Remembering 9/11: Where Were You? Share Your Story.

I was at work. I remember it clearly. It was a company with a lot of scientists from around the world. I was told that something bad was happening, and that there was a TV brought into the lunch room area. Quite a few people were already there, and I'm not sure how word had gotten out that quickly. I had just got there and the second building was hit. As I stood there, I remember as they said there was now an explosion at the Pentagon. My stomach felt that. We all stood there, all day. Lots of people crying and just holding hands. I'm not a very emotional guy, but I sure was that day.

 

Reading some of these stories is unreal, thanks to everyone for sharing. It reminds me of my friend that was working on a road crew out by Falcon field in AZ. I cant remember what time he said it was but approx 6am AZ time and they had not heard anything about the attacks when he started seeing fully loaded F16's taking off side by side. He said they never really paid attention to the planes before but when you have 2 fully loaded military jets taking off side by side every 30 seconds he knew something bad was happening.

I think a few people said it but the thing that affected me the most was the thought that we are at war, not because of some conflict we were trying to resolve, but because someone came to our home and attacked us. We will never forget

Edit: I believe it was Luke AFB not Falcon Field

 

I agree at my age when it happened, it never really sunk in until my Dad told me we were going to war.

 

Military channel showing "The falling man " . People that had to jump from the world trade center. Sad and erie.

 

I was 4 at the time. I was in Walmart with my mom shopping, it was laying on the tv's that were for sale. I didnt really figure it out for a few more years till I was in grade school.

 

I worked for XM Satellite Radio and was in Dallas on the 10th. I had a meeting on the 11th at headquarters in down town DC.

I worked about 3 blocks from Union Station, Our building went on Lock down. I tried to get home, and made my way to Union Station.

People were scattering like crazy, traffic to union station was obsurd, people panicking, driving up on the curb to get around traffic.

When I made it to Metro Center to change trains, the train from the yelllow line (pentagon train) came to a stop on the orange line tracks, re routed from the pentagon.

I remember very clearly a man begging his wife to take the next train and he would follow a few trains later. " We have to think of the kids, what if they blow up a train and we are both on it?"

I drove by the pentagon every morning on my way to work unless I took the train. Everyday after that there were HumV's with Anti Aircraft all along the GW Pkwy.

I will never forget that day.

 

Driving to college, listening to Howard Stern and they cut live to him and dumped the delay.

I thought it was a huge joke will I walked into class and everyone was glued to the TV>

Still gives me chills when I saw those images.

Still pisses me off too.

 

Was in first grade and sitting in the dentists office watching the news of the first attack when we saw the second hit live on tv. still remember the day vividly even the exact seat i was sitting in and the screams of the people watching when the second plane hit.

 

I was a SGT and was making my rounds picking up soldiers/ volunteers for a red cross blood drive. I had been tasked as the hmfic for the event, and learned over my cell from my "Top" (1st Sgt) that the event had been cancled and that everyone was to return to their respective commands immediatly for recall. The base was on lock down for four days. No one in, no one out. No matter how inconvenienced we all were, it pales in comparison to what a lot of people have had to endure since. My thouhts and prayers go out to ALL the fallen of this travesty. Not only the NYFD, and NYPD, and people on the flights and in the towers but everyone who has been deployed in support of OEF and OIF as well. Many, over the years, have paid the ultimate price defending this great nation and our beliefs. Let us never forget.

 

In 5th grade. They stopped class and turned on the TV and let us watch what was happening. Every single kid in my class then spent the rest of the day watching every single plane we saw out the window freaked out. Eventually they let everyone out of school an hour or so early.

After school my family went and bought ammo, gasmasks and food. Everything was different after that.

 

I was in 8th grade sitting in my reading class. The teacher from across the hall comes runnung in screaming turn on the T.V. That is when we all saw what was going on. That is what we did all day is watch the news. School was closed the next day. Little did I know that 4 years later I would have a family member K.I.A. in the war and that only 7 years later I would find myself overseas as well. I am very proud of him and all the other vets as well as all of my decisions.

 

I was onboard USS Constellation, on our way back from the Persian Gulf. We had just left Pearl Harbor on the 9th and were scheduled to pull in to San Diego on the 13th. On the 11th, everything stopped as we all watched the news. Then we spent the next few days wondering if we were going home or getting turned around and going back to the gulf. The Enterprise was closer, so it went to the gulf and we went home. We didn't go back until 2003, when we led the shock and awe campaign...

And I too feel old after reading all the posts of people who were kids...

 

Many and profuse thanks to those serving our country and an added thanks to the .mil folks who took time to post in this thread. Keep your head on a swivel and come home safe.

I'm honored to see how resilient everyday Americans are, despite the surroundings. Adversity can knock us around, but it does not knock us out.

I'm strengthened by the video's showing people coming together, exhibiting genuine acts of bravery and courage. All of them every-day citizens. These folks are the fabric of America and I'm proud to call them my friends.

We don't often see the inspirational or the exceptional in day to day life. When I view this moment in history, using that focus, I am proud to be an American.

 

They say there are certian days that you remember vividly for the rest of your days - where you were, what you thought and what you did. this was one of those days...

I was asleep in bed at the time, didnt have class that day, dad called later when I woke up and told me to turn on the tv, and it wasant a movie this time.

I watched nothing but the news for the next few weeks, as the nation stared at a smoking pit in the heart of its greatest city. We were obviously at war with um, someone? whoever it turned out to be, there would be hell to pay. however long it took, we were going to find that sob and shoot him in the face. at least those guys and thier leader will burn in tarknah for all eternity.

its prolly a good (or bad) thing I wasant president at the time, cause id have nuked somebody that very afternoon.

as a sidebar, they broke ground for construction on the pentagon on sept 11, 1941... 60 years to the day.

 

As with the rest of you I have vivid memories of September 11, 2001.

First, I would like to thank all those in the professions of the military, fire departments, law enforcement, EMT, medical & volunteers who worked that day, the days after and continue to do so today.

I'm always amazed at the number of people who have short memories and or a distorted view of reality. As events in the middle east have shown from news even today their are groups (& those are growing groups) that hate the USA and what it stands for. I believe we are still in a fight for our lives. Even with the dope smoking, love and let love crowd in power and popular today, the threat exist and is very real. This is, IMO, a basic failure to understand the beliefs of our foe. I could go into much much greater detail but, that is not the topic of the thread and would not be consistent with the rules of TW. But, I do believe attacks on us from within are not over and we as a country, by our lack of action, are inviting the UBLs of the world in our front door.

Where was I on 9/11/2001:

I was a supervisor at a major airline working in system operations control (SOC). The SOC group is a combination of teams across the airline that co-ordinate the daily and near term operation of the airline. The teams were Maintenance Planning, Maintenance Control, AOG, Crew Scheduling & Aircraft Routing. I was on an employee handbook steering commitee when the first aircraft struck the WTC. On break, I returned to my office to check e & voice mails and leaned of the attack. After watching the news for a short period, I went back to the break out room and informed the group of the news. I will never forget an employee from Sydney AU commented "maybe America will get the message now". I wanted to kill him on the spot...even though it was, at the time, just one aircraft we all knew it was an attack. We decided we should postpone our meetings and return to our work stations. The rest if the day was spent getting aircraft on the ground, finding the best method to recover those aircraft that were out of scheduled position and watching the news.

While my life was impacted by way if unemployment a few years after 9/11/2001 that impact is nothing compared to the poor people there that day and our military.

 

I was at work and everyone in my department was gathering for a morning meeting. All of a sudden every phone in our suite started ringing and someone commented that something must have happened. A few minutes later someone came in and told us that plane had just hit the World Trade Center. I went back to my office and my wife called in hysterics and said she watching the news when the second plane hit. Everyone in the office gathered and watched things unfold on TV in a break room.

On the way home I stopped by my station and found out that one of our firefighters had 2 uncles that were FDNY and they could not find out any information on where they were alive or not. The next day they found out that one of his uncles's ladder company was on the second alarm. He as standing outside the North Tower when the South Tower came down. He managed to run into a loading dock area and survived. He was pretty messed up mentally. For months after, he would just show up at our station and hangout for a few days, just trying to get away for a little while. His other uncle was off duty at the time , but was call back.

As stated many times in this thread, THANK YOU! to all out military men and women. Never forget those that gave all!

 

I was in third grade, sitting in my classroom. The TV in the corner flicked on by itself and we all looked at it- I saw what looked like two smokestacks of a ship- with fire and smoke. It took me a minute to realize that they were not smokestacks- they were buildings. Took a while for the words rolling across the bottom of the screen to sink in. I went numb.
When the bus let me and my little sister off at our stop, I was shocked to find my mother there in our van- I'd never seen her drive before, because she's sick. She was crying, and hugging all over us. Lost my uncle in that attack, it turned out. Mom drove us home, and I remember making Mom leave the van on, because as soon as we pulled in the driveway, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" came on, and I wanted to hear it. A song had never touched me so much.
I may have only been eight years old, but it felt like my happy, innocent world had shattered into a thousand pieces. I had never felt such rage, such sadness. I wanted to KILL whoever was responsible. I wanted to find them and tear them to shreds, to run them through with a sword and scream at the top of my lungs with every stab.
I spent the next couple months hiding every time I heard or saw a plane, convinced that we were going to be bombed.