Where were you?

[paccookie]

I was on the way to work, had just dropped my child off at my grandma's house. I heard about the first plane on the way to work, turned on the radio at work and heard about the second plane. Drug the tv down the hall into the office and watched the news the rest of the morning. I was 21.

 

[EMT11KDL]

I was making breakfast before I went to school, had the news on waiting for the weather until everything happened.

 

[Archymomma]

I was at work, a co-worker was bringing the car around so we could load our climbing gear. He came into the building and said there was something on the radio about an airplane hitting one of the twin towers. We finally got a news page to load on the computer and found out what happened.

 

[RDUNNE]

i was in 6th grade. it was still early in california when the first plane hit but my mom was up at the time and had the news on. she ran and got my dad and he woke me up to let me know that i was going to see what war was when i turned 18. i remember every detail about that morning except for what pajamas i was wearing.

 

[Canoeman]

I rememember this like it happened today. I was home off shift doing some bills and checkbook stuff and was listening to the news. First one plane then another. My crew and I were on rotation for Disaster Team Response. I knew we were going to get called. I becan calling my crew and got ready. No sooner than I finished tying my boots the big bosses called me. We are going to the Twin Towers.

We sent two rigs from Cental New York and joined 22 others in the mission. We arrived to Chelsey to stage about noon on 9/12. We sat for about an two hours then my crew began doing a few calls in the system. FF cut fingers, washing out eyes, neb treatments, but in was obvious within a few more hours that there were no true surviours and we all wept.

I can at least say that we got to ground zero and walked in the cement dust covered absolutely everythin. It ended up all over our boots and cloths. I was able to bring home a small piece of metal from tower two and a story that I can tell my grandkids.

I took those boots off when I finally got back home. They are in a nice display case now right next to my desk.

Canoeman

 

[Seaglass]

8th grade history class, DC. Another teacher came in, and whispered something to the regular teacher. We were told we'd be staying there until further notice and to hand in our cell phones. The few of us who had them refused, but they weren't working anyways. Sirens everywhere. Finally we were told planes had hit the Pentagon and Trade Center. A lot of us were freaking out and crying. Eventually I learned that everyone I was close to was safe, but a few of my classmates weren't as lucky.

Later on, some of us and our families made dinner and brought it to the still-burning Pentagon. We wound up getting lost in all the security, but finally found a crew to give it to. I haven't forgotten the expressions on their faces. There was smoke everywhere, and it smelled awful. It was all very surreal.

 

[Aidey]

I was a sophomore in high school, so I was 15. We lived a few time zones behind NY, so it was super early when it happened. My aunt in MI called us after the first plane hit. The phone ringing woke me up, and I knew it had to be bad news because it was so early, and the last time anyone called that early was when my grandfather had died.

We watched it happen on TV until I had to leave for school. When I got to school we spent most of the day watching the footage in the library. My parents had a lot of anxiety about it because my dad grew up in NYC, and most of his family still lives there. It took hours to get through to his sister, only to be informed his cousin was in one of the towers and no one had heard from him. We found out later he was fine, and the insane nutcase had gotten out, and then gone back in get some lady's purse (he was pretty low in the building, I think in the 20ish floor range, but still). There was some reason the purse was really important, but I can't remember what it is now.

 

[silver]

6th grade art class. I knew something was up, but they didn't say anything in school (since so many of the kids parents work there and at least 1 died that day) however I left school and was home minutes after the first tower fell. Couldn't get to my mom for hours since the cell phone network collapsed, she didnt come home till 11pm because the hospital was in a state of emergency.
Don't think we even had class for that entire week after it.

so sad.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

i was in 5th grade, walking to class, it was on the news when i walked through the door

 

[thegreypilgrim]

I was in 10th grade. It was early in the morning so I hadn't left for school yet. I remember stumbling out of my bedroom into the kitchen and having my mom say something like, "We're under attack. Planes are crashing into the World Trade Center." Before I had even mentally processed what she said to me I looked at the TV and saw the 2nd plane hit live. I didn't eat breakfast or anything that morning (I don't even think I took a shower...), and was completely transfixed to the TV. I witnessed the first tower collapse just before my mom finally took my brother & I to school.

I remember all we did at school that day was rotate from class to class and watch the news. I remember I had a particularly crotchety and overall unpleasant substitute teacher in English class that day who essentially told us we (meaning us males in the class...because according to this guy only men fight wars...) were all going to get drafted and die in the war against whatever country did this to us. Charming right? Well anyway, that's my story.

 

[dragonjbynight]

Sleeping...I worked second shift at Maine General Medical Center. I caught it on the radio when i woke up and began listening in. It wasn't long after that I started getting calls from some of my buddies on WTVL fire. When i got to the hospital i found it eerily empty. We went to diversionary status because so many doctors had already left for NYC. When I went to the station house the next morning I remember the drivers talking about several of the call firefighters heading there to assist with S&R. I remember thinking that it was surreal. When i think back to it, I can still remember watching a tv every chance i could that evening, every nurses station was tuned in, every patient watching. It was the quietest night I had ever seen in the Hospital.

 

[dragonjbynight]

I find it interesting the number of people here that were in grade school and such when 9-11 happened... hard to believe it was 8 years ago...

I agree. It doesn't seem like it was long enough ago for people to have been young kids, though I guess thats a part of getting older, sure doesn't feel it though.

 

[bunkie]

Was in Arkansas with extended family to testify on a custody case. Was sleeping on the pull out when someone came running in the house screaming "We're going to war! We've been attacked!" She sat down on the edge of the bed I was on and hit the TV. We watched the first building smoking as the media tried to figure out what was happening. We watched the second plane hit the tower. I'll never forget it flying in from the edge of the screen and smacking straight into the tower. We watched it all. The chaos in the streets, the debris, the people walking out of it, the people jumping from the windows. It will forever be etched in my mind. I'll never forget 9/11.

 

[MIkePrekopa]

6th grade Geography class... 4th row from the door, 3rd seat from the front. Our teacher's daughter was supposed to be taking a trip to the towers. Our teacher left and one of the librarians came in to baby sit... erm, teach... We were told there was a plane crash, but thats it. Got home and flipped on the news to see what happened. I don't remember if it was 2nd or 3rd period, but i think 2nd. Without doing the math, I think I was 11 at the time.

 

[Medic One]

I was working for my service OT on Medic 7....We just cleared back in service and walked in to the breaking news....

That night my wife got ordered into work (she is an ER Doc/Med Examiner for the State of CT)

I was held over and sent to Greenwich, CT to the CT staging area...thats as far as I made it...I am glad I never got to the scene...I lost a friend there..I knew he was working on Rescue 3 that day...it was a horrible day for me knowing what his family was about to deal with.

 

[EMT Fan15]

I was at School, just as announcements were comming on, I was age 6-in first grade. It was my brother';s Senior year. My parents chose to pick my brother up first-which was 15 20 minute drive to the Highschool I just enrolled into this year, then they picked me up half an hour later. We all went home, and just sat there watching the news all day..I think that was actully, my first assume that i wanted to be an EMT, I still do want to. i enrolled into a health-related job Club, and will be doing volenteer work at hospitals, sports clinics, or Doctor's offices, honestly, I have butterflys for it. Never liked Hospitals. As clumsy as I maybe, never went to the hospital for an injury since I was 5. And past the age of five, i've probably done alot of damage. Not proud, but..x)