9/11/01 Where were you when you heard or saw the attack?

[HMFIC]

I was living and working in Boston area and having a small meeting at the time with a few others. Someone came in the door and announced right away when the first plane hit and we went back to our meeting but didn't really have focus. As soon as I confirmed that it wasn't just some small aircraft that might have accidentally hit one of the buildings, I had a very bad feeling... then the other reports started coming in. We had a big projector screen in the lunchroom and they immediately tuned it in and most everyone in the building was literally glued to it with dead silence. Our software and hardware engineering department was made up of 75% Pakistani and a few Indian people with a good portion of them on work visas; they too sat in gut wrenching awe. We all identified it as a tragedy, no matter our religion, nationality or race. Most everyone ended up leaving work early and the traffic was a mess heading back up to NH. Mass state troopers were everywhere and the looks in their eyes spoke volumes about their alertness and readiness.

It's hard to believe it was 10 years ago. In some respects it feels like it was just yesterday. In some ways, given the loss of freedoms and the fears that continue to plauge us and be used against us today... it was.

RIP the fallen.

 

[Woody's Janitor]

I was getting my brother's car serviced at Jacky Jones Ford in Cleveland, GA.

 

[angsniper]

I was home, got a call from my mother in law and told to turn on the TV. I watched the 2nd impact then started packing my bags. By 1 Oct we were on the ground in the AOR.

 

[EFsDad]

I was working at a lumber yard, had got back from Kosovo about a month before. I was listening to the radio and writing that weeks order. After the second plane hit I called my then girlfriend and told her to go home. I went and filled up with gas and went home to load the guns.

RIP

 

[okie98]

Sitting in my office, at home, preparing for my day of appointments. TV was on and video of first strike ran. Second hit was live coverage and the rest of my day was cancelled. My wife was still closing out our house in Lone Grove and had no TV. I called her and she said she was leaving immediately, headed to Grove. She always says that was the longest, and strangest trip of her life. What was normally a 5 plus hour trip, she made in just over 4 hours. NO TRAFFIC! Neither of us will ever forget that day and what it meant to our world. I spent the day contacting all six children to make sure all the families were safe. Trust became a thing of the past!

REST IN PEACE----WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

 

[NikatKimber]

I was in high school, on my way to class when the first one hit. Got to class and heard about it. At first we all thought it must have been a Cessna or something, until we got the TVs up in time to see the second plane hit. My grandmother was in the Pentagon when that one hit.

 

[grizzly97]

I was in SOI (School of Infantry) doing some demo work when the instructor came and asked if any of us had relatives in New York. We were all a little confused at the question and dameaner (sp?) from him. About 20 minutes later they took us into a class room and broke the news. Needless to say, we all trained that much harder from then on out.

 

[Werewolf]

I'd taken a day off from work and was at home waiting for the cable guy to come and install high speed internet. I remember being on the computer when my boss called me from work. The 1st words out of her mouth were, "Oh my god Michael! We're at WAR!". She was very excited to say the least.

Huh? "Turn on your TV", she said. So I did and we watched for awhile, her at work and me at home. Watched the 2nd plane crash into the tower.

She called it right when she said the USA was going to change as a result. I on the other hand blew it as my prediction was more along the lines of in a few years no one will even remember or care. In retrospect blowing that prediction is kind of an understatement.

 

[cyberslider]

I was driving to work when I heard about the first plane hitting. As I was pulling into the parking lot, one of the local radio station's morning DJs were making jokes about it. When I got to work, the computer operators had a tv in the computer room watching the news. We all watched the second plane hit the south tower.

 

[kjones99]

I was an Operations Manager in the AA/Sabre Command Center. The mainframe guys came over and told us they weren't getting data from one of the planes and almost immediately the Emergency Phone rang. We turned on the TV and started watching it all happen on both the TV and the mainframe system. In less than two hours the Command Center was full of FBI agents. They had completely taken over our conference rooms and phone lines. The entire base went on lock down. Armed guards were stationed outside each door to the Command Center and the reservation system went into elevated security mode - only senior staff were allowed to login and gather data. Once the decision was made to bring every plane to a nearby airport - the utilization of the system went through the roof trying to get that request completed. For the next two days we had to figure out where all the planes were and how to get them, their passengers and their baggage to the right place when the restriction was lifted. It was amazing to watch everyone work together to get it done. For the next month, we had to get to the office one hour early just to navigate the security measures enforced at the base to get to our desks.

Never forget, never again.