Speak Out : Remembering 9/11
September 11, 2001. It’s a day that not many of us will forget. We won’t forget where we were when we learned the terrible news about the planes that hit the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and the lone field in Pennsylvania.
I was starting a new job in the medical field and was in orientation when they came in and told us that planes had hit the towers and the Pentagon. I was young, 19 years old and didn’t know what the World Trade Center was. I remember calling my mom to see if she had heard from my sister, whose husband worked at the Pentagon in construction. They had just finished a remodel there and thankfully had finished the job a couple of weeks before the attack.
I remember getting in the car to go home and tuning on the radio to hear the updates and finally getting home and turning on my TV and seeing for the first time the first plane hitting the first tower. I knew then why my mom was crying when I had spoken to her earlier. The immediate devastation and lives lost was finally realized on me. I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV as they showed the second tower getting hit and eventually the collapse of both towers.
The next few days, everyone was glued to their TVs for news of survivors and eventually for victims. Everyone was trying to learn the details of why something like this could happen, and how. I became (and still am) obsessed with 9/11. Every year I watch whatever documentary I can find. Right now, my DVR is 60% full of programs that I have recorded off TV, not to mention the items that are in my Netflix que and the DVDs that I have.
I even made a video montage and reedited it at the 10th year anniversary, which is included in this blog. Next year is the opening of the 9/11 Memorial in New York and I am going to plan to be there and I will remake the video to include pictures of the Freedom Towers that have been built in honor of the thousands of people who died.
Now, 14 years later, we are teaching our kids in school about this day. It is no longer an experience that everyone saw on TV, it is something that is being learned from text books, family members, pictures and documentaries. It’s hard to believe that it has been that long ago.
So, where were you on 9/11 and what are your memories and thoughts?
Jason
Thank you, Jason, for posting this about a weightily pivotal day in US history through which we’ve lived. I got a phone call out here in CA, saying, “Quick! Turn on the TV! Buildings are being blown up in New York!” That was a day that changed everything for this country in ways we’re still struggling to understand. Yet, so many, mostly the Zs and Millennials, seem to think it means either nothing at all, or that it’s no “big deal.” It IS a big deal, and always will be such.
on 9/11/01…I was unemployed and just resting at home and watched CNN as the towers tumbled. I immediately called my best bud who was living in Wisconsin…and I remember telling him to turn the TV on…and then I told him if Chicago did become part of lists of targets….then I was heading to his farmhouse to escape the expected aftermath.
Still watching and waiting for things to unfurl that morning…I realized if I was still working at my old job (of 15 years) that on a daily basis I or someone would be chatting with a bank employee working at their off site computers located in the World Trade Center lower levels and trying to re-establish communications between their systems and my old job systems.
I loved visiting NYC but I have never returned to NYC after 2001…and did not even WANT or WISH to travel on air flights for vacation once the new security sweeps started to manipulate free travel.
I then went upstairs right after noon time in Chicago and I looked up and saw no airplanes heading to Ohare. I listened to the massive quiet that descended on the planet and on every city.
In 3 weeks…I will be again taking a trip to Puerto Vallarta, the one place I have missed the most since 2001.
A message for our generation to come for 9/11…..
we need to do what GOD said: Do not overcome by evil,but overcome evil with good (Romans12:21)
through prayer, preparation and unity , a lot can be done
I was on a chat site when someone chimed in “our country is under attack.’ I thought it was some kind of joke but he told me to turn on the TV.
I watched in disbelief. Wait, there are people in there! Its just not there anymore!
I had nightmares about it for years.
I remember my roommate running inside and yelling to turn on the TV. I remember asking “Is this real”?
Horrible day but one which unified the people.
May we always remember those whose lives were lost.
I was on duty at the fire station when we just returned from a alarm. At first we were pretty much speechless, then one of the guys stated, ” Do they know they’re headed upstairs to their death?”
He was referring to the guys running upstairs to try to make a bad situation somewhat better. Yeah we knew the buildings were going to collapse, we were hoping that the buildings would have been cleared by then. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case, after the buildings collapsed, the eerie sound of the engines in the firetrucks half smashed by falling debris were still running and you could hear the PASS devices of the dead and injured firefighters blaring
indicating motionless firefighters. Firefighters are always firefighters whether we’re on duty or not. We are bound by Honor, Integrity, Duty and Selflessness, on September 11, 2001, 343 of my brothers died trying to save lives and protect property, it was a day that will forever be etched into my mind.
loudly, indicating firefighters that were motionless. Firefighters are firefighters regardless whether we’re on duty or not and we are all brothers bound by Honor, Duty, Selflessness, and Integrity
I remember hearing the news that morning as I had the day off, working retail. I also recall learning, much later, that the son of a good friend had died on one of the flights preventing even more destruction from happening. I honor the memory of all those who died, even as I wonder just *why* we didn’t know about it. Call me paranoid, but I don’t buy that we weren’t aware of the threat. Then again, we trained and taught those who did it.
9/11/01 was a horrible day for liberty. I, too, saw what I thought was a plane hitting the WTC. Also, I saw news footage of scorched earth in Shanksville that I was told was where a plane crashed. Odd that there was virtually no plane parts. The plane crashed so hard that it literally disintegrated. Really??? At the Pentagon, we were told a plane crashed into it as well. Once again, no plane parts to be found anywhere.
It took several years before I started seriously looking at the news footage from 9/11. Once I took a step back and approached it with an open mind, I became convinced no planes hit any buildings or crashed at Shanksville. If you look at the footage of the “plane” that hit WTC, notice how the “plane” completely disappears into the building–wings, engines, tail section, everything. That is an impossibility. An aluminum tube cannot penetrate a fortified steel and concrete building like the WTC. The news footage we saw was computer generated and not very sophisticated at that. 9/11 was planned and carried out by our own government and blamed on Muslims as an excuse to invoke the Patriot Act and take away more of our freedoms.
It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
Thanks for sharing where you were and your desire never to forget. I’m not surprised really that no one else commented.
The events on 09/11/2001 in the USA is just another example of the power of religion. Mark Twain said something like…religion was invented when a con man met a fool. Thomas Jefferson said that Christianity had no redeeming qualities. When will humans accept the truth that we REALLY are ALL equal? John Lennon once said give peace a chance. We could all benefit from another love in; just like John Lennon and his wife did years ago.
What is it about Americans and their need to adopt sackcloth and ashes on the anniversary of any major event? I am American, born and raised. I was middle-aged by the time the events of Sept 11 occurred. I was living in San Francisco at the time, and I do vividly remember the day. But I do not get all maudlin every time the anniversary rolls around. If anything, I should get all verklempt on 7/7. For those Americans who are unaware of events beyond their own shores, that was the bombings in London in 2005. And as it happens, I was just entering Russell Square Tube Station when the bombs went off. I was about to take the Piccadilly Line out to the National Archives at Kew for work. An acquaintance of mine, Karolina Gluck, died when the train coming from Kings Cross to Russell Square was bombed. And as I exited the tube station, the bomb on the bus at Tavistock Square, literally 400 yards away just around the corner, went off. But even with my close personal encounter with that event, I do not pay much attention to the annual remembrances … of *either* event. In fact, I get far more emotional about the number of gay men who die each year due to the gay community’s persistent “non-judgmental” stance on meth use. But I suppose to many, the 3000 who died on September 11, 2001 are more important, more “relevant,” than meth deaths.
For those of us who are firefighters, today is a bittersweet day. 343 of our brothers gave their all attempting and successfully saving hundreds to escape from the towers prior to their collapse. From speaking with the lone surviving crew captain, who went around the country following 2001, they were fully aware the buildings could collapse based on the fire load and the presence of jet fuel, that when ignited burns hotter than gasoline. Every firefighter is taught the limits of steel before it begins to soften and loose its strength. That day showed the country as a whole the devotion to duty most firefighters carry deep in their souls, to point of self sacrifice for people we don’t even know. Today is not a day of celebration for those of us who watched in horror with the knowledge of what was inevitable. It is a day of remembrance of those brave men who walked into the bowels of hell with full understanding, with the sole purpose of saving as many innocents as they possibly could. Thank you Jason for your narrative and its conciliatory tone towards the memory of the event and those who lived it.
Jason that was well written!
I was at work and the manager came in the room saying one of the toers got hit by a plane. I knew then what it was, cause thats all they were talking about about a year alier was AL-Qaeda. Well Thats who I knew was responsible
@John E Forgive me for bursting your self-encompassing bubble, but the WTC deaths DO mean a lot more than a bunch of idiots who get themselves hooked on meth. The methheads HAVE A CHOICE. Don’t tell me all about the horror of it all; I know it all too well, and have been railing against the “non-judgemental” bullshit about meth (and, prior to that, coke) use in the gay community for over 30 years. But THEY had a CHOICE. The facts are clear…you do meth, you die of it, and I’ve seen several who did that very thing. Those people in the towers…they were innocents, just going to work, earning their pay, just like any other day, and some bunch of foreign religious wackos decided to take them out. There IS a difference…those American HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO DIE. The gay methheads? They get what they deserve down the road, especially after all the crimes against others they commit while traipsing down the road of their little non-stop party. Same goes for the murderous ones who knew they were poz and took others down with them in the ’80s and ’90, as if in some fit of revenge. and oh..you DO know, I’m sure, that many who did just that were high on meth when they did it Disgusting behavior, both. But they HAD A CHOICE. Those in WTC, in London, in Spain and France…they HAD no such choice.
I remember it like if it was yesterday. I was 13 yrs old and in Middle school when it happened. The entire school was inside class and we watched the news all morning. I had nightmares for months..
@Toby Your haberdasher called…your tinfoil hat has been pressed and blocked and is ready to be picked up. Just to clue you in a little bit, do you know at what temperature Monel aluminum melts and vaporizes? Do you know the flash point of white water kerosene, the base stock for JP-8 distillate aviation fuel? Have you EVER seen pictures of a crash site when the fuel tanks full of JP-8 are ruptured during the crash? Did you know they found titanium compressor rings to the engines in the Pentagon wreckage? I didn’t think so. However, the compressor ring found was thought by many kooks to be that from the engine of a USAF Grumman A-6 Intruder. Not true; the compressor ring shown in that famous photograph indeed is from a high side stage of a Pratt and Whitney PW2000…the very engines used on the B-757. Please take your meds and call the psychiatrist in the morning…before the nice young men in the clean white coats come to take you AWAAAAAAAAAAAY….
I remember David, who was the co-pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. He and his partner were lovely, handsome and most kind. I lived I DC at the time, and my ex and I hosted gatherings that they attended. It still gets me all teared up.
Several days before 9/11 I had an argument with Matt a new net friend about some stupid stuff or just a misunderstanding online and we stopped talking or exchanging emails. I had met him online for about 5 months but we wrote to each other everyday sharing details about daily activities and dirty thoughts. It’s understandable that we had developed a connection or bond after sharing our personal interests, sexual desires, and deep thoughts . Then came 9/11 who could predict or prevent such terrorism happened right on American soil much less in New York City, the international symbol for destination of freedom. I am just one of those people that are very skeptical about almost everything shown on TV or movies depicting wars and accidents. Coming from a country that has withstood many wars caused by China, France, Japan, and the U.S. I would have thought America is the safest place but 9/11 has changed everything including our freedom in traveling and communication among other things. I’m not the type that’s easily swayed by local news or any kind of tragedy broadcasted repeatedly 4-6 times a day. However, I was dumbfounded on that morning while watching the live news on 9/11 after the first plan hit the tower. It almost seemed like something happened in a movie or some kind of accident in somewhere else other the US. Then the second plan hit another town and even the news people got frantic in their own broadcasting. The news kept going and sounded like being put in a loop after one and another plane hit or and trying to hit the Pentagon. I was numb and trying to block the whole thing out of mind by continuing with other daily tasks . It was so unreal and horrifying tragedy ever I experienced in America regardless how many movies depicting hijacking by crazy terrorists or even many old news about World Trade center explosion or attacks on US Embassies abroad. I never thought it would happen at all but it did one after another as the news chronologically displayed and replayed a different plane at different location with death toll assumed increasingly as firemen disappeared one by one. After that day I refused to watch or read about 9/11 although i liked to share my disbelief with someone or a friend like Matt but remember that we stopped chatting after the argument occured a week before 9/11. Life went on even though in my mind i always wondered what Matt was doing right now in Washington DC. Matt was killed in one of the planes supposed to aim for the white house. He was a successful man living in Virgina, a few years younger than I but very mature and we were infatuated with each other online. I didnt know he was in one of the planes after several months chatting to another guy online named Chad that sounded somewhat very familiar to his expression and knowing certain things about me until i mentioned that he sounded like someone i chatted before. I thought I was tricked by Matt because we joked and pushed each other buttons everyday through email. Then this guy admitted that he is a friend of Matt’s boyfriend who gave my email address or maybe the exchange of dirty thoughts between I and Matt. I was shocked and sadden by his death but still wanted to make sure he was talking about Matt by asking him more detail questions about his mother since we discussed in length about our parents in chatting not email. That was Matt alright, poor Mom. I missed him dearly regardless of never having a chance to meet him in person.
I was in 4th grade science when the principle’s assistant ran into to the room saying they are blowing up the World Trade Center. We sat there watching the news for the next few hours. I remember watching the towers fall. It’s crazy to thing that’s the only memory from 4th grade that I can remember but I remember every detail of that day.
I Washington fifth grade health class when the principal got on the loud speaker and gave us the details. I was about 90 minutes out of the city. I had many friends who’s parents worked in the city too. the rest of the day was chaos, people getting pulled out of school, teachers unable to educate and trying to learn what was going on themselves. When I got home and saw the footage even as a ten year old boy I remember thinking there was something fishy about the ultimate collapse of the two towers. I will always believe it was a demolition and not as foreign act of terror. Like many major points in history the masses may very well never know the whole truth of that day.
clinical social worker, in ny, who was involved in crisis counseling post 9-11. Forgive me but I am so tired of all the posts commemorating the fallen firemen and police, not that they should be forgotten, but who cleaned up the debris, who exposed themselves to the pit and the ongoing toxic fumes that continued for weeks, not FDNY or NYPD, but DPW, they were the ones with the heavy equipment, they went in there every day until it was cleaned up enough for people to return to their homes, and no one honors them. I worked with some members of the DPW crews who saw things that the rest of us are blessed not to. I just wish that people took the time to see, really see, the people who arent seen all around us.
I remember driving over the Bridge in Boston that over looks Logan Airport on that Beautiful day. I could clearly see the Airport at a little b4 8am. I said to my ex partner. “what a beautiful day!” I dropped him off and drove to my job. As I reached for the ignition to turn off my car. I heard the radio Announcer come on and say…”It looks like an Airplane hit the WTC in NYC” I remember walking up the stairs wondering if I actually heard that. I worked for a media company at the time and when I got to my floor and office. I remember the frantic feeling.
I watched it all go down from there. I lost a friend from the gym on one of the highjacked planes And one friend on the 103 floor of the WTC. Bonnie told me she was afraid of heights, and her desk was right by the window. This day still haunts me like it just happened! Peace and love to all those who suffered! You will NEVER be forgotten!
Perhaps too late to add my voice here, but on 9/11/01 I was in Rockville, MD — just outside DC. I was there teaching a class for a technical training company.
It was a Tuesday morning, the first day of a 4-day course. Class started at 9AM, and we were in the final stages of getting everyone settled, when some of the students came into the classroom and told us we needed to come see what was on the TV in the lobby.
Many of my students were Pentagon employees, and at least 4 of them had children in the Pentagon’s daycare.
Needless to say, we didn’t have class that week, and I spent the entire week essentially holed up in my motel room, bored out of my mind and on the phone with family around the country — all they knew was that I was “in DC” and they were, quite understandably, worried.
I was supposed to fly home on that Friday, but as you may recall, the skies were still clear of ALL traffic by then. I was scheduled to teach another class another week later, so I called the car rental company and told them my car would be returned 2-weeks late and in Boston, not DC. Then I drove from MD to CT — the location of the next class (which, at that time, STILL had not canceled).
The drive up I-95 has a section in NJ that is right on the coast, and the view of south Manhattan is spectacular. The right lane was mostly blocked with cars pulling over — the rising smoke from the fires at the WTC were clearly visible. I pulled over and while I took in the sight, tears came to my eyes.
I got to CT, and on Monday, I did what I was supposed to do and setup for class to start the next day. I honestly didn’t know if any students would show up, and I certainly didn’t know if the planes would be flying again by Friday. I was prepared to drive all the way back to Fla, if that was what it took. But that wasn’t necessary. Students DID show up, and I WAS able to fly home on Friday.
I personally knew about 20 people who worked @ WTC, and only 2-weeks prior to the attacks, I had taught a class in 7-WTC — a building that collapsed a few days after the attack. Of the 20, only 3 survived — all 3 had stayed home from work as they had kids sick with a stomach bug.
When I first saw the collapses of the towers, the thing that came to my mind were the stories my grandparents used to share about WW-II. They said over and over how the best thing regular people could do was a) don’t panic, b) do your job, and c) volunteer to help when the opportunity is given. I hope I did them proud, as those thoughts and recollections comforted me in that very strange and troubled time.
Chip
No plane crashed on the Pentagon! Only dumb people can believe it. Kfh
Thanks for the comments everyone. 🙂