September 11 2001 - Where Were You?

[shoottx]

I was on my way to White Sands Missile range. I had just handed my travel bag to the Delta Agent curbside at Dallas Fort Worth Airport. The bag started up the conveyor, the conveyor stopped, it reversed and dropped my bag at the curbside. The baggage agent handed my bag back to me and said "Go Home".


After getting home I started checking on others; One of the folks that worked for us was scheduled to be in the section of the pentagon that was destroyed on the 11th. That part of the Pentagon that housed some of our clients, and we knew several of the people killed. It worked out that our person was there the day before. He had been in the section where the plane hit and was standing in the parking lot where the plane hit the ground.

Another of my friends in New Jersey was scheduled to be on the 100th floor of the World trade Center on the morning of September 11th. The people he was to meet came in from overseas a day early so his visit was moved to the 10th. Rather than re issue his security clearance the gave him the badge prepared for the 11th. He still has it!

I don't forget! And my thoughts and prayers go out to all the people who lost their lives on that day, and those who are standing in harms way so it does not happen again.

[herb fellows]

West coast here, we lived in Portland. Wife turned on the TV before work and we heard nothing but confusion as to what was going on.
The part I remember the most was eating dinner outside a few days later. No planes in the sky as all flights were grounded. Such a crazy time!

Yes, that was the strangest ever-present reminder of it. I live in NYC, have all my life, and planes are just a part of the background noise of your everyday life here, you don't even really 'hear' them, so much as being subconsciously aware that they are there.
I was at work, as was my wife. Unfortunately for her, she works in one of the tall buildings in Queens and saw everything happen live and in real time from her office window. To this day she feels an attachment to the event that most people don't, including myself.

[Tom Slick]

I was just getting up and ready to go to work when they announced on the radio that the first plane has crashed into the WTC, I also thought it was going to be a small plane. I turned on the TV just a couple of minutes before the second plane hit the tower.

Later that day I got a call from my Air National Guard unit that I was on standby alert and to be near the phone 24/7. 2 weeks later I was activated to active duty which would end up lasting 2 years and a trip halfway around the world.

Thankfully, I have no direct connection to the WTC, Pentagon, or United 93, but I am saddened by the loss.

[LCHIEN]

I was in San antonio at a convention on the Riverwalk.
I heard something about an airplane crashing into the WTC in the elevator and I thought light plane or something like hit the empire state building once. A couple of blocks away I was in the convention center and all the big screen TVs used for presentations were all tuned to the news and showing the plane crashing.

[Alex Franke]

I was in San Diego at the time and heard it announced on my alarm clock
radio at 8am PST. I seriously thought it was a sick joke until I saw it on TV.

I was in San Diego, too -- lived on Point Loma right under the flight path and was sleeping in because I was sick. I was just waking and realizing how unusually quiet it was (because there was no air traffic) when I heard the phone ring and my wife answer. A few minutes later she came in and said, "We've been attacked." I tuned in just when the towers started coming down. I was glued to the TV for the next day or so. I'll never forget it.

The night before I canceled a business trip that would have had me in the air that morning...

[jwaterdawg]

I was living in Alexandria, VA at the time, working at Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC. It was a very troubling and taxing day. I still to this day believe that I heard the plane hit the pentagon. Every TV was on watching the horror unfold.

The lab went on lockdown and they sent people home, which was a complete nightmare with all the traffic in DC trying to do the same thing. While stuck in traffic still on base, we could heard jet engines approaching. Of course, everyone was very alert and worried, but fortunately it was air cover over DC.

Not something I will ever forget.
J

[Richard in Smithville]

I was at work. Around 8:45, both main production lines suffered some sort of mechanical problem ( not connected to 9-11)and we had a large number of guys just milling around and listening to radios.

I knew that LOML had a friend visiting who was from the US so I called home and told her to turn on the tube-I couldn't say what, just that it was bad.

A number of flights were diverted to Hamilton airport and everytime one of the big jumbo's flew over( real low) we felt nervous.

[Bruce Cohen]

Saw it happen LIVE, was in Manhattan going to my office at the time. I really don't want to remember or rehash that day again or ever.

"Never forget or forgive"

Bruce

[JoeyGee]

I was at home and LOML called me from home. We were on the phone for a few hours. She was especially freaked out (which comes easily to her, anyway) since she was very pregnant at the time. Our son (our first child) was born 18 days later.

We have a friend that was in the hospital delivering her first child on that day. She said she had the hardest time getting help from nurses and doctors, as they were all glued to the TV.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Found out when I got into my Long Beach office at the Big Airplane company that morning; my manager, a former USAF colonel who'd worked at the Pentagon, looked unusually grim, asked me if I'd heard about the plane that had hit the WTC. We had no details yet, but the TVs in the conference rooms were on, and as everyone arrived, we just congregated there and watched. Watched as the news folks speculated on what had gone wrong - then watched in horror as 2 WTC was struck. We knew then.

When 1 WTC collapsed, I called my sister who worked in North Babylon if she had news on my BIL, who worked in one of the city stations for Long Island Railroad - she hadn't heard the news yet - he was able to reach her later and confirm his safety.

The enormity of it was overwhelming. Listening to the fighters patrolling the skies over SoCal was something I'll never forget.

[ragswl4]

I was at work at the San Diego Naval Station. I can still remember that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I heard the news. That afternoon the Naval Base was locked down and we (civilians) were sent home. Mostly because of fear of a local attack. I think I was off work for 3 or 4 days before we were recalled. It is an event that I shall never forget nor forgive. We live in a time of trial and I hope that we are up to the challenge cause folks, this isn't over. Its hard to believe it was seven years ago.

[Hellrazor]

I was at work. We just locked up after student arrival and I was doing some paperwork at my desk. I had the radio on and the news was just breaking about the first WTC plane crash.

[Wood_workur]

4th grade class where my teacher's response to the principal's request for teachers to keep all tvs off was to close the door.

We did nothing that day. We just watched the news. In fact, I think it was like 3 minutes after the first plane hit we turned the tv on. News came from a second grade teacher who got it from her husband.

[footprintsinconc]

i use to live in redding, ca at the time. i was at work, i started like at 6am that morning. we had a project to submit, so me and another coworker were rushing to get it done. our company was small and in our trailer office there were four other employees. we heard some chatter about air craft and building, they would occasionaly looking at me, but i didnt give it any thought and nor did they share any details. so, i thought "another small craft, cant they see where they are flying..." and continued working.

redding is was small town, very friendly people and next to no ethnic diversity, so we stood out. my wife use to go for a walk every morning along the sacramento river. a bunch of guys in a jeep went by saying obscene and other inapproiate things. then they reversed their jeep back to her and stood up and spewed more hatred. this freaked her out completly, so she took off running home with our daugher who was about 2 years old in a stroller. this behavior was very odd and was completely contrary to our 2 year experience there. so, she calls me and i blew her off saying, they must have been just some red necks or something, just calm down and dont worry. especially with out a licence plate number, its not even worth reporting.

then about an hour and half later, one of our sales person calls and asks how are things and where is my wife. when i told him i didnt understand his concern, only then did i learn of what happened.......the complete evenings of days to follow were spent in front of the common room TV in our apartment complex (we never bought one while we were in redding).

just today, i met for the first time someone whose close relative is a survivor of one of the first fire truck that showed up at the scene.

our heart goes out to all those innocent lives that were lost not only on that day but are also being lost to this day.

[RodKirby]

Got a phone call from our friends in Chicago at 2:30am (Oz time).

She said "We are being attacked" - didn't sound feasible!

Then we turned on CNN - and watched for 7 hours straight

I know ALL Australians, shared some of your pain.