Where were you on 9/11?

[Lexclone]

I worked about 3 miles SSW in New Jersey. We could see the towers from our parking garage. I was in a large meeting that just finished, and I walked outside with some coworkers to go to another building when a friend ran up and asked if we heard about a plane hitting one of the towers. We thought he was joking until another friend came and said it was now two planes.

It was a perfectly clear sky (nicest weather we had had in a month) except for what looked like a long thin cloud. It wasn’t a cloud. It as smoke from the tower, and by that time it was two not one planes.

The radio said air traffic had been grounded, but then we heard a tremendous roar of jets, and we were terrified. Soon we saw fighter jets flying low, and I guess patrolling for any aircraft.

Sad and terrifying day. The town I lived in lost 14. My church three. The rector of the church never really recovered. Years later he would still veer away from his homily and rant about the tragedy.

 

[vacyclone]

I was stationed in Pearl Harbor. We were woke up early in the morning that the US was under attack. Reported to our submarine and spent 7 days with nukes loaded and reactor started up ready to go the Middle East

As a fellow submariner, I'm a little confused. What do you mean by "nukes loaded"? I'm a little younger than you (commissioned in '05), but I didn't think any boomers were ever stationed at Pearl Harbor. Am I mistaken?

I've heard similar stories from guys I served with, and it's difficult to imagine the level of tension and uncertainty. I definitely did some cool stuff and have some good stories, but overall my time on active duty was pretty straightforward.

 

[JP4CY]

Accounting 284 with Anne Clem. She came in and basically dismissed us and told us to go home and turn on the TV. She was visibly shook.

 

[AirWalke]

Still unbelievable to me that an event like this can imprint itself on your memories. I can still remember that morning very clearly, even in eastern Iowa, far away from that madness, but the TV made it real for the entire country.

I still remember the study hall monitor coming in from across the hall like she'd seen a ghost. She quietly ushered our first-year, fresh out of college teacher into the hall. They came back in hushed tones "What do I say?" The study monitor shushed her. Our teacher had barely begun her teaching career ad no and idea how to handle the news or what to tell us, so she just had us work on that night's math homework instead of continuing on with the lesson.

By second hour, it sounds like the teachers were given the go-ahead to talk about what was going on, so in our orchestra class, instead of practicing our songs my instructor held an impromptu Q&A with the class. Probably not one of those moments in life I'll soon forget. By then the 2nd tower had been hit, and it was clear that a terrorist attack was underway.

 

[Cyclones1969]

14th floor of the Equitable building downtown Des Moines. My job entailed calling several businesses in NYC, so it was a crazy time.

My brother was living in Manhattan working as a sales rep for in the health industry. His normal Tuesday included meeting with clients in the north tower.

For some reason, his appointments cancelled that day, so he wasn’t there.

we were in Kentucky (actually Tennessee) at the time, and spent the next 4 days waiting on any word, especially since we knew his schedule. He finally was able to get through to my mom on Friday.

then we started worrying about how this was going to impact our lives.

 

[RedlineSi]

Freshman year at ISU. I was in the first calc 150 possible of the day. I got myself out of my bunk in Helser and walked to class. Came home and knew something was wrong. Turned on my tv to see the towers burning.

My dad's office was 2 blocks from the WTC. He went there once a month and stayed in the hotel inside the WTC. I couldn't find him for hours that day as cell service sucked in 2001 and 9/11 didn't help.

We had a writer for National Geographic staying with us in Helser at that time. He was writing about 50012 which is the only zip code that consists only of students. Its literally Friley and Helser. He was FREAKING out and rightfully so. He lived in NYC and knew people who worked there. He kept coming to my dorm room and watching my TV then running down the halls. That day was hell.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Was a sophomore at ISU. Heard about it while moving office furniture at the old Child Development building between Andrews Richards and Fisher Nickell (where the Hickson Lied Student Success Center now sits). A bunch of the guys who worked maintenance out of the General Services Building were jokesters so when he first told us we thought he might be joking. Came back to the office for break and someone had wheeled in a TV that the office staff were watching. Finished my shift and had classes like normal that day.

 

[2speedy1]

I had to work late the night before, so I had slept late that morning. My girlfriend called me that morning and told me to turn the TV on, I asked why, she said just do it, I said what channel....she said It doesnt matter. I turned it on right about the time the 2nd plane hit.

My cousin was a flight attendant, and was on one of the planes that hit the towers...but shortly before they were ready to leave they bumped her to another flight because that flight wasn't full and the next one was, and needed the extra help. Her flight made an emergency landing in Detroit, her parents drove straight out there from Iowa to get her, as all the flights were grounded for days. She quit flying shortly after that all together.

I worked for the RR at the time and things got intense because no one knew what was going to be the next target, and the railroad was worried they were next.

 

[NWICY]

I was in elementary school and we were having bus drills that morning (where you practice exiting a bus in an emergency). I was disappointed that they didn't tip the bus over so that we could go through the top.

I don't think they told us at all that day about it. I didn't know until after school when I wanted to watch cartoons and everything was showing news coverage

Woo, the funny is for wishing the buses were tipped over. Nothing about the national event that day.

 

[BDAL23]

As a fellow submariner, I'm a little confused. What do you mean by "nukes loaded"? I'm a little younger than you (commissioned in '05), but I didn't think any boomers were ever stationed at Pearl Harbor. Am I mistaken?

I've heard similar stories from guys I served with, and it's difficult to imagine the level of tension and uncertainty. I definitely did some cool stuff and have some good stories, but overall my time on active duty was pretty straightforward.

Before 9/11 you could park right next to the submarine on the pier. That morning it was still dark when we arrived there was armed security everywhere. Most of it scared junior sailors who weren’t used to handling weapons. I was more scared of our security than anything else. I thought for sure one of them was going to shoot me. Tension was so high those first few days. We got loaded with weapons like we never had before. We were steaming next to the pier for 7 days with hatches locked. Nobody left except the 24 hour continuous armed patrols. There were armed patrols below deck as well. Some of the officers were armed at all times. No communication with the outside. Our ship got loaded with “special weapons”. That’s what the torpedo men said. Captain used that same term. I assumed nukes. We got loaded and ready to deploy for war. We were told we were deploying immediately. We were on alert for 7 days I think, until we were finally told to stand down. This is how I remember 9/11. It felt as if WW3 was about to break out.
I haven’t seen too many images of 9/11. I try to avoid watching anything to deal with it.
A few months later we were on deployment in Iraq during the Iraq war. That was less stressful than 9/11.

 

[NWICY]

ABC is doing a special right now on the experience of several women on 9/11 that looks like it will be very interesting.

Edit: This is also an excellent article

Watched that tonight, thought it was very good.

 

[NWICY]

Was busy working that day, took a little break watched part of the coverage saw the 2nd tower go down, watched some more then back to work. The stillness and clarity of the skies when air traffic was grounded is probably my biggest memory of it. Just so quiet and it showed how the U.S. just stopped.

 

[bozclone]

I was working as a design engineer for Ford. We gathered around a TV in the lobby and watched the second plane hit the twin towers and the rest of the news unfold. At the time it seemed so hard to believe this could happen in the US. I also remember how odd it was to have airplanes grounded. Nothing in the sky except for an occasional military jet. It seemed like something that would only happen in a movie. Kind of like a world wide pandemic.

 

[kevdiv48]

4th grade at Village Elementary in Emporia, KS. Was one of those odd late start days where we didn't have to go to school until 9am that day. Was playing with LEGOs with my brother and neighbor in our basement when the towers were hit. Got to school and the TV was already on in the classroom and proceeded to watch it the rest of the day.

 

[GetAwesome]

Freshman at ISU, chilling in my Linden Hall dorm room. Was about to head out on my walk across campus to the Design building (apparently the first plane had just hit) and my girlfriend messaged me on AIM asking if I had the TV on.

I turned on the Today Show, and sat in shock most the morning, skipping classes to watch the updates and use up calling card minutes talking to a few friends (who had coincidentally just enlisted the month before - none of us yet realizing their expedited paths to deployment right around the corner).

 

[knowlesjam]

Was at my desk, stationed at Scott AFB (just East of St Louis in Illinois)...wife called up to see if we had seen the news coverage of New York. We turned on the coverage on CNN...was told to head home and prep for 12 hour shifts with the Crisis Action Team (my secondary job)...back to work that evening at 6PM. Returned to my primary job 5 months later...

 

[KidSilverhair]

Freshman at ISU, chilling in my Linden Hall dorm room. Was about to head out on my walk across campus to the Design building (apparently the first plane had just hit) and my girlfriend messaged me on AIM asking if I had the TV on.

I turned on the Today Show, and sat in shock most the morning, skipping classes to watch the updates and use up calling card minutes talking to a few friends (who had coincidentally just enlisted the month before - none of us yet realizing their expedited paths to deployment right around the corner).

AIM and calling cards … there’s a flashback to 2001.

 

[cyfan21]

5th grade recess in Grimes, Iowa. We all got called back to our rooms and then watched the class room tv's to see what happened. The school called all the parents and we had the option of going home early. (That's pretty much all I can remember from that day sadly)

 

[GetAwesome]

AIM and calling cards … there’s a flashback to 2001.

I was also pretty stoked about my brand new VCR in our dorm room.

 

[ruxCYtable]

The song remains the same. The day was strange from the start. We got up that morning and our dog was having trouble walking. Thought he might have a broken leg. Called work, said I'd be late, and headed to the vet. On the way there, heard the first plane had hit. At that point, they thought it was an accident, and it was being reported that it was a small private plane.

By the time we got back home, the second plane had hit and it was obviously not an accident. Called out for the rest of the day and watched the coverage in shock. It took several days before we knew how many people had made it out. Estimates were as many as 25,000-50,0000 casualties.

Later that day, we learned our friends' infant daughter had died.

It was just a horrible, horrible day.

About a week later we were supposed to have a conference call with another financial services firm. They didn't show up. Then we realized their office had been in the Twin Towers. We never heard what became of them.