Author Topic: Where were you on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001? (Read 2330 times)

Preon1 · « **Reply #45 on:** September 11, 2003, 12:51:03 PM »

My roommate and I at the Academy usually ate breakfast in our room while watching TV before going to class. That morning, Alex happened to turn it to CNN where we saw a smoking tower. My first thought was "What an idiot! I wonder if it was the pilot's fault or the air traffic controller's fault". That feeling remained fixed until I saw the second plane hit and I knew that lightning wasn't about to strike twice.

All my classes that morning were in the Physics department, but we all just hung out in the physics conference room and watched the news. I could barely swallow the lump in my throat as we watched the towers fall.

Every 45 minutes or so, we would be informed of the security level being increased a notch. By lunch I was walking with my ID out, getting my belongings inspected every time I tried to enter a building. The base was shut tight for a couple days and all vehicles were moved away from buildings. The gates were being guarded by SPs carrying M-60s and M-16s instead of M-9s.

The first time I heard an airplane was right after lunch. A pair of F-16s went screaming over the Academy securing the airspace. Over the next few days, the sound of an F-16 was the only engine we heard.

Over the next couple of days, the teachers decreased the focus on academics and talked at length about officership and how it was going to change now that this has happened. They had no idea.

SFRT - Frenchy · « **Reply #46 on:** September 11, 2003, 12:51:03 PM »

I was in flight.

Dispatch contacted me and ordered us back on the ground "right now". I didn't like the guy from dispatch as he already has an history of pissing me off. I answered him "fuk you, let me do my work, call me when u are done with your coffee". The moron came back to me very politly and said it was really important, plus I eard all the company planes being called back too.

I landed, and walked furious into the pilot lobby ... to find everyone gathered around the TV. As I looked at the screen, I see one of the twr on fire, and really wonder why everyone is more preoccupied by this rather than "calling back all aircrafts home". With the seconds, the second tower burst into flames from the second plane. While eveybody is screaming I thinking "holly ****".

Then later on the Pentagon got hit, I recall thinking that those terrorists are "awsome". Make so much destruction with so little money using the targetted country's equipment. The idea was brillant! A Special Ops dream.

Then we got sent home, I stopped on the way to my GF work, to see only one twr standing up ... I had an horrible chill in my back, those things u take for granted, NY and his twins.

I went home right away, tuned the TV up and right away the second twr collapsed live ... I remained with my mouth open for a good 5 minutes.

I called my dad in France, he knew about it, he said the news came while he was playing golf, he canceled the game, he was so shaken up.

Then I was out of job for 3 weeks by F.A.A. ruling, later on I was out of job for good because I was forreign and the company didn't want to take a risk. Bad image for the business they said.

Saurdaukar · « **Reply #47 on:** September 11, 2003, 12:55:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by SFRT - Frenchy
I
Then later on the Pentagon got hit, I recall thinking that those terrorists are "awsome". Make so much destruction with so little money using the targetted country's equipment. The idea was brillant!

Get ready to stop, drop, and roll.

Urchin · « **Reply #48 on:** September 11, 2003, 12:59:03 PM »

Man, it feels wierd that it was two years ago... I can still remember exactly how I felt, exactly what I was doing, exactly what I said when I found out.

I was asleep, and the phone rang... I turned over and grabbed a pillow and shoved it over my head but the stupid phone kept ringing and ringing for like a minute. So finally, I get up to go answer it, and (wouldn't you know it) I get a dial tone when I pick it up. I turn around to go back to bed and it starts ringing again. So (with a yelled curse word), I turn around and pick it up. My mom said "Somebody just bombed New York!"... I said to her "Are you out of your F***ing mind?" Honest to god, that is exactly what I said to her, strange out I remember it. She works at an elementary school, one of the other teachers had been watching the news during a break and it went around the school like a shot. Apparently the story got changed around some in passing and that is why she thought someone had bombed NYC. I watched the second plane hit on "live" TV, and both of the towers collapsing. Horrible stuff.

SFRT - Frenchy · « **Reply #49 on:** September 11, 2003, 01:00:44 PM »

And I will stand by those words. As much as I would like to personally twist Osama's neck like the rest of us in here, and I pray for the 9/11 victims; you have to give him credit, his plan was brillant. Doing so much with so little. A lesson is gorilla warfare.

Flossy · « **Reply #50 on:** September 11, 2003, 01:05:46 PM »

It was around 2.00 pm here when I got a phone call from Zeb - had heard from our son that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I turned on a small, portable radio I keep beside my desk and soon heard news of the second plane crashing...... then I knew this wasn't just a tragic accident...... my heart was filled with sorrow and I wasn't able to concentrate on my work for the rest of the day, very little got done. Most of the time was spent listening to news reports and talking to colleagues, until I could go home and watch TV.

I was particularly worried because I knew that Wax, my Hell Gods CO, lived on Long Island and that his work probably took him into the city..... it was with great relief that I saw his name appear on my AIM list later that day. I think I probably felt worse than most in my office due to having made so many friends over there over the previous 3 years.

It certainly put a dampner on the UK Convention which I went to a few days later.

I will never forget.

Flossy

Zigrat · « **Reply #51 on:** September 11, 2003, 01:49:46 PM »

i was at the barber. at around 9am another customer came in and said "somebody bombed washington".

Trikky · « **Reply #52 on:** September 11, 2003, 01:50:19 PM »

I was working for the Bank of America here in London at the time. The first news was that a small private plane had hit the WTC then all our systems started going strange. Spent the rest of the day in disbelief, not doing my job at all, none of us could even if we wanted to.

One thing I remember, the contigency plans put in place by the Bank of America to carry on, business as usual. I didn't think it was bad taste, just amazed how nothing can interupt the world of finance. Considering what had happened, they hardly skipped a beat.

Eagler · « **Reply #53 on:** September 11, 2003, 01:54:28 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Trikky
.... the contigency plans put in place by the Bank of America to carry on, business as usual. I didn't think it was bad taste, just amazed how nothing can interupt the world of finance. Considering what had happened, they hardly skipped a beat.

that is good

anything else would a have been a victory for the terrorists ...

Stringer · « **Reply #54 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:01:03 PM »

I was in an interview for the job that I have now.

It was at the recruiters office in downtown KC. I was to fly back home to Boston that afternoon. The recruiter walked into the interview and said planes had been hijacked, hit the towers, etc. and that I wouldn't be flying anyway today, let alone Boston.

My first thought was that someone had stolen empty airliners and did this. I just didn't imagine loaded planes being used.

We finished up with the initial interview process, and since I wasn't going to be flying back home, setup follow-up interviews for the next day. As I left downtown KC they were blocking off all intersections to any government buildings.....the place was empty.

I couldn't even get a train ticket back into Boston. On Friday, I finally got a rental car at KCI and drove back to Boston. I met many, many people along I-70, etc. doing the same exact thing as me. It was unbelievable the amount of people driving back to the northeast.

When I returned the rental to Logan, their were one-way rentals parked all over the place. There were literally car-carrying them out to Saugus to make room for more.

Hawklore · « **Reply #55 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:03:43 PM »

I was in bed, woke up 5 mins. after the first plane hit, went out to living room and sat down watching then the second plane hit, I thought it was a recording until the word LIVE showed up...

Odd how I woke up when the first plane crashed..

icemaw · « **Reply #56 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:06:59 PM »

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030911/wl_nm/sept11_britain_muhajiroun_dc_1

Any of you brits have an adress for these guys?

cpxxx · « **Reply #57 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:07:29 PM »

It was afternoon, we're five hours ahead and I was asleep in bed having coming home from the night shift. Woke up around 3:30 pm and flipped on the TV to try and wake myself up. They were showing some stupid disaster movie, called "Attack on New York" or something like that with lousy production values. "Stupid daytime TV", I thought. I changed channels only to find more of the same on every channel and it dawned on me. This was real!

I felt numb and pondered absurdly that the world was ending and I was still in bed. I saw nothing live and am glad of that. Both towers had collapsed by the time I woke up. I thought of my friends in the USA and my time there.

I went to work that night, security had been beefed up. The stars and stripes flies proudly alongside our national flag and we could have been a target too, being an American company. Absurdly my supervisor took me aside and quietly suggested I keep an eye on the guys, making sure they didn't spend too much time in the cafeteria watching events on TV. Talk about lacking a sense of proportion! The world was going to hell and he was worried about production quotas.

cpxxx · « **Reply #58 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:15:05 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by icemaw
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030911/wl_nm/sept11_britain_muhajiroun_dc_1

Any of you brits have an adress for these guys?

Don't worry icemaw, MI5, the CIA and the rest have their addresses. They can't take a p*** without being monitored.

Chairboy · « **Reply #59 on:** September 11, 2003, 02:23:49 PM »

One followup item, I was supposed to fly from LA to Altanta that afternoon on United for business. The timing was just a little to close, and to this day I wonder if the plane I was supposed to take was one of the LA bound ones that were involved in the attack.

A co-worker of mine was flying back from Europe and about to fly over Nova Scotia when the attack happened. He was reading a book, and the plane suddenly VEERED over and did a 180, hard. No quiet bank, it was an e-sapping power turn at maybe 1-1.5Gs, and the captain came onto the intercom and said that due to an emergency, they would be flying to Geneva. He didn't say what was happening, but my friend said that the door to the flight cabin was then closed and the stewardesses were all standing at intersections of the plane watching everyone like a hawk after a few minutes.

Geneva was full, so they were routed into another airport. All hotels booked, he slept on the floor at the airport for a few days.