Where were you? (9/11)

A5AF7331-E377-460D-BC67-E430B7EA9216.jpeg
 
I was going to go golfing with a buddy that morning, we ran to the store to buy stuff for breakfast, heard about the attacks on the radio, on the Bob and Tom show, we thought they were joking, until the second plane hit the tower. Turned on the tv when we got back to the house and simply could not believe our eyes…such a somber day for our country…thanks to all the first responders for what you do every day…
 
I had already gone to a job site but had forgotten some equipment that I needed. Got in the truck and heard a report on the radio. I cut the tv on as soon as I got home. Then stood there in shock. Wife and I both started trying to call her brother who worked in that area. Then the next plane hit. I knew they were going to come down I also knew many of my brothers at Rescue 2 were going to be dead. I had just five days before been doing ride alongs with the crews there. By the time we got her brother on the phone. Then the Pentagon got hit. Wife’s Uncle worked there as an advisor. We found him at his home, he was working from there that week. He said he just wasn’t in the mood to drive in that day.

To this day I can not watch the any of the documentaries.
 
I was the interim Midwest Controller for Cingular cellular. I was on my way to the office when a local morning radio show host announced that a plane hit the first tower. Everyone thought it was a wayward Cessna. I was in my office reviewing some projections I had to send to the new owner (SWB/ATT had just acquired Cingular) when one of the vice presidents called me to his office. We sat watching news coverage of the first plane when we saw the 2nd plane hit, obviously not an accident. I just wanted to throw up. The VP told me to get my group together and get operations anything they needed to get as many COWs (cellular on wheels) as possible on the road to NYC ASAP. I stupidly asked why, and he patiently explained to me that virtually every cell call in Manhattan went through the antennas that were on top of the towers. We got 15 trucks towing COWs on the road to NYC that day. On my way home that night my close friend called me to tell me he was driving his brother in law to NYC. His bil's brother worked on the 100th floor of the south tower. He couldn't get down after the 2nd plane hit so he went up to the roof. He called their Mom to tell her that he loved her and say goodbye to the family just before the tower collapsed. Just one of many heartbreaking stories. He was the only person I knew that was in the towers that day. I did know a guy who normally worked in the north tower, but his daughter was sick that day and he stayed home.

At work I was numb but had things to do and that kept my mind occupied. Especially because I felt like we were doing something to help, no matter how small. But when I got home that night, I am not ashamed to say I broke down and cried. And I have cried on every anniversary of that heinous act. The reading of the names gets me every time. The very real pain of the family members just crushes me. My wife came into our room yesterday and I had tears streaming down my face. She asked me what was wrong and I just pointed to the TV. She understood. I, for one, will NEVER forget.
 
Last edited:
I have tears in my eyes reading the accounts of those CSR members who knew people or were directly involved in the attacks and those who had jobs and responded with assistance. I pray for the dead and salute those that served, no matter what the effort was.

I was at home preparing for the days sales calls when my ex-wife called me to tell me a plane had hit the WTC. Like many people I thought it was a wayward Cessna at first. I turned on the TV and quickly realized that wasn’t the case. I saw the second plane hit on the TV. I was stunned. I called my boss… he told me to take my shoes off. I said “What?” He repeated for me to take my shoes off… “stay home, no one is going to want to see you today…”.
I spent the day watching the TV in shock.
 
I was working at a golf course. Friend called and told me to turn on the TV. When the golfers made the turn if they did not come in to the clubhouse I went out and told them what was happening. I got off at noon and went straight home to watch TV

The next day I had jury duty. It was pretty weird showing up and not really knowing what was happening. And I got picked for the jury. So I was in court from seven in the morning until 10 at night. No news all day and night.

Two weeks later I went to the Indianapolis Gran Prix. Before the race they always have a flyover. That day we saw the B1 Bomber. Most of us had never heard of it let alone seen one. It flew over so slow I thought it was going to fall out of the sky. It looked huge. Not a sound in the stands as we watched it fly over. It was on its way over seas.
 
I was walking into my office at 53rd and Park Avenue in Manhattan. I had taken the #4 and #6 subway up from my apartment at the corner of Greenwich and Rector - 2 blocks south of the Trade Center. The WTC was part of our neighborhood; we shopped at the mall, went to outdoor concerts in the plaza, got Krispy Kremes from the store on Church St; took the WTC E train uptown to see friends. As soon as I got off the elevator I saw the news feed on the lobby TVs. I rushed to my office to call my girlfriend (soon to be fiancé) because she worked in 7 World Trade.

Her office on the 42nd floor of 7 WTC afforded a perfect view of the towers. She heard the roar of the jet engines as it flew right over her building. She also saw the second plane hit the the tower, and many people leap to their deaths to escape the raging fires and dense smoke. 20 years on she still cringes when a jet flies over our house with that characteristic low whistle, and has trouble sleeping at night.

After the 2nd plane hit she got out of her building which took some time owing to a mobility issue. She left me a message saying they were evacuating and we would meet up later. She headed up town about the same time the first tower fell. I headed down town trying to meet up with here, which was difficult because all the phone lines were jammed. The only way we could connect was she called my parents in NJ, and my mom was able to call me on a second line they had in their home for my father's business. A little vegan lunch spot called Sacred Chow let her sit and rest for a while while I made my way down town. The question was - where do we go? We frankly had no idea the magnitude of the disaster from the towers falling. We tried to get back to our apartment but everything south of Canal street was closed off. We decided to go to her cousin's place on 78th and York - on the upper East side basically as far you can go before hitting the river We took a couple of busses uptown to the Central Park transverse. Nothing was running cross town so we had to hoof it across the park. On the way to York we stopped to pick up some toothbrushes, a cell phone charger, and a change of underwear since we literally had only the clothes on our backs. The next day we were able to catch a train out of the city to get to her parent's house on Long Island. A few days later we were able to get back in and get our car - it was in a garage just north of Canal Street. Thankfully we hadn't parked it by our apartment.

I've been trying to explain this to my kids the last few days. Some things that stuck with me were after the second plane it, every tall building felt like a target - and I was in one in Midtown. Everyone wanted OUT, and NOW. Where to go? Not sure yet, just get out. We were out of our apartment for 8 weeks. My wife's job was relocated to Rutherford, NJ so we stayed with my parents.

Then there was the smell. I was able to get an escort to my apartment a week or 2 after the day. Under armed escort I was given 10 minutes to walk up to the 11th floor get what I needed and get out - the stability of the building hadn't been verified yet. During that visit, and for many months after we moved back, the air was filled with the uniquely distinctive smell of acrid burning and concrete dust. As I write this my nose fills with the phantom smell, and my eyes are watering with the memory of it.
 
My daughter is here now. She was 6 when this happened and a few days before her 7th b-day. Just asked her what she remembers. She said she remembers being called to the office when I got there to pick them up. She remembers coming home and seeing it on TV but said she didn't understand why or who or the gravity of it.
 
I was at SAIC RCASS when the first plane hit. My next stop from the Tysons corner area was Crystal City Boeing GMD. I never made it. I was on 395 north near landmark and noticed a huge black crowd of smoke billowing into the sky from near the pentagon.

By the time I got to Shirlington the state police sent me and other traffic off onto Quaker lane. From there, I made my way slowly to Alexandria with all of the other evacuating traffic. At that point my day was done as it took almost two hours to drive a few miles into Alexandria only to find the NCUA on lockdown. At that point I realized that this was a major event.

I turned for home and the inner loop of the beltway was deserted. I got back to Vienna in no time. Once home, what did I do? I hitched up the boat and went waterskiing with my friends out on Belmont bay.

After that day the coast guard was diligent in checking boats headed past the Woodrow Wilson bridge into DC. The same crew stopped me three times in a week. Always courteous and quick but there was no smile and wave after the first stop.
 
Lost a buddy that worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. Ralph Mercurio, great guy. He wasn't a morning person but had left home early that morning according to his wife. I never forget the shrill in her voice when I called their home that morning to check on him.
Still miss him.
 
I was on the trading floor in my office in midtown, 53rd and 6th. Was on a phone call with a client when the first plane hit. As other have said, the first comments/news reports were that a small plane had hit one of the towers. As the news feeds on TV went live to the billowing smoke it became apparent very quickly that was no small plane.
Our markets (government bonds and derivatives) froze/shut down. We were evacuated when the second plane hit. I got in touch with a friend and former colleague who worked at another bank and we met on Park Ave. The streets were packed but there was an eerie quiet amongst us. That quiet was disrupted by a pair of fighter jets flying low, overhead and sirens wailing every so often.
We walked up and over the 59th street bridge to my buddy's place in middle village queens, easily a 7-8 mile walk.
My dad, a civil engineer who early in his career worked designing the bathtub for the towers, was supposed to be in a meeting downtown and no one had heard from him. I feared the worst.
Cell phone service was beyond spotty as the system was incapable of handling all the traffic. I'd say 1 out of 40 calls would go through. I managed to tell my wife I was ok and i'd figure out how to get home.
A couple of hours later, one of my sisters was able to get in touch with my dad. He was in Manhattan, but his meeting had moved. When he got to the midtown tunnel, he loaded up his car with as many people as he could fit and drove them out of the city. Eventually, he made his way to me and after the biggest hug I could give my dad, we drove to my home in silence...

Thanks to all those who have served and our first responders.

NEVER FORGET!
IMG_20210913_134012.jpg
 
When the shit hit the fan I was at work at a power plant . Once everyone found out it was intentional and they shut down all the air traffic I felt at the time I was in a huge target so I left the plant and hung out all day at one of our sub stations in view of the plant.
 
I was at home developing a software program for controlling a servo based thermoforming machine that we eventually deployed on 50 machines in four states. To relieve ourselves of OEM dependency.

I was in my loft office with the TV on in the background when it broke, I turned and looked just as the second plane came in. I could not believe my eyes and sat stunned for most of the day, consumed by the video, surreal is the word. The week was ruined for me. Coincidentally it is the anniversary of my Fathers passing in 96.

I grew up in Indian River County Fl, where we had a Piper plant and a flight safety school in the area. Two of my friends went to that school, and the majority of attendees were not Americans, we had a name for them, which I will not repeat. I found out later that several of the attackers went there at the same time as my friends. They were in our community in the early to mid 80's, lying low and planning thier assaults 20yrs before they executed, think about that.

I wish America was as patriotic now as after that event. God Bless America!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,177
Messages
1,427,982
Members
61,086
Latest member
MrWebster
Back
Top