This Day in History: Sept. 11

Where were you on this day 18 years ago?

Working with a group that did hostile environment training for reporters.   

Thank you for this seed.  I love the events that happened on the day' date.  They make for great trivia.

Indianapolis. Was checking out of my hotel getting ready to head for the airport. The front desk had the news on with the sound turned off showing pictures of the first building on fire. I stood there watching for a minute or two and then watched in horror as the second plane struck. I called all my co-workers in the hotel and told them to turn on the news. I was lucky enough to get the second-to-last rental car available that morning so we could drive back to New Orleans that day. Others in our group that waited until after lunch to look for a way home, got stuck there for over a week.

I was on the USS John F Kennedy inport getting ready to do sea trials. Instead of going to Puerto Rico to do these drills, we sat off the east coast for several weeks.

I was working for a small business that did contract work with intel agencies. We had a TV in our small conference room. We all gathered for the horrific news being broadcast about the first plane striking the towers...when the second plane hit. I fell to my knees in shock. There was concern over a missing plane and possible targets. One of which we had several employees working.

We were expecting people for a meeting so I went to reception. The gentlemen were seated and the receptionist was chattering in FARSI on the phone. I walked over to her and whispered...ENGLISH. She said she was speaking to her mom, which I understood, but having these visitors means she must either speak in English or end her call.

The meeting started and I went out for a smoke. The day was beautiful...almost a cloudless sky....and silence. No planes in the sky. The office is near Dulles, so 'no planes' flying is terribly noticeable. Employees began showing up as they were evacuated and safe. On my drive home...I cried like a baby.

The next day I had to work out the logistics of getting our CEO and others back from California, and a couple of employees back from Chicago. Trains were booked...so they began their long road trip back in rental cars.

Each 9/11 anniversary, I am transported in my memories back to that day of horror and tears. Thankful for the first responders courage and strength...thankful that we as a Nation came together in grief and strength. Tears are shed for the thousands of lives lost...they will always be remembered.

There was concern over a missing plane and possible targets.

I distinctly remember that at the time most people didn't realize that after the initial hijackings (of four airplanes) those attacks were over. Instead, most people were wondering if this was just the beginning-- and if widespread terror attacks would continue throughout the country every day....

The gentlemen were seated and the receptionist was chattering in FARSI on the phone

She was Persian?

I had just gotten to work and my boss (who was a news junkie) was watching coverage of the first plane hitting the towers. As I stood watching, the second plane hit. I can remember us looking at each other as we both realized what was happening. Then the Pentagon and Shanksville (only a 2 hour drive from my then home).

We were told to go home and I am not sure how long I just sat in my car wondering if I should go pick up my son at school. 

All those innocent lives lost, all their families and friends left to mourn. 

It is a day that is impossible to forget!

Then the Pentagon

I remember that there were a lot of conspiracy theories at the time-- some quite bizarre.One that was fairly widespread was that no plane actually hit the Pentagon-- that that was a hoax pulled off the mainstream media in collusion with the government!

There were even long articles full of supposed "facts" proving that it never happened at all -- or that something hit it but that it was a missile, and couldn't possibly have been an airplane, etc.

I have kind of a vivid memory of the event. At that time, I had just gone through a very costly divorce and had to come up with extra income. I had just started a limousine service (it was about 1 year old) and I spent that entire morning taking people into Logan Airport. I had conversations with each individual/group on the way in. As soon as the news came in on my radio I found a place to pull over, caught my breathe and began to think about which airline I had let each party off at. American Airlines & United planes were the ones involved. I recall an elderly woman who was in MA visiting her children & grand kids going back to CA. That meant United. She told me her flight was not going to LAX because there was another airport closer to her home and United had a flight going there. I hoped that's what saved her. Thinking of them, my own problems faded away.

She told me her flight was not going to LAX because there was another airport closer to her home and United had a flight going there. I hoped that's what saved her

At the time there were a lot of stories of people who experienced "coincidences" that caused them to be late for work (in the Pentagon or the Twin Towers) or got sick and didn't go in to work that day. Or who missed their flights, etc, etc. All sorts of events that at first were annoyances-- but turned out to have actually saved their lives!

I was driving to work; I was running a little late. It was such a beautiful day, as cj noted above - my office wasn't far from his.  I was just going through the toll area to get to work when I heard it on the radio. I walked into the office and everyone was in the conference room, glued to CNN. I called my former roommate in NYC (our apartment was 2 blocks away) and he said the first explosion woke him up; he went on the roof to see what happened, and a 2x4 hit the roof next to him and exploded into splinters. He went back inside and he said when the first building collapsed, dust just poured into the apartment from the chinks in the walls. The photo of all those people running down the side street as the first tower fell was taken just a few doors away from the door to our building.

I went to visit my old apt a month later ... there were several inches of ash, papers, and ... probably other things covering the roof and my rooftop grill. Everyone was still in total shock, and the missing posters were heartbreaking. They were plastered all over everything.

I lost touch with my former roommate, but since he refused to evacuate, I wonder if he's still alive. Same with my friend's former roommate, who was one of the first responders.

And yes, as others have noted - how weird it was to have no planes in the air. I'm near a couple of major airports so that was really eerie.

At the time I had friends that lived in Battery Park City. IIRC their apt. was 2 (or 3?) blocks  from the former WTC. He was up in Boston on business, but she was in the apt. After the first plane hit the bldg. the staff went door to door and told everyone to evacuate the bldg-- because a plane had hit the WTC. 

Everyone was terrified. She grabbed her keys and her most precious possession (her cat!) took the elevator down and as she was leaving the bldg she actually saw the second plane hit. (It was really, really close).

People didn't know whether this might be the start of a war or an invasion. She had friends across the river in New Jersey, and somehow she managed to get there and stay with them for a while. 

(Here's a map-- if you click on the + to enlarge you can see how close Battery Park City is to the site of the former WTC)./