Where Were You On 9/11?

[NLovis]

Where were you on 9/11/01 when the planes struck the pentagon and the twin towers? I was in school at the time when it happened. Music class to be exact. I didnt get the full details untill I got home and watched the news for 2 hrs at the horiffic footage. I still remember how I felt 9 years ago. A very tragic and sad say for america.

[ISP Pilot]

I was flying in a C172 over eastern Long Island. I flew the Hudson River corridor past the Twin Towers on 9/9. I actually planned to fly the corridor again on 9/11 but woke up late. When I returned to the FBO just before 10, the TV was on as one of the towers had just collapsed.

[seahawks7757]

I was in the 6th grade. Late for school and teachers were talking about it but had no idea what they were talking about. School said if parents wanted to keep us home the next day it was ok. I woke up late again so just used it as an excuse sadly. :frown:

[wcj0]

I was working on a customers house and watching her new big screen TV. When the news cut in and the announcer said a small plane had flown into the tower, i sat there in amazement! I then sat there for the remainder of that horrible day. My daughter is a nurse, her and her other friends who were nurses were scheduled to fly to Greese that day for vacation. When i saw the airliner fly into the towers, i immediately thought of them. I tried calling her, but as you all know, cell phone lines were all busy. Later on that day I learned that she haden't taken off yet mutch to my relief. For the next 2 weeks my daughter and her friends volunteered to go to St. Vincent hospital and set up a triage unit. HOwever, since there were no survivors there was no triage. They had them picking up body parts instead. She doesn't talk about it, but i can only imagine how hard it was!. Her husbands brother was FDNY and was killed that day. So that's where I was, in limbo like the rest of the country!

[megatop412]

Sitting on my couch in Philadelphia drinking coffee, watching CNN when the first report of a fire at the WTC came in. Then it was, "a plane collision". Then they showed the first live video. Took one look at the nearly wings-level impact zone on 1 World Trade and said to my wife, "that looks intentional". Five minutes later 175 hit. I remember thinking at that exact moment, "they got footage of the plane going in???" It didn't dawn on me that I had just seen a live, second crash and not a replay of the first one until the CNN anchor said "There goes another one. Oh, no..."

[JHNA57]

I was working when I got the original phone call, but what I remember most was watching the channel 11 morning news at about 7 am. As I was lacing up my work boots, they were doing the traffic report from their helicopter, then switched to the weather. As the chopper threw it to the weather anchor, they commented on what great visibility there was and how it was a beautiful day it was for flying. Unfortunately as the first plane came down from around Albany, I bet those towers were in view from more than fifty miles out, if not more......

[hiss srq]

In Economics class beginning of 10th grade about 5 miles from President Bush watching the TV in the class waiting for the presidents events down the road at Booker Elem. to start. The clipped to the image of the first tower and for about 30 seconds I thought bad electrical fire. Than they came around to the other side with a hole and I knew it was a jet and somthing big. The second thought that occured was that it was VFR. This wasnt going to be like the time the bomber flew into the side of the Empire State Building. By the time the second plane hit all 30 of us in class including the teacher were glued to this. Being the flying guy and the New Yorker everyone was asking all sorts of questions. When the UA 762 hit, I buckled. Before it hit I was already trying to get in touch w my stepfather to make sure he was not in Manhattan that day. (he wasnt) I have very few clear memories after that moment on that day. More likely enduced by panic because I couldnt reach my family in New York but later that afternoon my stepdad sent me pictures from our house and out to the west across Renyolds Channel all you can see is the tremendous plume of smoke. That weekend I was scheduled to fly to NY and never got there. Not untill Christmas week at least. We drove and crossing the Verizanno Narrows that afternoon was one of the most heart breaking moments of my life to this day.

[Derf]

I was in midtown Manhattan and watched the second plane hit from the top of the 14 story building I was working at. Long story and a long walk home. Give me a few beers and I will go into details

[Spunker]

I was at my work desk and received a call from a colleague that was going to Logan to fly to SFO. She was in a panic about it so we got hold of a TV and watched the rest of it unfold with the second attack and the Pentagon.

[coachrowsey]

I was actually still in bed. My son was on his way to college & called & told me I needed to turn the tv on. The rest is history. Went to work only to be sent home around 1900 as there was nothing to do.

My son & I flew to Cle & back on 9/9/01 to see a ball game. For me this was the last day flying was fun.

[airmale516]

i was at jfk working in term 4 working the gates, boarding a nw dc9 to detroit , we got a call from operations to stop boarding.....

[Perriwen]

I was in Slidell, LA, getting ready for school during my high school freshmen year. Came in, saw the tower smoking, and got my mom into the room. She went into the kitchen to do something when the second plane hit, I saw it live. That was really the last footage I saw until first period. By then, both towers were down. Spent the rest of the day in each class clued to the TV.

[mirrodie]

I had just finished with my 8am patients in the VA hospital residency program. The Vets, I'll never forget, in the waiting room, had already called it a terrorist attack before the 2nd plane hit.

One it was realized we were under attack, the hospital grounds went into full lockdown. No in or outbound movement.

For a moment, I thought "who would want to attack these old Vets?" We're safe here. How wrong was I.

[Gerard]

In work on the Upper East Side. Was actually listening to Howard Stern when it happened. His show that day was amazing and reassuring. Took to the street a number of times. Once to a bar across the street to check out the news reports on TV where I got my first look of TV footage!! WOW!! From Lexington Ave you could see the smoke. A walk up to the Queensboro Bridge and the exodus of people into Queens with fighter jets roaring overhead was surreal. Rumors of more jets inbound to Manhattan and car bombs going off downtown ran rampant. Finally left work at 2:30, train to 42st (last stop) walk to Penn Station, people with blank looks on their faces. Finally home by 5:30 and so happy to see my family. That night I remember going out to the front of my house and looking up to see a plane, a Cessna type, slowly cruising overhead about 2000 feet westbound. With all air traffic grounded I wondered who was aboard that aircraft!!
Last Saturday morning I started watching coverage of the ceremonies. Thought maybe it wouldnt be so bad, nine years and all. WRONG!! Still as emotional as ever!!
Rest In Peace Manny Mo, Squad 18, FDNY!!!!

[PhilDernerJr]

I was at home on my computer when the first plane hit, and someone said to me "a plane hit the world trade center". I said 'really?' and when the answer came in the affirmative I ran to the TV just before the 2nd plane hit (although I happened to look away from the screen for that moment). I watched the rest of it unfold from my living room and was the shoreline which was two blocks from where I lived.

I can't believe it's been 9 years. Today it's still to relevant in our lives, and so present in our minds that it feels like it was much more recent than that. The anniversaries are never very easy.

[Art at ISP]

I was at ISP about to board a B-1900 for Boston. I was meeting up with a number of colleagues in Boston, then heading to STL and MEM. I was talking to the gate agent who was a friend of mine, and she showed me the computer display which said a small plane had hit the towers. They had just begun to board when we were called back and they were told to suspend all boarding.

I went with the crew and agents to the TV at the next gate and we watched in horror as we all began to realize what had happened. The agent friend called her husband who was a cop in Suffolk, and they had not heard anything yet.

After about 40 minutes, after the second plane hit, I got in my car and drove home-it was surreal. I could see the smoke from the LIE in mid-Suffolk. I started calling friends who were still firefighters (I hung up my helmet and turnout gear in '94). I got home and watched the collapse of the second tower on TV--it was surreal....

I spent the next few days watching coverage, tracking my colleagues as they tried to get home from wherever they were, and trying to make sure no one close to me had been lost--unfortunately I lost two friends that day--a fellow firefighter with whom I grew up, and Officer George Howard of the PAPD--who was an instructor at the Fire Service Academy and with whom I had taught a truck course to my probies when I was a Captain...and it was his mom who was with W when he made his state of the union......and I believe she gave him her son's badge...

I will never forget.......

[Ari707]

At work at 42St and 5th Ave, My wife just dropped off our 1 1/2 yr old daughter at daycare on 16th and 6th and was on the corner and saw the first plane hit and called me, and was on the phone with me when the second one hit, then got into a cab a went to work on 42nd st. Once we realized we met up walked down to 16th st, got there as they were about to feed my daughter lunch, We stocked up on water and food and then walked over the 59th St Bridge, then found a bus that was going to run down Queens Blvd, took it and got off in front of out building went in and watched the news for the rest of the day.

[kc2aqg]

I was a senior in high school on Long Island. I was in economics class when the first plane hit. The dean of the program came in to talk to our teacher and I overheard their conversation near the door - it was about a half hour before any formal announcement. At first everyone thought it was a small plane and people weren't too worked up until the second one hit and the details started coming in that they were large jetliners. Being the aviation buff, a lot of people were asking me questions and I remember having no clear answers to give them. School went on somewhat normally if I recall correctly with teachers trying to give lectures etc. until my last period around 2PM when I finally made it to a classroom with live TV, which is when I saw the first images of what actually happened. I don't think I'll ever forget what it felt like to see those horrific images for the first time.

Being not too far from the city, we knew families that lost loved ones in the towers or who were rescuers that went in to help get people out and never made it out themselves. We watched the news for days on end waiting to see if there would be any survivors after the collapse and watching the 7 World Trade building collapse later that day. Truly tragic and life altering.

My family and I drove across the Verrazano the Friday after 9/11 on the way to PA - there was still an enormous cloud over downtown 3 days later. It was so heartbreaking to see that skyline without the towers - it will just never be the same...

[eric8669]

That day I was suppose to report to work at 12 noon at Hofstra. I never made it in that day. I remember my boss insisting I come in and there was no way I was leaving my house. I was glued to the TV the entire day. My Dad had been working in the city that day and had to walk across the 59th st bridge to get home.

I took this picture in late August of 2001. I remember that I had just returned from Florida and by accident had bought some b&w film and didn't really know what to do with it at the time. I ended up taking a whole role of Sunset shots from Long Beach. who knew that this would be the last image I would have of the World Trade Center.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y95/southpaw8669/20100913-IMG_2370.jpg

[727C47]

terminal C EWR,looked up just after the North Tower got hit,it all went downhill from there,horrible,horrible,day.