History 9/11

Teaching an Aviation maintenance class in Clermont-Ferrand France. It was about 3pm in the afternoon when we got word. (About 15 min after the first plane hit.

I was stuck in Europe until 11-19 and come home on the first international flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on the 19th.

between 9-11 and 9-19 I toured France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Amsterdam all on the company's dime.

 

I was sitting in my fourth grade classroom. the teacher came in and was very serious. we then got the situation explained to us and for some reason, everyone in the classroom knew the severity, even though we were not that old. parents came and got their children out of class and the rest of the day was spent in silence.

 

I hadn't heard that 4000 first responders have died since but I do know that a friend's daughter that was caught in the dust cloud for many blocks passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. She had all kinds of problems after 9/11 until she died.

 

Well stated, I feel the very same way, couldn't have said it better.


I was in bed and a friend called from Vegas and said get up, turn on the TV were under attack. I watched as the second plane hit, seeing that image or people deciding to jump instead of the alternative makes me want to throw up, even now. I watch the shows being told by survivors but always look away as the planes hit, I still tear up when I think about ANY of it, i'm so sorry for all who lost someone and still are due to the dust.

 

Just think of how many thousands upon thousands of tons of materials got turned into dust in a matter of minutes. Metals, plastics, chemicals, you name it.

Bob

 

I was actually still in Ireland half way through my green card process.

The then wife had already moved to Dallas to get an apartment ready.

She called me at my mother's house in Ireland and asked me what I heard about the towers. I replied "Um nothing, will they be asking me about it?".

While still on the phone I turned on the tv, saw the event and jaw dropped.

That was the day the world was speechless.

 

I was doing the same thing as today, working on the AH-64 Apache line building the baddest MF on the planet. We got some payback with this aircraft.

 

Really what else is there to say....I've never been the same..

 

I was also doing the same thing as today! Working on an F-15E Strike Eagle on the flightline at RAF Lakenheath at the time. We started generating aircraft for the royal ass whoopin we would soon dish out! Warheads on foreheads!

 

At the time I drove a tow truck and was getting ready to go to work/getting my Daughter ready for Kindergarten when I turned on the TV so she could watch cartoons. Just like everyone else I couldnt believe what I was seeing. An hour later in the office all the drivers sat around talking about what we had heard/seen so far. The day wasnt busy at all and I remember sitting in my truck in the parking lot of Pep Boys listening to Ray Appleton on 580-KMJ describing the Towers falling. Never forget.

 

Our buildings that those pricks knocked down are mentioned in this great old Bruce song from the Born in the USA album.

Reminds me of crazy,happier days and pisses me right off at the same time.

Thanks to everyone who's served and serving this great Country---
Troy Cagle--Edit ignore the top left video,scroll to the second one.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce+springsteen/darlington+county_20025011.html

 

At work. Had a planeload of passengers loading up in San Diego. We were finalizing flight paperwork when one of the ground crew entered the cockpit and told us a plane had hit the towers. Like everyone else, we thought it must be a light private aircraft. We taxied out and were next for takeoff when we were called back to the gate. What really made an impression on me was what we were up against. How those assholes had the stones to fly right into the side of buildings, well, I doubt I could ever do that. Makes me understand that the only correct policy is one of eradication.

 

Eating breakfast, ready to start my first week of college. Needless to say classes didnt last very long that day

 

Our company occupied 4 floors in Tower 2. I was on the phone with a friend and co-worker moments before the second plane hit. My friend Bob C. , a fine human being, died that morning. I was one of eight members of a dedicated group of specialists. Of the eight members of my team, five perished. In all, 236 co-workers and friends died that horrible day.

I'm still so fucked up from this horror that as I sit here, I can hardly type.

Thank you rustednutz, well stated.
Dale
Cleveland OH
Sorry that this was a rambling, poorly written post but, I had to tell someone.

 

I was going home from goose hunting, It was a long ride thinking about what had just happened. It could have been any of us.................God Bless.

 

At work, watching the news in total shock with a dozen others. Had tears in my eyes, thinking "Those fuckers!"

I also forgot today was the 11th anniversary, until seeing this thread. Brings back the sadness. Now it's gonna be a little difficult finishing what I intended to do today.

 

In line at Home Depot when a buddy called. Ran to truck to listen, and was home by time 2nd plane hit.
And we're pretty positive Flight 93 flew right over us because my wife and I, plus dozens of others remember thinking how strange it was for a large plane being so low.
We're used to B52s because they're based out of local airbase, Vienna Ohio.

I was never ever affraid of heights, until that day.

Ever since, heights scare me and I even get a weird "falling" sensation when looking at tall buildings, crossing big bridges etc.

Forever changed me.

God Bless the USA

 

In a hotel in Assumtion ill. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when my mom said "well let's see what's happening in our world today" and turned on the t.v. they where saying something about a plane crashing into a bulding and i remember being pissed at the media for setting up too see a plane crash on live T.V. i didn't know one had already crashed into one of the towers. I spent the rest of the day trying to watch any news i could find on the little tv my dad had in the sleeper of his truck. I also remember Flying J truckstops raiseing fuel up to $5 a gal. and long gas lines from everybody trying to fill up.

 

I am surprised that Nads, Ron and myself are the only ones posting that were on the board that day? We were worried about Nads, folks were getting beat up in retaliation. The anger on the board was amazing, as was the outpouring of care from our foreign HAMBers. I got a good cross section view of folks from around the world that day.

 

I was a stocker at a grocery store. I had finished stocking my pallet and had just walked into the back area of the store. My supervisor was standing next to his desk and said that a plane hit on the World Trade Towers. Thinking he was joking, I responded that, "Man, somebody's gonna lose thier job over that crap." I went about loading another pallet and now he's running and telling everyone to go to the break room. The TV was on and I sat down to watch. At that instant the second tower got hit. We all watched as long as we could, but had to get back to work. Over the store speakers, we usually played the Top 40's station. The music had stopped and all that was on was bad news. Later that month, the manager said that was the worst business day in the history of the store.

I called my mom and she was crying because her sister had a daughter who was a stewardess for United out of LaGuardia. When the other two planes hit, I knew the world was going to be in some shit for a long time.

When I got home, turns out my niece didn't work that day. My brother in the Navy called and said all the bases were on lock down and leaves were cancelled. He told me, "Dude, this may be the big one."

I don't like to watch the repeats that they keep showing. Somehow, it seems kind of morbid to repeatedly show people being murdered. The world changed that day and no matter how many "bad guys" get killed, it will NEVER be enough.

And instead of a memorial, NYC should have rebuilt the towers. Put a wall inside the first floor of each building with the names of those murdered. Rebuilding the wall would show those sons of bitches that if you knock us down, we'll get up better than before and pissed off.

 

Likewise!...

 

On the port of Providence installing a 72' X 10' railroad track scale....it was a beautiful morning...it was unusually quiet however....there were no planes overhead from TF green airport and we all made mention of it amongst ourselves....we were on the job at 7am, we didnt have a radio because of the noise we made during the installation, we all found out what was going on at lunch. we went in the job trailer, turned on the radio and heard the news.... Back in 2001 anyone could drive on the port of Providence watch the boats and barges go by, today, you need clearence, drivers license, contact at the port to see, etc........today is a very different world we live in.....it will always be.....forever changed. God Bless friends and strangers killed in the tradgedy.

 

I was a senior at St. Joseph high school in Metuchen, NJ. I woke up that morning and felt like garbage, which was very rare, so Mom let me stay home sick. I perched up on her bed that morning since the TV was in her room and watched the news, then it flashed that the first plane struck. For the rest of the day I was glued to the news watching it all unfold. My area is a suburb of NY, and is on the train line into Manhattan. Six people from my little town went to work that day and didn't come home. With 9/11, there is no 6 degrees of separation, everyone knows somebody who either died, or knows someone who lost someone. Time hasn't healed the wounds, and we haven't forgetten. I work in Jersey City and drive past the new tower every night on my way home. It's not the old WTC, but it shows that if we get knocked down we'll get right back up.

 

Checkerwagon--your post was neither rambling nor poorly written--it was from your heart on the anniversary of a day that forever changed America and it's allies in the free world. All of us sat in stunned disbelief at the senseless loss of innocent life on that September day. I could not function very well for several days after that as I was concerned with what future my kids and grandkids would have to contend with.

 

Astronaut Frank Culbertson was in space, orbiting the earth at the time of the tragedy, and snapped this photo.

 

Was getting ready for work. Watched the second plane hit the tower on TV. On my way out the door to work, I decided to take my hand gun, kind of having a "Red Dawn" type image rolling around in my head. The city of Portland was eerie in how deserted and quiet it was, except for the F15's doing fly overs. There were more cop cars/ sheriff cars/ city cars on the streets than I have ever seen before. I got to work, and brought the old TV from the break room into the office and watched the coverage. The other people I worked with slowly trickled in. We were all kind of freaked out,and I pulled out my pistol and laid it on the counter to show my coworkers how I planned to defend my self. The other two guys pulled out hand guns and set them down next to mine. The office secretary pulled out a nickel plated .38 and set it down. The really old guy in our office pulled a small hatchet out of his coveralls and laid it down and says "I couldn't find my gun, by I'll do as much damage as I can with this." We all laughed, but in a sad way we all kind of acknowledged that America changed a little from that point. We all got real jumpy after that.

 

I was in my senior year of highschool...in photography class. I'll never forget it.

*flash forward 11 years later*

I'm a Tech Sergeant B-1 Bomber Crew Chief in the Air Force, and I just got back from a 6 month deployment...193 confirmed terrorists killed.

 

Let me know if your B1 ever ends up here at Ellsworth, I owe you a beer or ten.

 

85-0088 "The Ocho"

she's a real bitch!