Where were you and what were you doing on September 11, 2001?

Answer 1

Our home was disassembled; we were having our floors sanded and polyurethaned. Our TV was disconnected and in the garage. My sales rep. called me from Florida “hey did you hear the news? A small plane hit the World Trade Center.” “No way” I said. Then my contractor showed up and confirmed the news.

It was a beautiful day, a day you knew you wouldn’t see again until after a long winter. Not a cloud in the sky, clean air, perfect for short sleeves.

I had to see for myself. I drove to the top of my hill, a hill I had been driving for 22 years, where I had clearly seen the twin towers that morning when I drove my son to school. Sure enough the smoke was rising from the WTC. Staining that crystal blue sky.

I turned around and retuned home. Still in shock from what I had just witnessed. I did the only thing I knew I should. Went upstairs gathered my uniform, vest and weapon. We were sure to get the call. Packed the car tuned in the radio and went to work. We were all in shock and dying for information. With the Internet down at the office and telephone service weak. Our only solution was to make an antenna for a TV we had in the training room. We got a Spanish news station and one of the guys was translating.

One of the guys I work with was at a sales meeting in San Francisco (a meeting I was supposed to attend traveling on flight 93); he called me for the scoop. I told him what I knew and he quickly decided to drive back. A drive that would take him nearly 50 hours.

I got the call at 1030. The City Of Yonkers was closing its offices and activating its entire police force including the Auxiliary Police. I got my gear from the car and got dressed. We had to report to the 1st pct. for our assignments. The place was in lockdown, we were at war, and I had never seen so much blue nor such emotion.

We were sent to patrol the train stations within the city limits. No radios could be spared so we exchanged Cell Numbers and hoped for the best. We used our private cars and tried to help as best as we could. We all wanted to be in the middle of things, help with the rescue, but we did what was needed to help our fellow Americans. I just hope that seeing a uniformed officer waiting at the station was a comfort to the commuters trekking home from NYC that night. I like to think that it was our day to serve, a day we trained for our whole lives. We had 100% turnout that day.

Listening to the news added to the tension. I was so happy to be home that night. But the streets of Yonkers were eerily silent. I think we were all inside watching CNN and waiting for more bad news.

Answer 2

I was getting ready for work, I had just taken off a week to get married. My husband called and asked if I was watching TV, I looked at the TV just as the second plane hit, as all of America was realizing that it was not an accident. Every year, on our anniversary, I know exactly how long it has been since 9/11, it was seven days after we got married. I still could just cry, I will never forget.


God Bless America


PS: I live near Dallas Texas, right in the flight path to DFW Airport, I cannot tell you how spooky it was to NOT have those planes flying over, it was surreal

Answer 3

I was with my friends laughing, drinking coffe when we saw the news. We all started to cry at once eventhough we didn´t jet understand what has just happened. I think U shoud know I live in small country in Europe ( near Italy ). Maybe I didn´t live it the way all Americans did but it sure did woke big and strong feelings. i got really scared. People who don´t live in USA live this American dream, and when I saw news it was like someone took my favorite toy right out of my hands back when I was just a baby. We watched a special documentary about everything and it made me realize that people are strong no mather what. I am just sorry that today in world things like september 11 need to happen to make as realize how thankfull we should be! I hope things like this will never happen again in America or no place else on planet! Love and peace!

Answer 4

WE were on holiday with family in Paphos Cyprus and September 11th was the day before we were due to fly home.

Someone came out onto the pool deck and told everyone that there was some breaking news on TV that we should all see.

I will never forget standing there in total shock and disbelief at the way that days events unfolded. We spent the whole day and night in our hotel room crying for the good people of America wondering why on earth this was all happening?

I still cannot believe what happened that day- it just seemed so unreal and so barbaric- why do people do things like this?? Why were all those lives taken like that?

God bless our American friends.

Answer 5

I was in 8th grade rocking out in my advanced art class, drawing a picture of the earth and stars. My teacher always kept the TV on in the classroom and always on CNN. So, you could imagine. We weren't paying attention and then we noticed when people on the news were being frantic. I saw everything, live on TV. I didn't know what was going on, I didn't comprehend the term terrorists very well at the time, I had never heard of Al Queda or Osama bin Laden, I didn't know what the WTC was. It's amazing how intelligent you become over all of the following after an event like that takes place. You get informed about so many things you didn't know or care about.

I remember going to lunch after that and people were crying, I didn't understand why. The realism didn't hit me until I got home later that day. At least at my middle school we watched the news all day, classes weren't doing "school" things, we were watching history take place. At my friends school, not even a mile away, the teachers turned off the TVs because the head people said so, they didn't know what was happening, and I'm sorry that they couldn't experience history in the making like my school had.

Answer 6

I was driving home from taking my grandson to school. The first tower went down and we all hoped it was an accident, but when the second tower dropped, we knew it wasn't. My first inclination was to go back and get my grandchildren out of school, but changed my mind. We live in a small Southern town and there wasn't any threat here. It is a day I personally will never forget. I came home and turned on the T.V. and was glued to it for days, believing what I saw and heard, but at the same time denying that it could happen here. What a nightmare for all of us.

Answer 7

I had to remember the anniversary of 9/11. There was bomb threat scrawled on the bathroom wall of my school earlier this week. But do you realize that much of 9/11 was caused by religious unrest? It's not the sole reason. Lots of people just hate America, but discrepancies in religion between us and the Middle East definitely had some play into it. This part of the feud wouldn't exist if religion didn't exist.

Answer 8

I was working in my office at Grand Central Terminal.
The entire day is forever burned into my memory.
I left work at about 1:30 that afternoon. I walked to the Red Cross HQ to donate blood. I spent the afternoon and evening talking to my friends and family back in Philly, letting them know i OK.
The Police came to my apartment to question me about a co-worker they had arrested. He did nothing wrong, He's Saudi, just got caught up in the chaos of the day. I lost another co-worker. He wass making a delivery to a company on the 82nd floor of tower 2 when the plane hit.
I must have paged him 50 times that morning.
I'll never forget. never.

Answer 9

i had to work this night before over the night and got home 6 am. I then got up at 2pm, went to turn the TV man that was a shock. At first i thought it was a upcoming movie. Then i turned it to other channels and the same thing. I could not be live it and splashed my face with ice cold water and called my mom and she confirmed what happened. That day I will never forget.
God bless America!

Answer 10

I was at work and the person sitting in the cubicle next to me received a phone call from her Mom about what was going on. At first, we thought it was just an accident and then when the second tower got hit, our boss let us go into the conference room to watch what was happening on the TV.

I'll never forget that day!