Was in 5th grade. I remember them at lunch telling us what had happened in the cafeteria and not knowing what they were talking about. I remember coming home and the tv stayed on the news all night and my mom was very upset. Never really grasped it until I was older. I watch all the footage every year when its on.
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9/11 Where Were You?
- Thread starter Gator9329
- Start date
I was at work (a med center). I called my wife to tell her to stay home (she was a research technician at the same place). While we were talking, the second plane hit. I then started calling family and friends in NY (I am from there). I was planning to head home but I was designated an essential employee. When I eventually got home, I was surprised to find most of my wife's co-workers there. They thought I was nuts because I had firearms. That day, they decided that the best place to be was at the guy's house who had guns, food and a generator. Go figure.
I hate this day.
I hate this day.
Yeah dude I was born in 89.
Thought the same.
I hate people who say it was an inside job blah blah blah. If it was so be it. We lost a lot of innocent lives that day. Sorry to hijack this great thread of stories.
JuergenG
NES Member
I was working in an international SAP project at the time.
The colleague from NY said "there was an accident with a small plane crashing into the WTC". We tried to get info on the web, but it was overloaded quickly. We then went to my car and tuned into BFBS to listen to BBC commentary. After project mgmt hauled in a TV, we saw the first tower falling, then the second. I've never seen that many men in one place crying and remember myself saying "the world has changed today".
The colleague from NY said "there was an accident with a small plane crashing into the WTC". We tried to get info on the web, but it was overloaded quickly. We then went to my car and tuned into BFBS to listen to BBC commentary. After project mgmt hauled in a TV, we saw the first tower falling, then the second. I've never seen that many men in one place crying and remember myself saying "the world has changed today".
Scrap Iron
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I was working construction at Logan. Someone came through and told of a plane hitting the World
Trade Center. One of our crews had a tv in their trailer and we saw second plane hit live.
10 Minutes later all projects at Logan we're shut down, secured.
Heard of Pentagon over radio on way home.
Totally furious driving home.
Seems like yesterday
Trade Center. One of our crews had a tv in their trailer and we saw second plane hit live.
10 Minutes later all projects at Logan we're shut down, secured.
Heard of Pentagon over radio on way home.
Totally furious driving home.
Seems like yesterday
One thing that always bothered me was that we were traveling North on 95 into Maine all the way up to Acadia. At the same time we wondered if the terrorists who hijacked the planes in Logan and who traveled down through Maine had passed us on the highway going South.
Rome
Rome
I was stuck in traffic on Rt 93 when I heard about the first plane. My immediate reaction was no way this was an accident. Minutes later I heard the second plane hit on the radio. My first customer stop for the day was at Motorola in Woburn. Once in the office they had the coverage on a TV in the conference room. I hung out there for quite a while watching it. Eventually my supervisor paged all the engineers on the road and said we want all company vehicles off the roads. So home I went where it seemed like my family and I watched the news for the next 4-5 days.
On a trading floor, lucky for me outside NYC
caboose84
NES Member
Was in Newark California for a business meeting- walked in for breakfast and someone mentioned a plane had hit the WTC.
My companies NYC office was in WTC 1. Luckily it was on a low floor and everyone got out. Several of the guys at the meeting worked out of that office and their pagers started going off saying to get out (or stay out) of the area. Tough day.
Ended up driving back with guys from Rochester NY and Hartford- as flights were cancelled and they weren't sure when we'd be able to get back to the East Coast.
Oddest thing was we had some equipment in the old NY telephone building that was across the street- when it lost power the phone lines and the internal battery stayed up and it kept "phoning home" for a service emergency- nothing we could do but time it for 4 days until the battery lost power and it stopped calling.
My companies NYC office was in WTC 1. Luckily it was on a low floor and everyone got out. Several of the guys at the meeting worked out of that office and their pagers started going off saying to get out (or stay out) of the area. Tough day.
Ended up driving back with guys from Rochester NY and Hartford- as flights were cancelled and they weren't sure when we'd be able to get back to the East Coast.
Oddest thing was we had some equipment in the old NY telephone building that was across the street- when it lost power the phone lines and the internal battery stayed up and it kept "phoning home" for a service emergency- nothing we could do but time it for 4 days until the battery lost power and it stopped calling.
boilermaker
NES Member
Hancock Tower, Boston, Finance industry. My boss was on the phone with a large bond trading group located in Tower 1 when the it went dead. MSNBC and CNN began coverage shortly afterward and we were all glued to the tube. Most of the employees were ultimately dismissed when the Hancock evacuated but our group had to go to the off-site location, which was next door (learning curve for everyone). Hung in through the day doing our job. I will say the Federal Reserve did an amazing job that day, there was never any doubt about what the plan was from them and they made all the right calls that day. It was the only time I have seen the Federal Gov't truly do the "right thing" and actually look out for best interests of Americans.
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D
Deleted member 12999
I was living with my wife (Fiance at the time) in Rutland. I was heading to class at community college when I saw first plane hit on news. I stayed glued and watched it all live... heartbreak... rage...
I was at work at NASA in Cleveland, which shares runways with Hopkins International. Working in a cube farm, the guy next to me, who was a complete conspiracy theorist, starts telling everyone a plane hit the WTC. I laughed to myself, shocked at the BS he was spewing. Tried to get online to prove him wrong. Internet was frozen. A few minutes later, he says people were in the lobby watching live coverage. I went upstairs and could not believe my eyes. Watched the second plane hit. Watched the first tower fall. Then they announce that another plane over Cleveland airspace (Flight 93) was unresponsive and presumed hijacked. My building was about 200 yards from the main runway, so I quickly gathered my stuff, didn't tell anyone, and left the building. No way I was sticking around. They closed the center shortly after.
What really sticks out to this day is driving home, everyone on the road had their windows down listening to the radio. At every red light, people asking each other from car to car if they were okay, and genuinely meaning it. Got to my apartment, hung up the flag on the balcony, and watched TV all day.
What really sticks out to this day is driving home, everyone on the road had their windows down listening to the radio. At every red light, people asking each other from car to car if they were okay, and genuinely meaning it. Got to my apartment, hung up the flag on the balcony, and watched TV all day.
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First day of high school for me. The school wouldn't say a word about what was going on. Naturally everyone just went on cnn.com and figured it out. Hours later the school made an announcement to the effect that two planes had been crashed into WTC but not to worry for our own safety because the school had locked all the exterior doors. I vividly remember looking around at everyone around me who seemed calmed by this ridiculous statement and being 100% certain that I was surrounded by idiots. I lost a second cousin that day who was a FDNY firefighter. I didn't get to know Joe as much as I should have, but I'm honored to count such a hero as one of my kin.
Hetzer
NES Member
Oh dude I'm so sorry. The rest of our stories pale to insignificance next to yours.
Hetzer
NES Member
I noticed how many people mentioned they were listening to Howard Stern that day. Here's a Youtube link to the show that day. The announcement of the first plane hitting the tower is 50 seconds in. They really didn't understand the significance of the event immediately.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChH4NDibeeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChH4NDibeeo
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I was on duty in Chatham. Sitting in the van waiting for a couple other guys to get off their asses so we could go work on one of our boats we had hauled out. Some ET3 (electronics tech) came running down to the lower parking lot straight for us - I thought someone got hurt or there was a SAR case and they sent him to come get us before we left. He told us "you guys have to come see this on TV, a plane just hit the World Trade Center, the OOD said not to go anywhere. You've gotta come see this shit." That's as close as I remember it, but words to that effect. The first part I'm 100% sure of - "you guys have to come see this on TV, a plane just hit the World Trade Center"
We ran up (realized later we'd left the GV running) to see. Probably 6-10 of us on the mess deck, had just enough time to argue about whether it was accidental or not when we watched the second plane hit on live TV. Everyone went dead silent - you could tell everyone had the same overwhelming realization that it was no accident, and some ****faced bastards just attacked the United States of America. Once the initial shock wore off, we all quietly talked about what it meant, whether we should recall everyone, who we'd keep back to maintain ops there when the inevitable call for everyone not mission essential to grab their gear and haul ass came in. None of us even ate lunch that day. Cook didn't even make it, and I don't think anyone noticed that we didn't even eat until the evening meal.
When we were watching people jumping, and hearing about the other planes, and realizing the true horror and watching it on live TV, I saw some of the truly toughest men and women I've ever known, hardassed old school Motor Lifeboat crews, that you would never believe had a shred of emotion in them, shed tears.
We ran up (realized later we'd left the GV running) to see. Probably 6-10 of us on the mess deck, had just enough time to argue about whether it was accidental or not when we watched the second plane hit on live TV. Everyone went dead silent - you could tell everyone had the same overwhelming realization that it was no accident, and some ****faced bastards just attacked the United States of America. Once the initial shock wore off, we all quietly talked about what it meant, whether we should recall everyone, who we'd keep back to maintain ops there when the inevitable call for everyone not mission essential to grab their gear and haul ass came in. None of us even ate lunch that day. Cook didn't even make it, and I don't think anyone noticed that we didn't even eat until the evening meal.
When we were watching people jumping, and hearing about the other planes, and realizing the true horror and watching it on live TV, I saw some of the truly toughest men and women I've ever known, hardassed old school Motor Lifeboat crews, that you would never believe had a shred of emotion in them, shed tears.
Been stealing peaks at this thread since i woke up today. Lots of memories coming back; some tears with them.
September 2001, 5+ years out of college, I was working strictly nights on Lansdowne St. A college friend from the area called and woke me up after the first plane hit.
I turned on the TV and Howard Stern. Saw the 2nd plane hit live and remember my stomach dropping. I'm Jewish and read about attacks against Israel for years.
My first thought was that they had finally reached out and struck at the great satan.
The footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets only confirmed it.
AA
September 2001, 5+ years out of college, I was working strictly nights on Lansdowne St. A college friend from the area called and woke me up after the first plane hit.
I turned on the TV and Howard Stern. Saw the 2nd plane hit live and remember my stomach dropping. I'm Jewish and read about attacks against Israel for years.
My first thought was that they had finally reached out and struck at the great satan.
The footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets only confirmed it.
AA
I wasn't alive yet...
Just kidding. But seriously, I was decently young. In Middle School when it happened. In Art class. Had a kid in the class who's father was a pilot for either American or United and was flying out of Logan that morning. Nine years later he was killed in Afghanistan in the war those attacks would lead to. Crazy.
Just kidding. But seriously, I was decently young. In Middle School when it happened. In Art class. Had a kid in the class who's father was a pilot for either American or United and was flying out of Logan that morning. Nine years later he was killed in Afghanistan in the war those attacks would lead to. Crazy.
Junior year chemistry. The teacher came out and said a plane hit the first tower and I thought he meant a Cessna. Saw both towers go down on the tv in the cafeteria.
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I was home due to a doctors appointment that morning. I feel asleep with the TV on and woke up to the first plane hit. It didn't really register as earlier that year there was a small plane reported flying around the towers. The second plane hit as I was getting ready to hop in the shower...
The patriotism felt in those following weeks was amazing. I wish this country didn't need a tragedy of this magnitude to bring us together. I remember seeing flags everywhere. People were acting the way they should every day.
I was a first year grad student at BU, living in Brighton with a bunch of college friends. Sat down on the living room couch with some breakfast and turned on the tv - it was on a Spanish channel showing the two towers burning. My roommates liked to watch late night Spanish tv while drinking for some reason. At first I thought it was a movie, then I realized it was news. At first I thought it was a huge fire and "wow that's going to take a lot to put out and repair". Then flipped over to an English channel - the news in the morning and all day was a lot of speculation. They thought it was small planes - and only at some point later was it clear they were hijacked jumbo jets. I saw the towers fall - thought maybe they had also been bombed. A few calls to my then girlfriend/now wife - trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Thought at the time there were maybe 20,000-30,000 people in there and had no idea how many had gotten out. A lot of other college acquaintances had family that worked in NYC and a few in the towers.
My professor emailed and said we'd still hold class. BU president sent an announcement saying something along the lines of this being a horrible tragedy but that we must continue with the important work of education and that BU would not be closing for the day. I remember this felt reassuring - that we weren't going to let terrorists keep us cowering inside all day.
On the green line on the way home, taped on a window on a 8.5x11" paper written in marker was "NYC victims need blood. Please donate". I can picture that sign clear as yesterday. Someone in the house made some blood donation calls but they were full and didn't need any more.
There was a night where everyone put candles out in front of their houses. I had three 6" tall candles: red, white, and blue. I lit them and put them out on my balcony for months. At some point the people across the street said they really appreciated that those candles were out there.
Today (2014) I watched a bunch of the History channel coverage of the day. What gets lost in all this "history" is the chaos of the day and the days following. Wild speculation on the news that there were bombs here and there, additional planes hijacked. There was some kind of action in Afghanistan that night where the Northern Alliance hit the Taliban with some helicopters.
My professor emailed and said we'd still hold class. BU president sent an announcement saying something along the lines of this being a horrible tragedy but that we must continue with the important work of education and that BU would not be closing for the day. I remember this felt reassuring - that we weren't going to let terrorists keep us cowering inside all day.
On the green line on the way home, taped on a window on a 8.5x11" paper written in marker was "NYC victims need blood. Please donate". I can picture that sign clear as yesterday. Someone in the house made some blood donation calls but they were full and didn't need any more.
There was a night where everyone put candles out in front of their houses. I had three 6" tall candles: red, white, and blue. I lit them and put them out on my balcony for months. At some point the people across the street said they really appreciated that those candles were out there.
Today (2014) I watched a bunch of the History channel coverage of the day. What gets lost in all this "history" is the chaos of the day and the days following. Wild speculation on the news that there were bombs here and there, additional planes hijacked. There was some kind of action in Afghanistan that night where the Northern Alliance hit the Taliban with some helicopters.
Where was I 13 years ago
Was on duty then, and on duty again today. Been a long day. My Brother in law was in the second tower that was hit. He ran out despite being ordered to stand down. He dodged falling debris and bodies.......... Ran and ran and ran... When he turned around he watched every single co worker perish in a cloud..... We had no idea he was alive. It was a long long day of calls from/ too family. We assumed the worst, until he called. 48/ hrs later, I kissed my wife goodbye and spent some of the longest, toughest days in my career with the Local 7 carpenters union on bucket brigade sifting a particular rubble pile on the corner of Broadway and Liberty. Treated countless people, there were no protocols in place, we did what we needed to do. We flushed eyes, taped up hands, emptied the truck of supplies....... A few times we ran for our lives when the plate glass windows of other damaged buildings fell from the sky, we were assigned to a " Terrorist Extraction Team" and were only there for the CIA team support. "If anyone gets shot and its not one our Team, you do not treat them under any circumstance" thankfully we were only assigned to one building sweep. That was enough, back to Broadway/ Liberty Detail. Can't recall every single detail, either because my mind ( self preservation mode) blocks it out, or until a certain trigger flashes things back. A smell, a taste etc. <br><br> On the way home, we had no uniforms left that looked like uniforms, our truck WAS red/white and was now ashen grey we were unshowered, full of dust we will never know the complete composition of, and I remember feeling like an empty shell pulling up to the toll booth. We we volunteered for the mission, had not a penny on us, and argued with the toll taker lady. Finally, I said call my boss for his credit card number, I'm going home to see my family call the state police to stop me- after the toll booth incident, Andy my co-pilot. Fell asleep, I was in auto pilot mode- <br><br>my first recollection and I have zero memory of the drive to the station, getting my truck, how my bunker gear ended up in my truck, my helmet etc. the 40/min drive home....... nothing, my next and only memory was pulling up to the house, my wife was at the door waiting ( later she told me I had called her and said just be there, don't ask questions, don't do anything but be there when I get home and I hung up on her) i opened my truck door, hit the front walk, stepped under the white painted rose trellis, looked at my wife through the door, tried to speak, couldn't and collapsed on the sidewalk in tears.....and sobbed to purge an emotional pandora s box. I still have my helmet, to this day, I have the waxaper sandwich wrappers from the kids who made us PB&J, the half ass maps given to AndyO and I by the Secret Service/ CIA, I will never remember all the Jakes and Medics, the South American Canine Team we met to clean up dog paws! But for whatever reason, when we were told we were shipping out in 4/hrs to be rotated out for fresh crews, I took out my sharpie marker amd asked as many of the Jakes, Police Officers, k9 teams, volunteers etc to sign my helmet. Just in case something did happen, we could tell the crews the incredible people we worked beside in the days following the attack. Not quite sure WHY at the time I did it...... But I did. <br><br>To this day, I do have my helmet, wrappers, cards, pictures etc in a safe place, in a plastic bag, as my own time capsule. Every so often ( usually around this time of the year) my oldest asks if he can see it. It takes a few days to get up the courage, fortitude, balls, whatever you want to call it...... To pull that bag out of the closet, but I do, we talk, we cry, we laugh, I hug him tons. It takes a few days to put the lid back on Pandora's box, bit I always do until the next time he asks for a history lesson and what America used to be like. Almost 3000 people, innocent people lost their lives today, 343 of them were my occupational Brothers, the rest heroes in my eyes. Police, in every form..... All of them. The kids in uniform fighting for the right for me to be able to tell this story, for my right to freedom... Heroes. Today, was a good day. <br><br>Not so good for others, my Brother in law, to this day. We have never, ever spoke of details after he told my I laws and his now wife his story. I Know what he saw, he knows where I was, we don't talk of it between us, ever. My helmet, someday, will be the subject of stories for my grand kids, a hand me down piece of history, as long as time doesn't turn the names, precinct names, wax paper wrappers and maps to dust. The pictures will stay inside the bag, tucked in my helmet until the next time. After today's ceremonies, the news I didn't watch etc have passed, I remember it well. <br><br>Tonight when my little man called the station to say good night after homework etc. before he hung up he asked " you ok Dad." I said of course, he knows today is a rough day for our family and asked if he could show the new kid up the street my helmet, the "The one in the Black Bag in the closet Dad, that one"! <br><br>So, I guess there's another history lesson in the future for another curious mind, and I will share the Readers Digest Condensed Rated G Version ( did that make me sound Effing old?) <br><br>Cheers. That's. where I was 13 years ago this week....... Someone else's turn....can't wait to read more. Great thread. Cheers from Local 1880 Be safe, be vigilant. I was booted off the server, and now have a bunch of computer shit inside my post when I logged back on to post it.m Sorry for that.
Was on duty then, and on duty again today. Been a long day. My Brother in law was in the second tower that was hit. He ran out despite being ordered to stand down. He dodged falling debris and bodies.......... Ran and ran and ran... When he turned around he watched every single co worker perish in a cloud..... We had no idea he was alive. It was a long long day of calls from/ too family. We assumed the worst, until he called. 48/ hrs later, I kissed my wife goodbye and spent some of the longest, toughest days in my career with the Local 7 carpenters union on bucket brigade sifting a particular rubble pile on the corner of Broadway and Liberty. Treated countless people, there were no protocols in place, we did what we needed to do. We flushed eyes, taped up hands, emptied the truck of supplies....... A few times we ran for our lives when the plate glass windows of other damaged buildings fell from the sky, we were assigned to a " Terrorist Extraction Team" and were only there for the CIA team support. "If anyone gets shot and its not one our Team, you do not treat them under any circumstance" thankfully we were only assigned to one building sweep. That was enough, back to Broadway/ Liberty Detail. Can't recall every single detail, either because my mind ( self preservation mode) blocks it out, or until a certain trigger flashes things back. A smell, a taste etc. <br><br> On the way home, we had no uniforms left that looked like uniforms, our truck WAS red/white and was now ashen grey we were unshowered, full of dust we will never know the complete composition of, and I remember feeling like an empty shell pulling up to the toll booth. We we volunteered for the mission, had not a penny on us, and argued with the toll taker lady. Finally, I said call my boss for his credit card number, I'm going home to see my family call the state police to stop me- after the toll booth incident, Andy my co-pilot. Fell asleep, I was in auto pilot mode- <br><br>my first recollection and I have zero memory of the drive to the station, getting my truck, how my bunker gear ended up in my truck, my helmet etc. the 40/min drive home....... nothing, my next and only memory was pulling up to the house, my wife was at the door waiting ( later she told me I had called her and said just be there, don't ask questions, don't do anything but be there when I get home and I hung up on her) i opened my truck door, hit the front walk, stepped under the white painted rose trellis, looked at my wife through the door, tried to speak, couldn't and collapsed on the sidewalk in tears.....and sobbed to purge an emotional pandora s box. I still have my helmet, to this day, I have the waxaper sandwich wrappers from the kids who made us PB&J, the half ass maps given to AndyO and I by the Secret Service/ CIA, I will never remember all the Jakes and Medics, the South American Canine Team we met to clean up dog paws! But for whatever reason, when we were told we were shipping out in 4/hrs to be rotated out for fresh crews, I took out my sharpie marker amd asked as many of the Jakes, Police Officers, k9 teams, volunteers etc to sign my helmet. Just in case something did happen, we could tell the crews the incredible people we worked beside in the days following the attack. Not quite sure WHY at the time I did it...... But I did. <br><br>To this day, I do have my helmet, wrappers, cards, pictures etc in a safe place, in a plastic bag, as my own time capsule. Every so often ( usually around this time of the year) my oldest asks if he can see it. It takes a few days to get up the courage, fortitude, balls, whatever you want to call it...... To pull that bag out of the closet, but I do, we talk, we cry, we laugh, I hug him tons. It takes a few days to put the lid back on Pandora's box, bit I always do until the next time he asks for a history lesson and what America used to be like. Almost 3000 people, innocent people lost their lives today, 343 of them were my occupational Brothers, the rest heroes in my eyes. Police, in every form..... All of them. The kids in uniform fighting for the right for me to be able to tell this story, for my right to freedom... Heroes. Today, was a good day. <br><br>Not so good for others, my Brother in law, to this day. We have never, ever spoke of details after he told my I laws and his now wife his story. I Know what he saw, he knows where I was, we don't talk of it between us, ever. My helmet, someday, will be the subject of stories for my grand kids, a hand me down piece of history, as long as time doesn't turn the names, precinct names, wax paper wrappers and maps to dust. The pictures will stay inside the bag, tucked in my helmet until the next time. After today's ceremonies, the news I didn't watch etc have passed, I remember it well. <br><br>Tonight when my little man called the station to say good night after homework etc. before he hung up he asked " you ok Dad." I said of course, he knows today is a rough day for our family and asked if he could show the new kid up the street my helmet, the "The one in the Black Bag in the closet Dad, that one"! <br><br>So, I guess there's another history lesson in the future for another curious mind, and I will share the Readers Digest Condensed Rated G Version ( did that make me sound Effing old?) <br><br>Cheers. That's. where I was 13 years ago this week....... Someone else's turn....can't wait to read more. Great thread. Cheers from Local 1880 Be safe, be vigilant. I was booted off the server, and now have a bunch of computer shit inside my post when I logged back on to post it.m Sorry for that.
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Not just the patriotism - the genuine care and concern between strangers, the unity. We had a while there where America was just as she should be. THAT is what we were meant to 'never forget'. It wasn't meant to mean never forget to throw that empty phrase up on Facebook once a year, even though you don't remember what the hell it is you never forgot.
Smarter men than me have already said it best: "And then abides faith, hope, and charity - these three; but the greatest of these is charity"
Was working with the army corps of engineers in Philly... so sitting on a boat with US ARMY written on the side working under the Delaware memorial bridge next to the Dow chemical works (btw dropping that bridge shuts down a dozen refineries and 3 major ports I and Dow makes some pretty nasty chemicals). We got a call from a co-worker who said that the wtc and the Pentagon was blown up.... I was thinking it was a global go-time. Took 4 hrs before we could get anything other then an old crappy transistor radio and actually here what happened...
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