|
|
|
#1258 | Tuesday, May 7th 2002
|
I was sitting in the commons of my school in St.Louis, and a friend of mine came into the commons screaming that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We looked at her and thought she was joking, no way could that happen. When we finally believed her, we went to go find the nearest TV. Every channel we turned to had NYC on the screen. I remember sitting on a desk and watching in awe, who would do such a thing? When I went to my next class, no one else knew what happened so the only thing I could think of was turn on the TV and say, "look". We were all just standing around the TV saying nothing, just watching until someone said, "I think the building's falling!" The site was unbelievable. The pictures still bring tears to my eyes. How could this happen? We're America.
My father's generation had the "where were you when Kennedy was shot?", now my generation had the "where were you when the WTC fell, and a whole nation fell silent?"
|
Elizabeth | 17 | Missouri
|
#1082 | Wednesday, March 20th 2002
|
Where was I...
arriving at KCI (Kansas City International Airport on my way to Seattle, Washington.) about 7:15 am CST.After getting my boarding pass, I just sat down to wait for my plane when I saw a TV. The first Tower was on fire. I could not help to think what a horrible accident. Then, the second plane just crash into the second tower. The passengers and I were all watching in disblief. The 8 o'clock flight was boarded by then and they took off. I was standing in line for my flight when the First Tower collapsed. I watched (in line) as the second tower came down. I knew then the NY Skyline, America , and I was never going to be the same. By then, the FAA closed US Air space. I watched as passenger coming off grounded flights wanting to get to a TV, wanting to see what was going on. I left the airport in a daze, thinking if it was an hour later, I would be in the air. I would be one of the confused passenger stuck in a strange city wanting to be with family. I called my family to tell them I never left KCI. I did not find out til that night about the Pentagon or the other flight.
Since 9/11, I am trying to live for today. tomorrow may never come. Life is a precious gift. It can be taken way in a second.
|
Tiffany | 26 | Missouri
|
#954 | Monday, March 11th 2002
|
I had been at work for about an hour when the first reports started coming in about 0752 CDT. I was thinking that it was a small plane that had hit the North tower, I was thinking that maybe fog had caused a small plane to get lost and collide with the building (It had happened before in 1946, I think, to the Empire State building.) I went out to the CNN website and saw that it was not a small plane and that something much more terrible had happened (still thinking accidental, though.) We have a lounge where I work that had a big screen television and I decided to go see if more information was available. I arrived just in time to see the second plane hit the South tower. I remember (and always will) seeing the plane seem to disappear behind the second tower and counting to myself, one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four when the explosion came out the opposite side. I don’t know why I counted; it seems rather odd what you remember at the time. At that point everyone was glued to radios or watching a television that we had managed to hook up near the area I work. I was angry knowing that this wasn’t an accident and this seemed to be confirmed when about 0940 CDT, the reports came in that a plane had hit the Pentagon. I was angry now and in part I felt I had failed somehow. I am a veteran of the Gulf War and of seven years service in the United States Marine Corps. It was in part due to not keeping the “Barbarians from storming the gates,” so to speak. We then heard that one of the towers had collapsed, I was able to get in front of the TV, when about 30 minutes later I witnessed the second one collapse, we had it on the FOX News channel, and the commentator, (from the NY Fox affiliate) said “We are witnessing history, the World Trade Center stands no more.” It seems odd that even after six months, I can still remember every moment of that long, terrible day. On my way home, (I took the train downtown from near the airport) I got off the train and was walking to my car when I noticed the unnatural quiet because no planes were flying.
Thanks for letting me share these memories.
|
Dan | 33 | Missouri
|
#454 | Monday, December 10th 2001
|
I was in between jobs on that awful day, and not having to go to work, I woke up and turned on the TV in my apartment, expecting to see a rerun of "Little House on the Prairie." My TV came on tuned to WPSD, our local NBC station, and the first image I saw was of both WTC towers on fire. At first I thought it was old footage and I asked myself why they were replaying video from the 1992 WTC bombing, then I saw the word "LIVE" on my screen. About that time, Katie Couric from the "Today" show asked if the network could replay the airplane slamming into the second tower. They did replay it, as I watched in horror. The next thing I did was call my friend, probably because I wanted someone to tell me that I was dreaming. I woke her up, so my call was the first she heard of the attacks. I got dressed and went over to her apartment, and we watched the coverage together for a few minutes. During that time, the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon, and as the news about the Pentagon crash began to trickle in, we both began to realize the scope of what was happening. We held hands and prayed for several minutes, and then tried to distract ourselves by going out for breakfast. We turned on the radio on the way to the restaraunt, but of course nearly all of the local stations had broken into regular programming to cover the breaking news. I will always remember our exact location when the news announcer said that the first World Trade Center tower had collapsed, because my first thought was, "Yeah right. Skyscrapers don't collapse!" Later on in the day, I had a meeting with a former professor of mine, and we watched together as ABC replayed the tape of both towers as they fell to the ground. Like most other people, I stayed glued to my TV and radio that day, in disbelief. The pictures looked like a war zone half a world away, but this was my own country. Later that night, I attended two non-denominational prayer services, and on the way to the first, the local country music station played a version of "My Heart Will Go On," with sound clips from the news coverage of the day. The song stirred up so much emotion in me that I nearly had to pull the car over to cry on two separate occasions. Thankfully, I do not know anyone who was killed or injured in the attacks, although a friend of mine was at home in his new apartment just across the river from the Pentagon at the moment it was hit. Also, the local news interviewed a lady from Cape Girardeau whose brother was supposed to be the pilot on one of the airliners that slammed into the World Trade Center, but his schedule was changed the day before.
My heart goes out to the New York City Police and Fire Departments who lost so many in this tragedy, as well as all of the other victims and their families. Osama and his cronies hurt our country badly, but they did not and will not destroy our American pride or my faith in the Lord. The attacks left us all stunned, sad and angry, but they also united our people more than ever before. After seeing how our country has reacted to September 11, I am prouder than ever to be an American.
***September 11, 2001***
***World Trade Center, New York, NY***
***The Pentagon, Washington D.C.****
***Flight 93, Somerset County, PA***
WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!
|
Mark | 23 | Missouri
|
#397 | Saturday, December 8th 2001
|
I was sound asleep, when the phone rang. My neighbor (who is British but has lived here for almost 20 years) was screaming hysterically at me to "turn on the telly, we're going to war." She hung up. I crawled out of bed, found the remote, then turned on the TV. With the exception of walking the dogs several times a day, I didn't move from the TV for the next three days. I also had my system up and running, with the Emergency Network page on, so that I would get notification of things as fast as the information was released. I spoke via email, to family and friends all over the world; all were as horrified as I was here, as we all were.
It was devastating to watch the events unfold, and I sat for hours with tears running down my face. Watching the World Trade Center towers collapse was a nightmare beyond belief. Seeing the devastation at the Pentagon was horrifying. The plane down in Pennsylvania was mind-numbing, even moreso when the news came out that the passengers were instrumental in bringing the plane down to prevent yet another attack. The heroics of all involved were frightening and yet amazing; the loss of life was staggering.
There are times yet today, that I still don't believe that it has happened. And yet, I know it has, that things have changed forever, and that life does go on. Things will never be the same again, but I also know that we are a strong people, that we make a strong nation, and that justice will eventually prevail. I also know that this country found more heroes on this one day, than we will probably ever see for the rest of our lives.
God bless and keep all those who lost loved ones.
|
Jo | 51 | Missouri
|
<< | < | showing 21-25 of 29 | >
search again
|
|
|
|
|
