Remember 9/11

I was still in vet school, and it was the only time in my four years there that classes were canceled. I will always remember sitting in the lounge with a couple hundred other people just staring at the TV.

I remember hearing someone saying, "ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod" over and and over... and then realizing it was my own voice. I glanced over at one of my classmates and tears were flowing freely down her face. From the other room, I could hear another of my classmates screaming and crying - both her parents worked in the trader center, and her boyfriend was a NYC cop. She couldn't contact anyone who could tell her anything.

Let's all take a minute today and remember the people who died. Not just the passengers on those planes, not just the people in the buildings but also the rescue workers who died trying to help others.

Read my stories!

I was pregnant with my son... I was at work and kept getting instant messages.... I couldnt believe it I actually saw the towers go down and I think my heart stopped for 5 seconds while it was all happening. I was so very scared and upset and angry!!!!!!!!!! I will never forget today! Remember to be thankful for what you have....

I was on a firing range that morning. The Range Master told everyone to pack their gear and get back to their commands, "The World Trade Center just blew up, we're under attack." He wasn't being dramatic, no one knew exactly what was happening in that first hour. So, we raced back to our base nearly an hour away, in that time I remembered Munich in '72, Beirut in '83, New York City in '93, and Oklahoma City in '95. Soon after we arrived at our base, we learned of Flight 93 and the events at the Pentagon. Someone, faceless cowards, smashed America in the face that morning, and it was our duty to see to it they did not, could not, do it again. I love my country and it made my heart ache to witness that morning. Someone once said we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. We learned a hard lesson on 9/11, one I hope we do not have to learn again, ever.

*bows head in a moment of silence*

Being Canadian, it didn't affect me as much as the rest of you, but I do recall how quickly my government responded to deal with the large volume of redirected air traffic. I'm not sure of the exact number of people, as it was over in the East Coast, but we took care of a lare number of people who were stranded. One of my professors from college, being a psychologist, went down to NYC afterward to help with the large need for counselling and support. As far as how it affected me? Well, it's actually part of the reason I'm on the path I walk now.

I was vacationing in northern Quebec to see some relatives, and I remember waking up and turning on the TV to check on the day's weather... just a few minutes after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I just stood there, in the darkened room, while listening to the newscasters trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Then the second plane hit the other tower.

For the rest of the week, every places I went to, it was the first (and sometimes only) topic of conversation with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Even the girl at the gas station I stopped to when driving back (somewhere between Ville-Marie and Petawawa) mentionned she knew someone in NYC and was praying he was safe.

I wrote a paper about my own reflections on the subject during my senior year at high school, as it occurred while I was still in middle school.

Unfortunately, I believe I lost the piece when my old computer broke. This is a summery.

When I "learned" about the event, I was in home ec class and they passed out these little pieces of paper that said a plane had crashed near the pentagon, and that they would not be closing the school. That was it, and we didn't care. As far as any of us knew, planes crash all the time, what difference did it make if one crashed near the pentagon. In a complete disregard for any life lost, we laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. No student in the entire school found out what really happened until school was out.

When I got home, everyone was silently watching the TV. When I saw the image myself, I thought it was a movie. I was wrong.

And that's the day my eyes were forced open and I lost that oblivious comfort that childhood brings.

I worked the night shift as a security guard back then.

I got home around 8;30am, and went to bed. I got up around 5pm later that day, made my "morning" coffee as I usually did, and turned on the TV. First image on the screen was of the first plane crashing in the towers.

I tought to myself: Oh, I havent seen this movie before!

I start flicking thru channels, and saw it was on every channel. I couldn't believe it was real. I then remember seeing the clip where you saw Goerge Bush looking at the towers, and the point of view was close enough for you to see people jumping off the side of the building... that image still haunts me today.

I remember getting to work to see the downstairs tv on and one of the towers was already down. The next thing I heard was a collective gasp from in the newsroom where they had the other tv's on as well as the CBS newsfeed when the second tower went down. (This was back when I worked in radio for point of perspective.) And because we were in the industry, we were all glued to it to find out every little bit of information we could, not just for ourselves, but for the listeners.

The eeriest part were the immediate days after when there was no air traffic at all. There was an unnerving quiet where there should have been (mostly tuned out) airplane noise. (At the time I lived off of the runway flight path of an airport)

I'm the same as Oz...I got up that morning, turned on the TV and the first tower had gotten hit, and then saw footage of the 2nd one going in. I was like hmmm...must be some new movie...who cares. Flipped the channel, and thought, that's weird...it's on all the channels, what the heck? Then listened and watched and discovered what was really happening.

I was listening to the radio getting ready for work, when the announcer said go turn on your TV. I thought that was strange but did it while brushing my teeth. I saw the aftermath of the first plane hit & thougth wow someone was a bad pilot or mechanical failure. Then the other one struck & I knew it wasn't an accident.
My mom had just gotten to work as the 1st one hit...she was on Wall St. She had to walk home over the bridge to Brooklyn from Manhattan with the ash & debris about like so many others that day. Everything had to be shut down. I called but couldn't get through that day.
My dad was supposed to be in one of the towers on business but luckily his trip got cancelled.
It took a while for me to visit NY after 9/11 because I used to go via the train station in one of the towers. It was a sad sad day

I was nearing the end of my training in Parris Island.

They called it "Team Week." This was before civilians started running the chow halls (what many people call mess halls or cafeterias), so I was working in the 1st Battalion Chow Hall when a Lance Corporal walked up to me with a big smile on his face.

LCpl Moron: *BIG SMILES*: "Guess what boys? Terrorists just crashed two planes into the World Trade Center! WE'RE GOING TO WAR!"

Me: "Uh-huh. Bull-[plop]."

Moron: "No, man! I'm dead serious!" *STILL FRICKING SMILING* "We're going to Iraq and we're gonna get some!"

Moron left after that to "spread the good word," and the recruit next to me looked at me, worried.

Other Recruit: "What do we do, [Grey]? What if it's true?"

Me: *shrug* "Serve food. What else can we do?"

Recruit: *silent stare*

That was probably the second time I've ever felt enlightenment in my life. Sad it took such loss to receive such a sensation, but it was what helped me get through the remaining month of "funk" and depression that permeated the entire base. One of my Drill Instructors was contemplating requesting a transfer back into Infantry, but (in a surprisingly candid moment) he told us he couldn't do that to his daughters and wife.

Since then, after the conflicts that arose from that singular moment (though it was more catalytic than anything; as I see it, we were probably headed into Iraq anyway), I look at this day as being much like December 7th. It's shocking when we're assaulted on our own soil. It's doubly-so when so-called warriors assault unarmed civilians.

After work at 2 am, I stayed up til 4 am gaming and went to bed. I was living at home and the next thing I knew, my phone was ringing and it was my exgirlfriend who said " they blew up the the towers we are under attack" I turned on the TV, told her I loved her and hung up to watch in a groggy nightmarish haze. I felt rage, like I wanted to get on a plane, and go over there and kill them all, by myself. Thats when the second plane hit.

I went to work that day. I dont remember a thing while I was at work. I must of zoned out. When I go t home, for the first time ever in my life, I felt unsafe and I knew eveything changed from then on.

B

I was home on leave from the Army. I had just finished up all my training and was about to head to my active duty assignment. The day before I had started to drive from Michigan to Texas where I was going to be stationed. But I got into a car wreck and totaled my car. So my father picked my up, as i'd only gotten 4 hours into the trip when that happenend. The plan was for me to get up the next day and find some plane tickets to get to Texas. Well my mother woke me up that morning after the first tower went down. Freaking out all she really could say was we're under attack. I spent the next few hours watching everything on TV. Then I spent the rest of the day tring to figure out how to get to Texas.