September 11 2001

[tmleadr03]

I was in Bancroft Hall at the USNA when the attack happened. I walked into an senior's room and sat down with about 20 people and watched the towers come down. Very clear memory from a time of fuzzy memories (I was suffering from a major concussion at the time).

By the end of the day every single prior had volunteered (and been denied) to go back to active duty.

[Big Wall]

I had just left home, headed for work. On the radio they were saying that there were reports of a plane crashing into the WTC. A few minutes later the second plane hit. Once I got to work about all we did all day was watch the news. I'll never forget watching the towers fall.

[Ranger]

Like most of you, I was getting ready for work just watching the news and I saw the news flash that a plane had hit, I remember thinking "terrible accident", then I saw the other hit and went into the office afterwards. We fired up the big TV and everyone just watched in amazement as everything unfolded. At about noon I closed the office down since all of my clients and employees were caught up in the moment. Later, when I found it was a terror attack I made some inquiries about re-upping, but it had been too long since I got out and it didn't make sense at the time.

What really pisses me off now, though, is that 10 years later and they still don't have a building up. The Empire State building went up in 18 months, but these buildings are still creeping at 10 years. Could there be a more important building to erect? Nope, we have to bicker and argue and fight over B.S. so we tie this up in red tape for a decade. Very sad - both what happened and our lack of erecting a symbol that we won't be defeated.

[Monky]

I was at work... (former job).. actually on the phone w/ our Facility at DIA wondering what was going on w/ my computer and flight tracking. One of the managers picked up the phone and said 'Don't expect planes to move for the next week, turn on the news, I gotta go'..

I turned on the news (yeah I had a tv in my control room) and I was confused.. I watched the 2nd plane hit shortly after I turned on the TV, still baffled about the first plane, thought some 'idiot' rookie pilot ran a little cesna into the tower.. It was surreal.

I don't remember driving home from work in rush hour.. I was watching the news the rest of the morning.. when the towers fell I turned off the TV.. I couldn't watch.. Was thinking about standing on top of those towers as a kid looking out over the city.. how many people were there...

Few glasses of the strong stuff and I went to bed.. I woke up that afternoon and everything was calm and still.. no sounds outside, no noise.. I thought I was dreaming it all till I turned the TV back on..

[frozenmud]

I was on a training/exercise deployment to Hawaii (it took a few minutes to figure out that it wasn't a exercise input). We were setup up on the Hickam AFB flight line. I remember watching F-15s escorting Airliners into the commercial side of the airport and pealing off to grab another one to escort. After several days of not know if we were pushing out to a real world deployment site or heading home, we headed back home. We were able to get a ride home on a C-5 while the flight ban was will in effect and the only planes up were military.

[blackford76]

I was at home, watching TV. I was working nights at the time, and had gotten off early the night before so I could pick up my wife and daughter at DIA later that morning.
As I was watching it all unfold on CNN I kept looking at the notes my wife left for me with the details of their trip, return DIA via United 93. My brain couldn't, or wouldn't process the info my eyes and ears were relaying.
As you might imagine, the cell circuits were really busy all day, it was hours before I got a call from my wife saying she has missed the flight, and that it might take a while for them to get home.
Everyone who knew that my family was supposed to be flying home that day called me to find out what was going on, and if my family was ok.

I ended up driving out the next day, to my sister-in-laws house where they were staying, in New Jersey. 1905 miles, in just under 21 hours.

[GhostRider]

I was at work, putting in water monitoring wells at a gas station, the lady in the station kept up informed of what was going on all day, everyone on my crew was ex-military so it was a quiet day, everyone was thinking of where it was going to go from there.

[Ridge]

I kept looking at the notes my wife left for me with the details of their trip, return DIA via United 93. My brain couldn't, or wouldn't process the info my eyes and ears were relaying.
As you might imagine, the cell circuits were really busy all day, it was hours before I got a call from my wife saying she has missed the flight, and that it might take a while for them to get home.

WOW! I'm not a religious person, but there was a deity watching your back that day...

[Big Wall]

The one thought that kept running thru my head that day was "Someone is so gonna get their asses kicked."

[Guylee]

I was just in elementary school but I remember it well. For some reason during lunch I had to go back to the classroom, and when I got there a couple teachers had it on the TV. I probably sat there for a good ten minutes before they realized I was there and made me go back outside. I can't remember if I was at school or at home, but I remember seeing the second tower fall, and how everything was frozen except for that TV screen.

At the time I couldn't even begin to fathom why someone would do this...I didn't understand that the terrorists had a higher cause, I thought they were just crazy bastards that wanted to take some folks with them. That very well be why I never got to be very religious-I still don't understand how anyone could do something so terrible in the name of any deity.