20 years ago today-- tell your story

[clob94]

We are all unique and thus, see things through different lenses in real time.

I find it important that we as a society share with each other our unique experiences that happened to us 20 years ago. We will learn more about each other while hopefully exorcising some demons from the past as well.

No such thing as TLDNR today. Tell your story, take your time, or be as brief as you want. I commit to you that I'll read every word of every account on this thread-- and I encourage others to do the same.

Where were you 20 years ago at this exact moment?

 

[2300 Nueces]

Ok, I had a court date that day for a minor infraction that I missed because I forgot about it..... I was working and had no idea what was going on in NY that morning until I hit the Parker County courthouse. Once I remembered my court date which was a couple of hours late I made a beeline to plead my case. Once at the counter, I apologized and asked for another chance to make it to court on time, the lady said, "ya sure" and turned back around to watch the TV. I asked what they were all watching and she said a passenger plane hit a building in NY. It was a smaller old school TV so I could only make out a little bit. They rescheduled my date to my surprise and off I went. I turned to news radio and caught it on radio while working til I was able to get to my house. Anyway, that's how I remember it.... Did you know that they moved tons and tons of gold out of the WTC tower days before the planes hit? Hmmmm.... and then claimed that the gold was there all along. Hmmmm...

Cross reference the timeline for 9/11 and the prices of gold and silver from 2001. It's illuminating.

 

[OldHornInPA]

Good topic.

I was at work at Alcon Labs in Fort Worth when I heard the tragic news of the first plane strike. It spread throughout the research group quickly. No one knew what was going on or what was going to happen. We watched in horror as the second plane hit, the fires flaring up and eventually the towers crumbling.

One question that I pondered then was how horrible it would have been to have been stuck in an elevator in the Twin Towers at the moment of disaster. You would not have any idea of what just transpired or your fate.

 

[2300 Nueces]

Good topic.

I was at work at Alcon Labs in Fort Worth when I heard the tragic news of the first plane strike. It spread throughout the research group quickly. No one knew what was going on or what was going to happen. We watched in horror as the second plane hit, the fires flaring up and eventually the towers crumbling.

One question that I pondered then was how horrible it would have been to have been stuck in an elevator in the Twin Towers at the moment of disaster. You would not have any idea of what just transpired or your fate.

My step father's cousin was Robert Alexander.

 

[JonBinge]

I was between classes in my JR year of college and was in the coaches office watching game film on that weeks opponent with my LB coach. Our head coach came in and turned on the other TV and said something to the tune of “y’all better check this out.” We watched as the 2nd plane hit and it became evident what was going on.
My dad used to work in the Empire State Building and I’d been in the WTC many times when visiting as a kid. It was really eerie feeling watching it unfold. I remember feeling angry. Wanting to join the Service immediately and go fight. Wanting to see my family. It was a terrible day. Sadly, the period after the attacks is the most United I remember our country being in my lifetime. The most Patriotic as well. Americans didn’t hate America and we were One.

 

[clob94]

I was between classes in my JR year of college and was in the coaches office watching game film on that weeks opponent with my LB coach. Our head coach came in and turned on the other TV and said something to the tune of “y’all better check this out.” We watched as the 2nd plane hit and it became evident what was going on.
My dad used to work in the Empire State Building and I’d been in the WTC many times when visiting as a kid. It was really eerie feeling watching it unfold. I remember feeling angry. Wanting to join the Service immediately and go fight. Wanting to see my family. It was a terrible day. Sadly, the period after the attacks is the most United I remember our country being in my lifetime. The most Patriotic as well. Americans didn’t hate America and we were One.

I'd only been in the towers once in my life. But I had a distinct recollection of their size-- not just their height, but their width. When I saw the gaping hole while I was watching MSNBC, stupid twat Rachel Maddow kept trying to convince the audience it was a "small private" aircraft.
Having been in the trade center multiple times, as you say you'd been, did you question the whole "private aircraft" theory based on the size of the hole?

 

[JonBinge]

I'd only been in the towers once in my life. But I had a distinct recollection of their size-- not just their height, but their width. When I saw the gaping hole while I was watching MSNBC, stupid twat Rachel Maddow kept trying to convince the audience it was a "small private" aircraft.
Having been in the trade center multiple times, as you say you'd been, did you question the whole "private aircraft" theory based on the size of the hole?

Honestly man, I didn’t know who Maddow was back then. I was 21 and all I cared about was playing ball, making grades and finding decent looking chicks (that weren’t 6’3 and looking to take my LB spot) at a small school in Kansas.
I don’t recall getting into the theories as much back then but yeah, that would have been easy to debunk on the spot. I have pictures with my little sister of us on the roof top of the tower with the deck. They were incredible and really humbling. Massive.

 

[JDCPAgolferHorn]

I lived in the DC area (Loudoun County) at the time; about 15 minutes from Dulles. I was packing for a foreign trip while watching the television coverage of the first strike. They keep saying it was just a small plane so I headed to my office 5 minutes away. While at the office, the 2nd strike occurred, then my office sheltered in place. We had the TV coverage on the entire time. Being in the DC area, you can imagine all of the rumors that were spreading. I won't go into all of the rumors but they were pretty mind boggling.

Air travel was shut down so obviously my trip was cancelled. But, I recall wishing I could travel as I would've felt safer at my foreign destination.

After a couple of hours, we were able to go home from the office. My 5 minute commute took me underneath the flight paths to/from Dulles. There wasn't a single plane descending or taking off from Dulles. The skies were eerily quiet a few days.

Cell phone calls couldn't be made for a few days as the bandwidth was at full capacity. People were on edge for a few weeks in the DC area as the rumor mill continued.

 

[clob94]

I lived in the DC area (Loudoun County) at the time; about 15 minutes from Dulles. I was packing for a foreign trip while watching the television coverage of the first strike. They keep saying it was just a small plane so I headed to my office 5 minutes away. While at the office, the 2nd strike occurred, then my office sheltered in place. We had the TV coverage on the entire time. Being in the DC area, you can imagine all of the rumors that were spreading. I won't go into all of the rumors but they were pretty mind boggling.

Air travel was shut down so obviously my trip was cancelled. But, I recall wishing I could travel as I would've felt safer at my foreign destination.

After a couple of hours, we were able to go home from the office. My 5 minute commute took me underneath the flight paths to/from Dulles. There wasn't a single plane descending or taking off from Dulles. The skies were eerily quiet a few days.

Cell phone calls couldn't be made for a few days as the bandwidth was at full capacity. People were on edge for a few weeks in the DC area as the rumor mill continued.

Wow. You were near ground zero at the Pentagon.... what... 8-10 miles?

And if you don't want to talk about the rumors and how mind boggling they were, that's cool. But if you do want to talk about, I know I'll listen.

 

[JDCPAgolferHorn]

Yes. 8-10 miles from the Pentagon. And, being in the area, there was only 1-2 degrees of separation from someone directly impacted.

Recall that the FAA was shutting down the skies and landing all planes. So, all planes were being inventoried. One rumor circulating that morning was that a BOP plane ferrying prisoners was missing and had also been commandeered. Another rumor was that a commercial airplane (not UA 93) was headed to the White House.

At the time, cells were jammed. So, we had local TV coverage and CNN (which was decent at the time for this type of catastrophe). And, we all knew someone that worked at federal agencies (e.g., Dept of State) in the District, so we obtained some information (accurate or not) from them.

 

[Metcalf #2]

Had a NHL street hockey event that weekend in Manhattan. The event was at The USS Intrepid aircraft carrier museum at the piers. We only had to be in Raleigh, NC for the next event on Thursday, so we stayed in Manhattan an extra day so we could go see Letterman on Monday.

Left the Grand Hyatt on 42nd in Manhattan at 1:00am. Crossed the GW, and headed south on Jersey Turnpike headed for Raleigh, admiring my favorite view of the towers from across the Hudson as I went. Stopped in Bordentown, NJ and went back to sleep. (We only left so early to avoid traffic)

Went to the restaurant for breakfast around 9:00am. As we walked in there was already a commotion, and heard somebody say the WTC was on fire. I’m like, “no f*cking way I just saw them!” Watched on TV as the second plane hit. Sickening. Sat there in shock watching everything play out. After a while we went back outside, and could actually smell the fire.

We had planned to take the tour to roof of the WTC that weekend, but never got around to it. We were coming back to NY in a month, so we just said we’d do it next time.

 

[Metcalf #2]

I'd only been in the towers once in my life. But I had a distinct recollection of their size-- not just their height, but their width. When I saw the gaping hole while I was watching MSNBC, stupid twat Rachel Maddow kept trying to convince the audience it was a "small private" aircraft.
Having been in the trade center multiple times, as you say you'd been, did you question the whole "private aircraft" theory based on the size of the hole?

I can tell you, from 30 to 40 blocks away they look like they were throwing distance. Absolutely massive. Knew immediately that private plane stuff was bullshit.

 

[hookem777]

I was in 7th grade. Teacher turned on the TV from hearing the news. and literally 10 seconds later the 2nd plane hit. That's when she was informed to turn off the TV. Parents came to pick up there kids and that's all I remember. People crying and my parents at home watching but not letting us watch .

To all those who were affected greater than I , my thoughts are with you and your family.

 

[clob94]

I was in 7th grade. Teacher turned on the TV from hearing the news. and literally 10 seconds later the 2nd plane hit. That's when she was informed to turn off the TV. Parents came to pick up there kids and that's all I remember. People crying and my parents at home watching but not letting us watch .

To all those who were affected greater than I , my thoughts are with you and your family.

Where were you living?

Could you comprehend what was happening?

 

[RoboCocks21]

I was a junior in high school, we had just switched to second period and I was in chemistry class with Mrs. Shaw. She had sent me to the library to go drop something off and they had a TV on. They had a TV on of the coverage and I had seen that one plane had hit the tower. I was in shock and didn't know what was going on. A couple of minutes later another plane comes in view and hits the second tower. I yell another plane hit the other tower and now the attention is all on the TV in the library. I run out of the library down the hall back to class and I disrupt class to turn on the TV that we are being attacked two planes hit the tower. She kept telling me to be quiet and I couldn't be quiet. She finally turned on the TV in class and another teacher came over and pulled her out and talked to her on what was happening. Word started going around that the world trade center in Dallas was going to be attacked. Next thing I know parents started showing up and busses started to come in cause we were able to go home.

 

[freeper]

I was a brand new detective on Pacific time. Wife was in bed still and I was getting ready for briefing which was at 0700. I put on the news as I usually did before I left for the station and saw the reports coming in. A lot of confusion on the reporting but it was clear that this was no accident. I left for work and had the news on, there was little activity on the police radio. The radio news made me pick up the phone and call my wife. I told her the country was under attack, to turn on the news and that I would call her as soon as I could.

The station was somber. Detectives were gathered around a TV in the Robbery/Homicide Unit but it was too damned crowded. Some of us went up to the gym where there were TVs and plenty of room. Not a lot being said. My sergeant came in, he was in the Air Guard so he told us to stay put and that he was going to find out what was going on. By the end of the week, he would be activated and preparing for his first trip to the sand box. Anyways, shortly after this, a lieutenant came in. He was (and is) a salty old bastard who had been a Marine combat veteran of Vietnam. He ordered us to get into uniform and get to the briefing room. We did and shortly thereafter, I'm thinking it was maybe 0945 or so, my partner and I were in an unmarked car assigned to protect the station entrance. That sucked, but it didn't last long. We were then released to patrol the casinos, which were deemed high-value targets.

In the afternoon, we were advised that the department would be going to 12 hr shifts with no days off until further notice. We were also taken off the casino patrol and switched to the airport, which was eerie as hell since all planes had been ordered to land. Walking through the concourse and checking travelers, trying to bring order to chaos. At least there were a finite amount of people. It wasn't like more planes were coming in. Once Airport Police had a handle on it, we were ordered to spread out city-wide and start preparing lists of infrastructure targets in our known beats.

The thing I remember most about that day was the shock and anger. Just how quiet the police radio was. It was like the country had turned off. Of course we were only handling priority 1 calls but most people were just glued to their TVs and directing their anger outwards, rather than at their friends and family. Cut down on calls for service a lot. A lot of cops got called up and that impacted us. Like I said, my sergeant left shortly after the attacks. Which sucked as a new detective, I really enjoyed working for him, and he remains one of my best friends. Easily the best sergeant I had in 25 years of law enforcement.

This morning I heard a commentator make the observation that 9-11 was our generation's Pearl Harbor. If that be the case and the metric, we have failed miserably in our response.

 

[clob94]

I was a brand new detective on Pacific time. Wife was in bed still and I was getting ready for briefing which was at 0700. I put on the news as I usually did before I left for the station and saw the reports coming in. A lot of confusion on the reporting but it was clear that this was no accident. I left for work and had the news on, there was little activity on the police radio. The radio news made me pick up the phone and call my wife. I told her the country was under attack, to turn on the news and that I would call her as soon as I could.

The station was somber. Detectives were gathered around a TV in the Robbery/Homicide Unit but it was too damned crowded. Some of us went up to the gym where there were TVs and plenty of room. Not a lot being said. My sergeant came in, he was in the Air Guard so he told us to stay put and that he was going to find out what was going on. By the end of the week, he would be activated and preparing for his first trip to the sand box. Anyways, shortly after this, a lieutenant came in. He was (and is) a salty old bastard who had been a Marine combat veteran of Vietnam. He ordered us to get into uniform and get to the briefing room. We did and shortly thereafter, I'm thinking it was maybe 0945 or so, my partner and I were in an unmarked car assigned to protect the station entrance. That sucked, but it didn't last long. We were then released to patrol the casinos, which were deemed high-value targets.

In the afternoon, we were advised that the department would be going to 12 hr shifts with no days off until further notice. We were also taken off the casino patrol and switched to the airport, which was eerie as hell since all planes had been ordered to land. Walking through the concourse and checking travelers, trying to bring order to chaos. At least there were a finite amount of people. It wasn't like more planes were coming in. Once Airport Police had a handle on it, we were ordered to spread out city-wide and start preparing lists of infrastructure targets in our known beats.

The thing I remember most about that day was the shock and anger. Just how quiet the police radio was. It was like the country had turned off. Of course we were only handling priority 1 calls but most people were just glued to their TVs and directing their anger outwards, rather than at their friends and family. Cut down on calls for service a lot. A lot of cops got called up and that impacted us. Like I said, my sergeant left shortly after the attacks. Which sucked as a new detective, I really enjoyed working for him, and he remains one of my best friends. Easily the best sergeant I had in 25 years of law enforcement.

This morning I heard a commentator make the observation that 9-11 was our generation's Pearl Harbor. If that be the case and the metric, we have failed miserably in our response.

In the confusion and with so much uncertainty, state and local agencies seemed to mobilize for a doomsday scenario. Folks in Austin thought the capitol would be a target because Bush had served as governor--- like a symbolic target of sorts.

I'd read a book written in 1999 by Simon Wolfe called "the new jackals". He talked about how Ramzi Yousef detailed a plot called "operation bojinka" where 100 Muslim brother would simultaneously hijack 30 planes that took off from other countries and were headed to the US. London, Paris, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Malaysia- Mexico City-- and then start hitting NY, Philly, DC, LA, SF, San Diego, Seattle etc. Basically a bi-coastal attack.

 

[OldHornInPA]

My step father's cousin was Robert Alexander.

The original pharmacists Alexander and Conners (from when the got the name Al-con) never would have believed how big the organization became especially after it was sold to Nestle in 1978.

 

[hookem777]

Where were you living?

Could you comprehend what was happening?

Mesquite Texas. Not really. Honestly I just thought it was a freak accident. Not until our parents sat us down that night did we know what happened.

 

[Crimson_Warrior]

Was sitting in my little cubicle at the CPA firm where I worked. I usually got there early, and would check the CNN news website and football message boards as I drank a cup of coffee.

I remember, just like it was yesterday, the little picture on the CNN webpage of the first tower, the hole visible, and smoke coming out of it. That image is burned into my brain forever, don't know why. I guess it was about 7:30 am, and it didn't look like a big deal at that moment.

 

[Drtxhorn]

I was on my way to work and had just dropped off my daughter to Kindergarten. After I dropped her off, I turned the radio on to listen to my favorite sports talk show - The Tony Bruno Show. As I was exiting to arrive at my office, Tony was in the middle of his trash talk about the Dallas Cowboys (he hated the Cowboys). He then stopped in the middle of his rant to mention that a plane had crashed into the WTC just within minutes. He started wondering what was going on and he relayed other news reports that this was a small aircraft. I remember him saying that with all the smoke emanating from the building there was no way it could be a small plane. I went inside my office and found all the staff in the conference room glued to the TV and hearing the pundits on CNN saying that it was too premature to say this was a terrorist attack. We all knew this was BS as it was clear this had to be planned. About an hour later the 2nd plane hit and then the other plane went down in PA.

 

[oldhorn2]

I tried to find the story I read this am from a lady fighter pilot that said she and her "wingman" were ordered to intercept the last known hijacked air liner.....she said they did not have time to load missles and their mission was a suicide ramming operation. Her wingman was to hit the cockpit and she was to crash the tail, sending the liner into a dive. She said the only prayer she said was ...Lord dont let me screw this up... They got word enroute that the plane had crashed.

If I can find it i will post it.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

I tried to find the story I read this am from a lady fighter pilot that said she and her "wingman" were ordered to intercept the last known hijacked air liner.....she said they did not have time to load missles and their mission was a suicide ramming operation. Her wingman was to hit the cockpit and she was to crash the tail, sending the liner into a dive. She said the only prayer she said was ...Lord dont let me screw this up... They got word enroute that the plane had crashed.

If I can find it i will post it.

Cbs morning news. Here it is.

 

[HarryBuffalo]

I tried to find the story I read this am from a lady fighter pilot that said she and her "wingman" were ordered to intercept the last known hijacked air liner.....she said they did not have time to load missles and their mission was a suicide ramming operation. Her wingman was to hit the cockpit and she was to crash the tail, sending the liner into a dive. She said the only prayer she said was ...Lord dont let me screw this up... They got word enroute that the plane had crashed.

If I can find it i will post it.

Colonel and rookie female Air National Guard pilot/co-pilot… single unarmed fighter jet.
https://www.history.com/news/911-heather-penney-united-flight-93

 

[EWNHorn]

I was teaching 9th and 10th graders. A kid came in before school and said his mom said a plane hit a building. I didn’t think much of it and we began working. Then another kid came in saying the same. I turned on the classroom TV.
As kids piled in I decided to leave the TV on and talk them through this. I can remember hearing the Pentagon got hit and I stepped to the next teachers room and she said “no one is supposed to get to our pentagon”. Those kids asked amazing questions. We dug for answers. If we were sitting sharing a beer I’d give more details, but I’m not great typing it all out.
My mom called that night saying she heard the draft may be called back and asked what would I do. I said I’d accept my call and serve. So many kids in my class made a call to join the armed forces that year. As terrible as the moment was, I’m glad I was right where I was when it happened.

 

[Crimson_Warrior]

Cbs morning news. Here it is.

View embedded media

Those are true patriots right there folks God dammit.

Not these treasonous far-right and far-left @ssholes running around crying havoc at the top of of their lungs.

 

[Belldozer1]

I was in Bay City, Texas working, dealing with landowners for EOG Resources, Inc. My wife called to tell me what was up and like everyone else I sat there in shock watching.

I'll say this regarding that whole deal. I truly believe this was partly an inside job. I'd love for someone to show me the debris from any aircraft hitting the Pentagon. I've seen an image of something hitting the Pentagon but it doesn't resemble any airplane imo.

Secondly, the Secret Service and G.W. Bush's reaction. IMO, if our country is under true attack and the President's life could be in danger, there is absolutely no way in hell the Secret Service doesn't whisk Bush away immediately. Instead, Bush is notified and then he just sits there and finishes reading books to the group of students he was visiting with. Total charade imo. Fire away.

 

[2300 Nueces]

The original pharmacists Alexander and Conners (from when the got the name Al-con) never would have believed how big the organization became especially after it was sold to Nestle in 1978.

He passed away not too long ago. He was well off. My step father asked him what he did with the money after they sold. He said that he was not smart enough to invest it wisely so he found someone who could.... He was a multi millionaire. He retired out by Stephenville, Tx..

 

[DrinkToIt]

I was a student at UT and didn't really realize what was happening until I got to campus and saw students huddled around a TV. It was eery. Classed canceled. A girl I knew whose dad worked in the Pentagon was frantically trying to make sure he was OK. He was.

I called my dad and asked him what he thought about it all. It was a day I'll never forget.

 

[DrinkToIt]

I was in Bay City, Texas working, dealing with landowners for EOG Resources, Inc. My wife called to tell me what was up and like everyone else I sat there in shock watching.

I'll say this regarding that whole deal. I truly believe this was partly an inside job. I'd love for someone to show me the debris from any aircraft hitting the Pentagon. I've seen an image of something hitting the Pentagon but it doesn't resemble any airplane imo.

Secondly, the Secret Service and G.W. Bush's reaction. IMO, if our country is under true attack and the President's life could be in danger, there is absolutely no way in hell the Secret Service doesn't whisk Bush away immediately. Instead, Bush is notified and then he just sits there and finishes reading books to the group of students he was visiting with. Total charade imo. Fire away.

I'm with you on the Pentagon. There were dozens of security cameras that were taken and put under lock and key that would clearly show what hit the building but they've never been released. Also somehow the pentagon was hit in the only part of the building that was undergoing renovations and there were hardly any people in that section. Also the plane maneuver to descend and then hit that part of the building from the altitude the plane was approaching was not easy and veteran pilots have confirmed it would be almost impossible for an amateur pilot to execute as well as they did.

There are a lot of strange things about that day I don't buy.