Your 9/11 memory...

[Ummgawa]

Her's mine. I won two tickets to see the Braves play the Phillies, when I was picking them up in downtown Atlanta, my Dad called to tell me a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I made it to the Varsity (The largest Drive-in in the world) and watched as the second plane hit the South Tower. These are my two untorn tickets and the only thing I have ever won.

The whole thing is like it was yesterday.

[N2ORocket]

I was at a staff meeting and the secretary commented on how a plane had hit the 1st tower.

I was horrified I thought it was going to be the worst airline disaster.

When the 2nd tower was hit I knew something much worse was happening.

I don't want to say more.

[waynieZ]

I was working at Logan airport (Boston) doing construction. We were getting ready for coffee when we heard about the first plane. We didn't know it came from Logan at first. The head inspector was right near us listening to the radio from one of our trucks. When the second plane hit he got a phone call. He turned to us and said secure the area and pack up were leaving. Within minutes our project manager called on the radio and told us the same thing. We got our tools, secured the work area and met at the office for a head count and were sent home. I live 50 mile away so we listened to the radio in disbelief. When I got home I took a shower and watched Tv coverage. I never felt anything like that before in my life, I was numb. About 12:30 I got a call from my forman saying we had to go back and finnish a section of runway that had been opened to run utilities across it. We went back at a round 3pm. When we got there it was un believable. Swat teams all over the place. Snipers on all the buildings. When we got to the gate to go airside we got searched by the state police the trucks got searched by dog and troopers. We worked with a lot of them and still had to prove who we were with airport IDs and licences. We got escorted to the work area and had armed troopers all over.
It was so eire not a sound from the same place you couldn't hear yourself think 4 hours before. There were two F15's flying overhead all day, they would drop down and buzz the air field once in a while. We would see caravans of black FBI suberbans drive by every once in a while. Then later in the day there were a few passenger jets landing. We were told it was airline officials and family members. The F15's, one would stay up hi and the other would fly along side the jet until it landed . Then the it would boot it and be out of site straight up in a few seconds. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of it. We worked through the night and then back the next day to finnish.
I stood there and thought, I was there when the two planes took off that morning. It still tuns my stomach.
Wayne

[Josh69]

I just got to work that morning at American Express' home office, missed the first plane, but got into the lobby and everyone was standing in front of the TV's that normally are running CNBC. I looked up in time to see the 2nd impact. They sent us all home since we were one block from the IDS tower (our old location), and they feared other potential building targets. Can't believe it's been that long ago, seems too recent.

God Bless the victims and their families.

[coolwelder62]

I was in the shop sitting at my work table welding on an alum. oil pan. Had the I had the ABC news on when the first plane hit the tower.Turned off the welder called my wife told to watch the tv then the second plane hit,and sat there in disbelief.Then got madder than hell. As I sat there all day watching and wondering why.I think about it all the time.It was amazing the whole counrty seem to come togather for a while, but only for a short time.It seems poeple have ten let it until go as time goes by.IMHO GOD would never have aproved of such action's.

[Mikael A]

I was there....saw it in person,still cant believe it happened.

[1in1969]

IMHO GOD would never have aproved of such action's.
This, Sir, is a VERY true statement!!!!
Shawn

[John at SC&C]

First heard it on the radio while driving, making deliveries.
Driving back at about 11:00 AM on Rt. 78 East coming into Allentown, the big new traffic information sign, which I had never noticed anything on before:

ALL ACCESS TO NYC
CLOSED

I believe I saw the smoke column on the horizon. :(

[rwhite692]

I was back East on Long Island with my wife, visiting my Dad. We were staying in the basement apartment of his house, and we were planning to drive into the city that very morning (sightseeing, my wife had never been to NYC (and still hasn't!).

I had rolled out of bed, flipped on the old B&W tv to see what the weather was going to be....and the first plane had already hit...at that time the news people did not yet know that it was an intentional attack, did not have any footage of the impact at that point, and were reporting it as a possible accidental plane crash, they did not yet know the size of the plane, etc. Lots of smoke but no indication that this was something that was going to bring down the tower.

Then as we were watching, we saw (live) the second plane make it's impact, and we (as well as the reporters) thought that what we were watching, was recorded footage that they had finally gotten hold of, of the first impact.

I think it took more than a couple minutes for the news folks to realize that it was a second plane making impact.

At that moment was when we knew it was all intentional, it was just the most sickening thing. We lost two family friends that day at 1 WTC and one injured firefighter that is now retired and doing OK.

We will never forget.

[Ummgawa]

I guess I stayed up for four strait days watching all the news and information. My business partner and I were loaded up ready to go to Ground Zero and help in any way we could when the news folk said not to.

I guess the thing that made me the maddest (it all pi$$ed me off) was footage of the people having to jump out of the buildings rather than be burnt up. Those images still stir my senses beyond description. God bless 'em all. This ole boy will never forget.

[tones2SS]

I was at work in South Boston, (Southie) at the time. My buddy got a call from his wife and told him about the first tower being hit. We quickly turned on the radio and then spread the word throughout the shop. While we were listening to the radio, the second plane had hit the other tower.
I remember being glued to the radio all day. Most of the other workers had radios on and no one could really concentrate on work at all. A really sad day for America. Lots of emotions on that day. God bless the U.S.A.!!!!!:patriot: :patriot: :thumbsup:

[awr68]

I just had woke up and turned the TV on to watch the AM news. They were showing the first tower getting hit....and then live right then and there the second got hit! I couldn't believe what had happened! Very shocking, sad and scary! I sat there for quite a while and watched the footage over and over shaking my head and asking, WHY??

I am a construction worker and my jobs for that day were in a School and at Qwest. I knew without asking that I couldn't get into the school so I headed over to Qwest (telecommunication Co) as I had literally 1-2 hrs of work and our 3 month addition would be complete! I was in the building for no more than 15 min, when I was asked to leave! Even though I am a badged and trusted contractor that had been in their building for months....the higher ups contacted all building managers and said only Qwest employees could be in the buildings...so I had to go! I understood and left with no issue. Qwest’s fear was that being here in the NW we don’t have a lot of potential targets…but to take out the phone buildings would not be a good thing! They actually thought they very well could get bombed! I was back at home by noon and turned the TV on and that's where I sat for what seems like days. It was very hard to walk away from the TV as there was so much coverage around the clock.

9/11 was a horrible day for our country. Many lost family members and friends. God Bless you all!

[96z28ss]

I'll never for 9/11.
I was driving on my way to work when I was living in MA. I'm listening to the 94.5 Jam'n radio station. They come on and say that a plane just hit the first tower. They didn't say it was a big plane.. At this point I was like How could someone hit that big a building. Just as I'm pulling into to work parking lot, they state that it was a Big passenger plane 200 something people. I was like damn an air traffic control guy just lost his job and killed innocent people.
I walk into the build they have the tv on and the second plane hit live on tv.
Everyone at work was like in shock. There was about 3000 employess where i worked no one worked that day. Some watching the news some discussing what was happening.
I remember try to log on to msn or yahoo new and it wouldn't load so many people were online.
Then there was news that there was a third plane hit the pentagon. Thats when we all knew it was a terrorist attack. There was alot of pissed off people at work at this point.
Its all we could watch for 2 weeks on tv.
I will never forget.

[phillym5]

I was in living downtown Philly... my lady woke me up just after the first tower was hit. After watching the second tower get hit... i called a buddy of mine who lives on Canal and Broadway.. He answered.. I could hear all the chaos in the back ground. He was telling me he was a couple blocks from the towers and was walking back home because he was tired of seeing people jump out of the buildings. Crazy.

Then my mom was calling me like crazy freaking out because my step father was a carpenter who worked in the trade center... and his badge was gone that day.. so she figured he was in the building. Then the towers came down..... whoa.

Luckily.. he was working uptown that day. I went to grab some coffee on South Street in Philly... and the city was deserted. I asked a cop were everyone was... he said they were all on 95 leaving the city. It was spooky.

I really feel bad for the people that died that day. Very sad.

Especially if it was an inside job. I had a few friends who were there... and there is/was some sketchy stuff going down. My step father has first hand knowledge about them pulling the bomb sniffing dogs.. and closing sections of the towers a couple weeks before. My buddy was a first responder and was digging out bones and body's for a few weeks... The things he saw while in the rubble... well its very disturbing.

Sad......

[Bow Tie 67]

I'm an American Airlines mechanic and worked on both planes that were used as weapons. I was at work when it all went down, every emotion you can imagine was stirred that day. What I hate most is the world left afterward that my children are growing up in. I will never forget.

[Paladin]

"Especially if it was an inside job. I had a few friends who were there... and there is/was some sketchy stuff going down. My step father has first hand knowledge about them pulling the bomb sniffing dogs.. and closing sections of the towers a couple weeks before. My buddy was a first responder and was digging out bones and body's for a few weeks... The things he saw while in the rubble... well its very disturbing.

Sad......"

Philly, good for you for speaking out. ask questions, demand answers. freedom of speech. you are a patriot. I agree, alot of "sketchy" stuff just does not add up. Too many 'coincidences'....

[sniper]

Wow, the thread title says "Your 9/11 memory" and an inside job comes up. Kinda sad.

I was in Kosovo when it happened. NCOIC on perimeter guard duty at camp monteith. I happened to be in a hut after making my rounds and saw it on the news. It took an hour or so before command responded. The news was faster than intel. Returned from the balakans and started preperations to head to Kuwait.

[Northeast Rod Run]

I remember waking up to my alarm clock radio, and the news of the first hit. I really couldn't figure it out because I was still half asleep. I thought it was some "War of the Worlds" type prank or something until I put on the TV. At that point I called my mother to tell her about it and as she picked up the phone I watched the second tower get hit. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I was working second shift at the time, and going to work that day was probably one of the hardest days ever to go in, because I was glued to all the info coming in from the other planes and also all the rumors that were going on. Living just 10 minutes north of Logan Airport, it really made me think quite a bit that day, knowing the planes came out of there and wondering if they were going to do something in the Boston area also.

Over the next two days with all different types of businesses in panick mode, my father and I both got laid off from our jobs. Not too many good feelings about that period of time.

I also remembering all hanging out with all my friends in the weeks that followed, and us just trying to do our normal routines and not dwell on what happened, but it always made it's way in our conversations in short order.

[Northeast Rod Run]

Philly, good for you for speaking out. ask questions, demand answers. freedom of speech. you are a patriot. I agree, alot of "sketchy" stuff just does not add up. Too many 'coincidences'.... A girl friend of mine works for the FAA, in the Boston area office and she works in the "Freedom of Information Act" division. That is the department that decides which stuff gets released to the public.

A couple of years after 9/11 she told me, in retrospect, about how much info they had pointing to what was going to take place on that day. She said that before that point in time, it was just a bunch of "useless" info that was clogging up people's desks in their office. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Such a shame.

[MattG]

I'm a United pilot and was pushing back from the gate that morning in Ontario, CA. I called for taxi and the controller came back and said there was a Nation Wide Ground Stop and no one was going anywhere (something that had never been said in the history of aviation) and to return to the gate.

Soon there after we learned that two of our aircraft were involved and that one of our flight attendents just spoke to the flight attendents on one of the flights the night before...

The strange part was that my cell phone was the only one that worked from any crew member during that time and my entire crew managed to contact loved ones with my phone, myself encluded.

I just wanted to get back in the air and get people moving again. I couldn't get over how mad I was that we were helpless and couldn't do our jobs.

Lets just say that the next time I flew was weeks later and it has never been the same since.

God Bless all of those who lost loved ones on this day.

[Vegas69]

I'm an American Airlines mechanic and worked on both planes that were used as weapons. I was at work when it all went down, every emotion you can imagine was stirred that day. What I hate most is the world left afterward that my children are growing up in. I will never forget.

After reading all the responses, this one hits home for me. I don't have a catapulting story but I remember waking up that morning and turning on the TV to see the second plane slam into the second tower. I had just got back from being the best man in my buddies wedding. I was in disbelief. My mother had had lunch on the top floor less than 30 days earlier. That really put it in perspective. Back to my original comment. Bin Laden wanted to break our backbone. Meaning, take our financial network out and our confidence in everyday life. I agree with you, he did a damn good job. He lured us into a war we can't win. Our economy has took a crap right before our eyes. We need to get back to what makes up Americans. PRIDE! I had a guy stop by my front door tonight and offered to paint my numbers on my curb. I gladly paid the fella $10 to do the job. He said, "This country doesn't owe me a living". He was umemployed and was scrapping for a living. He had enogh pride to make it happen for himself! Nothing but respect for him. We've got it made. That's why they are so damn jealous. Support our troops every chance you get and feel damn PROUD you live in the USA. There are alternatives! Your country doesn't owe you a damn thing!

[jimhamptons]

I was on the Whitestone Bridge 10 minutes after the second plane hit. Heard about the first plane on Howard Stern show of all places. Still blows my mind. Lost 2 friends that day...

[tones2SS]

That's why they are so damn jealous. Support our troops every chance you get and feel damn PROUD you live in the USA. There are alternatives! Your country doesn't owe you a damn thing!

Very well written Todd!! We're on the same page for sure!:patriot: :thumbsup: