I was in the Army then, we had just finished a full day of parachute operations and some early night jumps. The day had turned windy and we had a few injuries. I took care of them and dropped them at the medical center. I wandered back into my barracks room when the guy next door yelled out to turn on the news. I was the last one back in the barracks and got there just before the second plane hit, at first I thought it was like the B-25 and we were talking about that until the second plane, then there was no question. Even here in Australia we went on alert, Weathercock status Amber, one below all out war. We stayed on that for more than a year. Holsworthy had bunkers built at the entrance, manned and ready with Minimis. It was such a sense of unreality, it was difficult to get my mind around the fact that this really happened at the time. The rest now is service history. Proud to have served. Paul 'Doc' Watson. And remember its not only US troops serving in this mess.
I'm with you. The NHRA Nationals were supposed to be in Reading PA that weekend. They were postponed. Went on the new date. This may seem trivial but the drivers would let people in when leaving. No one tried to cut you off to keep you from getting out of parking. At the time I attributed the courtesy to 9/11. I still do. Didn't last long enough. A co-worker of my wife was out the night before. When she got home there was a message on her machine form her son. He was very happy. It seems his firm had a lay-off that day and he didn't lose his job. It was late so she didn't call him back. He was killed in one of the buildings the next day. When they had a memorial service his best friend who was laid-off was there. A couple of weeks later she got a call that her son had been found and was in the hospital. She called the hospital. IT WAS A LIE!! How in the world could someone do that!!! Bill
I posted a tasteless comment earlier and it was deleted, rightly so. My apologies to the familiys that lost loved ones during our great loss, and every single member on the board. And the rest of the country Frankie.
I was getting ready for work and couldnt beleive what I was seeing. I was all over the Fresno area that day running service calls, traffic was much lighter than usual, everyone was glued to the tv. The Fresno airport shares their runways with the local Air National Gaurd base. That afternoon I drove through the intersection of McKinley and Clovis ave, westbound traffic was blocked by armed gaurds with M-16's..........it remained that way for about a year.
I was on the way to the Dr.'s that morning and was listening to the news and heard about the first plane and thought that someone was in a small plane and flew to low. Then the second one hit and I knew this was no mistake. I couldn't get to the doctor and then to work fast enough. I made it to work when the first Tower fell and saw it on TV. I drive truck so I just wanted to go and do my delivery route. My Dad worked as a Immigration Officer at the Detroit bridge at the time and told me he is going to be late and not to worry. I went to a shop that had some Arabics that worked there and they were not too friendly to start with and they said some words and so did I and a fight started and everything went crazy. I lost my boss the acount with that shop but he said that its ok they pay late anyways. After that I started flying a flag on my truck and do to this day. I will never forget. Remember they were Murdered thats what a NY Fireman told me.
The people in the Twin Towers were INNOCENT NON-COMBATANTS. We've cought up with MOST of their killers (those who did it & those who planned it). God Bless every American fighting man and woman!!! I can't say more right now. God bless America and KEEP her safe.
I was in Brooklyn about to head to China town [ less than a mile from the towers ] , ........i watched the towers fall from Williamsburg just across the east river. Later that night I met my wife for the first time through mutual friends, F16's flying up the East River . . . . . . . one of the craziest days of my life.
i took the day off work to letter a drag car and my wife called me in the house to watch what was happening on tv.i'll never forget that day.
I woke up to the second plane hitting the building. I watched for a while, then went to the recruiting office, where I was informed they couldn't take me because I Owe the irs too much dough, and am on probation... I'll NEVER forget.
May they all rest in peace. I wish people still had the pride in our country as they did the days following 9/11. People forget way to easy and place blame in the wrong direction. Thank you also to all of the men and women who are fighting for the good old USA!
Our grandfathers and grandmothers never forgot Pearlharbor, our generation should never forget 911 ,no matter what the current leaders of this great land think or try to tell us. freedom is never free!!
Thanks all, this is what I need to hear. I had to turn the radio off. I couldn't stomach the politicians trying ti hijack the day for their ends with all their righteous blah blah blah about mourning and service service service. They come about as close as you can to molesting the fallen. I wish they'd stick a sock in it and leave 9-11 to be what it was to go along with the faces of everyone I met that day everyone had the same face on. That horrible day showed me we are still united and today reminds me of what politicians are. I don't need to hear if you felt the same way today, my opinions don't count for much just wanna say thanks and godbless Mates
God Bless our heros!!! Military, police and fire. My condolences to all who lost their lives on Sept. 11th. Never forget!!!
I figured that people would not rember today so I took and mounted the 10 foot flagpoles [ with USA and POW flags] to the Harley and made several passes through town and got a few blank stares[ except for a carload of kids tonite cheering] so I hoped I did my part to make a few rember I thank the lord for a rainstorm last nite that cleaned the show car so I could go out and parade around with some extra time alloted Never forget Some Gave ALL
I worked for the long island railroad at the time and i was working at the wheel shop at hillside facility in Queens.Some one ran outand said the towers were hit,shortly after they announced the other one was hit also.A few of us ran to the roof just to see and i watched as tower 2 fell.The first thing i thought was this was a act of war and i wasnt far off. Train service was suspended and if you had taken the train you needed to find another means back home.I found it in a coworkers pickup bed.It was downrite scary seeing no traffic on the lie going east and a designated lane straigt to nyc for fire and rescue to arrive. I went to my station parking lot to see it full as can be.Normally when i would arrive to the station to catch the 5:12 am train I was one of a few dozen cars,on wed the 12 there were hundreds.It took two weeks for the cars to get cleared out.Those poor people were just going to work and never came home. Days would pass and i would find out how many people I had known that had been killed in that event. God bless all the brave people that allow us to maintain our freedoms in this great country.
I haven't read all of the posts here, but I will add mine nonetheless. I remember it well, as I was on a parts run, when the first one hit was on the radio. I hurried back to the shop, where I told the guys and we ran into the breakroom and turned the tv on. Then we watched the second one hit, and the ensuing chaos that followed. Afterward, I headed home, while watching the lines at the gas stations pile up. I got home, double checked my army duffle, and waited for the phone call. Days later we got informed that our demolition/scrap machines were needed to go there to process the rubble. We worked harder and longer than normal to get them there asap. It was also my grandfather's B-day, a WWII vet. Later on, I met my wife, who was an EMT from NYC, Rye, Metro North, and her ex-husband ( a paramedic) was there, and lived. Some of his friends didn't. So on this day we never forget, and our little flag gets put out on the fire-sign post. That's all I have.
i have flown the flag 24/7 since that unforgetable day, and will continue to do so for the rest of my days. i will never forget. god bless america.
I was in a Middle Eastern country that day, working as a defense contractor. The time difference was such that we were just off-work as we got back to the compound we were housed in. Turned the TV on, as usual, and saw WTC1 on fire. I saw the airplane-shaped hole in the side and thought "WTF? How does an airliner hit a big building like that on a perfectly clear day???" Not long afterwards, we saw the other jet hit WTC2. At that moment, I knew in my gut, without a doubt what happened and what nation's criminals were responsible (hint - NOT US!). When those towers collapsed, I was livid! My wife called to see if I was watching. I just didn't have words then to say. If this were a pol forum, I'd have a whole lot more to say, but I'll leave things as is. Needless to say, eight years later, I still remember, I'm still pissed, and I'll never, ever forgive OR forget what happened on 11 Sep 01. Ever! God Bless those that were there, and God Bless America!
I was at the fire station 30 min North of Boston on an overtime shift . I can remember what I had to eat and drink that morning . I Don't really know what to say . lost a few close FDNY brothers that day . God bless all that died that day At least 2,985 people died in the September 11, 2001, attacks, including: 19 terrorists 2,966 victims [2,998 as of Spring 2009] All but 13 people died on that day. The remaining 13 later died of their wounds. One person has died since the attacks, of lung cancer. It is suspected to have been caused by all the debris from the Twin Towers. There were 266 people on the four planes: American Airlines Flight 11 (crashed into the WTC): 92 (including five terrorists) United Airlines Flight 175 (crashed into the WTC): 65 (including five terrorists) American Airlines Flight 77 (crashed into the Pentagon): 64 (including five terrorists) United Flight 93 (downed in Shanksville, PA): 45 (including four terrorists) There were 2,595 people in the World Trade Center and near it, including: 343 NYFD firefighters and paramedics 23 NYPD police officers 37 Port Authority police officers 1,402 people in Tower 1 614 people in Tower 2 658 people at one company, Cantor Fitzgerald 1,762 New York residents 674 New Jersey residents 1 NYFD firefighter killed by a man jumping off the top floors of the Twin Towers There were 125 civilians and military personnel at the Pentagon. 1,609 people lost a spouse or partner on 9/11. More than 3,051 children lost parents.
I was in class (Rock Mechanics, IIRC) when it all went down. I had to stop on the way back to my fraternity house to put some diesel in my truck, and I remember waiting in line for half an hour thinking, "WTF is going on around here?" That little town never had that kind of traffic at the pumps in the middle of the morning like that. Then I got back to the fraternity house, and every guy in the place was setting in the chapter room looking at the TV with this gaunt look on their faces. Furrowed brows, pale faces, etc. I came in through a door in the same wall that the TV was against, so I could see their faces, but not the TV. I was like, "Guys!?! WTF is wrong with you all? The gas station down the street was a madhouse! WTH is going on!?!" One guy down front just pointed at the TV. I turned around and watched as the news replayed both planes hitting, and both towers falling in a span of about 45 seconds. That was the most succinct summation I've ever seen. They distilled the whole morning's worth of news into less than a minute. It was like someone had thrown cold water in my face. I said something classy like, "Holy Shit!", and then just sorta sat down on the floor facing the TV. I watched the whole thing replay a couple of times, and once I had the whole picture in my head right, I left. I can't remember anything else about the rest of the day. I remember being really pissed and wanting blood, but that quickly faded into a crummy feeling that there really wasn't anything I could do. The assholes that actually did the deed were already dead, and would be weeks before the whole operation was uncovered. That was a really crappy feeling, but I was safe out here in BFE. I can't imagine what it felt like for folks who actually suffered a loss first hand that day.
I remember that day well. I was working at an engine shop and the secretary lady was watching her tiny little portable black & white TV. She called us into her office to see the new coverage. We watched for about an hour. The owner told us to go home early, and take the next day off as a paid day. I remember driving home and was listening to the local rock station DJ's talking about what was going on, and that there was already blood donation stations up around town. Cars on the highway all had their headlights on (A bright sunny South Texas afternoon) I thought that was kind of deep. I went straight home to talk to my folks & brothers, then off to my friends place where about 20 of us sat in awe watching the coverage of the events until about 8am the following day without sleep. I won't go into any of my opinions on what happened, because it doesn't matter as much as what we lost. Never Forget.
I've just spent a long time trimming some political posts, offensive posts, and well-intentioned responses. Please keep politics off this post. It is a remembrance post pure and simple. As for me, I was stepping off an RAF C-130K onto the tarmac at RAF Lyneham - I was on exchange at the time - one of the ground engineers (crew chief) came up and told us "they" were crashing planes into buildings in the US. As we went through customs, we watched on TV with the rest of the world. I was a day late getting home from that exercise and was starting 2.5 weeks of leave that day. My wife & I didn't leave the house and watched the TV in stunned silence for the next week. 3 weeks later, I deployed to the middle east. I will never forget.
I remember getting into the car to go to work and when the radio came on it was just talk, I changed the station more talk, then I heard what they were talking about, the 1st. plane, I couldn't believe it, I picked up a coworker who was from NYC, I told him what had happened, he thought I was joking. we got to work and went in to one of the rooms with a TV, everyone was watching, then the 2nd. plane, people screamed and started crying, we all just watched and then the 1st. tower fell we were dumbstruck then the 2nd. it was all to overwhelming. very long day. That Sunday our car club had a car show scheduled, we thought about cancelling it but decided to go ahead, many of the people still came and most were flying flags. many told us they were glad we did the show, because they needed something "normal" to take their minds of the tragedy if only for a moment. Less then 2 month later we were in Vegas for the SEMA show, and we saw the NYNY hotel, the fence was covered with notes, pictures, signs, and flags, it was very touching, I remember thinking, it's not really NY, this is Vegas, it's just a casino..but I knew people needed something, some connection, they wanted the world to know they were there in sprit, and were feeling the pain of the whole nation I remember JFK, RFK, & MLK, heck I even remember when I heard Monroe died but nothing before or since has affected me like watching the whole thing on live TV...
The Jalopy Journal
