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#1090 | Thursday, March 21st, 2002
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WE had gone to bed early for a change. At about 4am the phone rang - some friends of ours who had lived in Washington DC at the same time as us had called to tell us the sad news. We turned on CNN and stayed glued to the set. As we sat and watched we reminisced about the the times we had visited the WTC. I had worked at the Australian Embassy and spent a lot of time at the Pentagon. The fears for our US friends based at the Pentagon gripped us and I couldn't wait to get on the phone to check on them at the same time I was scared to call. In the days to come we were to find that they were well although scared by the incidents.
My son joined us at about 5am and in utter shock sat and stared at destruction. He was deeply affected and wrote the following: Our Own Little Monument
We were not there to see them fall
But we have been there
Very few saw the majestic beauty of these towers
Now those who haven’t may never
These towers weren’t just seen as objects that were lost
They were seen as casualties of war
Terror brought them down but unity will resurrect them
They will come back, bigger and stronger
They will return
And people will see that nothing destroys America
These faceless cowards have brought an end to thousands of lives
But through their violence comes hope
Hope that one day the terror will stop and peace will spread over the earth
And so look at this mini monument of ours and remember
Remember those that died and those who mourn
Remember those responsible and those who brought this upon us
Just remember, remember that tragic day and what has happened since
Remember the towers and buildings
Remember our own little monument
And always if everything else is lost remember hope
In memory of the World Trade Center – 1973-2001
In memory of those innocent civilians who were killed because some people just don’t care
TUESDAY 11th SEPTEMBER 2001
WILL BE REMEMBERED
We will remember and will be back to visit.
God bless America and all those who lost loved ones.
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David | 44 | Australia
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#1091 | Friday, March 22nd, 2002
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sEPTEMBER, 11th...
It was a very strange day, not only because of the attac....
I said to my boyfriend:'This is the end.We're never gonna be together.Goodbye.' And than his father phoned him'Ther;s a war in Japan' e said.My heart was beating fast...I've nearly fallen to the ground; Than my mum arrived and gave us 2 a lift.And I heard on the radio(it was on all the stations):WTC was destroyed,another plane is going to be shut'...
When I came back home, on my own, I could't believe what was happening;And HE phoned me:Maybe there's gonna be World War III;mAYBE now you will stay with me?It's a sign,it's our..-"NO!"I said.
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Maja | 16 | Poland
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#1092 | Friday, March 22nd, 2002
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The morning of September 11th in New York City, was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky--sunny and crisp. A perfect day to go to the rooftop of WTC1 and to check on our brand new HDTV antenna, and our facility on the 104th floor. I planned on meeting my partner downtown at the new MOMA store after my supposedly time at World Trade (noon to 3:00pm) that day.
Approximately at 8:50am, I had been in my office at 30 Rockefeller, (the GE building) in Midtown. I had our sky camera pointing towards Downtown with the Empire State Building in its path. I got a call from mastercontrol that we were off the air. I noted that the World Trade One tower was on fire and alerted the rest of my engineer colleagues at NBC. Our wonderful transmitter engineer, Bill Steckman (considered the best in the business) called to say that things were "smokey" there and that he was turning the equipment off. Little did he know that the first plane had just plowed into a few floors below him.
The telephone line went dead and that was the last we heard from Bill. We don't believe he had a chance to escape since the emergency stairs probably turned into a chimney. We also questioned if the steel doors to the rooftop were ever opened to let the 110th floor RF engineers out to escape.
The rest of the morning was spent scrambling to put an NBC camera crew on the GE building. Security kicked in and just a handful of other engineers were allowed on the rooftop. While working on the roof, we watched the World Trade Center towers collapse, one after the other with so much disbelief. There were fighter jets in the sky flying low over Manhattan that it felt like we were at war. We looked at each other and agreed that we were sick to our stomachs to what we had witnessed.
We had a job to deliver the news and we did, for days to come...
I thought of my mother, since she witnessed the attack of Pearl Harbor on a mountain side. I called her for advice and assured her that I was safe. I spent my first break to email the rest of my family and friends--for they were all worried that I was in Room 10401...
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Genora | 41 | United States
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#1093 | Friday, March 22nd, 2002
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I REMEMBER THAT I WAS GETTTING READY TO GO TO FULLERTON COLLEGE. MY BROTHER WOKE ME UP BY CALLING ABOUT 5 TIMES! HE TOLD ME TO TURN ON THE T.V.! I SAID WHAT CHANNEL,HE SAID TURN ON THE T.V. YOU WILL NEVER FORGET THIS DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. THIS IS HISTORY!
THATS WHEN I TURNED IT ON.. I DIDNT REALIZE WHAT WAS GOING ON UNTILL IF SAW THE SECOND BUILDING FALL FOR MY OWN EYES. A FEELING CAME OVER ME THAT I DONT THINK I WILL EVER BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN! ILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY FOR THE REST TO OF MY LIFE!
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BRITTANY | 20 | California
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#1094 | Friday, March 22nd, 2002
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This was written on September 12th for a friend's website. The numbers proved to be wrong, but it's what was being said at the time.
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I was running late for work Tuesday, September 11. I was catching the very end of the CBS Early Show. In Birmingham, AL. They were coming out of a commercial when the first image popped up. Live on TV.
The upper floors of the first of the twin towers of the World Trade Center was on fire. There was speculation at that moment that maybe a small commuter or personal aircraft, maybe a helicopter lost control or accidentally hit the building. Then they switched angles to the street level. You could see from the shot the silhouette exact angle the plane penetrated the building. A big plane. I described it as the way a cat goes through a wall in a cartoon. Bryant Gumbel was speaking to a woman who was watching from the Chelsea area, when I watched the second plane, obviously a twin engine commercial style jet enter the second tower, and emerge as a fireball. Live on TV.
With a visceral stun, I realized, this was not an accident, and I just watched a hundred people die. Live on TV.
Almost immediately, these journalists, trained for years in dealing with live TV, unpredictable guests and technical difficulties, faltered. There was great caution not to call it a terrorist attack, but anyone who knew about the second plane had to believe that something was terribly wrong. A clear blue sky. A bright Summer morning. Live on TV.
I have worked in the media, radio specifically, and I know the journalistic instincts. It was about 9:20am at this point. There were no confirmations of anything, and reports coming in about Camp David, The State Dept, the White House and other buildings. All this while, not knowing if this was an ongoing threat, all of the network news services were in harm's way, most headquartered within just a couple of miles from the World Trade Center. Trying to report what they had while looking over their shoulder, and not panic the nation. Live on TV.
Then the pentagon was hit. Then the word of the other plane going down in Pennsylvania. Were there more? Some reported 4 more planes, no, 8 more, then 2. I cried when the first tower collapsed. I went numb when the second one fell. Live on TV.
24 hours later, my mind cannot wrap itself around the number of lives I fear may be lost. 200 firefighters and paramedics. 30 or more police officers. Civilians, who resisted the most natural urge to run away, and instead ran in to help. I'm thankful I was numb by the time they started showing people falling from the 80th floor. Plus anywhere up to 50,000 people who could have been in those buildings, the subway, the plazas, and the sidewalks of Manhattan trapped by tons of concrete and hit by metal and glass from above, covered in soot, dust, and strewn paper. Ambulances report rolling over bodies covered in the debris. And however how you may feel about the military, up to 800 dead at the Pentagon. These are not numbers. These are Humans. Husbands, Wives, Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers. Thousands of souls. It still almost doesn't seem real. When my wife's Grandmother died, that was real. When my Grandfather died, it hurt, but it was real. I keep waiting for Bruce Willis to deliver a line. Live on TV.
I get the feeling that retribution will be swift and decisive. My only hope is, that since America seems to have such bloodlust right now, (a snap poll last night shows that something like 90+% of Americans are willing to go to war over this) that we get it right. Calm, careful deliberations and investigations are necessary. Let's make sure we know exactly who did this, before these 90+% of Americans demand we bomb the hell out of whoever is found to be responsible. Live on TV.
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John | 34 | Alabama
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