9/11 Memories

[Dawg52]

Driving across state to work at one of our branches. When I arrived everyone was huddled around a tv. None of us accomplished much that day.

 

[scrabbler1]

That day was a sad, strange day.


I began the day by making my weekly trip from Long Island (western Nassau County) to Jersey City, New Jersey, where my (former) company had relocated to 4 months earlier from Tower #7, WTC, our location for the previous 10 years. I had just started my mostly telecommuting deal the month before but hadn't been to the office in 2 weeks because I was away on vacation the previous (Labor Day) weekend.


I boarded the 8:54 AM LIRR train to Penn Station where I would walk one crosstown block from 7th Avenue to 6th Avenue on 33rd Street to board a PATH train (a small subway-like system connecting NJ to Manhattan) to Jersey City. Only a few minutes into the trip, another passenger yelled out, "a plane hit the World Trade Center," after hearing it through his Walkman radio. He was listening to Howard Stern, so we wondered how truthful it was.


I was sitting on the left side of the train, window seat, so from the elevated tracks I could see way in the distance (about 20 miles away) smoke coming from one of the two towers. Other passengers were quickly learning something bad had happened, either through their radios, cell phone calls, or by looking out the window like I did.


A few minutes later, the train pulled into Jamaica Station, the Queens hub of the LIRR. By now, we had learned that a second plane had hit the towers. The train crew had also learned about the unfolding events as they communicated on the train's PA system. The train continued west into Penn Station without incident about 20 minutes later, around 9:30 AM.


Nothing unusual was happening at Penn Station, and I made my walk to 6th Avenue to get the PATH train. I had a tote bag full of work stuff I at least wanted to drop off if that was all I could do that day. When I walked to 6th Avenue, I had a clear view of the north tower, about 3 miles due south, with smoke coming out of it (the first plane had struck on its north side). Manny pedestrians were standing around, watching it.


I entered the PATH station and got on a train to NJ and arrived about 15 minutes later without incident. I made the short walk to my office building but also saw the still-smoking north tower, now about 2 miles away, across the Hudson River. It was about 9:55 AM.


But when I entered my building, the lobby security staff was not allowing anyone to enter. Everyone had already evacuated the building.


I then returned to the PATH station to try to get back home, as there was nothing more for me to do in NJ. But just around that time, unbeknownst to me, they had begun locking down Manhattan. The NY-bound PATH train was rerouted to nearby Hoboken, where it discharged all of its passengers.


I wandered around Hoboken for a while, trying to figure out what to do next. Nearby ferries were not taking anyone but rescue workers into Manhattan. At a nearby parking lot, the attendant had a TV with the news on. The South tower had collapsed. I was now stranded in NJ.


I wandered around some more, trying to find a pay phone so I could call a coworker/friend who lived not too far away in Jersey City. I figured he would have returned home already (he drove to work). He was home and agreed to meet me not far from his place, as I couldn't quite remember where he lived. By now the second tower had collapsed.


We watched on TV for a while before going out for lunch. He had been away for the weekend so he had no food around. We hung out at his place the rest of the day as it took me a while to be able to make a call to my dad to let him know I was okay.


In the late afternoon, we watched in horror as Tower #7, the building we worked in for 10 years, collapsed after catching fire. At least nobody was in there when it went down.


I saw a news report that there was some ferry service running to midtown Manhattan so he drove me to the ferry location. But that report was false and I ended up walking back home to his place. He had gone off to visit other friends but his housemate was still around. I had some internet and email access, so I was able to let my online contacts know I was okay.


He returned home later and I crashed at his place overnight before walking back to Hoboken to get a PATH train to Manhattan and the LIRR home. I arrived at home at 8:45 AM, exactly 24 hours after I left. I left my tote bag with him so he could bring it to the office the next time he went back to the office.


I bought a newspaper at Penn Station which had a lot of stories, and I still have it today. I had a lot of phone messages at home, some from people I hadn't heard from in several years.


Over the next few weeks, I would learn about some close calls from people I knew, from a friend who missed a 9 AM breakfast meeting in the North tower only to be chased around the streets later from the collapsed tower's dust cloud, to a coworker who never made it to the office, being let off her express bus near the towers before they collapsed, later considering jumping into the river after the South tower went down (she is a better swimmer than runner). She fled to the Brooklyn Bridge to escape the dust cloud.

 

[uncaD]

Watching on tv in my office in Midtown. The building was evacuated shortly after the second plane hit.

In my previous job, which I left six months prior, I worked on the 77th floor of the south tower, pretty much exactly where the second plane hit.

 

[Odiedog]

Watched the first plane hit on the news while getting ready for work. Walked into the fire station (in Colorado) and watched the first tower fall, knowing that a lot of firefighters just perished (we didn't know about the number of civilian still in the building at that point.) Was activated for FEMA shortly thereafter ( I had a USAR K9 at the time) and spent the next 10 days as a responder. Having been a firefighter in upstate NY prior to moving to Colorado, I knew a handful of firefighters who died that day. Haven't been back to Ground Zero since then but I need to go at some point.

As I write this, our USAR task Force is enroute to help with Hurricane Florence. Keep those who are out there answering the call in your thoughts and prayers.

 

[frayne]

Was working at a refinery/chemical plant and after the second plane hit, we immediately went on a full security alert until we found out what was going on. One of my strangest and surreal memories was seeing no planes or contrails in the skies for many days after the event. Just glad I was home and not out of town on business that week. God bless all those who were lost as well as those who responded, a sad day in the history of our nation.

 

[Souschef]

I was in Estergom, Hungary, on a bus tour from our river cruise, when someone's cell phone rang and we go the news. When we got back to the ship, my late wife was watching CNN. It was unbelievable!
There was a somber mood by all on the ship, and shops posted their condolences.After our cruise, we flew to Nice to board another cruise ship. It was half empty because nobody from the US could fly to Europe. I finally called my BIL in NY, and found that all my family was OK.
Fortunately for us, we were flying home on Lufthansa so our flight had not been cancelled.

 

[Breedlove]

I was at work when a woman said an airplane just hit the WTC . We all went to the cafeteria that had a TV . I remember a large crowd of people with nobody saying anything. They shut our office down shortly because all schools and daycares closed down .

 

[candrew]

One of my strangest and surreal memories was seeing no planes or contrails in the skies for many days after the event.

We live in the area of Luke AFB. I recall hearing and watching a seemingly endless number of fighter jets landing, taking off and flying high cover for days after the 9/11 attacks. Those sounds of jet aircraft - once viewed as annoyances by some, were a comfort to many during a very troubling time.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I was walking and listening to WGN Radio on headphones. A random news guy broke in to say simply that a plane had reportedly hit the WTC. The regular show staff then chitchatted about that news, assuming it was a small plane and pilot error, etc. The second break in was a few minutes later by the real news guys, and you could hear a touch of panic in his voice. The broadcast then got turned over to one of the national news networks for several days.

Maybe because I was listening so intimately, one-on-one with headphones by myself at the moment it happened, but it really affected me emotionally for years even though we were in Chicago, and I did not know anyone personally who was really in harm’s way—DD had just moved into an apt in Arlington very close to the Pentagon but she had started a job several miles farther away so I knew she was okay even before we could get through to her. I cannot imagine how people in and near NYC came through this trauma. Sad sad day.

 

[6miths]

Was sitting down at dinner with my young family when a neighbour came to the door to tell us what had happened. Had started a new job in the UAE the week before. We didn't have TV and didn't have it for the 3 years we were there.

 

[easysurfer]

Can't believe that was 17 years ago.

I was late for w*rk and had Good Morning America on tv. Katie Couric explaining that a plane had it the first tower. At that time, the thought was this was some kind of accident.

I ended up going to w*rk, and was sent home .

 

[Lewis Clark]

This isn't a direct 9-11 memory, but it is a related event.

About two months later, my wife and I were attending a Navy Birthday Ball, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the Navy. The guest speaker was not in attendance, but was patched in via satellite communications and had a conversation with the master of ceremonies at the Ball. This guest speaker was the admiral in charge of the battle group that was at the time flying combat air patrols over New York City and the surrounding regions.

I wish somebody had thought to record that conversation because it was sobering, moving, patriotic, and frightening all at the same time.

 

[Cobra9777]

I was driving into work, which took a little over an hour back then. I would usually listen to news or talk radio, but for whatever reason I was listening to a CD that day. So I knew nothing of what was happening.

I got to work but didn't go to my office. I had a meeting in a different building with about 8 people who worked for me. They told me what had happened but it was still early so we didn't have many details. At that point, we didn't know what type of plane it was or whether it was an accident.

After some discussion, we proceeded with the meeting, which lasted about an hour. At the end of the meeting, we learned the seriousness of the situation and spent the rest of the day in front of a TV in a larger conference room with lots of other people. I felt a bit guilty for not canceling the meeting.

Very strange day. We all left early. I listened to news on the radio all the way home. Turned on the TV news at home and attempted to explain the day's events to our kids who were 8 and 11 at the time.

 

[friar1610]

I was between jobs and was at the Volvo dealer waiting for my car to be finished. I was reading a book and happened to look up at the TV and saw they were talking about a plane having hit the WTC. A minute or 2 later the 2nd one hit. I recall thinking, "this is Pearl Harbor all over again."

 

[Walt34]

I was at an Encase (computer forensic software) training class in Leesburg, VA with two other guys from my office when the instructor made the announcement and brought in a small TV, and kept the sound off so class could continue. During breaks we'd go outside and it was a bit eerie to neither hear or see any aircraft (Leesburg is not far from Dulles Airport so there's usually a lot of air traffic overhead). One of the other guys in the class had a sister who worked at the WTC. She didn't make it.

I was a bit concerned about DW since she worked at a large federal campus that would have made an excellent target. She got out okay when everyone was released early to go home. A lucky break for her was that her boss told her to leave 20 minutes earlier than everyone else because DW had offered to give a coworker a ride home since the early release messed up her commuting plan. The later release of everyone at once was a disaster, with people waiting in their cars for three hours or more to get out of the parking lots.

Two days before, on September 9, we had signed the contract for the house we're living in now, in WV for delivery a year later. When we each got home we looked at each other and were thinking "We're moving at just the right time if this stuff continues".

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I exited the A train one stop away (after) the WTC, not knowing that the first plane had just struck the north tower a couple minutes before. (The A train went underneath the corning area of the WTC site.) When I walked out of the Fulton street subway stop, it was 'snowing' papers, and I looked up to see the north tower burning with debris falling everywhere.

I went inside my work building to find out what had happened, and that is when the second plane hit. (Our building had windows looking directly down the street to the WTC.) I don't want to describe what I saw through those windows, I am sure you've seen it in documentaries. Only that I hope I never have to see these kinds of things again.

I was still there, a couple blocks away when the south tower fell. When it did, a gray/black giant cloud of smoke encompassed the building I was in. People were crying, and shortly after the tower collapsed the building was evacuated. Outside it was covered in white ash, everywhere. Not knowing what else to do, I started walking east (away from the WTC towards the east river), and then after awhile started going north with the idea I would get to one of our uptown offices, hoping that I might make a call to see if I could somehow get out of the city (I didn't live there).

I had stayed in 2000 and 2001 at the Marriott World Trade hotel (sort of between the south and north towers and was also known as 3 WTC) over 70 nights prior to 9/11.
(The hotel was destroyed when the south tower collapsed.) I had a reservation for Monday 9/10/2001 as I had a meeting Tuesday morning on Wall Street. However, I cancelled my reservation Monday afternoon and instead decided to train in early Tuesday. Given my 9:00 AM meeting, and that it was a nice day, there was a good chance I would have been walking through the WTC open plaza when the first plane hit.

"There but for the grace of God, go I."

 

[Ronstar]

I was at work, and spent the day watching news coverage on tv. BIL had a 9/11 to remember. He was on a solo hunting trip in Alaska. The kind where they drop you off by small plane and pick you up a week later. For BIL, the week later was 9/11. The plane didn’t show up. BIL had no way to contact anyone, and he was far from civilization. He had some fishing gear with him, so he fished for food and waited until the plane came came for him a few days later.

 

[bbbamI]

I was sound asleep and the phone rang. It was my DH asking me if I was watching tv. By the sound of his voice I knew something was very wrong.

It was a nightmare. My DH was in his Dallas office getting ready to head to the airport for a business trip to Chicago. Of course he didn't go and I don't think either of us sleep soundly for a month.

 

[CoolRich59]

I was driving to w@rk at a no-longer-extant software company. I still remember what a beautiful day it was.

I had WGN radio on and they were reporting that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. I remember thinking how odd that was, but then also recalled that a bomber had once flew into the Empire State building.

It must have been a slow news day because after a while WGN was just broadcasting the ABC News feed as Peter Jennings talked about the first plane. Then the second plane hit and I knew this was no accident.

I remember the long silence, the dead air. Jennings must have been stunned and had nothing to say. The silence went on and on and finally you could hear some voices in the background; likely producers or other folks trying to get Jennings to continue.

I called my wife and told her to turn on the TV, then continued to my @ffice even though I thought they'd send us home. They didn't. In fact, we were told to quit watching the news and get back to work.

I'd been at that company about 6 months by that point and had an idea how callous the management was, but had no doubts at all after that day. What a bunch of soulless bastards those people were.

 

[broadway]

I was at the WTC on Sept. 11, 2000 the year before 9/11.
I even have a photo of me on the ferry to Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty) with the Twin Towers behind me!

On Sept 11, 2001, I was at work.
Try to see what happened via CNN.com but their website was quickly overloaded.
No TV at work.

My parents were stuck in Vancouver. They were vacationing in Canada.

My aunt and uncle were stuck in Istanbul, Turkey.

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