We Remember

FReepers | Sept 11 2005 | All of us

[Alexis the Bengal Kitty]

I will never forget 9/11.

[DogBarkTree]

Thank you for the link so I can correct the spelling of my my friend posted before. Matthew J. Grzymalski, 34, New Hyde Park, N.Y

[Knitting A Conundrum]

A prayer thread for those who would like to remember in prayer:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1482231/posts

[tet68]

Do you remember ?
The day when Americans died.
Do you remember ?
The day when only birds and Eagles flew.
Do you remember ?
When the towers fell.
When innocent travelers died.
Do you remember,"Let's Roll!"?
When Americans fought back!
The guilty have suffered, but not enough,
to stop their terror ways.
Remember. Never forget.
Until our work is done!
Now there's Beslan and London too.
We are not alone in this.
Now there are others,
who can never forget.
The most innocent among us
who paid a terrible price.
When children,CHILDREN died!
As hostages to an deadly cult.
NEVER FORGET!!

Tet68 tm.

[LS]

I was in my basement, on the treadmill watching some movie, when my wife, who was at the gym teaching her class, called and said, "turn on the TV right now. A plane has hit the WTC." So I'm thinking, "Big deal, a Piper Cub got off course. A couple of people dead, some images, but why is this such an issue?

I flipped on FOX just in time to see the second plane come in. It hit me like a punch in the gut, although the horror really took a few minutes to register. When the first building went down, I sat on my bedroom floor and bawled like a baby.

I also remember Pres. Bush's speech on 9/16, and it impressed me so much that I wrote an essay on FR the next day and it got so widely circulated that the White House called me up and said they had been innundated by people sending them that essay. Here is the link: http://ashbrook.org/publicat/guest/01/schweikart/weightofworld.html

[niteowl77]

Having driven to work on what I still remember thinking was an unusually bright and lovely morning, I was sitting in the cube when a lady stuck her head around the corner and said that a plane had crashed into the WTC. The first thing I did was say it was probably Islamic terrorists (I used a much nastier term for them); the second thing I did was log onto FR- there are many still here who probably did likewise.

Less than a week earlier, my wife and I had flown down to Columbus to see our son graduate from basic at Ft. Benning, and he was at that moment ready to start his first day of AIT. His deployment to Iraq in early 2003 were out in the future, but we knew that the world wasn't going to be the same again.

[lemura]

I rememeber that post - 4 years later, it still rings true.

Sidenote: in today's Sunday LA Times, there is no mention anywhere of 9/11 on the front page - except for a link at the bottom to other sections such as sports, entertainment, etc. Speaking of entertainment, the LAT that it was appropriate to devote three (3) separate sections of its fall preview of movies today as well ...

[texas_mrs]

My husband and I were making our first trip to Canada, for veterinary continuing ed classes. We were on the runway at Dallas and they were taking an extra long amount of time to clear us for flight. Finally they did and we taxied (sp?) into place, but they never put the gas to it. Everyone was kinda wondering 'what the heçk'when the pilot came over the intercom and announced we were going back to the terminal.

Flight attendants told us about the towers as we were departing. I told my husband it was Osama bin Laden before we left the plan ;I had just read an article about him & his terrorism funding.

When we went into the airport, it was so different than when we left it. Everyone was standing around the tv's, hands to their mouths, as they watched the burning buildings. The fist tower fell, as we all watched. Gasps, and then an eerie silence amoung all those people. Crying stunned people as far as I could see around me.

No one could tell us what to do about the flight to Canada. No one could tell anyone anything. I only saw one person upset about their flight interruption. Everyone was pretty calm, but confused.

The drive back home was surreal. We listened like zombies to the radio all the way back home, 140 miles, with our cell phones ringing every little bit with calls from our kids, parents, freinds, checking to see if we were alright.

We had been to New York in May, for my sons wedding. His wife didnt know for 3 days if all her family lived or not. One man missed the attack because he bareley missed his train that morning.

I pray for those who died and those who lost loved ones. May America never forget 9/11 and stay ever vigilant.

[Earthdweller]

When the planes hit, I was at a graveyard researching the genealogy of my ancestors who came to the America to escape religious persecution.

How ironic for me that on the same day we would get hit by Islamofascists who hate the USA for our religious beliefs.

[backinthefold]

There were no aircraft overhead. Not a one.

 

I live less than 8 miles from Chattanooga airport, with a flight path over the house. I know just what you mean. I have learned to ignore the planes all these years, but those 4 days were so eerily silent.

[Anomaly in Illinois]

Ashes Ashes (9/11)

Images seared
into our collective soul
bright blue sky
marred by
smoke black as night
angry flames
birth
soot and ash
falling falling
without end
baptizing all within reach
inhaling one another
deeply into our lungs
wearing heinous evidence
as dusty white cloaks
tears leave trails
down faces
revealing
human flesh
not meant
for such things
to bear.

by Anomaly in Illinois

___________________________________________________




9/11/2005

September comes with her brilliant blue sky
summer’s air shifts to crisp
trees hint of Autumn color
our hearts whisper September
remember
we go about our days
rushing here and there
September breeze caresses our skin
our bones whisper from within
remember
children who’s parents are still dead
heroes who’s lives are still lost
the wife the husband the lover the child
goodbyes never said
i love yous never said
remember


by Anomaly in Illinois

[backinthefold]

I was driving to work when my bossed wife called me and said that a plane had crashed into the twin towers. I, like many others, thought it was a small plane off course. When I had arrived at the office I turned on the radio and sat in stunned silence. When the second plane hit, I called my hubby, who works nights, and said on the machine, "turn on the tv now, while you were sleeping the world has gone to hell in a handbasket"

 

My brother in law is a pilot for a major airline, and I spent the next 5 hours trying to contact him, along with several members of my family who still live in the NJ/NY area.

 

When I heard that the pentagon had been hit, I knew it was war. I walked into my bosses office and said, they just attacked the pentagon, and just turned around and walked out. I felt like life was over as I had known it, everything was now changed. I wanted to go to school and grab my kids and never let them go. That feeling I had inside me when I heard about the pentagon still haunts me, it was fear like I have never felt before, deep down to the inner core of me being. I still feel it, though not as bad, every time I see film and pictures of it all. I will always watch, I will never forget.

 

My bosses wife had called several times asking me if I had been in touch with my brother in law. By about 3 I had finally spoken to him, she was glad he was ok, than said to me.... by the way, with this, I dont think I can keep you on, but you can work till Friday..... wow, the bee-ach fired me... I packed up my belongings, walked into the bosses office, and said goodby. He thought I was joking... I left, never to see either of them again

(he is currently in jail for child molestation, and she is being sued by several people who put children in her day care center, where he was molesting her charges, ahh sweet revenge)

 

I went home, and curled up on the couch with my children around me and watched Peter Jennings tearfully tell us to hug our kids... I lived in fear for a long time. Not hearing any planes over head, the silence of it was almost deafening....

 

I still fear another attack, I wont lie about that. The fear is less with President Bush, had it been Kerry, my bomb shelter would had been fully complete by now :)

[sneakers]

I was at work in my office that morning. Strangely, I was feeling more than usually patriotic and had just hit the button to install a screensaver depicting the signers of the Constitution when my sister called me "Did you hear? A passenger plane has crashed into the World Trade Center!" Shortly after, the second plane hit. Shocked, I ran over to my co-worker's office to find my fellow employees gathered around the radio. When word came about the Pentagon, if the second World Trade Center Plane didn't convince us, we knew for a fact that we were under attack. We were all helpless, trying to get news. Our town, Indiana, Pa. is east of Pittsburgh, Word spread that a plane was headed towards the power plant six miles away and it was evacuated. Later, we learned of Flight 93, that was,in reality headed toward Washington, DC. I work in the county courthouse. Everybody was trying to find out what was going on, nobody was in their offices working and people worried about their children in school. They sent us home before noon. It was a relief to be told to go home and be with family. At home, I ran into the neighbor lady who was panicked and complaining that the President wouldn't do anything. I angrily told her that she should be GLAD that Bush was our President! My elderly mom couldn't seem to understant what was happening and, astoundingly, my 19 year old son - talking to friends on the computer - was marginally aware that something was going on but didn't realize the magnitude of it! We watched the footage all through the day and the days to follow and prayed hard for survivors. Standing outside, looking up at the sky, it was strange not to see condensation trails from airplanes when they stopped all air traffic. It was eerie.

No. I won't EVER forget - or forgive! I still think of it often. If the islamofascists think they have weakened us, they have not. At least *I* have become more patriotic than ever, and my belief that we are right in taking the fight to the enemy is stronger than ever. My son is now in the military, and I am very proud that he chose to serve. The flags may not be flying like they were after 9/11/01, but the resolve is still strong!

Just my memories, thoughts and sentiments.

[tongue-tied]

We were at sea on USS Carl Vinson. It was a normal flying day; training ops well off of the west coast of India. It was just after 5PM and the Today (back when she was still perky) Show was on. I saw a smoking tower, then watched in disbelief as the second plane hit. Shortly, all flight ops were secured and we hightailed it north to wait for the USS Enterprise (who we had just relieved) to return to the area.

We waited nearly a month, and then we began cyclic combat ops. We flew our Hornets into the gound, waiving hourly and calendar inspections and putting more hours on them in a short time than any McDondald Douglas (original manufacturer) engineer could have imagined. On the F/A-18, weapons release checks are required every 7 days, unless the aircraft has successfully "dropped" in the past 24 hours. We weren't required to do many release checks. My squadron alone dropped over 750,000 pounds of ordnance.

As a "ground pounder" I stood duty so that the pilots could fly. Our pilots would brief, fly, debrief and sleep. I remember seeing them return from a flight, watching the video of their bombs hitting the targets, and then just before I got off duty would see the same guys coming back in to begin their day. 20 hour days were the norm for us, and the aircrew were not doing much less.

We listened to the news, worried about our families, and prayed for the people that had perished. I know we were angry like everyone else, but maybe because we were taking action we felt better than those that were simply sitting home being angry. There was at least the ability to write "FDNY" and "To Osama, with love" in chalk on the bombs before they were flown to their targets.

The pilots would come back excited about a particular target destroyed, and show their HUD camera tapes to us. We tried to get as many troops as possible into the ready room to watch the video, so that they could see what their efforts and long work hours were allowing the pilots to do. The motivation was huge, and morale was sky high.

At the time I was dead tired, with bags under my red eyes and simply wishing for a break. But even so, I knew there were people far worse off than us, missing loved ones or trying to cope with uncertainty.

Forget? Not a chance.

[SuziQ]

Very powerful, Hair.

[SuziQ]

I wondered how much of the dust was the remains of the the people who were ether incinerated or crushed that day.

As I watched the ash coming from the first tower to fall, then the second, that's what came to my mind, as well. That was all that remained of the people who were trapped in those buildings.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've always liked that BlueManGroup tribute. It's elegant in it's simplicity.

[Mo1]

I remember that day and talking with my liberal sister on the phone and telling her this attack meant war

She told me that I was over reacting

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

The first clue I had was very subtle. School kids were abruptly being rounded up from the school yard, at an off time. It wasn't at the half hour or on the hour. I thought, that's funny. And there were multiple adults ushering them in, who didn't seem to do this in a routine way. Seemed a bit odd to see so many adults. I was waiting in the car. My mom had to go to some government building.

When I first heard 9-11 on the radio, sitting in the car, I thought it was some kind of 'War of the Worlds' prank. Skeptically, I checked other channels before concluding it was the real thing. I knew we were going to get hit, and I was actually grateful that our wakeup call was not as hideous as it could have been.

But jets in buildings? That was not one I never considered. It was like poking a bear with a sharp stick. Not too bright, in my opinion.

My mom came out of the building. She first found out when a school teacher was cussing like a sailor.

Heading home, I wondered if we still had internet access. Didn't take anything for granted at the moment.

You wrote:

"There were no aircraft overhead. Not a one."

Prior to 9-11, I felt minor pangs-- mind you, but petty little resentment about seeing comtrails in the sky all the time [the old tree hugger in me]. Then, there weren't any-- not a single one. I would sometimes even wonder if all private air travel would be completely destroyed. It was a weird, creepy feeling. Like you say, a minor point. But you are bringing up history. My prior resentment of comtrails, whenever I remember it, I feel ashamed now. It was petty. And that is history-- the key word.

History is what Jim Robinson's vision has been regarding this forum from Day One: he wanted these posts of our to not be mere, trivial chat, but timeless moments of history.

Few days are better to ponder history than on an anniversary date.

FRegards....

[Molly Pitcher]

And every anniversary, at least where I am, has been, weather-wise, like the first...

Prayers for the families, friends, survivors...