In Memory
I am sitting here in my office, and I hear fire engine sirens going around City Hall here in Philadelphia. And that triggers a flashback.
Eight years ago, I was just a law cleark at a small law firm located at the Commerce Center building at 12th and Orange in Wilmington. The desk in my office faced out so that I can see my secretary. I remember hearing her say “Oh my God, a plane crashed into the World Trade Center.” She had just heard it on the radio. I was incredulous, but not concerned. I tried to go to the CNN site on my computer, but the site would not load for what seemed like forever, and then all of the sudden a picture and nothing else appeared on the CNN site of the one tower burning. My reaction was “That’s no plane” because I was thinking that it was only a small private plane that hit the tower, and that hole and fire could not be caused by a small plane. It was either a huge plane, or something else.
So we went into the conference room and the other attorneys were already in there with the TV on. A lot of small talk about how horrible it was, and then all of the sudden our receptionist screams, we all look at her, and then at the TV. A large fireball was rising from the second tower. My memory after that is a blur of activity. I distinctly remember hearing Peter Jennings react with disbelief when told that the whole South Tower had collapsed. I remember calling my Mom, and of course the line was busy beause she was talking to my Aunt Ginger. So I had the operator break into the conversation to inform them both of the attacks (and they both knew nothing at that moment). I remember hearing a rumor that a bomb exploded at the State Department, which leveled the building (that turned out to be false) and that another explosion occurred at the Pentagon. And then my boss came out and said, “alright, the Governor has ordered the evacuation of Wilmington, so everyone go home.”
Now of course, Governor Minner did not order the evacuation of Wilmington, she merely suggested that businesses close early, I believe. But then I went outside and there were what sounded like air raid sirens going off (it was the strange emergency siren located in Northeast Wilmington). At this point, I am literally freaking out, as I think we are being bombed, right here in Delaware. The rest of the day was spent with my Grandmother at her home in Stanton. Slowly, all of the family arrived to watch the events unfold. But that siren sound will also stay with me as I remember 9/11. And as I remember that, I remember those whose experience on this day was so much worse, and so much more real than mine.
Where were you today when it happened?
That day is still so clear in my mind. I had just returned from a meeting with our bank when my husband called and told me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Tower. I turned on the TV and while my husband and I were talking the second plane hit the second tower.
That moment still brings tears to my eyes; it still makes my stomach lurch and then tighten into a fist, and my only thought beyond OMG was… I have to get my children.
I was shaking when I hung up the phone and ran out the door and froze. I had to decide which child to get first – my 4 year old at preschool or my 7 year old second grader? Two different schools. And given my emotional state and the fact that we had no idea what was happening the decision paralyzed me.
In the end I picked my 4 year old first since she was further away and I would have to drive. To this day that choice makes me feel guilty – even though it doesn’t really matter. But it did matter at that moment. Everything mattered at that moment.
I was working at Rohm and Haas (contractor) at the Olde City location (6th & Market). Same as you, a co-worker tells us a tower was hit and we tried to pull up CNN.com. When it finally came up, again same reaction as you, realizing it was no small plane. Then, word that the other tower was hit. People all around in the building were freaking out, because a handful were already theorizing about terrorists. That chatter didn’t take long to become full paranoia to break out, given the historical/tourist impact of Philly, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell all within spitting distance of the building, let alone the Federal Court House directly across Market St (people at that point were thinking McVey-type terrorism). We were all told to go home and be with family later in the morning, but being a rail-commuter, that was near impossible. My city-driving-phobic wife had to drive up to get me and some co-workers. With the streets surrounding where I was and around City Hall closed down, it was crazy trying to explain to her how to get around Philly to get us, all the while hoping not to lose the cell connection and get stuck in “all circuits are busy” hell. This was pre-kids for us, so we just sat and watched TV in shock and some fear, given the reasoning was still being discovered and crafted.
My brother worked near the Tower complex (still does), I believe on Canal St??? I don’t know the street names there, Canal or Church, something like that. I remember trying to call him feverishly, but only getting the “all circuits are busy” response. He finally sent an email to all of us after he was able to get through to my mother. He happened to take that day off, because he was supposed to take his son to the doctor. He lived in Jersey City at the time, so in the morning, he took his son and walked along that park there that is opposite Manhattan. He saw the first building get hit. Thankfully, his son was still too young to realize much of anything of significance, but he remembers it vividly, as I imagine he would.
Unrelated to me, but to the company I worked for at the time (the one that contracted me to Rohm and Haas), they had an office in one of the Trade Center Buildings. It was a small contingent that worked there. In one of those bizarre twists of fate, they had a meeting that particular day at the Company’s HQ in Allentown, PA. Their Trade Center office was closed for the day, so no one was there.
I was in the Air Force during 9/11, stationed in Dover. I had just gotten off from my 11pm-7am shift, and was winding down chatting in a chat room so I could go to sleep. Staying up later than usual, someone told everyone to go to CNN.
I ran downstairs, kicked my roommate off of the TV, and we heckled the silly accident of missing such a huge building. We didn’t put together the size of the building and the hole in the side. We were cynical kids.
We stopped joking when the second plane hit and watched in solemn silence.
When the Pentagon hit I looked over to my roommate and said “Oh my God, we are at war.”
I went into a panic. Both of us were still wearing our BDU’s from the shift we just got off of. I opened the front door, which faced Dover AFB about 5 miles away, so I could hear if there was an explosion. I tried frantically to call my shop and eventually I got through. They told me they are on lockdown and awaiting orders, and to stay by my phone.
By noon I collapsed exhausted in bed, and at 4 my supervisor called me to say to be in at 7pm, and to leave an hour early. We were in Threatcon Delta, the highest base security procedure, and I would need the extra time to get to work. I lived 5 miles away.
Having coworkers who demanded to see your ID before you enter a building was unnerving. I worked with these people for two and a half years. I met their families, BBQ’d with some of them. Noone trusted anyone and was in a state of shock and fear.
We searched for bombs under our vehicles every hour, and it was scary. Trucks you never looked under before were now being looked under. Is that a gearbox or a bomb attached under it? How should I know?
I was afraid to go off base in uniform.
The base was silent for 3 days. It was eerie. The base is never silent, not even at night. The only sound that cut to the bone was the two or three black helicopters arriving from the Pentagon to the base morgue with bodies pulled from the wreckage. When they came everyone stopped and looked up, some made the sign of the cross.
Everyone was reminded that it could be them in that copter.
The base started picking up and planes started leaving, the build up for the attack on Afghanistan had begun.
Our country has never been the same.
I was in southwestern Korea at the time….drinking with two Canadian girls at some bar when the images began to appear on the TV. This was 10pm local time.
Needless to say, I was up all night at an internet cafe trying to figure out what the hell was going on and contacting friends and family.
I was in 11th grade and it was picture day. Mine got taken around 8:30 am, before anything happened, but I swear, looking at those year books you can tell who’s was taken after the news started to break. There was just confusion, not knowing what had happened, not knowing it was an attack until the second plane hit. At that point all the T.Vs in the school came on and watching it was all that mattered. I remember the few weeks after better then the actual day.
My high school is under a major flight path for new castle and Philly airports, so low flying planes are a normal sight. I was in marching band, and one of the things we’d do while standing around was count how many planes we could see up in the sky. The strangest thing was for weeks it feel like, to not see any planes. A barren sky.
I don’t know anyone who was killed. There were a couple family members who thankfully survived. One was sick that day, the other stuck in QBE traffic.. both would have been too high up in the towers to escape had they been there. But i remember my friends who lost family members. The school provided councilors for anyone who wanted to talk, which i dont think helped much as many of the teachers and administrators seemed more shaken up then the students.
I also remember the various responses. I am very proud to have been a part of a group of my friends who made red white a blue ribbons and sold them in the cafeteria during lunch for a donation to the red cross, we raised over 1000 dollars in the 2 weeks we were set up. Other students organized blood drives, made care packages… It really was the best of humanity shown at Brandywine High..
Sadly the worst was also in play. The racist response was sickening and cheapened the feeling of national unity. a good friend of mine, who is not even Muslim or Arab (as if it would matter), But Agnostic and Indian was assulted twice in the suburbs on his way home from school.. I think “Sand N*gger” is what they called him. This is racism we still see today when cries of “terrorist” come from the mouths of un educated white people at Sarah Palin rallies. The best of America came out after 9/11 when we all decided to not let it defeat us, to work together and help each other out.. ironically that is what Glenn Beck claims his 9/12 movement to be, but I fear the lasting effect was the negative reaction, the idea that it is Us against them, and “them” can be defined as anyone different.
I urge everyone to try and rekindle those “better angels”. The terrorists sought to create people like the ones who beat up my friend in our country. Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Hannity, Joe Wilson… these are all exactly what Al Queda wanted. in that respect, that these people are so abundant and powerful… they won.
That Americans are still accepting, open minded and good enough to elect someone with a name like our President’s… that people join the army with intentions to free the world.. even if they are misused by war criminals like Dick Cheney…. that is proof that evil will eventually lose.
http://www.archive.org/details/sept_11_tv_archive
archive of news broadcasts
I was taking my twins to kindergarten when the first plane hit. When I told the principal about what I had heard on the news reports, we were all still assuming it was some kind of horrible accident.
By the time I drove home the second plane hit. There was a guy at my house to service the furnace. He came upstairs and we watched it together until both towers had fallen. He initially thought it would turn out to be like Oklahoma City, some American whackos. I am still haunted by his conclusion:
“We have too many freedoms for our own good.”
My wife’s cousin worked for a brokerage in Tower Two. We later learned that she had had a fight with her boyfriend (an NYC Firefighter in the thick of things that day) and called in sick to work. He didn’t know and couldn’t get cell service to call her, so he spent the entire day convinced his fiancee’s body lay somewhere in that rubble. They got married a few weeks later, but had to cut the honeymoon short so that he could attend a funeral for a fellow firefighter.
They attended funerals for firefighters and police pretty much every week for nearly six months.
Because, in the days that followed, we gave in to our fears and shredded our own Constitution, I think that in the long term 9/11 may be remembered as one of the most successful blows ever dealt to the United States.
Two months before this happened, I went on a mission trip to Romania. I was explicitly told to NOT bring my military ID (Dad was enlisted) or anything else that would identify me as an American (other than a passport and Driver’s License and I was not to keep those one me once there). I thought everyone was being silly. (I had just graduated from HS) That’s when my mom said, “Osama’s arms are far reaching. We don’t know how far.” That was the first time, believe it or not, that I had heard of OBL.
Fastforward to the night before. My college roommate had a fight with her BF. The next day I went to my 8 am Geog 103 class, walked back remembering how clear and beautiful of a day it was. My next class wasn’t until 11am, so naturally as a college freshman, I went to sleep. Until my roommate woke me up saying “OMG, this is World War 3.” I was annoyed that she was fighting with her boyf. again and that she woke me up. When she realized she had, she said, “You have to get up and see this.” We only had one small TV in the room, at the time. I was shocked. I tried to get a hold of my mom–we have family in NY (LI). I couldn’t get a hold of her. I was at Towson U. and they had not canceled classes yet. So I went off to class.
I sat in the front row of my psych 101 class (yeah, nerd) and the prof. did one hell of a job teaching (we found out later her husband and brother were at the pentagon, they survived.) When I walked into class the first thing I heard was that Philly had been hit. I immediately think, that’s too damn close to home. (At this point, my dad had retired and was no longer stationed in Philly) I later found out, that Philly to my classmates was actually Shanksville, PA.
Mom had left a message while I was in class. She said they had no idea where my uncle (LI) was. He works construction on both the island and in the city. Around lunch time my roommate’s cell phone (I didn’t have one) finally got through to my mom. she told me they found my uncle, he’d decided the night before to go out to the other end of island instead of the city. Everyone I know made it ok.
Some other things I remember. The campus was silent, ghost town like. I remember thinking that Tony Blair made me feel better more than W did (not trying to make this political, but that was a thought.) And I remember thinking, I can’t keep hearing this and I watched Wild Wild West on HBO.
My mom freaked out because I was on the 14th floor. The boys side of the hall was playing MSNBC (I think) the girls had ABC on (probably b/c we all watched GMA) and all of our doors were open. We had bathroom suites, so even the bathroom doors were open. Everyone had their TV’s blasting. The people I spent that day with are still some of my closest friends.
so that’s where i was–that was longer than I expected.
To Steve…
Hear, hear on the disgusting notion that we have too many freedoms for our own good. Since that day eight years ago, I have said to anyone, liberal or conservative, who echoed that sentiment that they are letting the terrorists win, and far worse, they are letting all those who died that day die in vain.
And you are right, depending on how history unfolds, 9/11 will be remembered either as a day we Americans either almost lost our greatness (for the ignorant, our greatness is our freedom), or truly did lose our greatness.
Nooneimportant–
I agree with you about Blair. My feelings about President Bush up until that day were ambivalent. I disliked his policies, but did not dislike him yet. He was turning out to be quite an inconsequential President, probably destined for one term. On 9/11, he was not comforting or reassuring. He looked scared and nervous. He recovered and delivered, in my mind, the best moment of his Presidency on 9/14, that Friday, when he stood on the pile of rubble and finally acted like a President. But on that day of 9/11, Blair was much better.
My husband was in a temporary assignment in Rochester, NY. I had driven there from Delaware with both our boys to visit for a week…we were in a little, one bedroom apartment with one TV (sounds pretty primative!)
I saw the first plane hit because I was watching the news, and kept the TV on with the sound low; but when the second plane hit, I had to turn the TV off. My 11 year old was getting very agitated and upset and asking questions that were too difficult for his younger, and disabled, brother to hear: “what about all the people? What about people on the street? What about people in the planes?” In such small quarters, there was no way to have a private conversation with the older one and no way to shield the younger one.
I tried to find a place to take them…library, museum, zoo … to get them away from the TV for the day, but even in Rochester, everything closed almost immediately. I plugged in the video game consol to the one TV and let them play non-stop while I sat in the little bedroom and listened on the radio. Far from home, far from family, unable to get telephone calls through to family, with my husband on the road in Western NY driving madly back to us.
I never saw the buildings fall, in real time, or the anguished pedestrians. I didn’t see the Congress singing on the steps, or see Guiliani trying to restore some order. I did hear, however, about how the president was flying around the country, trying to find somewhere “safe” to land. And around. And around. Without pictures, radio reports spent a great deal of time on “where is the president?”
I’ll always remember the strange alone-ness of listening to radio reports about how Air Force 1 still hadn’t landed anywhere, and we still hadn’t seen or heard from our president.
I was at work, with a bad internet connection, so we really couldn’t watch anything online. We had to keep working. My wife left work and picked the kids (ages 7 and 4) up from school and preschool. They spent the day at home.
I read as much as I could throughout the day, but everyone else seemed to know more than me because I think the rest of the world was watching on TV. I found out in the first days after the attacks that a friend of mine from way back was a flight attendant on United 175, which hit the south tower. We went to school together from first through half of 10th grade. I still see his mom several times a month. A high school classmate of mine worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He left behind a wife and young daughter.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5474006551011489413#
video of that day