Where were you 8:45 AM 9-11-2001?

[Scout333]

That is something most of us won't forget. I was working a case at a local CPA's office that day spending most of my time with their staff watching the news in utter shock! God bless the first responders!

 

[Khotso]

That is something most of us won't forget. I was working a case at a local CPA's office that day spending most of my time with their staff watching the news in utter shock! God bless the first responders!

I had taken the week off to paint my house. The weather was perfect. Didn't get much painting done that morning. When I finally did later in the day, I kept feeling like crying -- and shed quite a few tears. I will never forget.

 

[Weather]

I was assigned to the Pentagon. My office was in Rosslyn, VA - 5 minute shuttle ride from the Pentagon (The Building). I was waiting for a shuttle on the south side of the building. When the airliner hit we rushed towards the building, but it was alreadly locked down. I headed home via the Metro. Wife had the TV on watching NYC coverage. 15 minutes later the coverage moved to the Pentagon. I then learned that I was a witness to the attack.

 

[Viva_La_Migra]

I was in DC and heard the explosion from the plane hitting the Pentagon. Shook the window of the hotel I was staying in. I went to see if I could lend a hand, but was told I'd just be in the way. It was a sad day for America. God bless those who died that day, and those left behind.

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

I was at work in the basement when a coworker in IL sent me a msg on ICQ and told me a plane had just hit the World Trade Center... I didn't stop watching TV until very late that night.

I was angry... very, very angry...

I was sad... so sad for those that died and their families and friends...

I hope this never happens again, period.

 

[Frixxxx]

It was 0546 on the west coast. I was watching Fox News. I watched the second plane hit 0603. I yelled to my wife that Al Qaeda had finally figured out how to take out the WTC. Blank stare returned.
At 0900, I was in a recruiter's office, trying to get back in the Air Force. Spent the night outside with my kids, trying to make them understand why the sky was silent, and that they would probably never see a night sky like that again in their lives. Explained decision to go back into the military. Tough night.

 

[PLANO]

Staring in shock at my TV screen. Hoping the first hit was an accident of some kind and then unwanted reality setting in with the next hit...then again...then again. Soon after I was helping stand up a command post and working with the airlines to go through flight manifests.

 

[dannyboy]

I was sitting there writing computer programs, looking at the data, reading spec's, etc. About 1/2 hour later THE WORD, started to spread about a plane hitting one of the towers, terrorists?, GOD?, So I got on the net and I noticed a blip about, How a plane headed between N.Y. and Baltimore had suddenly stopped all radio and disappeared. I hauled A, home and I watched the news all day.

 

[tsptalk]

I woke up and flipped on CNBC as usual. In a split screen I saw Mark Haines on one side, and what I thought were smoke stacks on the other. I thought perhaps they were talking about manufacturing jobs. It took a few seconds to register what was going on.

 

[nnuut]

I believe the Date was September 11, 2001, not 2011

 

[Aitrus]

I was Active Duty at the time, working in the Training section of my shop. A page went over the comm system from Ops saying that something had happened in New York, and that everybody should go to the Dayroom to watch what was going on. I showed up in the Dayroom to find about half my shop already there, the first tower smoking and fuming.

About a minute or so after I got there the second plane hit, and I started laughing. I was the only one in the room. I got the dirtiest looks, but I explained that this horrible event is what came of those who thought that the US homeland is an impregnable fortress, that nobody would dare touch us here for fear of what we would do in return. This is what came of the warmongerers who wanted to spread our version of peace around the world at the end of a gun. This is what came of all the peaceniks getting in the way of true defense. I said that we were going to war, and soon. Then I started saying how this one event would result in the loss of so much life in the coming years, at which point I broke down and started crying.

Within the hour, a handpicked crew was sent home to prepare to transition to 24-hour operations in 12-hour shifts. I was one of those sent home to be on night shifts.

 

[Scout333]

You are correct would you please fix this. I was doing several things at the same time. None very well.
Thanks!

 

[Luke]

I was on my ship when a shipmate came yelling into our shop that a plane had crashed into one of the trade towers. We all hooked up the first tv we could find and watched the news unfold. Entire base went on alert and traffic coming into and out of the base ceased. Seal Team 2 was headquartered across the quaywall from where my ship was moored so after a while I went topside and just stared over at their facility, wondering if they would mobilize or react some how. Patrol and swift boats started entering the water. Lots of confusion most of the day. Made it off base and home twelve hours later and was still in awe over the entire situation. We all knew we would end up over in the gulf sooner or later...

 

[nasa1974]

I was in a meeting when one of our engineers popped into the room and said a plane just flew into one of the towers. I think most of us thought a small private plane. Finished the meeting quickly and I went back to my office to try and get some news on my radio. Information moved in and out of offices for about an hour and I was on and off the phone with family and friends. Then word came down that we had to evacuate NASA because of a possible bomb in a plane parked out by NASA property. Wife called and said there was a bomb on a plane next to NASA according to a news flash and how soon would I be home. I told her that the plane was about a 1/2 mile from me and trying to get about 3,500 people out the back gate would be about 2 hours so why sit in a traffic jam. I waited until all the traffic was gone and went home to watch TV. I knew we were going to go fight someone somewhere and I told my wife if I was younger I would sign-up back in the Air Force tomorrow. I guess at 49 I didn't want the recruiter to tell the "old man" to go home. That night was strange not hearing any airplanes flying over the house.

 

[James48843]

I was standing in the office of a major ball bearing manufacturer not far from Cleveland- where I was supposed to spend the week in my FAA day job- reviewing regulatory compliance for an aviation supplier.

I was also an Army National Guard company commander at the time, in charge of roughly 155 soldiers in Michigan. Part of a Signal Communications Battalion.

At 8:45, we were in the office of this factory, and somebody shouted from downstairs to turn the tv on- because a plane had hit the World Trade Tower. We flipped on the TV, and watched the second plane crash into the other tower. Then we knew what was happening, and I was furious that I was stuck sitting in a state more than 300 miles from my Military unit.
We cancelled the visit, but with everything grounded and shut down, it took some time for higher ups to make decisions about whether I could cancel the audit and go back to my miltiary unit, and it took me 24 hours to get back to my military unit. We didn't actually muster until a week later, when we ended up doing airport security for a couple weeks. But everybody knew that day that the world had changed.

 

[PessOptimist]

I was driving to work listening to traffic/news/sports/talk radio. They broke in to the sports segment with a bulletin about a plane hitting one of the towers at World Trade Center. Brief discussion by local radio about no details and what type of plane. Back to schedule. Shortly they went to a live network feed. Still no details but a description of the scene from a few vantage points. As I was coming though the gate, one of the commentators screamed that the other tower just exploded. Another said, no a large passenger jet flew in to it. At that point I knew it was not an accident.

FWIW this proves I was late to work that day.:worried:

By the time I got to the shop everyone was watching the TV. Most of us broke away from time to time to do the j.o.b. but I did get back just in time to see the first tower collapse. A co-worker got a call from his son in DC (welfare call) saying he was OK but the pentagon was pretty messed up. About that time the news announced that attack.

We got pretty busy almost right away, lots of decisions to be made. Increased security checks. At one point walking between buildings I noticed a big increase in air traffic. By the end of the long day I noticed no air traffic. We are about 6 miles off the outer marker. Later I realized the big increase was unscheduled traffic landing. Sometime during the day a GS-15 confiscated our TV set. To put it in a conference room for everyone to view. Good call GS-15! We were too busy to watch it anyway. I didn't hear about flight 93 until I got home.

All travelers were recalled. The rest of us were told to bring a travel bag Wednesday and be prepared.

After that it was very weird seeing almost no air traffic and hearing military jets using full afterburner over residential areas. There was other stuff in the sky, some very strange looking.

When I watched the tower collapse I thought of all the people, especially the firemen trudging upward.

At some point that morning someone called me and told me the second tower had collapsed. I asked if it looked like the first one and was told pretty much. I didn't bother to go look.

 

[rcknfrewld]

Driving a delivery truck in Cleveland listening to Howard Stern...he stayed on til I think almost noon

 

[Stoplight]

I was looking in the mirror, shaving...enjoying a potential day with no stress, because I was driving from Maryland up to New York to make a presentation.

My bathroom radio had a news flash...the Wife was already at her job, teaching at an elementary school, but I tuned in the TV and saw what was happening...I left the house anyway, and was somewhere in eastern PA, listening to the radio reports, when I heard the word about Flight 93. I pulled off the road in Allentown, PA, and called my destination Federal office...a recorded message said they were not taking calls, and the conference I was heading to was cancelled...called the Wife's cell phone, and left a message I was heading back home...She called me back later, and said the school was locked down, and she'd get home as soon as she could...

A crazy time, for sure...

Stoplight...