9/11

[1koko]

I was on a trading floor in London.

 

Some of our guys had been talking to the brokers in the Towers when it all went crazy.

 

A day that will always live in my memory.

[Schmakt]

I was at work when it was happening... called my roommate to try and get him out of bed so he could watch... I think he finally answered.

 

 

I've never been to New York and I don't know anyone personally who was affected by this...

 

And as tragic as it is to lose innocent lives especially in such a pointless way...

 

When I saw what was happening as it was happening, I wasn't sad or horrified or anything. I was pretty shocked but also really excited. I'm 30 and, to me, nothing has happened in my life as significantly earth-shattering as this. I just remember thinking, "wow this is amazing... if something like this had to happen, I'm glad I'm awake and aware and being a little tiny part of it." Loss of life in mass quantities like this is a difficult idea to actually grasp and understand. Humans are not good at feeling the pain of others en masse, and I am particularly bad about it. I can think about it and, in my head, realize that it sucks that this many people died, but I can't feel anything about it. It's when I start to think about one person on the top floor who wasn't feeling well that day and went to take a dump and the next thing they know the world is literally falling down around them in fire and smoke and debris. Or the husband who left home in a huff and who wanted nothing more than to see his wife's eyes again even as the skin melted off his arm.

 

Then I remember, for a brief moment, feeling like george bush didn't suck...

The photo-op speech on the rubble with the flag was kind of sickening to me but still instilled a little bit of hope.

 

When he announced the military action in Afghanistan, I was like, "yes. those bastards up!" And the world was with us, and it felt like the right thing to do.

 

Then came the Iraq announcement, and the stupid Toby Keith song, and lots and lots and lots more death.

 

On September 11, I felt like we (the world, the US) got an amazing chance to come together and make the world better. The saddest thing, for me, about 9/11 is how it was used and how much less happy I feel with the state of the world b/c of the way it was used and the way we went about avenging/rectifying what happened.

 

 

Anyway... sorry... people were sharing memories, and those are mine.

 

Hail, hail anyone who lost anything on this day... and even more so to the people who are attempting to be part of a greater good whether they believe it is the best course of action or not. (That's you, Soldier guys!)

[360degrees]

I was in Basic Training..... 4th week I think. The Drill Sergeants told us the Towers were blown up by terrorists. Of course none of us believed them until they brought in a TV and showed us. At first I still didn't believe them until they started telling us this isn't a game and this is real.

 

I whole lot of conflicting thoughts went through my mind that day.... Was my uncle alright, I'm going straight to war, this can't be happening. It was a pretty gloomy day, we had a couple guys in my class that had friends and family that died in the towers also....

 

After Basic, Advanced Individual training, and Airborne school I got to Bragg and 2 months later was in Afghanistan.....after a 8 month rotation 4 months later I was in Iraq, 4 months after another 7 month stint I was back in Iraq once again...... it changed my life for the better I believe. My first deployment pretty much humbled myself, I don't take anything for granted because of that and I'm a lot more grounded.... I used to be a livewire before my war service and basically I just enjoy being alive and a American now. So I guess through all the tragedy and death at least I can say one thing has came out better through this event.

 

R.I.P. SSG Ricky L. Crockett, SSG Samuel T. Castle and everyone else that died....

[conditionfreak]

As a couple of side notes. When 9/11 happened I was working undercover narcotics in Cleveland and us narcs were immediately assigned to guard the local airport in downtaown Cleveland (Burke Lakefront Airport), which was had a tie with the plane that went down in Pa. We had 24 hours duty for several weeks, just watching the airport undercover and not so undercover. Even though most all air traffic had been banned, there was some still coming and going. I really don't know what that was all about though.

 

Additionally, when the "white powder" stuff started happening, us narcs were responding to citizens complaints of white powder everywhere. In apartment building hallways usually (always turned out to be "carpet fresh") and other similar type citizen notifications. We didn't mind checking these things out although we knew that anthrax powder was not being spread in a four apartment building. But everyone was afraid and I liked helping alleviate their fears. EVERYONE was scared about what might happen next.

 

I should say lest someone not understand, us undercover narcs in t-shirts and jeans were used to check out this tuff so that if someone had a bomb at a location and was just waiting for emergency personnal (police or fire) to arrive to check out something suspicious, to set a bomb off, they might not think a couple of fellows in jeans were emergency personnel. Sometimes terrorists "do something" (a bombing or whatever) and then have a second bomb ready to set off upon the arrival of emergency personnel.

 

Sad part is, I really didn't need to tell ya'll that. You already knew it. That is the really sad part. This ain't our grandparents world.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

I was working in Manchester. I remember walking from the worktruck, to the inside of the house we were renovating in a retirement village. The older guy next door was arguing with these two landscapers that a plane or something hit one of the towers. We all looked at him like he was nuts.. A plane crash into NYC , yea ok. He brought 5 of us into his home next door just in time to see the second plane hit. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. I just stood there in total shock, thinking my eyes were betraying me. They werent.

 

I didnt lose anyone to that event. Many of my friends did, and they are still broken about it. I hope that all the people affected by this will someday stop hurting. I pray that the families will grow strong again, and that the troops who have been deployed come home safe. To all the people who have lost their lives through the attacks, and the war. We will never forget you. R.I.P

[COI]

This ain't our grandparents world.

 

In your grandparent's world, the holocaust took place.

 

Unfortunately, these kinds of atrocities aren't just a recent phenomenon.

[AtlasFan]

I worked at 7 World Trade Center at the time. When the first plane hit, my office was sipping coffee looking out the window and wondering how they would ever fix that gaping hole. After the second plane hit, they evacuated our building and my boss and I watched the towers burn from a plaza on West Street.

 

We looked up and saw what we thought was debris coming down. As it turned out, it was people jumping. I wont go into the details as to what was happening on the ground.

 

When it became apparent that something unthinkable was going to happen, the police made everyone run up West Street.

 

We walked to our company's mid-town office and planned to bring our Jersey Disaster Recovery location on-line. Didn't get home until after 9pm.. That was indeed some day...

[kahml]

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

I was working that morning, and on a break I walked past a tv showing the first tower burning & smoking. As I listened to the news people trying to guess what caused it, I noticed a plane off in the distance nearing the other building VERY closely.

I remember thinking to myself, "Is that plane checking out the damage to the building? That doesn't make sense, why not use a helicopter?" Then it hit me, the same moment the 2nd plane hit the other tower.

The breakroom erupted. I stood there speechless.

The next day my Mother informed me that one of my cousin's died in the Pentagon crash. I asked "Are you sure?" and my Mom replied, "They found his arm."

 

Rick

[conditionfreak]

This ain't our grandparents world.

 

In your grandparent's world, the holocaust took place.

 

Unfortunately, these kinds of atrocities aren't just a recent phenomenon.

 

Fortunately, not in Pa, NY or DC.

 

Of course, there have been terrible things throughout history and even today in several countries. But here in the U.S., we don't like it when it happens elsewhere but downright get mad if it happens here. Luckily we are the most powerful country on this planet and some of us are not afraid to remind others of that. By whatever method works best to get the point across.

 

The lamb may lie down with the lion in Heaven, but not on earth. A different set of rules and physics apply here. Sadly.

[P Keel]

Woke up that morning and turned on the t.v. to see the first tower burning and then the second plane hit. I thought it was a replay of the first plane, and then reallity set in. Within twelve hours I was being recalled back to the Atlantic fleet along with several fellow squids. Within eighty-six hours( contrary to what some know and believe) we were ready to strike. The rest is currently being put into history.God bless our country,and continue to shelter us. HONCHO34-PRIDE OF ORDINANCE

[comicgrinder]

I was on my to Yellowstone National Park with my girlfriend, and noticed a lot of cars parked on the side of the road......turned on the radio and was soon on the side of the road as well/ VERY sad day.

[Designer Toast]

I was just leaving work that morning talking to a co-worker when another co-worker ran out saying someone ran a plane into one of the towers. Now, this guy was a goof and he could tell you someone was just murdered out back and you would look at him waiting for the punch line. So I paid it no mind.

 

On the way home I popped the radio on in the car and there was the news. I got home and my wife was up watching it happen on TV. We sat there watching it all in disbelief and, as I'm sure it was all over the country, it was not a tear-free day in my home even though I was on the other side of the country.

 

I got called back to work that afternoon not having slept all day and don't think I slept for two days between work and watching the news. A friend of mine watched it all go down from a distance from the balcony of his condo in New York.

 

 

 

[Count]

I was in my car on my way to work when the I heard on the radio that a small commuter plane hit the first tower.

 

 

[AussieRuss]

Woke up that morning and turned on the t.v. to see the first tower burning and then the second plane hit. I thought it was a replay of the first plane, and then reallity set in. Within twelve hours I was being recalled back to the Atlantic fleet along with several fellow squids. Within eighty-six hours( contrary to what some know and believe) we were ready to strike. The rest is currently being put into history.God bless our country,and continue to shelter us. HONCHO34-PRIDE OF ORDINANCE

 

Just out of curiosity.

 

May I ask what exactly were you ready to strike?

[AussieRuss]

I was woken up by a text message on my phone telling me to turn on the TV.

 

Turned on the TV and the first tower was on fire. I woke up my wife and we sat infront of the tube for the next 1-2 hours and saw the second tower get hit and then the towers fall.

 

I still remember the feeling of emptyness.

 

Didn't know what to say, How to feel. Weather or not to cry. Just stunned by the overload of what I was seeing.

 

Got to work about an hour late and no-one said much. We just watched the lunch-room TV for updates etc... Everyone was obviously wuite shocked.

 

The next few days were very strange. I think that it took a while for everyone to digest what had happened.

 

I will never forget that morning.

 

Russ...

[P Keel]

Afghanistan

[FatComicMafia]

I lived right off of Washington Square Park at the time.

For months, the streets were blocked off. One would have to show their ID with their address just to get into one's residence, if they lived below 14th street.

 

 

My good friend at the time, lived right across the street from the World Trade Center, he became homeless for months.

 

 

I ended up helping my former peer, and ended up volunteering and instructing his art classes on Saturdays, to make up for the classes that were canceled at the university were I worked at the time.

 

 

I felt a gloom, a dark cloud over the city, it seemed to stay for years, and to this day I still sense it. I sometimes reluctantly ride the subway, and fear something might happen, especially at rush hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[reddog4063]

New York City stopping in.

 

Today was a very somber day here. I was there when it happened, retreated back to my building 8 blocks away where I ended up having to stay for four days afterwards. No way to get home so I slept under my desk and ate candy from vending machines. At night we set up a camp on the second floor for police and firefighters. Our backup generator held up and we were one of the few with any kind of power.

 

God bless our military personnel keeping us safe around the globe.

 

 

RIP

Paul W Innella

Nov 11th 1967 - Sept 11th 2001

www.paulinnella.com

[conditionfreak]

Woke up that morning and turned on the t.v. to see the first tower burning and then the second plane hit. I thought it was a replay of the first plane, and then reallity set in. Within twelve hours I was being recalled back to the Atlantic fleet along with several fellow squids. Within eighty-six hours( contrary to what some know and believe) we were ready to strike. The rest is currently being put into history.God bless our country,and continue to shelter us. HONCHO34-PRIDE OF ORDINANCE

 

Just out of curiosity.

 

May I ask what exactly were you ready to strike?

 

I can not answer specifically for HONCHO, however as I would assume, being a former Marine and a former Sailor, that HONCHO and is fellow servicemen and women, were ready to strike whomever their superiors instructed them to strike. Each and every service member is not privy to the intelligence concerning ANY world situation, and can only obey orders or disobey orders. A military can not function or exist when each member makes up their own mind about. Like it or not, that is fact. That is why the contract and oath they sign and take upon enlistment, states something to the effect "I will defend my country, right or wrong" blah, blah.

 

I know that some disagree with us being in Iraq when in there opinion, Iraq had nothing or very little to do with 9/11. But, what is a service member supposed to do? Argue with their superiors about it, as his fellow comrades are marching forward?

 

That would be a poor person to have in your foxhole. That would be a foxhole comrade who would get YOU killed, if he was the one covering your arse in that foxhole.

 

Hope that helps clarify what you were looking for.