9/11

[pixletwin]

can we vote to give you emergency powers like chancellor palpatine?

I was in the hosital with my wife and newborn boy. My mom woke us up and told me to turn the TV on. What I saw was just after the second tower collapsed and lower manhattan was under a gigantic dust cloud and Dan Rather saying "Its gone. All gone" and I collapsed thinking a nuclear bomb had been detonated. My brother was a DA in Manhattan at the time and I was out of my skull worrying about him. We didn't hear from him for days. Turns out he heard the first plane crash and went to get his wife (who also worked in the same office) to go home.

As they were leaving the DA's office they saw the second plane go overhead and crash into the the other building. They were part of the mass movement of people across the Brooklyn bridge watching the whole thing as they fled Manhattan on foot. He was attending funerals of close friends and acquaintances for weeks afterward. It seriously affected him and still don't think he is quite over the shock of the whole thing.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I'm at a loss as to why anyone would question the necessity of remembering this event. Just as we commmemorate other significant historical moments, both happy and sad, we commemorate the single most significant event in the 21st century and one that has changed the world and the United States forever.


There will be a zero tolerance policy for disrespect in this thread.

 

[Spartan Rex]

"Prayers for the souls of those who died and for the comfort of their loved ones.

Praise for the courage of the passengers on United Flight 93.

Thanks to the first responders who immediately rushed to the Towers and the Pentagon, and to the tens of thousands from across the country who followed to help.

Thanks to the men and women of the United States military and their civilian counterparts who have fought so hard and sacrificed so much to prevent another such attack."

Amen

 

[lcummins]

...I'm old enough to remember the 1st terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and this one affected me so much more...

I was working in New Jersey at the time of the first attack, and was actually on the way in to Manhattan at the time; I remember seeing the smoke rising across the river and turned on the radio and heard what was going on, so I turned around and went back to my apartment in NJ because I knew traffic would be a nightmare the rest of that day...

 

[bumblebee]

I was sitting in my office(about 3 minutes away from andrews air force base) when I heard all thee really loud noises so he headed out side and saw F16's one after another taking off from the base. We walked up to the corner of the block and fromthere we could see marines closing off the streets around the base. We ran back in and gathered aroung the tv in the office and watched in shock as everything was happening. After hours of trying I found out that everyone in my family was ok, but my wife let me know later that 2 people we knew that worked in the pentagon were suspected to have died.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur of shock and anger.

 

[bumblebee]

I'm at a loss as to why anyone would question the necessity of remembering this event. Just as we commmemorate other significant historical moments, both happy and sad, we commemorate the single most significant event in the 21st century and one that has changed the world and the United States forever.


There will be a zero tolerance policy for disrespect in this thread.

Thank you Dave!

 

[Jen]

I was at my boss's house in Seattle. She woke me up and had me turn on the tv. We all sat there for hours - horrified by what we were witnessing. I know I am fortunate to live in a country where I don't have to worry about my neighborhood getting bombed on a regular basis - having the freedom to move around as I please - and I am so thankful for that. About 6 months after the attack my boss' family and I all went to NYC to pay our respects. See the huge hole where the towers used to be, the makeshift memorials still in place, the Missing posters of those who lost loved ones, it was so heartbreaking and is something I will never forget, nor do I want to.

 

[woodsy]

So where was everyone at and what were you doing on this day 7 years ago?


Me. I was walking into an Old Testament religion class in college and the Dr. told us the country may be under attack and for us all to go back to our rooms to watch the news. I got back and my roommate was already watching and as soon as I sit down the second plane hit on live tv. One of the few times in my life I was absolutely stunned.

I was at home that morning studying for my Fire Dept. Captain's exam. Needless to say I didn't get much studying that day. My wife turned to me when the first building collapsed and asked me if any firefighter's would have been in that building. "You have no idea..." I said.

 

[carbo-fation]

I was in my junior year in high school. They had made an announcement over intercom during my History class and all the teachers turned on the TV. We were all schocked and stunned to see the second plane hit the tower and from there on it was just utter disbelieve.

 

[BadMoon]

 

[lcummins]

So where was everyone at and what were you doing on this day 7 years ago?...

I was at a week long SQL Server Administration class... it was Tuesday, so only the second day of class. During the morning, more and more "murmurs" were going on and finally, the rumor starting spreading that the US was under attack. After about another hour, they finally canceled all classes for the rest of the day and I went back home and watched the TV for the rest of the day. Watching those towers fall really hit home in a way for me, because I spent several years in the NY area in the 90's and had been to the top observation deck many times...

 

[RoboDad]

I was still in bed (living in Oregon at the time) when the first plane hit. A few minutes later the alarm clock radio went off, and my wife immediately jumped up, said "something's happening...", and ran for the TV remote.

And that's about the last thing I can remember about that day. The rest was spent in stunned silence.

 

[Polylord]

I remember I was working and went home, turned on the tv to see if anything was on, and I was confronted with the footage of the first plane hitting the towers. I was in utter shock. I saw it with my own eyes, but somehow I just couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real! From that moment I was clustered to the tv until the late evening hours. The planes flying into the buildings, the people from the floors up deciding to jump to their death instead of burning alive... it was all so very surreal. Even to this day, when I see the footage of that day again, it still makes me think: "This cannot be real!". Unfortunately it was.

My thoughts are with all who lost family or friends on that horrible day. I hope karma punishes the people responsible for such an awful deed.

 

[Mooncat]

I think our culture is a little desperate for meaning when people glamorize 9/11 through these remembrances. Other countries deal with terrorism almost daily and the Asian tsunami killed people on a far greater order of magnitude. It was a horrific event but we need to get some perspective.

Not to mention wrapping ourselves up in the flag and religion to "commemorate" this event only serves Osama bin Laden in his drive for fame and power. Far better to relegate it to history like the Oklahoma City bombing, which now seems to be swept under the carpet because Tim McVeigh was inconveniently a white Christian during this religious race war.

Remeberance is a good thing, be it for those who fought to protect or those innocents who lost their lives.

To what degree, and with what tone is up to the individual.

I also agree with certain points barbelith brings up. No doubt the tsunami is remembered in Asia by those affected like 9/11 is within the U.S.

But the tsunami was an act of nature out of our control with no-one to blame necassarily. Acts of terrorism ? well weve lived under the threat of terrorism in the UK for a while (IRA now Alqaeda). However I dont think we remember terrorist acts against us quite the same way the U.S. does + your pretty new to these types of threats but I also think your sense of patriotism is different to ours, more overt lets say. Also 9/11 was recorded for the whole world / U.S. to see the act and the aftermath. I know I and all my friends remember where and what we were doing when we heard the news.

I also think remembering this kind of stuff helps to keep you on your toes weve been up and down on our toes for some time.

 

[kain4521]

I remember being stunned and watching the TV throughout the day and having to go down Kingston Pike in Knoxville around lunch time which on a normal day is stop and go bumper to bumper red lights but on this day I might have passed 1 or 2 other cars. The phone's at work were quiet and when a customer would wonder in they would just stare at the TV for minutes before asking any questions and usually when they did it was about the towers.

 

[Blackhole]

I remember listening to the radio in art class, listening to the whole thing unfold...

 

[Wetanut]

I and my husband are civilians for the Army. I slept through the alarm clock and called in to the secretary to have her tell my boss I'd be in as soon as I got dressed. The secretary said, "don't bother, we'll likely be released to go home early." "Why?" I ask. "What's happening?" She: "Turn on your TV." I tuned in within a minute before the second plane hit. Hadn't a clue why the first tower was in flames until then. As I watched thinking this was some cruel practical joke, the first tower started pancaking. I couldn't move....it seemed to take forever. Then the 2d tower started its slo-mo descent. It wasn't until they announced that the Pentagon had suffered an attack that I got my wits about me and headed to work.

First thing I did was e-mail my son, who is an IT at a nuclear power plant, to ask if he was okay. He immediately responded that, as I had surmised, they were under lockdown. Then I called my husband, who was at Ft. Lee, VA, and was due within an hour to be at the Pentagon to brief some mucky-muck. Me: Where are you? He: I'm driving toward DC; just entered Fredericksburg city limits. Me: You won't be briefing today; you should turn around and head back to Ft. Lee. Pull over on the shoulder and turn on your radio.

Throughout the 22-hour day, as we released our personnel to go home and worked through our emergency operations procedures, we got distressing updates about the known dead and missing among our friends and collegues in the Pentagon. We had over 30 people stranded on business trips across the U.S. and internationally. As we struggled to contact each and every one of them to ascertain they were all right and to give guidance on whether to attempt to rent a car and drive home or to stay put, I feared for my husband and my son who were both potentially in harm's way. Because of the airline groundings and the mass hysteria of stranded passengers demanding to be flown home first, he didn't make it home for a week and a half.

You see, not only did the Towers fall with the unbelievable waste of innocent life as a warning to us that it didn't matter who died, but they hit us at the very core of pride as the foremost military force in the world. When they hit the Pentagon, they snubbed their noses at the very heart of the defense of our country. For that, our military are unforgiving and unforgetful.

We can argue ad nauseum about the need for such a force or whether we are right/wrong in Iraq/Afghanistan. But let's not forget that those in the Towers, the Pentagon, Flight 93, and others who worked so hard in the aftermath must be remembered and honored. Such a small price we pay by commemorating today for the huge price they paid.

 

[Darth Madden]

So where was everyone at and what were you doing on this day 7 years ago?

I got up and started to get ready for work. Took a shower and had some breakfast then went to the computer to check ESPN.com. In the corner of their page it said "U.S. UNDER ATTACK!!" so I quickly turned on the tv and just said "Oh F - - K." The first 3 planes had hit (not sure about the Penn one) and I saw the towers fall before I had to head into work. Luckily we had a tv in our breakroom so it was on all day and we could go in for updates. That was one of the weirdest days of my life. I even remember for like a week after there was no other bad news.. no rapes, murders or anything like that.

 

[lcummins]

...There will be a zero tolerance policy for disrespect in this thread.

Please continue...

 

[DarkArtist81]

I remember being in my barracks, with our squadron's Tool supervisor and a few others... We were drinking and having a good time when the news came on... and showed the building burning. We watched as the second plane flew into the other building... Our faces got tense and we all left to go and pack our bags. We knew that things would never be the same for us, and they never were.

My CO talked to us and in a few days we were on the ship towards Afghanistan.

To my fellow soldiers and sailors... I salute you.

To the people who have died, and those who eventually died in Afghanistan and Iraq... I raise my glass to you all. You will never be forgotten.