The 25th anniversary of the attacks on 9-11 present a day to reflect, remember and pay tribute to those we lost. I am sure most of us remember exactly where we were at the moment when we found out our nation was under attack. Our nation was forever changed by those moments on September 11th, 2001.
Perhaps we can share our memories together as we think about the anniversary of this date.
Where were you on that day? And what memories are most vivid for you?
Yes, we do remember.
And there remain many significant questions.
I had just woke up after working a swing shift with a couple hours of overtime and turned on CNBC to check the markets before heading in to work again. I just stood there stunned watching what had happened while I slept that morning.
Call a good friend who was a pilot for United. “We are at war” was his response. He would know since he flew in the Korean War for the Navy.
Nothing was the same after that day.
My wife’s neighbor across the street since childhood.
“And I will carry this… It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end”
Driving south on 95 outside Philadelphia. KYW incorrectly reported first hit on the towers as a small plane strike as an accident. Then another report was aired moments later. These were no accidents.
I was at work planning the production schedule for the 4th quarter of 2011 at a coal mine in Central Illinois. I had been to NYC quite a few times visiting my wife’s family in The Bronx and had been in the towers previously. Needless to say, I could not concentrate on my task while I watched coverage on my computer. All the unknowns and the horror of the moment, even though half a country away, swept through my mind. One vivid memory was seeing the sign at the gas station where I usually “gassed up” had a new price on its sign which was unheard of during that time. When I got home and saw that my family and home were OK, I took a moment to pray for those involved in the horror in NYC happening in real time. NEVER FORGET!
I was working at a nuclear powerhouse down in Florida City. Just making my morning call to my wife on the way to break. She told me a plane had just hit the WTC, but no one had any details yet. In the break room, nobody knew anything yet either. On my way back into the access point of the radiation area, the plant personnel had all the big monitors on the live cable news station. We all learned then this was not an accident, but a deliberate act, and both towers were hit. We were instructed to report back to our break room for further instructions on what we had to do. Since we were in a pre-outage mode, we were sent home until further notice. The weirdest thing we experienced was the lack of the usual commercial air traffic above us. The only jets were from the nearby air force base. Like all Americans, we were glued to the TV for days after arriving home.
In some of us this day is burned into our memories to the very second it happened.
Just like TWA flight 800 I have never believed the official story because to many lies and deception surrounds it.
Like many Americans, I was at work on 9-11. Many of us were outside enjoying a beautiful morning break. Then there was breaking news coming on the radio. We all went back inside.
Work came to a complete stop. All of the company big screens were tuned to the live news feed & all 300 of us were watching in stunned silence.
We saw it all. The plane hitting 1 tower & then the 2nd – over & over again, the fires, the billowing smoke, the people jumping from the upper floors, LE & firefighters running into the buildings & those outside running for their lives when the towers fell.
After a company meeting where the CEO spoke about what we all just witnessed, we all went home. Life would never be the same again.
I fly a 9-11 banner under my American flag. “NEVER FORGET 9-11-2001.” I don’t give a thought to who may be offended by that banner.
I was getting ready for work and listening to the radio.
A news report broke saying a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I thought it odd, but also knew that other planes had run into skyscrapers before.
Then I heard the plane that had hit the tower was not a little prop-job, but a large commercial jet liner, and suddenly the situation felt much more dire.
I went into another room and turned on the T.V. to see live footage of the building on fire.
As I watched I saw the same ghastly sight thousands of others around the world saw in real-time as the second plane flew into the second tower. It was surreal. It was unbelieveable. It was no mistake. We were at war. The United States of America had been attacked on its own soil and that attack was being shown live on t.v.
I gasped. I cried. I called my husband and we both watched something we could not comprehend.
I didn’t call into work to tell them I was going to be late. I don’t think I even went to work that day. I just stood and watched everything that took place that day.
One tragedy after another, one horrific tragedy after another was playing out.
One tower was hit.
A second tower was hit.
Something was going on at the Pentagon.
Planes missing. How many?
All air traffic being stopped, and the skies became eerily quiet.
A plane crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania.
Was the White House targeted?
The first building collapsed.
The second building collapsed.
People were running and screaming and bleeding and dying.
The day was full of anguish and sorrow and questions about who our enemy was.
Lots and lots of questions over many years about who our enemy is.