Today, many people in America and around the world are asking each other “Where were you on 9/11/01?” “What were you doing that morning?”
I think it’s safe to say that most adults can readily answer that question and the memories and feelings come flooding back as if it were happening today!
September 11, 2001, started very early in the morning for me. I was up by 4:30am and headed out for Richmond International Airport to catch the first of the flights that would take me to my ultimate destination of Los Angeles, California.
My Delta Airlines flight from RIC connected in Atlanta, GA, where I boarded another Delta flight bound for LAX.
Both flights were uneventful until we were cruising smoothly somewhere over Memphis, TN.
I normally travel with headphones and listen to music while on airplanes and I usually ignore most announcements from the cockpit.
As the Captain asked for our attention, it seemed the tone of his voice was different from his previous routine instructions, so I paused my music and listened.
The Captain maintained a calm, matter-of-fact, tone but I could tell this was not just another announcement for turbulence or in-flight entertainment.
He informed us that there had been terrorist attacks involving aircraft in New York City and Washington, D.C., and that the F.A.A. had ordered the immediate grounding of all domestic aircraft.
Since we had just passed over Memphis, he told us we would be circling back to land there and that we would receive more information once we were on the ground.
The Memphis airport was overwhelmed with so many unscheduled in-bound flights and we sat out on the runways for almost 3 hours before we were able to get to a gate and deplane.
Of course, the cell phone networks were overloaded with calls from people trying to check on the status of loved ones, so my phone was basically useless for several hours.
When I finally did get in touch with my wife, there was a palpable panic in her voice. She had been trying to call me non-stop all morning to find out where I was and to see if I was OK.
You see, in those days, I was traveling so frequently I often didn’t give her the details of my flights or connections. I just told her that I was going to be in L.A. for a few days working with a specific company. Since I had my cell phone, she could always reach me, so flight and hotel details weren’t a regular part of our communication.
At this point, however, I had not learned any of the details of the flights involved in the attacks. Once she told me the specifics, I immediately understood her concern. She told me that all of the flights involved had originated on the East Coast and had been bound for California. Furthermore, the plane used to attack the Pentagon in D.C. was American Airlines flight #77 which left from Dulles International (DIA) in D.C.
As the news unfolded before her, all my wife knew was that I had left Richmond earlier that morning on a flight bound for Los Angeles and that I often caught connecting flights through DIA. She had no idea I had flown Delta and connected through Atlanta so she was understandably worried when she could not get in touch with me for several hours!
I assured her that I was fine and, as she calmed down, she was able to fill me in on the details that we had not received while in the air or on the ground.
Once in the airport at Memphis, I unsuccessfully attempted to make hotel and car rental arrangements. Everything was already taken.
Fortunately, I was able to call a good friend, who was no longer living in Memphis, but grew up there and still had family there. He called his brother for me and we were able to connect and I spent the next three days with him and his wife.
I remember just sitting on the couch for hours at at time watching the non-stop television coverage. It was simultaneously surreal and numbing.
I spent hours thanking God for his protection and provision for myself and my family and even more hours praying for those families who lost loved ones that day.
I spent hours thinking through events that led me to fly Delta through Atlanta instead of American Airlines through Dulles that morning. It can certainly overload your brain when trying to make sense of it all.
I was amazed at the stories of heroism on so many fronts. I was in awe of the stories of how many people suddenly, without any real explanation, changed their routines that morning and were spared from disaster.
I still, many years later, think about these things. I still the feel the feelings and I will always remember where I was and what happened on the morning of September 11, 2001!
So where were you? What were you doing? What memories and feelings come back strongly? Share your story in the comments!
I was a work (as a stock broker) and heard that a plane flew into 1 of the towers. At first I thought it was a site seeing plane. My co-worker Joanna was on the phone with her daughter when the second plane hit. Our internet at T. Rowe Price (Baltimore) was all but down, so I was using my stock quote software to get updates. Then I heard about the Pentagon and Flight 93. I remember thinking- we’re at war and will be dropping some nukes on some one. Amazed that 11 years has passed. We need to remember.
I was still living in Connecticut then (have since moved to Las Vegas), and was driving to work when the first plane struck. The agency I worked for was in a small building on the owner’s property, and a co-worker came out of the house and motioned me to come to the house, not the studio. They were still filling me in when we watched the second plane hit, thinking it was a private tape the TV station had scored until we saw the smoke coming from both towers. We spent most of the day glued to the TV in the house, not sure if there was more to come. I was blessed to be with friends that day. We hugged each other goodbye, not our usual ‘see ya tomorrow’. Our agency, along with many other businesses in Connecticut, never really recovered from 9/11 and I moved to Las Vegas in 2004 where there was always work … until 2008. Life goes on as always, but always forever changed from these major shocks to our country.
I was about to leave for my community college economics class when I saw the new on TV. The instructor was middle eastern and it was pretty awkward. One of the students knew someone in who worked in the WTC and she got a call midway through class and didn’t return. I never found out if that person was okay. Football practice got canceled that night.
Of all things, I was in a disciplinary meeting because of an employee of mine that morning. Myself, two superiors, HR, and the employee. Another manager stuck his head in to tell us that a plane had struck the WTC. Like others, my first thought was a light plane that had a problem. Until our meeting broke and we got to see the TV. I walked in about a minute before the first tower fell. I could not believe my eyes. As we worked in a hospital in Dallas, our day was still full and routine. We heard all the news of the groundings and high-rises being emptied. I was awestruck as I got off the bus in downtown Dallas that afternoon. No cars, no trucks, no people, and no aircraft overhead. It was like a ghost town from a movie. I walked to my train with a few other folks and all the folks on the way home were just stunned and in silence.
Today marks 13 years since that fatal day. I know where I was that day. It was just a normal Tuesday here in Australia, it was still Monday night in the US. I don’t remember what I was doing during the day, but at night I remember what I was doing, I was playing on my computer, then I later went to sit in the lounge in front of the heater as it was cold that night, I thought to watch the late night news, which I had always done during the days when I wasn’t really working. I thought I will watch the news and then go to bed at 11:30 pm. As I was watching the news, there was breaking news. A plane had crashed into one of the towers, I thought that is just an accident. I was about to get ready for bed when I saw the second plane hit the second tower. I was soon wondering what happen to the news, I didn’t want to watch a movie. But it was all unfolding.
R.I.P TO THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES THAT DAY
WE’LL NEVER FORGET.
September 11 was a crisp and glorious morning in North Carolina. I went out for a 12 mile run through the Duke Forest – so I missed the whole thing. By the time I got home there was a message from my wife, so I turned on the TV and saw the aftermath. It was quite overwhelming and so sad.
Myself, I was in my doctor’s office beginning a 6 month process of learning to live with a chronic health situation. My wife and I had said our vows 9 days before.
I walked in thinking about myself. When I came out, the news hit me.
My mother crew up in New Jersey, and that was (and is) her birthday.
My father was retired from the Marines, and knew a lot of people in the Pentagon.
My father In law grew up in the shadow of the Towers, and knew a LOT of people from the city and the local area.
My wife’s family were in Virginia at the time, and my Brother in law was within 20 miles of the Pentagon when the attack came.
I realized very quickly that my personal issues, serious through they may have been, were now the bottom of my priority list.
I began helping others heal that day.
And I don’t think I ever really stopped.
I live in England but was holidaying with my sister in New Jersey in September 2001. I remember watching the morning news and the horrifying moment after the second plane collided when it became apparent that it wasn’t an air accident (even though that was tragic enough) but a calculated act of terrorism, beyond my imagination. We had travelled to New Jersey so that my sister could meet my baby daughter for the first time. I admit I was afraid because we just didn’t know what further horrors were in store. I remember one young man in particular on the news footage who was standing on a window ledge high up on the Twin Towers and waving towards the helicopters for help. I have never forgotten his face and have never managed to find out if he survived. My thoughts today are with the victims and their families of all 4 planes involved that dreadful day.
I work for American Airlines and was teaching a class on that dreadful 9/11 morning. I can tell you exactly where I was standing, what I was saying and what I was wearing when the door to my classroom opened.
I had every intention of writing something on FB or twitter this morning but I still have great difficulty finding the words to express my thoughts and feelings.
There is just something about working for an airline that binds us. We are one large extended family. I am very thankful that none of my actual family members were physically impacted that day, but many of my extended family were as well as very emotionally impacted. We truly felt the sting of losing family and customers. And not to mention the change in our industry and jobs and the uncertainties of what lies ahead.
Many real heroes rose up that dark day and subsequent days. Many have stepped up to help ensure something like this will never, ever happens again. Today I want to honor those heroes by trying to live a life of giving and to not take it for granted. I also do my best to let our everyday heroes know how much they are appreciated.
Hug your families and friends today. Don’t miss an opportunity to tell our everyday heroes (policemen, fireman, nurses, doctors, military, etc), how much they are appreciated.
I remember I was in Auto mechanics when we received the news. I didn’t understand any of it. Just knew that our country was under attack. I remember seeing my teacher break down a bit. One of the first times I seen a real man cry. Now, being older, obviously things are different and I know what happened. Proud to be an American!
The morning announcements were playing on the television screen when a voice over the intercom instructed teachers to turn to the news channel. I remember seeing smoke rise from the twin towers. At that point, it wasn’t clear as to what had happened until the short replay. I’m sure most of us believed it to be a horrible accident, until we watched the second plane hit. And, of course, we continued to follow the events as they unfolded.
Today, I played the documentary for my students, whom most have never seen the events. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d react. I was surprised at how raw my emotions still were. It’s good to remember this day. We must never forget.