Where were you 20 years ago?

[Bruce]

I was dining with clients in Midtown Manhattan before late night entertaining.

The morning of the 11th I met a colleague in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel at 9:00, saw one of the towers was on fire while walking across 5th Avenue, had breakfast at Lindy’s where we learned of the second plane hitting during breakfast. After breakfast we saw reports of the Pentagon attack on the TVs at Times Square. We then went to our scheduled meeting about 40 stories up in the BMG tower. The building was evacuated perhaps ten minutes into our meeting so we bought bread and water before heading back to the Roosevelt for an extended stay. Our plan had been to have two meetings followed by dinner at Windows on the World then fly back to London.

After the towers fell we went to volunteer but they only wanted firefighters and construction workers. We stayed in the city through Thursday then moved out to Queens where we caught a flight from JFK on Friday.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up to help domestically and in foreign countries.

 

[AZMark]

You never know how people end up where they do, but on the surface that’s a really surprising story for a guy from Arkansas. Thanks for sharing.

I was in college sleeping (pacific time). My roommate worked at the airport and they had just gone into lockdown so he called to warn me that we were under attack. Surreal day even as a young guy with few responsibilities 3000 miles away.

I have been to the memorial twice now and I still can’t even begin to imagine seeing those buildings fall, much less the human tragedy that happened that day.

 

[Tommy Bierly]

Young LT in the Air Force, tdy to NM. Saw it all when I came down for breakfast.

 

[jlcj7]

I was dining with clients in Midtown Manhattan before late night entertaining.

The morning of the 11th I met a colleague in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel at 9:00, saw one of the towers was on fire while walking across 5th Avenue, had breakfast at Lindy’s where we learned of the second plane hitting during breakfast. After breakfast we saw reports of the Pentagon attack on the TVs at Times Square. We then went to our scheduled meeting about 40 stories up in the BMG tower. The building was evacuated perhaps ten minutes into our meeting so we bought bread and water before heading back to the Roosevelt for an extended stay. Our plan had been to have two meetings followed by dinner at Windows on the World then fly back to London.

After the towers fell we went to volunteer but they only wanted firefighters and construction workers. We stayed in the city through Thursday then moved out to Queens where we caught a flight from JFK on Friday.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up to help domestically and in foreign countries.

Wow. I was in college at the time and this event is why I went into the Marine Corps. I spent the next many years of my life in the two major combat zones. I can’t image the impact it would have on me if I was physically there.

I wish the country could come together again like it did right after this attack.

 

[Julian]

I went to school with Marc Sassevile, the pilot of one of the two jets scrambled to intercept flight 93. He was the senior officer of the two.

They had no weapons....just the planes. They discussed the fact that they might be forced to use their planes to take flight 93 down. Wow.

20 years ago we were numb. It was unreal. The loss was/is indescribable.

Watched "Worth" tonight...moving.

 

[Bruce]

Young LT in the Air Force, tdy to NM. Saw it all when I came down for breakfast.

Thank you for your service.

 

[Bruce]

Wow. I was in college at the time and this event is why I went into the Marine Corps. I spent the next many years of my life in the two major combat zones. I can’t image the impact it would have on me if I was physically there.

I wish the country could come together again like it did right after this attack.

Thank you for your service. Agree on the coming together. I still hope we will.

 

[Bruce]

@AZMark, at the time I spent perhaps two days a month visiting clients in NYC. On 9/11 a lot of client friends were on flights to Las Vegas for a conference. They ended up at airports all over the US and Canada.

I grew up in Arkansas, was an employee in an early web hosting startup in 95. Spent much of 96 working at weekend training sessions in Australia and New Zealand. Then moved to the UK from 97 to 2003 where my wife continued school and I worked at startups.Then settled back in Arkansas 18 years ago with some Bay Area time mixed in.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I was in Las Vegas at a work conference. Vegas was a ghost town as everyone was glued to TV sets and there was rampant fear that Vegas was a target.

We had to keep our rental car and drive back to Montana because we couldn't get flights. It is a day and a feeling that I will never ever forget!

 

[Ronnie]

I left for work early but saw a story online before hand about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I thought it’s was a Cessna sized plane. I didn’t know how bad it was or how wrong I was until I got to work where it seemed like all 7,000 of us were crowded around a single big screen crt tv, watching the news coverage in shock and disbelief. The days afterwards are a blur but I remember seeing a lot of stories on the locals that were on flight 93.

 

[Bruce]

@Ronnie from 45th Street and 6th Avenue the fire looked small. Initially we thought they would put it out.

 

[GTBRMC]

I was a production manager at an automotive components plant. The day was surreal.
It was quickly evident this was going to be hugely disruptive to automotive supply.
For just one example, we had thousands of fasteners on a flight inbound from Portugal that was denied entry into US airspace en route. The flight ended up landing in Newfoundland, Canada as other airports closer to the border with Michigan were rapidly filling with diverted inbound planes. We all new that the GM assembly plants were going to quickly go down as parts flows would dry up, yet GM was oddly insistent that all suppliers keep running at rate and shipping to hit their arrival windows. We kept running, but I was increasing concerned that we would have people get hurt. Some were heavily distracted on the assembly lines, others were angry, some were openly weeping. I quickly realized that people needed info and needed to be reassured + needed to look out for each other. I spent the rest of the day hustling from work cell to work cell, assembly line to assembly line, sharing the latest info and telling everyone not to worry about rate but to look out for each other, and watch 1) safety and 2) quality. As awful as the day was, we all came together in a way I'd never seen before nor since.

Bask home, I had a baby and a pregnant wife. We lived near Bishop Airport near Flint, Michigan. Bishop was a moderately busy regional airport at the time whose primary landing pattern brought a plane a few hundred feet over our house every 15 minutes or so all day, every day. With all air traffic grounded for several days, the silence was nearly overwhelming. My brother was in the Air Force, having gone active duty earlier that week. He was put on some type of deployment readiness notice - he had to keep his rucks packed and was not supposed to leave Dayton.

We all knew the world had changed profoundly, but did not have any real idea how significant the effects would be.

 

[I_squared_r]

I was in 6th grade, in a classroom about 20 miles from the towers. There was a lot of fear and parents started taking their kids out of class when they realized it was an attack. My town has a lot of commuters to NYC so there was a panic to contact friends/family to ensure their safety. I remember being picked up from class, getting in the car, seeing my family with their sad faces like a funeral, and I asked "Who died?". We spent the day watching TV and trying to grasp what happened and what will happen. Returning to school was strange because a lot of kids had stayed home for some weeks. I assume it was fear or mourning of lost friends/family.

My mom dated a guy starting in 2004/2005 who had retired from Whitestone fire department. He was part of the clean up and he saw some things there. He retired after the clean up was done and he never spoke about it in the 10+ years they dated. The only evidence of it, was a picture of him and 4 other firefighters standing in front of the rubble, with sad and tired faces.

Edit: If you ever find yourself in NYC, I recommend to visit the memorial there. It is a very beautiful memorial.

 

[Joshua Miller]

I was a helicopter mechanic in the Marine Corps. Had worked night crew on the 10th so my fiancé woke me up when the first tower was hit. That afternoon going into work was my most memorable experience.
In 12 hours my squadron went from routine flight ops to deployment readiness. External booms and winches were installed and op-checked in case we had to fly to NYC and lift civilians. Will, powers of attorney, and life insurance policies were all updated. Shit immediately got real.
Three days later I was married and in three days I celebrate my 20th anniversary. My wife’s family was in Texas, I was stationed in North Carolina, so none of her family came due to flight restrictions. Later that month I started my deployment work ups.
@Bruce thanks for starting this thread. Let us never forget!

 

[octavio3311]

Back then I was driving limos on the side for extra money. On 9/10, I had 2 couples in a super stretch limo for a night out in NYC. They had dinner at Windows of the World. I was parked below till they came down at 2:00am. Drove them home, parked the limo - I got home around 3:30am.
At work the next day by 9am when I started hearing the news.

I still get angry when I see any footage.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

I had gotten to work (Rockville, MD - just north of D.C.) and saw several people quietly gathered around the TV in the conference room at work. As I stopped in, someone mentioned that a small plane (no one realized at the time these were passenger planes) had hit the first tower. We stood around in disbelief trying to understand how a plane could have accidentally hit the building, when we saw live, on TV, the second plane hit the second tower. When we saw the second plane hit the second tower, it was immediately clear this was no accident and an attack on the twin towers.

As shocked as I was seeing the plane deliberately hitting the second tower, it paled in comparison to the seeing the horrific videos of the towers actually falling.

Jim

 

[NewBoater]

I was in college sitting in my car in the parking lot between classes listening to it on the radio and was in total shock not knowing what would come next or if they had more stuff planned I remember feeling very worried about what was next from them.

 

[Acard7]

I was in 2nd grade, my teacher couldn’t even talk, left the class crying, and our school had an early out because of it.. Many of my friends (and I) work in public service (LEO/Firefighter/Paramedic) because of this event.

 

[2kwik4u]

I was sitting in my cubicle at my first "real job" as a draftsman for an architectural firm here in Louisville KY. I wasn't quite 21 yet and the gravity of the situation hadn't quite taken hold as the 50or so employees crowded the only TV in the building located in the conference room. Some of the older guys were heavily impacted, and I had a weird sense of worry, but I couldn't quite understand why.

I was half a country away from any of it, and I can't imagine having any level of personal tie to it. The impact that must make is beyond comprehension for me.

I visited the flight 93 memorial in 2010. This was before the full memorial was built and it was a mostly empty field. I had never been somewhere that was so eerily silent. It was sobering in a very impactful way. Another set of decisions I simply can't wrap my head around. The gravity of making that conscious decision for the greater good is something I like to think I could do, but have never had a true test at that level.

Everyone be safe out there today and try to pass on just a tiny bit of kindness. Maybe we can collectively make today just a hint brighter than it was then.

 

[Robconn]

Arriving home from Jersey Shore Medical Center. Wife woke me up as the first plane hit the towers. Stayed up was in shock and returned to work that night. I noticed at the entrance were NYPD officers. I guess they were there for the injured. It was the quietest shift ever as most were in deep thought. I was told Hospital at long branch NJ had fire alarm activated due to the fine particulate that was carried in the air from the towers. The next morning there was a fine dust on all the cars. at 75 miles away.