I Was...

[planeflyer21]

Doing my normal morning routine at the time...a 3 mile bicycle ride to Ft. Lowell Park, for a walk/run around the exercise course.  On the way back to the house there was almost no traffic...like a Sunday morning.  Odd for a busy Tuesday.

 

Came in the house and there was one message on the answering machine from my Mom in Kentucky.  All she had said was "Oh my God...are you watching this?  I think I'm going to be sick."  Turned on the t.v. and every station was news, talking heads speculating.  When they finally came back to the live shot of the smoking WTC 1 and 2.  In a few minutes the first building collapsed.

 

Announcing that all air traffic had been grounded except CAPs, I knew my flight training for the day (shooting ILS approaches) was toast.

 

That evening, instead of riding my bicycle out to the airport, I rode the Beemer.  Almost the whole class was spent discussing the "What next" possibilities.

 

We ended up being grounded for the next 2 1/2 weeks, even though regular air travel had resumed.  During that time 85,000 or so ATP rated pilots were laid off...right at a point in my training where I was going to borrow $50k to complete the training.  Being broke and unemployed was the better option over being hugely in debt and unemployed.

 

What were you doing?

[Armed Eye Doc]

... driving to school in my second year of optometry school.  I was passing the Mexican consulate on US59 in Houston when I heard that there was a plane in the first tower and then the second plane hit.  The school administration tried to have class and clinic hours as close to normal as possible.  There was a TV in the lunchroom that we used to stayed up to date with what was happening.  Sometimes we went to class and sometimes we didn't.

[Robocop1051]

I was getting ready to go to work. I heard someone in the house say,"you have to see this!"

I watched the news as the second plane struck the tower live. I was in total shock. I could barely understand what was happening.

I was 23 years old at the time. I remember that the incident scared my mom into thinking this was the beginning of WW3. She cried for days thinking I was going to join the military after that.

It was a pivotal moment in my life though. I was in the police academy shortly there after.

[seasprite]

Ya I was getting ready for work drinking my coffee when I turned the news on and saw this. I told my wife this was no accident seeing that I was involved in aviation in the Navy and knew something about modern avionics. Then the second plane hit and I said we are under attack and now at war. The image of that day is seared in my brain and will never forget it. And now we have a president thats giving it all way, the only thing that is finished is Osama Binladin  is dead but Alkida is still kicking and fighting. 

[shepp]

I was sitting in our shop for hvac class at tech school when a nursing student came in with a radio and told us what happened its burned into my head she was blonde with a yellow top we all told her she was nuts none of us believed it. We listened for a moment the rushed to the cafatira where they had a large projection tv just to watch the second plane hit. I can close my eyes and see those two rooms as I just walked outta them.

[bubbasks]

Freshman year in HS heard it on the radio in a empty classroom and went to my first period classroom and used paperclips to make an antana enough to get a news program on

[shibiwan]

...woken up by my wife. I had quit my job the friday before and was doing some road racing at Sears Point that weekend, so i was sleeping in. We were living in norcal then. She was yelling something about getting attacked and we have to pack up and prep to go.

Walked out of the bedroom, looked downstairs at the TV with CNN on and saw the images. My first words that morning were... "Osama's baaaack".

Over the next few weeks, I was told that the US flag in front of my house was unsightly and should be taken down, black SUVs were patrolling the neighborhood at night, and the house across from us was raided by some spec ops.

The rest is history.

Edited September 11, 2013 by shibiwan

[washguy]

I was at gf's home waiting on the hvac guy to come and check out her ac...flipped on fox just as it all started ....i felt like someone had hit me in the gut with a bat! Wash

[texas30cal]

I had been down with a ruptured disc for several weeks and was full of pain meds so I was sleeping late when my best friend called to tell me the first tower just got hit, I turned on the news and almost could not believe what I was seeing, will never forget that moment.

[shepp]

Over the next few weeks, I was told that the US flag in front of my house was unsightly and should be taken down, black SUVs were patrolling the neighborhood at night, and the house across from us was raided by some spec ops.

The rest is history.

Why?!?

[98Z5V]

Driving on my way to drop my boy off at daycare, then hit PT - when the news of the first one hit.

 

Got to PT, told my guys that something was seriously wrong, go home, get into uniform and get back as fast as you can - then the second one hit.

 

Didn't have a good feeling about it, when the first one was hit. 

[shepp]

Driving on my way to drop my boy off at daycare, then hit PT - when the news of the first one hit.

Got to PT, told my guys that something was seriously wrong, go home, get into uniform and get back as fast as you can - then the second one hit.

Didn't have a good feeling about it, when the first one was hit.

Plumber I worked a few jobs with was in the air guard remember him telling me about how he dropped his poop and drove his work truck to the air guard base in Madison as fast as he could incase they were to send out the jets

[sketch]

Herd it on the radio and thought it was some stupid prank until I arrived to job site to find the hvac guy ( volunteer fire fighter) balling in the building the sight of this 6-6 giant crying hit home pretty hard !

[shibiwan]

Why?!?

 

Norcal - Fremont area. Asians and Afghans. Little Afghanistan was about 3 miles away. Go figure. I still remember the Berkeley City Council passing an ordnance to remove all US flags that the firefighters hung on their fire trucks. #^$@%#$ foreigners and hippies.

 

Ignored that Chinese neighbor regarding the flag, and the other guy across the street (he was middle eastern or maybe paki) - never figured out why but he was taken away very quickly. They left his wife alone.

 

Although I lean left, all of that crap was a big sign for me to move back to AZ.

 

-S

Edited September 11, 2013 by shibiwan

[Matt.Cross]

I was still fast asleep. My little brother ran into the room and rolled me into the floor to wake me up, when I woke up (mad as a bear) he said, "They just flew an airliner into the WTC!". Still groggy, I said "Who flew an airliner into what?" and then followed him into the living room. As soon as I saw the footage of the first tower and the shock wore off, I told my brother to keep an eye on the live shots, there would probably be a 2nd plane. A few minutes later, we watched the 2nd plane fly into the live shot. Dad sent me off that week to register for draft availability, should the need arise to reinstate it. Had I joined the military when I turned 18, I probably would have a deployment or two of Iraq and/or Afghanistan under my belt.  

Edited September 11, 2013 by Matt.Cross

[Guill732]

...sitting im my freshman Speech/Debate class waiting for class to start. Teacher came in late and announced that a plane had crashed into the WTC. She then went and wheeled a tv into the room for us to watch the news about it on. Shortly after that we saw the 2nd plane hit the other Tower. That day we just watched the news in every class. Even though I was in TN, some of the other students had family in NY and were worried about them. That day played a big part in my determination to join the Marines. During part of the graduation ceremony 4 yrs later they had everyone who was planning on joining the military stand and be applauded by everyone and acknowledged the courage to join knowing we were at war and joining at the time almost guaranteed a deployment.

[Magwa]

Never forget that day My buddy George and I were bow hunting elk in the St. Joe drainage George had just shot a elk and we had it up to the road and were butchering  had the radio on and all of a sudder heard this guy screaming we were under attack and the WTC had been hit by a airplane. we thought it was a prank like war of the worlds or something.. we are 40 miles into the wilderness and we get the elk in the truck and haul ass to Avery Idaho and find out it is true... we are numb and we want to get to out families it was a very sad day.....

[blue109]

I was just a few months back from a year deployment in Kuwait. it was my Bday and I had the day off. Phone was ringing off the hook and I assumed it was well wishers. Finally I answered my little sis with "what the hell is wrong with you" she was quiet and I knew something was wrong right away. Turn on the TV she says. Sigh..... I gotta go. Spent a little time getting my gear together while watching the news. Saw the second hit. Jumped in the car and went to work. Had a feeling I'd be seeing that damned desert again.

[Armed Eye Doc]

It's probably hard now, but happy birthday blue.

[Rsquared]

Was working in the northern Virginia area (Mclean) right outside DC. Heard about the first plane, then the second one awhile later, then the pentagon. Went to the roof of the building. It was pretty surreal to look around and see absolutely no planes...except for the warbirds that had been scrambled, and were circling the entire region.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Rsquared

[unforgiven]

Was working on a project for a computer hotel,Chicago.One room had the parimitter wall lined with kevlar to protect the servers.Heard it on the radio.Owner of the company told everyone in the city to go home.The way the media keyed on the towers falling and the people jumping off the building made me sick and angry.Like fukin animals almost relishing in the misery.Didn't watch the tube for about 3 weeks.Made it home wife and I cried got the kids together to see how this was going to play out..No planes in the air was surreal.          Happy belated birthday brother blue,many more. :hethan:

[shepp]

Was working in the northern Virginia area (Mclean) right outside DC. Heard about the first plane, then the second one awhile later, then the pentagon. Went to the roof of the building. It was pretty surreal to look around and see absolutely no planes...except for the warbirds that had been scrambled, and were circling the entire region.

.

A guy I was on tech school with, his uncle lived right by ohare said he had a hard time sleeping during the no fly he was so used to the noise

[blue109]

Thanks fellas.