Where were you on 9/11/01? What was your reaction to the twin towers. I remember where I was... working a?

Question

temp job, just got off active duty and joined the Navy Reserves. This guy that was cleaning in the parking lot said very non chalantly, did you hear that someone flew a plane into the twin towers? I just stood there with a blank look on my face. Then suddenly my co-workers came in, and one by one they were talking about it. We went upstairs to my boss' office to look at the tv and there it once. I felt panicked because I knew something was terribly wrong, people were dying, and the first thing I did was call my family in New Jersey. I can't tell you how much I cried on that day, and how much I still well up from talking about it, hearing about it, or watching footage. I have so many questions in my mind that have gone unanswered. I vowed to do what I can to help people, and to never take for granted that I am an American.

Answer 1

Funny you said "nonchalantly"... I was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We had just finished PT and were just sitting around checking our email. PT ended at 7am, but we didn't have to be at work until 9am so we were just kicking back. There was a sargeant in the break room, and he ran in the shop and said "all of you who have family in New York better come look at this".

The first plane had hit the first tower, and we were all just kinda commenting about how bad of a pilot and how much of an idiot the pilot must have been to run into a building you can see from miles away. While we were commenting and watching the news, the camera man panned up and focused on the second plane which was coming straight for the second tower. When it hit, we all knew at that second it was an act of terror.

We all started calling different departments and made sure any "mass casualty" teams were assembled. During this time we were also reading the tickers at the bottom of the screen. One stood out to us- "Fire breaks out at the Pentagon". Someone commented about how bad of a coincidence that would be, and we started calling our colleagues at the Pentagon. A couple of techs I had gone to school with answered their phones and told me something flew into the Pentagon and blew up.

I immediately started calling my aunt who was supposed to be at the Pentagon that day, and my cousin who worked on the 11th floor in one of the towers. By this point all the lines were jammed.

I still remember when our supervisor ran into the break room and told us we would be on 24hr. duty indefinately, and that she would work out some type of schedule. The report was confirmed that a third plane had hit the Pentagon, and that a fourth and possibly a fifth plane were unaccounted for. It was one of the craziest days of my life, but the weeks following were just as crazy for us who were stationed in the DC area.

Luckily, my cousin who worked on the 11th floor had been transferred to, of all places, Hawaii and it happened so fast that I wasn't told until that day. My aunt had been sent to Bolling AFB that morning for an excercise. I did, however, witness soldiers being brought in (I was part of a mass casualty team) to Walter Reed for care, and I have to say the worst thing you can see when you are in uniform is another person wearing the same uniform bleeding all over the place. My friends at the Pentagon were awarded the Soldier's Medal for Valor, one of the highest medals during peacetime.

Answer 2

I live on the left coast, so that morning, I turned on the TV before I went to work and saw the coverage of the first tower having been hit. I remember thinking, wow, freak accident. I'll have to check again when I get to work.

Just 20 minutes later I get to work and everyone's in a daze. The 2nd plane had hit just after I left home. Everybody was just stting by their computer or by radios listening to the coverage. I knew then it was going to be bad. Not so much the actual results of the attack (although that was bad enough), but just because it meant someone could really strike us and get away with it. I knew it would throw the whole travel and financial industry for a loop as well.

I was sort of wrong on the financial industry prediction, but I was right on the travel industry part. I also remember saying to my brother just a few days later when everyone was running around saying another attack was imminent, that the terrorists had shot their wad, and there wouldn't be any more big attacks for a while. I was right on that as well.

Answer 3

I was living in Seattle and went to move my car when I heard something about a fire at the WTC. So I turned on the T.V. and saw the smoke, and wondered how a plane can hit a building that big on a clear day.

About a minute later I saw the second plane hit the other tower. At that moment I knew it was deliberate. I just stared blankly at the screen and thought to myself WTF?

I was even more shocked when the first tower began to collapse. Having lived in NYC and been to the WTC I started to cry because I thought there must be at least 10,000 people in there when the second tower started to collapse my sadness grew even more.

After that I frantically tried to call my friends and family to make sure they were okay, which they were, so that was a big relief. But the thing I remember most was having a fight with my now ex wife, because someone had lost her wallet. I told her in light of all that has happened today who cares about your f-----g wallet, just be glad you have the luxury of coming home to your husband and baby.

To make a long story short, I took my son to NYC in December of 2002 and went to ground zero, I think that's when it sunk in when i saw how enormous that hole in the ground was.

Answer 4

I was walking to the elevated subway platform and saw smoke in the sky. I followed the smoke to the source which was the first tower hit. I had no idea what had happened.

I got to work and we were all glued to the radios we had plus we surfed the next trying to get any new information. We had no idea what was happening, we were all scared. The subways shut down and my wife was at home frantic. We were on the phone constantly.

My family was calling me from Florida. They were relieved when I said I was okay.

I finally got home and then found out it was a terrorist attack. I was furious like everyone else.

I remember in the weeks that followed it was "chic" to be American. People had their flags hanging in front of their houses. People wore Stars and Stripes clothing. Every American truly felt like a brother and sister.

I miss that.

Answer 5

I was in 6th grade walking into my homeroom class and I saw this video of an airplane crashing into a giant building. I thought that it was just a video for the class, but then the teacher said that it was real and had just happened and that someone had attacked our country. My step-dad was over there too... which made it all the scarier because we couldn't know if he was alive or not for a while.
Its wierd how every day goes by and you forget about it but by hearing about something like this happening... you can remember every detail leading up to it and while its happening.

Answer 6

I was a senior in high school, and I was in my Creative Writing class. My teacher asked the class did we hear about the planes. I had no idea what she was talking about, I just thought there was a bad accident at first. I got home and put my TV on CNN, and I cried when I learned what happened. I never thought something so horrible would happen.

Answer 7

I remember being at work, and seeing it on T.V. By the time I was leaving, the place (it's a restaurant) was filled with people that wanted to go to war. I remember thinking how sad it was that Americans weren't asking if a war would solve anything. They all just wanted blood.

Answer 8

onve the 2nd plane hit, i knew we were under attack. me and a secretary went to the main lunchroom at work and turned on the bigscreen. as word spread throughout the company, the whole cafeteria was filled. people were freaking out, women crying.... i was removed to attend a freaking meeting about a plastic bottle. ARGH! bigger things in the world than plastic bottles!

Answer 9

I was prego getting ready to go for my doctor visit. I too was shocked, I couldnt believe what my eyes was seeing on TV. I have a heavy heart everytime I think of that day,,,, and always will

God bless the friends, family and loved ones that we all lost that day

Answer 10

I was too busy worried about dying from severe pneumonia and my wife's ovarian cancer surgery--to think much on the twin towers falling.

I should feel anger, rage, and this uncontrollable urge to go kill innocent civilians in Iraq--to you know...up hold the American system of honor and valor; and sign up--but I only feel (strangely) pity for everyone who thought that going on a crusade of revenge was going to really fix anything in the long run.

So I'm not really sympathetic. Because after all--we did bring this down on upon ourselves.