Remembering 9/11...A Must Read!

[wdwnut4life]

god bless our heroes & everyone!

 

[Lifeangel1]

The Day our Lives Changed Forever. We Will Never Forget!

 

[Missytara]

I live in Dover, DE, in a military town; our AFB has the largest fleet of C-5's on the east coast. We were halfway between NY and DC.

Within minutes of the second plane, the base went into lockdown. It was very apparent that life had changed for the moment.

During the night, you could hear planes being moved off the base to other bases; they were not taking any chances.

Over the next few days, you could hear the helicopters bringing the bodies of the military personnel from the Pentagon, since we also have the largest military morgue on the east coast as well. There was a lot of concern in the community that one of the bodies of the hijackers may been sent here as well, but we were reassured that would not happen.

That weekend, we were supposed to have our 2nd Nascar race of the year. They postponed it to the following weekend. The race was at capacity and when you drove by the campgrounds right off Rte. 1, not one trailer did not have an american flag along with their driver's colors. I cried like a child. Say what you want about Nascar fans, but they love their drivers, their beer, their meat and potatoes, and they love their country!

With our military connections, we usually put on a pretty good show, but it exceeded expectations that year. They did a flyover with all five branches of the military. It was quite a sight to see.

I will never forget it....

 

[thedonduck]

I was a junior in HS when 9/11 happened. I truthfully think that people of my age saw the world as we knew it ripped right out from underneath us. We grew up with the US at war, but nothing had ever happened to that magnitude during our lives. I remember friends telling me the next day that they were joining the service to join the fight to protect our freedoms. I vividly remember sitting in class watching in horror as the first tower fell and sobbing when the second fell. Did I have a direct connection to anyone who died? Thankfully, no. But, the world as I knew it has never been the same. For those (unfortunately only) few weeks afterwards when the country was truly United as One and I can only hope that one day we can figure out how to be that way again (WITHOUT having a national crisis as the catalyst.) God Bless those who passed, and God Bless those who serve in any way!

 

[Gabkatt]

Thats awesome!

 

[andyman8]

I've got a blog post about what it was like to be at WDW and DLR on that horrible day. http://www.disneyparksplanning.com/apps/blog/show/18813228-disney-parks-on-9-11

Hard to believe it's 11 years later.

 

[Gabkatt]

I was very impressed with our school district. They asked all students at all levels to wear Red, White and Blue in memory of 9/11. When my kids got home even my youngest said they had 5 minutes of silence and every class talked about the events of that day. I am so glad that the schools are continuing to honor all those who gave on that day and every day since! At least our district anyway! Thank you all who have taken the time to read and share! God Bless

 

[Gabkatt]

God Bless our soldiers & America!!

 

[kayemgi]

I woke up September 11, 2001 to my clock radio alarm somberly telling me, “a plane has hit the World Trade Center.” I was 18 years old and preparing for my freshman year at college. My school happened to start later in September than most others, so I was still living in my parents’ house. Everyone else was at work or school already, and I had set my alarm because I wanted to get a jump on buying dorm room essentials and packing that day.

I remember it being one of those gorgeous, crisp early fall mornings. The day was promising to be cool and comfortable, sunny but not hot. The sky was bright blue, the trees were still bright green, and everything seemed lovely.

I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane crash. This was the first time I realized it was an attack, not an accident. The media drew the same conclusion just as quickly. There was already speculation of going to war, at 9:30 that morning, and I remember calling my boyfriend’s house at the time, and blurting out, “Are we going to war?” without even realizing it was his father that had answered the phone. “No, of course not,” he reassured me.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur. I remember being shocked to hear on the news that there were two other planes, one that hit the Pentagon and one that crashed in PA. I remember my parents both came home, I remember watching the television for most of the day. I remember that the conclusion that it was terrorism happened pretty quickly, and the tv was full of anchors and reporters debating about what would be done in counterattack. I remember having the somewhat ridiculous thought, “I really should go about my day, or else the terrorists win.” I half-heartedly tried to go out to Bed, Bath & Beyond and walked inside to find out they were closing anyway. Thank goodness.

We lived in northern New Jersey for awhile when I was young, and there were quite a few people that we knew that could have been in the city that day. Thankfully, we didn’t lose anyone. But I was surprised to see a familiar name on the news days later: the pastor of our old church, St. Joseph’s, Father Mychal Judge, had been declared Victim #1 by the NYC coroner’s office. He died when he was hit by falling debris when the south tower collapsed, while giving last rites in in the north tower.

The things I remember most are the days after the attacks. How nice people were to each other. How sad I felt that this was something so unusual that I noticed it. Doors were held, cars were allowed to merge, people said hello to one another, please, thank you, and all in this kind of zombie-like haze. Everyone seemed sedate, saddened by the sheer weight of what had happened. American pride surged in a way I had never experienced before. You couldn’t get an American flag anywhere, and I had to settle for red, silver and blue stars from a party store to decorate my dorm room door. God Bless America murals started going up on barns and abandoned buildings that faced highways. It was amazing, how the country banded together as one, to say, “We will carry on, we will honor those who lost their lives, and we will triumph.”

I will certainly never forget, and I only wish we could hold on to that sense of community we felt in those terrible days after 9/11 all the time. At least we seem to still come together on the anniversary, to remember and honor those who lost their lives that day. Be kind, share love. That's the best way to honor them!

 

[ShayBells]

I was in 7th grade. I was 12 so my memory is foggy. I remember not really understanding what was happening until it was all over. I was in music class and the teacher turned the news on and I remember being in school until before lunch when a friends mom took me home cause my mom couldn't leave work. She's government. They were in lock down.

My heart will always go out to those directly effected by this horrible tragedy and to all the rescue workers who risked their lives to help us all.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jcamo]

I was teaching a freshman English class that morning. My husband called and time just stopped. Shock and tears... and prayer. I don't ever want to forget the helplessness I felt that morning, nor the pride I felt in the days and months that followed - proud of our police and firemen, just proud to be an American. We were in NYC a few months later. The site was still rubble, but the people were strong.

 

[disneyworldaddict]

I live at the Jersey Shore, my Dad was living in midtown Manhattan at that time. He called after the first plane and told me he was going down there to check it out. As the events unfolded I couldn't call him back because the circuits were busy, everyone in the world was calling NYC. It wasn't until after the first tower fell that he called me again. I wasn't sure if he had gone down or not, and if he was there when the tower went down. During the time I was trying to reach him, I went out to take cash out if the bank, buy canned food and water, and fill my gas tank. When I drove to the gas station on Rt 9, which runs parallel to the bay, I saw the smoke from the towers. It really was real. It was real. I'll never forget how I felt that day.

 

[Mouse14]

I was a freshman in highschool, sitting in health class. We were all glued to the tv watching it. Not until layer that day when the body counts started did it really hit.

I'm now a firefighter / paramedic for going in 8 years... 343 of my brother firefighters gave their all that day

 

[momofboyz3]

This day is so sad. I remember I was grabbing a coffee. My dh looked at me as I got in the car & was listening to Howard Stern. He just looked at me, and turned up the volume of the radio.

 

[nikki7680]

We got married on September 15, 2001 so 9/11 will forever be remembered along with my wedding. I was off work that week and my mom and I were getting ready to go for walk when we caught the news that a plane had gone into one of the buildings. At that time, we thought it was an accident. By the time we got back from our walk, it was obvious it wasn't an accident and we witnessed the first tower go down. Thankfully, some of my family that were flying in for the wedding had already arrived but my flower girl and her family were supposed to fly in from California. Well, they ended up renting a van and driving because they couldn't fly. We were leaving on the 17th for our honeymoon at WDW. We kept calling the airlines to see if they were even going to by flying by then. My poor husband had NEVER flown before and had to fly just 6 days after the attacks. Needless to say he was a bit unnerved. Disney was pretty much empty. I remember getting through the parks so quickly that we were back in the room before 7pm almost every night. Our Disney vacations are usually around our anniversary so therefore all the 9/11 memorial shows are running on TV around this time. My husband makes me turn them off still to this day because he still doesn't like flying and remembering the planes crashing doesn't help ease his nerves.

Never Forget...

 

[Orangeandwild]

My family was at WDW in Magic Kingdom when we heard the news and they closed the park. The strangest most eerie moment which will forever be burned in my mind as people very orderly left the park. People very silent except for a few little kids who were crying not knowing why they had to leave the park...Bless everyone lost and the responders who lost their lives trying to save the victims, you will never be forgotten!!

 

[ArmyVet80]

I had just finished my AIT for the US Army and was home for hometown recruiting. My recruiter and I had done PT and just arrived at his office to go to my old high school when everything started happening.

We were scheduled to go to 4 high schools that day. We ended up going to 8 different high schools. The students were very curious asking us a lot of questions that we could not answer as we didn't have any answers.

My hometown recruiting got cut short by a week (usually 2-3 weeks long) and I was off to my duty station (Germany at first but changed to Ft Bliss in El Paso, TX). My MOS was satellite communications so I got orders to go to Afghanistan about 8 months later June 2012. Spent 6 months in Afghanistan and then another 16 months in Iraq.

With that said I lost four friends during the attacks of 9/11/11. Two were at the Pentagon and 2 at the WTC. Needless to say there was/still is sadness and anger. It is a day that will forever be instilled in our hearts and minds.

 

[PryncessLace]

I was working as an elementary school reading tutor for Americorp & it was our second day at our schools. I walked into the office to make copies and was told "Terrorists are attacking the country!" I was shocked and scared and didn't really know how to respond. This was the only information I had until lunch time when I called my family. The school only had one TV in the library and they weren't allowing it to be turned on. I was at a catholic school in a military town, most of the students parents were in the military. They didn't want the children to know what was going on and be afraid for their parents. We were told to put on our best acting performances and pretend like nothing was happening, act like it was just like any other day. I didn't see any of the footage of what happened until I got home around 4pm Central time that day.

Every year on this day the song "Where were you when the World Stopped Turning" comes into my head.

 

[Zeppelin]

i live 40 minutes north of mid-town manhattan, so it hit close to home....i was where i always was in the morning- in the gym, specifically in the pool doing laps...

the previous Sunday were the first two installments of “Band of Brothers” on HBO which i meticulously watched...during my swim that Tuesday morning i wondered if i would ever have the courage that those men on D-Day showed...

i returned home to my office, turned on the TV then said “***??!!!” it was if the world was ending...i promptly started calling everyone as i was the eyes and ears for my mom and wife who were at work with no TV....

I will never forget this part- i remember being very proud the towers will still standing...all of a sudden the camera angle showed a huge cloud of dust rising from the ground...i immediately thought of that dopey Bruce Willis movie “Armageddon” when the meteors hit the earth and caused a cloud of dust...i was on the phone with my mom and said “ma- i think something awful happened”....the first tower had just collapsed...

i had to get off the phone...the next thing to do after i composed myself was to frantically start calling family and friends who worked in the area to account for everyone....

sadly, one of my friends, Joe Spor/FDNY, a lifting buddy, never made it home...

http://www.9-11memorialanthonyks.org/josephspor.htm

http://www.legacy.com/Sept11/Story.aspx?PersonID=147539

http://www.fdnyrescue3.com/911/spor.html

 

[Dreamport]

Choir class was ending when our corner of the high school heard the news. I remember our teacher had business to take care of so it was more of a study hall until the last ten minutes. She had just sat down to the piano for late warm-ups when the band teacher came in and whispered something to her; then she told us about the first plane and kept on playing. I wouldn't learn until later that my mom got to see the second plane live on TV, or that my little sister had a prayer session for a good chunk of the day at the local Catholic elementary school.

The in-room TVs were on during next period (mostly footage of the second plane over and over again) but about fifteen minutes later the administrators came around and ordered them shut off unless they could be made part of the day's lesson. Some kids were panicking over family members in New York and DC. I was one of many who didn't have teachers willing to disregard the order or try to make it part of class. The day taught me a lot about frantic rumors due to limited knowledge of what's going on in the world. By lunch, several students were talking about Flight 93 heading (just barely, if at all) over us and possibly going to bomb or crash into our rinky-dink town; by last period there was serious talk about a draft which included women.

My fear twelve years ago was nothing compared to those who were at ground zero, the pentagon or the ones with family in those locations. I only know a couple who lost someone and even then they weren't very close to me. Today I'll be saying prayers for our country and for those who protect it's citizens on any level.