Senior in high school. I had phy-ed first period and heard about it immediately afterwards while at my locker. Second period was study hall and, though administration ordered all TVs off, our study hall teacher kept the TV on. I’ll never forget seeing that second plane hit. At that point I knew the world would never be the same.
September 11th. Where were you?
- Thread starter 44hunter45
- Start date
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
Strange day for me. I was working at a residential outdoor ed school for kids. There was a school group there for a 3 day stay. The parents and teachers made the decision to not tell the kids until they got home, so we spent the day having a grand time with kids who didn't know what had happened, all the while knowing what was going on and getting periodic updates. It was a bit surreal and it wasn't until that evening that it really sunk in.
Weird detail, but I remember that word was going around that evening that there was going to be a shortage of gasoline, so everyone was filling up at the station that evening...
Weird detail, but I remember that word was going around that evening that there was going to be a shortage of gasoline, so everyone was filling up at the station that evening...
I was a newspaper reporter in Texas covering business and the economy. I had a lot of sources who were in a National Association of Business Economics conference in the World Trade Center Marriott. I was on the phone making frantic phone calls until about noon when my editor told me the paper was going to issue a special edition that afternoon, and I was going to write the story about the impact on the economy.
Redmt
Well-known member
In the days following when they grounded all air traffic it got really quiet. It's normally very quiet as remote as we are but the lack of any man made noise, aircraft, made it strangely quiet.
Yes. Rented a car and spent the next two days driving home.
Simeod
Well-known member
I was in New York for work as Explosive Ordnance Disposal as support for the UN General Assembly.
We were just east at a Deli from WTC Tower 7 when the first plane hit. We had arrived early for a meeting in Tower 7. At the time we had no idea it was a plane. The first plane had come in over Tower 7 and all the debri blew out away from us.
Tower 7 was the home of multiple federal and local law enforcement organizations.
We rushed over to Tower 7 to see what assistance we could provide. While we were processing at security, the second plane hit. It's debri was blown into Tower 7. Thanks to the 1993 bombing of Tower 7 all of the lower glass had been replaced with Lexan and it took the brunt of the damage. We instantly switched to evacuation mode and helped evacuate the building. Working with building security we helped herd the crowds out a back door.
At this time we still didn't know it was airplanes. We were trying to figure out how they had gotten bombs that large into the buildings.
We were trying to link up with our supported organization when the first Tower came down. At the time it was like living in a movie. It was too unreal.
Fun facts. If you were above a specific floor in the Towers, you were supposed to go to the roof and they would evacuate you by helicopter. The buildings were swaying too much and they wouldn't let the helicopters land. You could see people waving jackets and towels from the roof when the towers collapsed. The biggest miracle is that they had collapsed almost straight down and hadn't crushed the buildings around them.
There are still images that haunt me from that day. We stayed another week in the city helping Law Enforcement and searching the rubble. It was a crazy time to be in New York. You could stand in the middle of times Square and not see another person moving.
We were just east at a Deli from WTC Tower 7 when the first plane hit. We had arrived early for a meeting in Tower 7. At the time we had no idea it was a plane. The first plane had come in over Tower 7 and all the debri blew out away from us.
Tower 7 was the home of multiple federal and local law enforcement organizations.
We rushed over to Tower 7 to see what assistance we could provide. While we were processing at security, the second plane hit. It's debri was blown into Tower 7. Thanks to the 1993 bombing of Tower 7 all of the lower glass had been replaced with Lexan and it took the brunt of the damage. We instantly switched to evacuation mode and helped evacuate the building. Working with building security we helped herd the crowds out a back door.
At this time we still didn't know it was airplanes. We were trying to figure out how they had gotten bombs that large into the buildings.
We were trying to link up with our supported organization when the first Tower came down. At the time it was like living in a movie. It was too unreal.
Fun facts. If you were above a specific floor in the Towers, you were supposed to go to the roof and they would evacuate you by helicopter. The buildings were swaying too much and they wouldn't let the helicopters land. You could see people waving jackets and towels from the roof when the towers collapsed. The biggest miracle is that they had collapsed almost straight down and hadn't crushed the buildings around them.
There are still images that haunt me from that day. We stayed another week in the city helping Law Enforcement and searching the rubble. It was a crazy time to be in New York. You could stand in the middle of times Square and not see another person moving.
Nick87
Well-known member
Unreal.
Watching the Today Show in the central time zone, we are “live, delayed“ viewing. So the first delayed segments carried on before the first tower was hit, and they switched to live feed shortly after. My first patient was scheduled for 8, but my drive was only 5 minutes so I kept delaying leaving as this felt like it wasn’t a Cessna 172 mistakenly off course as was first hypothesized by someone on the air. The second tower was hit a couple of minutes after 8, which was for us live broadcast.
My first patient was seriously ticked off at me for being late to the office. If my procedure would have been a “tricky one”, I might have rescheduled as my stomach was doing somersaults, reliving the first night of the airstrikes on Baghdad when I started to double check my mobility duffle bag was ready to move out if notified (active USAF during Desert Storm).
Living in “flyover country” at any moment you could usually look up and see contrails tracing where a jetliner had recently passed. Empty skies aren’t usual for Wichita with Boeing, Cessna, Beechcraft and Learjet here. The no fly rule didn’t apply to the military planes stationed at McConnell AFB, which seemed to have seriously ramped up their flying schedule.
Also because Wichita is “flyover country” lots of grounded commercial airplanes arrived unexpectedly and IIRC nearly 5k people needed temporary housing.
My first patient was seriously ticked off at me for being late to the office. If my procedure would have been a “tricky one”, I might have rescheduled as my stomach was doing somersaults, reliving the first night of the airstrikes on Baghdad when I started to double check my mobility duffle bag was ready to move out if notified (active USAF during Desert Storm).
Living in “flyover country” at any moment you could usually look up and see contrails tracing where a jetliner had recently passed. Empty skies aren’t usual for Wichita with Boeing, Cessna, Beechcraft and Learjet here. The no fly rule didn’t apply to the military planes stationed at McConnell AFB, which seemed to have seriously ramped up their flying schedule.
Also because Wichita is “flyover country” lots of grounded commercial airplanes arrived unexpectedly and IIRC nearly 5k people needed temporary housing.
44hunter45
Well-known member
Thank You!
Yep. mtmuley
MTGunner
Well-known member
Working in a telephone office in Falmouth, MA receiving electrical equipment. Heard and saw the F15 jets roll out of the cape AFB. Not a good moment. All stopped as we were told to stop working to avoid any communication disruption. MTG
ashersdad
Well-known member
Newly married, it was our last day in Utah before moving to Oregon. Packing up that day with the news on was surreal. Never will forget that feeling knowing it was going to be a different world.
One of the smartest individuals in my high school graduating class lost his life in the Pentagon that day leaving behind a wife and two small children.
Never forget.
One of the smartest individuals in my high school graduating class lost his life in the Pentagon that day leaving behind a wife and two small children.
Never forget.
westbranch
Well-known member
I was in 8th grade science class at a small rural school and the math teacher opened the door and said told our teacher to turn into he TV. Saw the second plane hit and I don't think most of us had any understanding of what was going on. Hard to look back on now with what we had in our minds then.
My dad made us stay home from school for a couple days. Thought it would be better to be at the farm vs. in town. Even though the town with our school had 200 people and was 35+ miles from the closest wal mart.
My sister was in 5th grade and her teacher had to quit the following year due to PTSD issues. Had been a Vietnam vet.
My dad made us stay home from school for a couple days. Thought it would be better to be at the farm vs. in town. Even though the town with our school had 200 people and was 35+ miles from the closest wal mart.
My sister was in 5th grade and her teacher had to quit the following year due to PTSD issues. Had been a Vietnam vet.
I was on a day off at a bank just across the border in Quebec. I was exchanging money, getting ready to head for Saskatchewan for some waterfowl hunting. I was listening to the events unfold on the radio. When I got back to the border, it was closed. Cars and trucks were beginning to pile up. One of the Customs Agents recognized my truck and walked down the line to me. He said," All LE Agencies are being called in. You better get home. We'll open the gate for you." He was correct. My cell phone was already ringing. Wardens along the Canadian border were assigned to reenforce Border Patrol.
Boarmaster
Well-known member
I was at my office. One of the guys had a tv in his office and everyone was gathered around watching. Myself and my buddy I worked with had a meeting out of office. By the time we got there the first tower had fallen. The meeting was cancelled and we drive back to town. I got in my truck and went home. I remember sitting in the family room over lunch watching the reports of the other attacks. I remember I was eating a Wendys burger and fries. I went back to the office after lunch but everyone was gone. They had sent everyone home. So I turned around and went home as well. one the way back to town after our cancelled meeting we stopped at my buddies house to grab something. His wife came running out to the garage. She looked at us and said” guys do we have enough bullets? “ my bud assured her we did.
BackofBeyond
Well-known member
My mom called me extra early that morning and told me to turn on the TV, as a plane had hit one of the World Trade Towers. I turned it on and started watching as my guys started to show up and load up tools/materials for the day. My two foremen came in and poured a cup of coffee just in time to watch the second plane hit. One went out and grabbed the rest of the guys, and we all sat in the living area of my shop (I was 22 and living in the apartment of my shop) watching the news for about an hour and babbling back and forth.
Thankfully, one of my foremen had the presence of mind to say "hey, we could use a little help with that deck today, can you put your bags on and come help?" We spend the day working at a slow pace, radio on, no one really getting out of ear shot, and many many breaks to gather around the radio and talk.
Found out later that my Aunt had been in Building 7 at the time of the first plane, and had been evacuated. Possibly by @Simeod, who knows. But I'm going to assume you helped my Aunt Marge out. She was a hell a lady, that did a lot of good in the world (she was an administrator for Peace Corps at the time) so thank you sir.
Thankfully, one of my foremen had the presence of mind to say "hey, we could use a little help with that deck today, can you put your bags on and come help?" We spend the day working at a slow pace, radio on, no one really getting out of ear shot, and many many breaks to gather around the radio and talk.
Found out later that my Aunt had been in Building 7 at the time of the first plane, and had been evacuated. Possibly by @Simeod, who knows. But I'm going to assume you helped my Aunt Marge out. She was a hell a lady, that did a lot of good in the world (she was an administrator for Peace Corps at the time) so thank you sir.
5th grade History/Social Studies class, can’t remember which. I went to a private school and they did not show footage or talk about it much. We had our TV off at home due to the roof being reshingled (disconnected antenna) at the time too so I never saw much of any news coverage about it until years later as it ran as documentaries/anniversary specials.
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TN_Rifle_Junkie
Well-known member
Sitting on an oil rig off the coast of Dakar, Senegal in West Africa. Waiting patiently for all the success stories on here to be posted.
Back then, I was active duty Navy... Young, ambitious and ready to exact some revenge. Our deployment that started shortly there after and many other for untold years, we were the tip of the spear in the Global War on Terrorism.
Back then, I was active duty Navy... Young, ambitious and ready to exact some revenge. Our deployment that started shortly there after and many other for untold years, we were the tip of the spear in the Global War on Terrorism.
mdcrossbow
Well-known member
Early delivery on the road for #1 back in the shop for #2 & #3.
Air defence of Washington started flying and made there turn back to DC right above my shop. Only planes flying for a couple weeks.They were only about 300 yards off the deck. We were called to refinish the new doors that needed to be made at the pentagon. Those were interesting days.
The next couple of years we were getting repair requests from family members who died at the pentagon.
Air defence of Washington started flying and made there turn back to DC right above my shop. Only planes flying for a couple weeks.They were only about 300 yards off the deck. We were called to refinish the new doors that needed to be made at the pentagon. Those were interesting days.
The next couple of years we were getting repair requests from family members who died at the pentagon.
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