Where were you on Sept. 11, 9 years ago?

I was in Washington, D.C., working as a train mechanic for Metrorail.
They asked us to work OT, in case (worst case scenario) Washington had to be evacuated by rail?
When we asked our Supervisor, "well, who evacuates us"?
He told us, we were on our own........................................

Steve
 
I was at Camp Darby, Italy. I was only 13 and was at soccer practice when somebody said planes had crashed into the WTC. At that point I didn't even know that the Twin Towers and the WTC were the same thing. Anyway, everyone was rushed home off post, and the Camp was locked down. My Dad was the CMNDR of the Camp and I didn't see him for about a week because he was staying at his office working non-stop making sure everything was secure because of the amount of munitions and supplies the Camp held. We only had 5 channels and it was only news on those five channels for about 2 weeks. Something I will never forget.
 
Was sitting in school at the lunch table talking to my dad on the phone befor his plane was supposed to depart from O Hare to Buffalo, his flight was shut down minutes later.
 
One of the 2 Boston jetways.......I have extreme hatred for those assholes, both past and present.

Pete
 
I was a few blocks from WTC when the 1st plane hit. One of the guys that worked for me at the time came in and said he did you hear a plane just hit one of the towers. I did not beleive him at first as I figured I would have heard the explosion or someting. A short while later I was on my way out to see what was going on and the second plane hit, the whole building shook. Then I walked over to liberty state park which is right next to the towers . I was a pretty unbeleivable site It was hard to beleve what you where seeing. It did not really sink in until people start to jump out the windows of the towers.
 
At work. We had just gone live with a HUGE computer project and we were just starting to wind down after 21 months of crazy work (went live Sept 1) then Blamo.

You know I have a funny opinion of that day. Don't anybody flame me...just yet. That is one of those days, horrible and awful as it was, that will ultimately be one of the greatest days in American history. Not a good day...a great day. Pearl Harbor, Bataan and Corrigidor, Chosin Reservoir. Days and events like that. Where Americans, assess the outcome as you will, showed what we're really made of...showed the world.

Pearl Harbor. Showed the world that we may be a little complacent in times of peace but do not shy from stepping up in a time of war.

Bataan and Corrigidor. A group of undersupplied, relatively ill-equiped (WWI era weapons) solidiers and sailors holding out and then suffering greatly...many actually surviving...many more not.

Chosin Reservoir. Out numbered something like 100 to 1, the USMC fights their way out of one of the worst jams any army has ever found themselves in ever in history (think "300") and yet many lived to fight another day...many did not. All a credit to the USMC and America.

September 11. Despicable cowards blow up 3,000 innocent people working at their desks and 500 policemen and firemen (my numbers are rough) trying to help them. What happens? Do we cower? NO. The poster above said he sold 6 months of American Flags in 20 minutes. There was a beat up little cloth flag the was sort of forlornly hanging on a cubicle wall across from my office...you know, those little cheaply made ones they pass out at parades and what not...kinda stained, yellowed, falling off the little chopstick it was staples to. That day I grabbed it, pinned it up in all four corners and to this day, it hangs in my office above a map of the US...and it will for the rest of my life...it is my 9/11 flag.

Imagine our enemies then when we parachute into Afganistan, when we invade Iraq (regardless of how you might feel about that war). They may have had a their "good day" on September 11, 2001, but our great day on that same date has meant few of them have slept well, few of them have slept in the same bed two nights a row, and quite a few are sleeping forever.

It was a sad day but one of great historical significance for American and one that we should never forget...ever. God Bless America.

QB
 
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I was outside Stowe, VT, packing gear into my daypack for a long day hiking hills. We were watching Matt Lauer on NBC interview Tracy Uhlmann about her new line of clothing (????) when they cut away to report the first crash into the WTC. They were still showing live feed of the towers as the second plane hit.
 
Having a cup of coffee in my backyard in Brooklyn, across the East River from the WTC. Gorgeous day, bright blue sky without a cloud. When the second plane hit, the air was full of white dots, looked like seagulls but was really paper from the tower. Was on a subway stopped below the 14th st. station when each Tower went down. Walked back to Brooklyn against the stream of people fleeing Northward from downtown Manhattan, some of whom were so covered with the debris one could not tell their gender or race. When i arrived home, due to the prevailing winds my garden contained papers from the Tower, money from one persons wallet, and dust from the collapse. Over the next few days the winds carried other reminders. The 3 firehouses within a mile of my house lost almost 30 firefighters in total. I now understand why Pearl Harbor had such an effect on my Father.
 
Having a cup of coffee in my backyard in Brooklyn, across the East River from the WTC. Gorgeous day, bright blue sky without a cloud. When the second plane hit, the air was full of white dots, looked like seagulls but was really paper from the tower. Was on a subway stopped below the 14th st. station when each Tower went down. Walked back to Brooklyn against the stream of people fleeing Northward from downtown Manhattan, some of whom were so covered with the debris one could not tell their gender or race. When i arrived home, due to the prevailing winds my garden contained papers from the Tower, money from one persons wallet, and dust from the collapse. Over the next few days the winds carried other reminders. The 3 firehouses within a mile of my house lost about 25 firefighters in total. I now understand why Pearl Harbor had such an effect on my Father.
 
I appreciate this thread dearly but why is it in the Custom & Handmade Knives forum? Somekinda hack going on????
 
I was awakened by the sound of the Television. (Over in Hawaii at the time). My father was in the living room with my mom on the phone. My siblings and I ended up going to school that day. (7th grade)

-Mayo
 
I was laying in bed when the guy upstairs knocked on my door. He opened the door and yelled "wake up! We're under attack!" I said "what the hell are you talking about?". "Turn on your tv!" he said and then shut the door. I found this extremely strange.

I got up and turned the TV on. I saw a twin tower on fire. Yes, JUST ONE TOWER. I didn't understand where the other tower was. Just a few seconds later the other tower came down.

I knew two people who died that day. Another one that made it out. And another two that were involved in the rescue. To this day I haven't heard any of them speak about that day.

A day I don't want to remember, but should never be forgotten.
 
I was in the USMC (VMA-542 to be exact) just about to go out to work on one of our birds when our maintenance controller came in and said to turn on the radio. About 30 minutes later, our division officer came in and told us to go back to the barracks, pack our stuff and let our families know to expect us to be leaving soon. We ended up not heading straight out to AFG but be did end up going the year I EAS'd. That was a long deployment.
 
I sleeping before school and my father rushed in to have us come out and watch the television (before they fell). When the first one fell we couldn't believe it, my father was freaking out and we couldn't really understand the signifigance of the act. Once we got to school all the classrooms had it on and the whole day we didn't do any school work, just watching for updates. I was in seventh grade at the time.

Definitely a surreal experience.
 
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