Where were you at 0846 EDT on 9/11/01?

[Dave11]

Felt this should wait a day...

I was in class at my High School. Sophomore year. Near Poughkeepsie, New York (about a 2-hour drive from the Trade Center).

My school district decided not to tell the students what had happened and maintain a "business as usual" facade. Rumors flew all over until the end of the day, with fuel being added by several students being pulled out of classes by parents who wanted them home.

When they finally told us, shock and anger were the major reactions.

Even with the announcement at the end of the day, it wasn't really real to me until I got home and saw my parents standing there in shock staring at the TV.

Here we are, eleven years later. I can't say I agree with all the changes in the U.S. after 9/11/01. But I'll never forget what happened that day, the look on my parents' faces...or the knowledge that nothing would ever be the same.

Where were you?

[Fairportfan]

I was in bed. Kate woke me up to tell me something weird was going on; that apparently a plane had hit a building.

I saw the second plane hit live.

[Atomic]

At work as a weather trainer at 26th Operational Weather Squadron at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. Word came and I joined others at the break room TV, and watch when the second plane hit the Twin Towers. I said to those around me, "We're at war."

One of the officers who joined us said he'd been on the phone to a colleague at the Pentagon. The fellow said, "The building just shook -- I have to go."

As a civilian contractor at the time, we were dismissed about lunch time. On the way home, I watched Air Force One with two F-16 escorts approach and land. President Bush was on TV from the HQ 8th Air Force conference room soon after, though the announcement was advertized as coming from Offutt AFB, Nebraska, no doubt for security reasons.

I put up my flag at home and kept it up.

[Leak]

In my then-office as a computer and network technician at our local university.

Not much work and very much web surfing got done that afternoon...

[rickklages]

Mowing the lawn.

[jwhouk]

I was in bed.

I work third shift, and even though I had been off the night before, I was scheduled to work that night.

My wife had left for work about an hour beforehand, and I was laying in bed, trying to get to sleep.

One problem: my next-door neighbors in our condo complex were getting new windows installed in their unit.

Another problem: the installers were blaring the local rock station, Lazer 103.

All I wanted to do was just get some shuteye, and I was hoping that they were going to be done in time so I could get some sleep.

I'm laying there, wondering when they were going to stop with the pounding and the blaring of music, when I noticed something.

The music had stopped. Not that that was unusual - the station in question always had news breaks.

But the thing was, it wasn't the bottom of the hour.

I'm only half-awake, and I can't quite hear much about what's going on, but it got to be obvious that something was going on. I heard something about a plane crash, and about a tower.

I'm already frustrated from not getting any sleep, and I'm thinking to myself, "What's going on here?"

So I got up, walked over to the TV we had in the bedroom, and snapped on the TV.

Just in time to see the second plane hit.

[Julie]

I was in my dorm room at college chatting with a friend online before going to my first class. He told me to turn on the TV to the news. I saw the second plane hit live.

[Mark N]

I had just woken up and my roommates girlfriend came to my room and told me that I had to go and see what was on the TV. When I got to their TV I saw the smoke from the first tower and I asked "Is this an accident?" a couple of minutes later I saw the second plane hit live. For a moment I thought I was seeing things and then it hit me that we were under attack.

it is strange the this is one of 3 events that I can remember not only exactly where I was at the time but that I saw as it happened on live TV. The first was when the Challenger exploded and the other was when Columbia disintegrated. I guess memory of horrible events is hard to forget.

[bmonk]

I had just woken up and my roommates girlfriend came to my room and told me that I had to go and see what was on the TV. When I got to their TV I saw the smoke from the first tower and I asked "Is this an accident?" a couple of minutes later I saw the second plane hit live. For a moment I thought I was seeing things and then it hit me that we were under attack.

it is strange the this is one of 3 events that I can remember not only exactly where I was at the time but that I saw as it happened on live TV. The first was when the Challenger exploded and the other was when Columbia disintegrated. I guess memory of horrible events is hard to forget.

People of a certain age say the same about the Kennedy assassination. But I can remember a few other events--the first walk on the moon, the first flight (and landing) of the Space Shuttle, the Watergate committee questionings.

[jwhouk]

I remember seeing the Challenger explosion after class at school. I had to go downstairs to the basement to turn on the TV to watch the launch and subsequent explosion.

[chibichibi01]

I was in my 8th grade Earth Science class. The Principal came over the intercom to tell us everything was going to be ok, and that we should continue on with the day as usual... That was when my teacher turned the TV on and I watched the second plane hit live.

It was... chaotic. That whole week was a riot of pain and emotions. Our school Channel One news thing played footage of the Firefighters and the paramedics and the planes and... everything to "With Arms Wide Open." I can't hear that damn song anymore without sobbing like a baby.

I feel like that was the day I really stopped being a child, and I know I can't be the only one that feels that way.

[DinkyInky]

I was homeless. People called me heartless that day because I was more worried about finding shelter(sleeping in my now ex's truck in cold temps while he was working was...not pleasant). I did feel for all the folks that lost loved ones, but my own sense of self-preservation was in full-blown panic mode, so it seemed that I didn't care at all.

I was angry that all the government buildings were on lock-down, and more angry still that the ones working in there were not permitted to leave until the "false alarm" was over.

[Mark N]

I was homeless. People called me heartless that day because I was more worried about finding shelter(sleeping in my now ex's truck in cold temps while he was working was...not pleasant). I did feel for all the folks that lost loved ones, but my own sense of self-preservation was in full-blown panic mode, so it seemed that I didn't care at all.

I was angry that all the government buildings were on lock-down, and more angry still that the ones working in there were not permitted to leave until the "false alarm" was over.

Not that it will matter, but I understand what you were going through at that time and I can tell you that just because you were trying to survive you were not heartless. People like to group things in only 2 categories which is totally wrong because black and white are only the ends of the spectrum. There is an infinite range of shades between the two points. I can only hope that you have not beat yourself up over what others said to you about your actions on that day and I hope that your life has gotten to a better and more secure place.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I was at work, with American Airlines Cargo, in the middle of pulling a double, having been there since 9 PM the previous night, working the overnight, and covering for someone on the morning shift. Then suddenly the lines went berserk. Now, mind you, we had about a hundred individuals on the phones answering calls, and our performance was typically '80% of calls answered within 30 seconds'. But now we had queue times piling up, hysterical and frantic people calling in. Then we got the memo.

Just to point out: The cargo department does not have access to passenger reservations information. It's a physically separate database, designed that way to protect the identity and security of the passengers. So when the queue times at passenger res hit several hours, people were just dialing any number they could find and praying to find an answer to 'where are my loved ones?'.

I actually came up with a quasi-solution, which I passed on to my supervisor, and within ten minutes, was the established policy for handling such calls:

"While we do not have access to the passenger database, we can look up the location of airplanes. If you can give me a flight number, I can tell you where that flight was grounded. I cannot tell you if your loved one is or is not on that plane, because I don't have passenger list access, but at least I can tell you where that plane is. Will that work?"

A flight number lookup is easy, maybe thirty seconds. It seemed the best we could manage to help as many people at a time as we can.

After a couple of days, once the flat ban on aircraft was lifted, I helped ship around fifteen tons of relief supplies from LAX to JFK (Los Angeles to New York). Most of this were things like water bottles, air filters, and other supplies for those working on SAR duty at the Towers, or for victims of the tragic event. I... pulled a few strings, talked to a few flight planners, and got a special exemption to allow these relief supplies to bump passenger baggage on these flights. Somehow, I doubt if anyone would've complained about that. And I got those supplies to JFK in about six hours hours (realtime, not including the time zone difference). I also got them hot-loaded immediately upon arrival, diverting carts and holding aircraft until the relief supplies were loaded, giving us a load time of about a half hour rather than the normal two hours. All together, we probably broke about half the regs in the book, cutting operations margins and in general mucking everything in LAX up, to pull it off. They were loaded up on a number of 767's, AB3's, and AB6's.

Then I got on the horn with JFK coordinators and with the Tower and explained what was inbound. They also apparently diverted resources to ensure the loads were offloaded and delivered on-site with all speed, with those flights taking landing priority over everything short of Air Force 1, being met by the cargo offloaders as soon as they pulled in, expedited immediately and sent on.

Now then, I'm going to be grabbing a soapbox here for a minute. If you'd rather not listen, feel free to just scroll to the next post at this point. The following is my own personal opinion, and should not be taken as fact or demands. Merely personal observations and opinions. I will be using white-color text since this forum doesn't have spoiler tags. Simply highlight it if you want to read.


I think I have a rather different opinion on this than most people do, probably because I am a Texan. Bush is too, which is why I understood what he said, and a lot of people misinterpreted it. Let me regail you with a bit of Texas History.

Don't know how many people are familiar with the Alamo. Back when Texas was an independent nation, Santa Anna decided he was going to 'pacify' Texas. Came in with a mucking great army, complete with cannon. General Houston was still mustering troops, and didn't have anything to face him with... yet. The Alamo bought him that time. And they paid for it with their lives. When General Houston finally faced Santa Anna, the war cry was 'Remember the Alamo'.

That's a war cry that strikes a resonant twang even thicker than our accents down here in Texas. It's a call to war, vengeance over spilled blood. No quarter asked or given. That's kind of an attittude we have here in Texas... you might get the first blow in, but you'd best be sure that blow finishes it, 'cause I won't stop until you are down. But here's the thing about that... it was retired, because it was no longer necessary. Santa Anna had been defeated, Texas would never again be under the rule of Mexico. We remembered, yes... to forget your past is to risk repeating it... but we also moved on.

9/11 was a traumatic event, no doubt. Particularly so for those who lost a loved one. The biggest strike on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Even worse, in some ways, than Pearl Harbor. At least that was a strike on a military target, even if it was a sneak attack at a time of peace. The Towers were a distinctly civilian target.

Unfortunately, the panic drum has been beaten way too long, way too hard, and used to excuse some inexcusable violation of civil rights.

It happened. It is in the past. To continue to wail about it at this point is counterproductive. Bin Laden is dead. His organization is not quite dead, unfortunately, that being the nature of cell-segregated organizations (a process we taught them, to fight the Russians in the cold war era, I might add). However, the solution to that is to hit them in the pocketbook. Deny them funding. Educate the population they recruit from so the people know better than to hook up with them. Let them wither on the vine. That is the only final solution to terrorism. Take out enough of their leadership, and you may disorganize them, but it won't finish them.

You don't stop a bully by crying. That's where he gets his jollies. You stop a bully by ignoring his antics. And these people are as close to the bully mentality as any. Let them see they wounded us, and they will start a feeding frenzy. Which is why I approve of Bush's sudden, immediate, and forceful counterstrike. His later actions... are debate-worthy. But this isn't a politics thread, and that is a topic for a different time and place.

I cannot and will not tell people to stop mourning their loved ones. Such a statement would be cruel and heartless. But I can say this... the more we make of 9/11... the more it feeds terrorist organizations and encourages hits like this. Al Queda earned overnight fame, their name is now a household name. You can't buy that kind of publicity. They are respected by other terrorist organizations because of this. 'The group that made America bleed', is what they say. By continuing to act wounded, America will simply encourage others to duplicate, or surpass, the effort.

Again, these are simply my personal opinions, feel free to agree or disagree as you see fit.

[Dave11]

Schneekey - Wow. I've learned a lot about the emergency response during 9/11, but I never knew about the way supplies got there. I'm also glad to know that there are people out there who know when the rules can and must be broken. A lot got said about the emergency crews, but yours is the first story I've heard about the "behind-the-scenes" work which was just as important.

To your soapbox point - yes, the media and politicians have used this horrible event for far too long and to excuse far too much. But not talking about it doesn't help either. I'd love to see a forum somewhere where stories like the one you told were collected - not the "big picture" stuff, but the "behind the scenes" stuff, the little things people did to help.

We can never allow ourselves to forget - but we must not allow ourselves to live in fear.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Schneekey - Wow. I've learned a lot about the emergency response during 9/11, but I never knew about the way supplies got there. I'm also glad to know that there are people out there who know when the rules can and must be broken. A lot got said about the emergency crews, but yours is the first story I've heard about the "behind-the-scenes" work which was just as important.

All told, there was over a hundred tons of relief supplies that were shipped to New York, through various means. The shipment I helped with was by no means the only, or even the largest, such shipment. Nor was American Airlines the only airline to ship such.

Quite frankly, air shipment was the only way to get cargo there in any reasonable amount of time. Places like Dallas, Chicago, Miami... all had relief supplies collected by places like Red Cross, but ground shipment takes days. Days the people in New York didn't have.

The shipment I was personally involved in was decidedly a team effort. Without the planners, the ground crew, ATC, and even the pilot's help... it would never have happened. At least not as quickly. Mind you, even if regulations were followed, it would have still arrived within 24 hours. But I felt, and apparently everyone else involved agreed, that every hour saved could possibly save human lives... so we rather tossed The Book out the window. Well, technically... the planners do have the authority to make that decision, for situations precisely like that one, so we were technically following procedure... but really, we were about as much 'by the book' as either Victor Cachet or Miles Vorkosigan.

So if you were an American Airlines passenger who got stranded during the 9/11 incident, and your baggage took you almost a week to get to you... I apologize, it is likely at least in part my fault.

[MerchManDan]

I had just crawled out of bed & switched on the TV; something to listen to while preparing breakfast. Didn't get around to that, though, since every channel seemed to be showing the same thing: One of the Twin Towers was burning. At first I thought it was a movie, until I realized it was on every station; then I thought it must be some kind of accident. A big one.
Then the second plane hit.
A roommate had come downstairs, saw me staring at the TV in horror, and asked what was happening. Can't recall exactly what I said, but pretty sure it was something like "The States are being attacked."

[The Old Wolf]

My son who was living in our basement at the time asked me if I had seen what was going on. Then as now, we had no TV out of choice. We went downstairs and watched the developments on his set, powerfully disturbed because our daughter was in NYC at the time, staying with her grandmother. Because all the phone lines were jammed, it took us until the afternoon to make sure they were both OK. It was a terrifying day both nationally and personally... I can't imagine, even today, the pain of those who were directly affected.

[MrFireDragon]

I was at work, back then I used to work on my own in a tiny office locked down from the world.... then I was searching something and I saw a breaking news article from Yahoo!.... then I went to the back room where my then girlfriend, now wife, used to hang out during the weekends and see movies, I brought it back to my office and turned on the news.... one tower was already down.... I got to see the second one fall down on live tv. I didn't work all day, I just wasn't able to focus anymore, I went home early that day. I live in Mexico, but still the news were too shocking to do anything else but to feel too alarmed, disgusted and angry do any work at all. RIP to all who died that day, you will never be forgotten.