Posted on 09/11/2010 7:08:00 AM PDT by DBCJR
September 11, 2001 I was on my way to work when I heard over the radio that a plane had flown into one of the WTC buildings. As reporters were trying to figure out what caused the accident, another hit. I got to work and saw on TV the twin towers aflame, people jumping to their deaths, then the horror of the buildings collapsing.
But I had a job to do that morning. The indigent mental health care contractor had walked away leaving 1,100 people without care, and I was setting up emergency care services in space offered by the Salvation Army at their shelter. People were frantic, especially that day, so I had to stay focused. But there was a sense among all of us that we were "at war" and that life from this point had changed.
9/11 happened because the Clinton and Bush Administrations did not take intelligence seriously enough, in much the same way Pearl Harbor happened. Thank God, no such attack occurred again on American soil, though several have occurred elsewhere. Bush would not make the mistake of ignoring intelligence again and took the intelligence gathered during the Clinton and Bush Administrations regarding WMDs seriously. By the time we got there WMDs could have been moved to Syria, like the Oil-For-Food money from the Central Bank. I don't know.
But I do know that we have not seen another attack on American soil. That morning on 9/11 everyone was certain this was the first of several to come. I thank God that we were wrong, but I think it had something to do with our response. And I do know that no one at the time wanted us to leave any stone unturned to assure our safety, including all opposition party leadership. We were “united” against a common threat. I hope we do not forget the lessons of 9/11.
Post-9/11 Speech, President George W. Bush [video] September 20, 2001 President Bush gave one of the most notable speeches of his presidency. I hope we have not forgotten it - or 9/11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QekSkFX7RXA
Weeks after 9/11 America rallies at the World Series. We will not be defeated. [video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evb489N11Q4&feature=related
I was heading down I-75 towards Atlanta from Chattanooga on the morning of 9/11. I will never forget thousands of cars streaming out of Atlanta and almost no one going the other direction like me. Chilling.
I was in school—all lesson plans were pretty much scrapped that day so we could tune into the news or discuss the attacks. My entire homeroom witnessed the South Tower collapsing live on TV.
“September 11, 2001 I was on my way to work when I heard over the radio that a plane had flown into one of the WTC buildings.”
I was running my platoon through PT that morning. Finished and got back to the house for SSS and I walked into the living room in time to see the second plane go in. When my ex wife yelled “That was another one!” I instinctively knew that we were under attack, grabbed my bag kissed the family and went to work.
I think by the time I got to work, the penagon had gotten hit.
My baby daughter had kept me up most of the night and I was still in my nightgown and housecoat. What is so strange is that I remember a coffee stain and baby stain on it and thought to myself that I had to do a load of clothes. Then the first tower was hit. We couldn’t find two of my brothers who were in D.C. and there were reports that car bombs/bombs in buildings. I remember being extremely frightened and horrified. I think I will always remember that day for as long as I live. Today, my baby is 10 and we are lighting a candle in our home for all the deceased and their families. We have researched the topic (on FR, the History Channel, and the news) so that SHE will never forget. SHE can then tell her children one day about 9-11. Just a thought
I was in my little cubicle at work when the woman behind me shouted, Oh My God! She had her radio on (low enough only for her to hear) and apparently, news of the first attack had come over. People thought initially it was a tragic accident till a few minutes later when the second one hit. I don’t remember which of the two remaining attacks happened after that — either the Pentagon or Shanksville. Our office was in such turmoil — a television set was on in the conference room, people calling home or family/spouses at work...there were all sorts of rumors and stories flying around. It was chaos.
Eventually, the senior partner came around and told everyone to leave. I stayed behind to do some work (it was quiet) and left around 1:00. I had to walk a bridge from the office into downtown to catch a bus home, and I remember how eerily quiet everything was. No traffic, none of the usual sounds of a city. I believe the buses stopped running right after I went home.
I remember there being a need to connect with others. I don’t usually jabber on the phone much after work, but I remember calling and receiving calls from friends and relatives. This went on for days afterwards. I had planned with a friend of mine to take a long weekend trip to Las Vegas that October. I told my friend, if she felt uneasy about flying and didn’t want to go, that was fine, but I was still going. She had been anxious up to that point, but knowing that I wasn’t going to be deterred, she agreed to go as planned. We went to Vegas and had a blast.
I also received an email from my cousin in the DC area. A friend of hers who worked at the Pentagon had been offered a position that would have put her on the side of the building that was hit, but the day before, she had declined the job. She was all right after the hit, but a number of friends and colleagues were not.
Thinking about that day still makes me cry. Tears flow as I type.
I was getting ready for work and had the TV on. Saw the second plan hit the tower. I knew then it was no accident.
Called my kids at their dorms, (woke them up!) and said “turn on your TV.” Called my husband at work, I just couldn’t believe what was going on. Went to work. A coworker brought a TV. We pretty much hung around the TV all day and held back tears as we watched in absolute horror as the towers fell. I was numb all day.
I was working at an AFB. When the first plane hit, we thought it was an accident. When the second one hit, we all ran downstairs to the breakroom where there was a tv.
THe room was full of military personnel. I watched the footage, then looked around the room. Not a dry eye in the room. We were numb.
The base was immediately locked down for the day. No traffic or phone calls going in or out.
Spent the day listening to the radio in horror.
Got home and stayed up most of the night watching everything unfold on tv.
Every time I see the video footage of the plane hitting the WTC, tears pour down my face and a new anger washes over me (as it should all of us).
My heart absolutely breaks for those who had to make the choice of jumping instead of burning to death.
We got our TV and put it in the work bay, since our breakroom was not large enough for everyone. We were all numb to, and sat watching the horror. We knew we were at war and some of us would be called up to fight the terrorists.
I remember Free Republic. It was where I went first after seeing the second plane hit. Someone put up a link to the NYPD scanner. There were reports of car bombs on the scanner. Chaos. Fellow Freepers recalled the names of other Freepers who were with the FDNY and NYPD. I got more accurate analysis of who was behind this on FR than from the media. We all vowed we would never forget. We here on FR prayed for the families of the victims. We speculated about how dramatically our world had just changed. I lived nine blocks north of the Murrah building here in Oklahoma City. I felt for NYC. I remember in the days following 9-11, a lot more hugs, more I love you’s being said, more praying, more tears and it seemed quieter too. Not just the missing sound of planes flying overhead. More anger too. Anger that still exists to this day. The reports of the candy being passed out in the middle east and the celebrations. I wondered how any human could celebrate. The answer was, no human could. I also remember we were all Americans. United. I still mourn the loss.
Yes, I ran between my tv downstairs and my computer upstairs to check FR updates.
It was my last day of unemployment before I started a new job in the airplane industry (briefly- I ended up laid-off due to the 9/11 airline recession), so I was sleeping in, for me. The phone rang right before my ex-husband’s alarm would have gone off; my mom called to tell us to turn on the news: the World Trade Center had just been hit by a “small plane.” We were watching the live feeds from NYC when the second plane hit, and I knew it was an attack. I tried to keep my husband home from work, but he went in. I did keep the kids home, because I did not know what was to come next, how much of the country was going to be attacked.
I also remember we were all Americans. United.
Interesting that terrorist were able to do something that Obama cannot (and does not appear to want) do - UNITE AMERICANS. (although it was temporary)
That day was a bit surreal, like time had slowed, almost out of body watching what I was doing and yet “What’s going on?” However, the amazing ones were the NYPD and NYFD who managed to function, even run into those burning buildings trying to save lives. I knew people who worked on Wall Street who ran for their lives across bridges to get out of what they perceived as a war zone. What I experienced was nothing like that - but I will never forget it.
I think it was a combination of shock, of wonder what would happen next, how would this effect our lives from that day forward. We had a sense that this would change things for a long time to come, but we were not sure how. We grieved for those who lost loved ones, and worried with those who were not sure if they had lost loved ones. We were talking about “sealing” our homes with plastic and duct tape, for crying out loud! That was government advice, the best they could come up with. I felt like when I was a kid in those “duck and cover” drills. You watch the news reels of the atomic blasts and wondered how going into the halls and sticking your head between your knees would save you. All the government suggestions only made us more paranoid and unsettled. We emerged from shock pensive and grieved - and very, very angry.
RIP all those who died then through today due to the faith of Islam as written in the Koran.
RIP American trust of others, to some of our innocence and for sure a degree of our Freedoms (in order to secure our safety).
Oh, but the GZ mosque Imam is a peaceful guy. Don’t you trust him?
Days after 9/11 he said that the USA was an accomplice with the terrorists and that we made Osama what he is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.