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#1898 | Tuesday, September 10th, 2002
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I work in Newark, NJ and work on the 8th floor of our building, with a perfect view of the city. That morning was so clear, the sky was just an amazing blue and there was no haze which you can normally see hanging over the city. Everyone who works in this city had a bird’s eye view that day.
I came to work at about 7:30 in the morning, and the guy who sits next to me, Eddie, told me a short time later that there was a bad fire in one of the towers, I said "are you kidding me?" and he said "no, go look out the window". Well, needless to say when I walked to the window the first words out of my mouth were "holy s**t you're not kidding!" For some unknown reason I went to out equipment closet and got out the digital camera and started to take pictures, something I would never normally do.
At first we thought it was just a fire, then we heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into the tower, I remember thinking to myself how could a plane crash into the tower on such a clear day? And then we watched the second plane crash into the second tower, and we all knew someone was trying to do it on purpose.
Everyone was stacked up against the window watching it happen, it was horrible to see, it had a surreal quality to it as there was no sound through the thick glass window, it was like watching a silent horror movie. We could see everything. Some people here were crying and a few were close to losing it. Eddie’s brother in law worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, and once he realized that people were trapped above were the planes crashed and couldn’t get out, he started to break down, he basically witnessed the death of his brother in law but didn’t realize it at the time.
Then the unthinkable happened, the first tower went down, someone here had turned the radio on to hear what was happening, and when the tower went down the DJ went silent and we could here the horrible sound through the radio while we watched it, people were crying and running around, we just could not believe what had just happened, your mind just could not comprehend it. We all realized then that the second tower might come down, and when it did, everyone started to leave the office for home, it was just too much to take.
I tried to get on the train at Penn Station Newark, but right before the train arrived they cancelled all train service for fear of something else happening, everyone was stranded. I happened to walk pass a customer service representative from the railroad and asked him how I could get back home on a bus as they were running, and by chance the next bus leaving was heading down to an area close to my home.
What should normally take 10 minutes to go from Penn Station Newark to the NJ Turnpike took over 1-1/2 hours due to the traffic jams. People were actually walking along the highway towards Newark coming from the direction of the city, but to this day I don’t know why or where they were coming from. When the bus finally got out to the Turnpike we were probably no more that a mile or so in a straight line from the city, and the cloud of smoke was still unbelievable, some people on the bus had not seen anything from their offices and didn’t really have a grasp on what happened, but when we got onto the Turnpike and they could see, they were saying “oh my god, oh my god!” The smoke still seemed to cover the whole city. I went home and turned on the TV, and watched everything happen up close and personal all over again.
It is without a doubt the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed. But I went to work the next day, what happened didn’t make me fear, it made me “white hot” angry, and it will never change the way I live, in Freedom.
Roy Dowd
Matawan, NJ
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Roy | 38 | New Jersey
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#1899 | Tuesday, September 10th, 2002
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How excited were all 12 of us, it was our first day of our holiday in Florida and we were heading to Disney's Magic Kingdom. We had traveled all the way from London England the day before and finally we were at Disney.
Whislt waiting to get into the park we heard other British tourists talking about 3 planes being hijacked and that they were missing, of course we didn't think nothing of it and dismissed what we had heard.
We had been in the park about 2.5 hours, the men and the children were queuing for one of the rides whilst us women waited for them, when we heard a very unsual announcement! "Due to unforeseen cicumstances, the park is now closing. Please follow the nearest park representative and calmly make your way to the main exit." We all looked at each other in astonishment not too sure what to do. Then they repeated the announcement, again and again. Finally, we made our way to a representative waited for the men and kids and was told the park was being evacuated. We were stunned. Every one was stunned, no one knew exactly what was happening, just that we had to leave the park as soon as possible. Children were crying, parents were trying to explain to their children the reason why we had to leave.
The evacuation went very smoothly, we managed to get out of the park relatively quickly and without any major panic!
It wasn't until we got back to our vehicle, that we discovered the full horror of what actually happened. I couldn't belive what I was listening to on the radio! We were all stunned into complete silence, even the children had stopped crying and listened to what the nation was being told. I sat in the back of our vehicle in tears. Just the day before we had flown over New York!
It was even worse when we got back to the Villa and switched on the TV. We were watching CNN and the horror unfold. I couldn't stop shaking. I am not a religous person, but I sat there praying for those innocent people, and those that were missing on the 4th hijacked plane.
Throughout the rest of our time in Florida, we met numerous American's who lived in New York and grieved with them.
I will never forget the day 9/11, that day and those innocent people will stay with me for the rest of my days. God bless them.
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Leah | 24 | United Kingdom
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#1900 | Tuesday, September 10th, 2002
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I was Peace Keeping for the UN in Cyprus. I though someone was watching a film when they called me in, and then it sank it that it was real.
I had a strange night that evening on patrol.
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Anthony | 20 | United Kingdom
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#1901 | Tuesday, September 10th, 2002
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I was at work when I heard about the attacks on WTC.
My partner phoned me, as he was at home and told me what had happened as he was watching it unfold on the TV in front of him, all I wanted to do was get home and hug him.
I just could not believe it until I actually saw the pictures myself and was so shocked and horrified, it was like watching scenes from a film.
When I left work and got home (it was our anniversary) we just sat and watched the TV screen and watched the scenes be repeated over and over again. I just hugged him and cried for ages. There are many images that have been imprinted on my mind forever from that day.
My heart truly broke for all the victims and their families.
My partner was due to fly to NY with his company on that day from the UK, but he changed jobs a few weeks before hand. I am so lucky he made that decision, I just cannot begin imagine the desolation the families must feel. I hope they find solace in the thought that all of our prayers are with them.
Our anniversary will always now represent something much more important and much more symbolic for America and the rest of the world. We have in fact ‘moved’ our anniversary date, as it is not a day we wish to celebrate, it is a day that will remain tinged with both absolute sorrow, but also with hope and unity for the future. I find it so hard to understand why people, other human beings would chose to inflict such pain and suffering on other people.
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Louise | 21 | United Kingdom
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#1902 | Tuesday, September 10th, 2002
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My boyfriend and I were staying with his brother and sister-in-law in Norwood, Mass, just outside of Boston. We arrived on 7/11 and had planned to visit NY that weekend. To say that our 2 week break in the USA was spent mostly in shock would be an understatement... Our thoughts were and still are with the victims, their families and friends... Also, I couldn't stop thinking about my father, a retired fireman, at home in Yorkshire in the UK. I try to tell my family and friends how much they mean to me, as often as possible... You just never know....
We will be visiting NY in April 2003 and we will visit Ground Zero to pay our respects..
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Cheryl | 35 | United Kingdom
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