. There was an appreciation for those people who put their lives on the line everyday to serve the public; there was an understanding that nothing in life is certain; a knowledge that we were vulnerable and our lives would never be the same. And..our lives HAVE never been the same.
God Bless those who died that day..and those who survived..always remembered

 

[MouseJunkie]

I was on my way to work when the first plane hit. I was working at a travel agency at the time and had just literally flown home the day before. I was coming home from Alaska and was supposed to be home two days before, but my flight got cancelled and I had to overnight in Denver. I can't imagine what it'd have been like if I had been in the air a day later, moreso for my family's sake. Another co-worker was at Disney and ended up renting a car to get back home after being stranded for more than a few days.

I remember it pretty clearly, my brother had called me on my way to work to tell me about the first plane. We had a small plane hit the Ramada near our airport several years before this in Indianapolis, and I remember thinking, "Oh no, not again." Little did I know, at least until the 2nd plane hit. By that time I had made it to work and watched the 2nd plane hit the towers on tv. I remember people still coming into the agency, which was a little sureal at the time. We had the tv on most of the day, but being a travel agency, made it a little hard to keep the tv on.

I spent most of the next several weeks cancelling many many trips. I remember a friend had called me to babysit her kids that day too and I told her no, I'm going home to stay at my parent's house tonight and I was 28 at the time. I remember being glued to the tv for the next several days.

 

[Aisling]

Does anyone else recall in those days and weeks just after 9/11, seeing drivers be more courteous to one another on the road, people being kinder and more patient with one another in general?

YES! My mom and I were just talking about that. Another poster mentioned that, too. We we ALL joined together for a while because of that day, we cared a bit more for each other, we felt connected to each other as Americans no matter which state we were from.

That just made my blood go cold.

Mine, too.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Thank you for sharing... It was absolutely heart breaking to read, but it is reality.

In a way, I would like to just skip this whole weekend; go to sleep and wake up when the anniversary is over. It is so horrible to keep hearing these stories and crying, but I am so fortunate that I live here in Michigan and didn't know anyone touched by the tragedy.

As a country, though, we all suffered this loss. And so we do have to relive it. But I still hate it.



I won't be going anywhere on Sunday. I will stay home and spend the day with my family. And I'm going to leave the TV off. I suppose that all the families who lost someone would give anything to spend more time with their loved ones. That is exactly what I am going to do; enjoy life with those who are the most important to me.

And I will pray for everyone...I will pray for our country.

 

[katie26]

I had just moved to Queens a month before 9/11, and I was staying with a friend and his dad. I was still looking for a job, so when I woke up just before nine that morning, I was all alone in their house, as they were both at work. I was standing at the stove, making myself breakfast when I heard the neighbor's television, turned up incredibly loud. I flipped on the TV in the kitchen just in time to watch the first tower fall.

It was impossible to make a phone call. The friend I was living with had a job at the Empire State building, and I remember just praying that another plane wouldn't hit the ESB. I was there for hours before anyone managed to make it home - the subways were shut down, so my friend had to walk from midtown before finally getting picked up by some good Samaritan halfway through Queens and given a ride. He looked so shaken. I think he got home around 3 pm. The time between the towers falling and the time my friend got home - I don't think I've ever felt so alone. I went outside a few times just to look for someone else to talk to or even just be around, but the neighborhood was empty and eerily quiet. Just like that incredibly blue sky.

My dad finally got through on the phone around one. I'd been set to go to a law school informational fair at the WTC a week or so after 9/11, but my dad got confused and thought I was there that day. I'm still chilled by the memory of his cry of relief when I picked up the phone. I've never heard a human being make a sound like that, before or since.

My friend and I didn't know what to do, so we got in his dad's car and drove to one of the local hospitals to try and donate blood, but they didn't need anyone. So we went to a TCBY and ate frozen yogurt, and while we were there, I saw a pigeon with a broken wing hopping around the sidewalk. For some reason, that extra little bit of suffering is what pushed me over the edge. And that's when I lost it and just started sobbing in the middle of Union Turnpike.

 

[LukenDC]

On 9/11/01, I was at work in DC, about a mile from the Capitol near the Navy Yard. We had just concluded a staff meeting when I heard that a plane had hit one of the towers. When I saw the grainy photo on CNN.com, I thought that it was a small plane that had accidentally crashed. Then the second plane hit and I knew that it was a terrorist attack.

A few minutes later I was on the phone when I heard co-workers in the hallway talking about an explosion at the Pentagon. The phone dropped from my hand I was so shocked. I went outside and could see a cloud of black smoke billowing from the area of the Pentagon.

I work for a nonprofit social service agency and we had to complete our essential work that day. The office closed early at 2:00 PM and I headed directly home. I rode the Metro and it was eerily quiet. I got off at my stop and walked a few blocks home. The streets were empty. I noticed that the Mayflower Hotel had unusually heavy security and wondered what VIPs were there. I lived near the White House and as I got closer to my apartment building, I began to notice Secret Service officers on each street corner. The one on my corner was armed with a shotgun.

I watched the news continuously until I went to bed. When I awoke the next morning, I looked out the window and saw an armored personnel carrier outside of my building. For the next couple of months, fighter jets patrolled the skies above Washington.

Now I live across the street from the Pentagon (moving next month back into DC). I think about 9/11 almost every day. Truly a day I will never forget and I will never forgive the terrorists and their supporters.

 

[ElizabethB]

I was in the New York City westside subway somewhere south of 14th Street when the towers fell. I worked in a building about 300 yards from the WTC site and was trying to get to work. We were stuck in the subway for a long time. The only information was an occasional announcement of "police action at the World Trade Center."

At one point someone in our subway car said a passenger jet hit the World Trade Center. To this day I remember telling myself, "That's absurd. Just stay calm. All kinds of crazy rumors fly when people don't have information."

Eventually a subway worker came through. He was covered in dust. He told us that we would be taken back to 14th Street and that the subways and buses were being shut down. A woman asked, "Can I still get downtown?"

He looked at her and said, "Lady, have you ever seen a building implode" and walked into the next car.

We were left wondering what he was talking about.

Eventually, our subway train was put in reverse and sent back to 14th Street. I left the train and got in line in the station for a pay phone to call my office to say I couldn't get downtown. A woman behind me in line was sobbing so I told her to go ahead of me. I was unable to reach my office so left the subway to start walking uptown and home.

I recall walking along Broadway and looking downtown. I saw a huge plume of smoke and thought to myself that it was a really huge fire because I could not even see the towers due to the smoke.

I continued uptown and a couple of blocks later I came upon a barbershop. The door was open and the TV was on so I stopped. I heard Peter Jennings say, "The New York City skyline will never be the same."

At that moment, I realized it wasn't just a fire -- that the towers no longer existed. I was horrified and got out my cell to call dh to tell him I was okay. Cell phone lines were overloaded so my cell phone was useless. I searched for a pay phone, stood in line for a while and finally was able to reach dh to say I was okay. He had been frantic as he knew I was somewhere downtown but had no idea where.

I continued walking uptown passing people who were sobbing and those holding signs about giving blood. Times Square was packed with people watching the jumbotrons showing the same awful scenes over and over.

The next morning I and many others headed to the Red Cross building near us to give blood. They herded us into an auditorium. While waiting, I read the NY Times and quickly realized that there were very few survivors and my blood would not be needed.

Our office building reopened the following Tuesday. Walking to the office I would glance over at the pile, but it was too terrible to watch. We had huge industrial fans in our office for weeks while the cleanup was going on. One day the smell of death and decay was so strong in my office that I came out and asked my assistant to call the building. I told her a rat or something must have died in my vents. The building people arrived and could find nothing. That night on the news, I heard that a large cache of bodies had been uncovered that day at the site. Then I knew.

Horrifying doesn't begin to describe that day or the days that followed.

 

[Aisling]

Horrifying doesn't begin to describe that day or the days that followed.

 

[punkin]

Horrifying doesn't begin to describe that day or the days that followed.

I was on Long Island at home with my little one. DH and older DD were in Manhattan. The phones (landline and cell) weren't working. I had limited IM communication with DH. There was no way out of Manhattan. They had shut it off completely. DH walked 2 miles to pick up DD in school and then walked back to his office with her. Somehow DH managed to find a coworker who took him and DD as far as Queens where I picked them up. DD was practically catatonic.

...and then for weeks after there were the funerals.

...and then for months the fear as a plane was landing in JFK (we were on the flight path)

...and then for years of therapy for DD.

 

[escape]

Aisling and others who experienced the events up close and on a personal level, thank you for sharing your stories. I've read and viewed stories from those who were in the tower but managed to escape and from family members of the men and women of the NYPD & NYFD but I haven't heard many personal stories from others living in New York or DC.

I live in small town Arkansas, close to where Tina (lovemygoofy) lived. I was working on an advanced degree at my local university, finishing up a report for my 11:00 class when my husband, who worked at the town's nuclear plant, called and told me to turn on the TV. I turned it on in time to see the second plane crash into one of the towers. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was stunned. I was glued to the TV and I didn't want to go to class but I had to turn my report in.

As I entered the lobby of the building where my class was located, I remember seeing students gathered around a large screen TV, watching the news as it unfolded. The two towers had fallen by that time. I felt like a walking zombie, I was numb. Once I got to class, a few people were talking about the events but not many. (???) The professor came in, started talking like it was a normal day. Business as usual. I remember thinking, "why are we having class? Our country was just attacked!!! What's wrong with you people!" This was the professor's first semester at my school. He was from Japan. I often wondered if he just didn't know what to do or if he was just trying to keep things as normal as possible.

As mentioned, my husband works at a nuclear plant. Yes, they were concerned about being attacked. We were the prime target for Arkansas. Since 9/11, many changes have been made in securing the nuclear plants around the country.

As the days followed, I, like many other people across the country, was glued to the TV, Internet and other news outlets. Who was responsible? How did we allow this to happen? I began hearing personal stories of those who survived the attacks on the twin towers and those who perished in the towers, planes, Pentagon and other. I felt incredible sadness for those family members left behind, for all the now homeless pets and for all New Yorkers and DCers affected by this terrible tragedy. It was all so surreal.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 events, Aisling, ElisbethB, and other New Yorkers, LukenDC and others affected, please know that you will be in my heart and prayers. I know these anniversaries must be difficult for some of you. I may live in Arkansas but my heart is in New York, DC and Pennsylvania right now. When the cowards attacked your area, they attacked all of us. We will never forget!

 

[Nancy]

I was home. I had just started training for my new job, was finally off overnights and working days, and sine we also work weekends I was off during the week. I had just dropped kids off at school. I came in the house turned on the TV and was going to put on Lifetime to watch while I ate breakfast..since the TV was on Nick I was just scrolling through the channels and saw the footage of the smoke from the first hit. Once they started to speculate that it was a larger plane I was thinking "how could an air traffic controller make such a mistake" and then "maybe the pilot had an attack of some sort"

I saw the second plane hit and I still was thinking some sort of accident and it being air traffic controls fault..I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was deliberate...of course in a very short time that did sink in.

I was just watching the news, flipping channels and the phone rang..my DH was yelling "what floor are they on" ...again took a few minutes for me to realize that he was talking about his brother and his wife. They work for NY State department of taxation and finance. I knew my BIL was not in there anymore, but my SIL still worked there...that is when my morning of worry started big time. They had just flown out of Buffalo the night before after spending the weekend here.

Anyhow...my MIL finally reached my SIL...she never went into work, called in sick (thank god for the flight being delayed the night before and her being tired). My BIL was almost to his office and ended up not being able to get home. He ended up walking much much later that day. They lost some co workers and some friends that day.

I remember being on here posting all day and just being glued to the TV. Plus I also had to keep DH informed on what was going on since he couldn't leave work and had no TV there...I remember being on the phone with him when the first tower fell and just saying "it's gone, it's just all gone" and then trying to explain it to him without totally falling apart..then listening to him relaying the information to his co workers.

My memories are just as fresh today and I still get freaked out when I see a low plane

This is what I posted in 2009. I can still remember it all like it was yesterday. I have never heard my husband with that much panic in his voice before.


Was I afraid? Yes. I was worried and afraid for my family members, but I was nervous about being in my area too. Very close to the border, very close to the Falls and a huge power plant. Downtown Buffalo had the huge HSBC tower that was being evacuated.

I still freak when I hear/see a low plane. I also remember the first day planes were flying again and how I nervously watched the sky.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

In a way I'm glad we didn't have Smartphones and Iphones back then.
I'm watching WSNBC which is airing live TV coverage from that day. Being stranded outside Penn Station and not knowing all the TV coverage, I didn't know of all the rumours that more was suppose to happen in NYC.

We did hear some about a plane hitting Clinton's office in Harlem.

 

[Aisling]

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 events, Aisling, ElisbethB, and other New Yorkers, LukenDC and others affected, please know that you will be in my heart and prayers. I know these anniversaries must be difficult for some of you. I may live in Arkansas but my heart is in New York, DC and Pennsylvania right now. When the cowards attacked your area, they attacked all of us. We will never forget!

Thank you. And thank you to everyone from all over the country and the UK that shared their stories.

This is my son's gf looking at the memorial lights.

 

[kacaju]

I still freak when I hear/see a low plane. I also remember the first day planes were flying again and how I nervously watched the sky.

So do I 10 years later.