Memories From Australia
1. "I was 13 years old living in Perth, Western Australia and it was early evening for us when every single channel cut to live coverage, I remember my dad exclaiming,
'Sh*t's going to hit the fan!'
He told us all to come to the lounge and watch the TV.
I saw the second tower hit live and also the two towers coming down. It was all that anyone talked about for weeks.
The next day at school a TV was wheeled into class and we watched Presidents Bush's speech.
Australia is so closely tied with the US that it was almost like it was happening on home soil, of course NZ and Australia are two of the US's closest allies and we all knew that we were also going to be going to war.
As a 13 year-old, I don't think I fully understood the gravity of what was happening"
- Nathan H.
'Sh*t's going to hit the fan!'
He told us all to come to the lounge and watch the TV.
I saw the second tower hit live and also the two towers coming down. It was all that anyone talked about for weeks.
The next day at school a TV was wheeled into class and we watched Presidents Bush's speech.
Australia is so closely tied with the US that it was almost like it was happening on home soil, of course NZ and Australia are two of the US's closest allies and we all knew that we were also going to be going to war.
As a 13 year-old, I don't think I fully understood the gravity of what was happening"
- Nathan H.
Cheez TV opening
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2. "I was 11 and had just woken up at the same time as my brother (age 7). We raced to the TV to watch our favourite show Cheez TV. It usually featured Digimon, Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. We flicked on the TV and there were a bunch of planes flying into buildings, people bleeding and crying, and people jumping out of buildings. We thought,
'‘Oh now, this isn’t the right channel!’ But it was on every channel, all the time. Our parents didn’t know what was happening, and then school was weird. Mostly, we were all disappointed we couldn’t watch Cheez TV. At that age we couldn’t grasp the concept of what happened, and only wanted the discomfort in our lives to be rectified, and to be told it was okay. It took years for it to sink in fully as to what happened" - T. K. |
3. "Was in Victoria, Australia. My daughter was three months old, so I was up in the wee hours for feeding time. I turned the TV on for some company, I never watch the news, so at first I was like,
'Why the f*ck is the news on?'
Then my brain took in what was happening on the screen - this was just after the first tower was hit, and I watched, unable to look away, barely able to breathe, as the rest unfolded, in absolute horror and disbelief.
I’ve never quite felt emotions like I felt in those moments. I’m not generally on to cry, but I had tears rolling down my face.
It was America that was horribly attacked, but it impacted and changed the entire world. It felt like we were all intimately united whilst having life as we knew it ripped apart."
- Rebecca Murphy
'Why the f*ck is the news on?'
Then my brain took in what was happening on the screen - this was just after the first tower was hit, and I watched, unable to look away, barely able to breathe, as the rest unfolded, in absolute horror and disbelief.
I’ve never quite felt emotions like I felt in those moments. I’m not generally on to cry, but I had tears rolling down my face.
It was America that was horribly attacked, but it impacted and changed the entire world. It felt like we were all intimately united whilst having life as we knew it ripped apart."
- Rebecca Murphy
4. "I was 12 and left for a three day bushwalk with a small group on September 11, 2001 and we didn't find out anything had happened until the afternoon of September 13th. We got onto a bus to take us back to school and heard the teachers talking to the driver. They had been listening to truck drivers talking about it over the radio while at camp, but didn't tell us as they hadn't gotten confirmation.
We didn't understand what was meant by the building being bombed by planes and were thinking along the lines of Hiroshima/Nagasaki which meant we were also expecting our towns to be bombed. The news was still on 24/7 coverage when I got home. It was such a surreal event to come home to that I still struggle to fathom."
- J. B.
We didn't understand what was meant by the building being bombed by planes and were thinking along the lines of Hiroshima/Nagasaki which meant we were also expecting our towns to be bombed. The news was still on 24/7 coverage when I got home. It was such a surreal event to come home to that I still struggle to fathom."
- J. B.
Sandra Sully reporting on the 9/11 attacks. (Network 10)
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5. "I was 17 at the time. It was late in the evening, about 11 pm. As I got out of the shower, I realized I had left my bedroom TV on and I heard Sandra Sully on Channel 10 News broadcasting that,
'A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.' I thought it must have been a small plane because how the hell can any jet airliner accidentally crash into a building? It wasn’t until I saw the images on the screen that I realized the severity of the situation. A few minutes later, still confused on how a plane can accidentally crash into a skyscraper, I watched the second plane hit." - Anonymous |
6. "I was a 17 year old high school student two months from graduating and had gone to bed around 9:30 pm (AEST) which was about an hour before the first plane hit. I was woken up around 1:30 am by a thunderstorm and couldn't go back to sleep for whatever reason so I turned my TV on and was greeted by lower Manhattan engulfed in smoke and the same thing on every TV channel.
Remember it like it was last night."
- David M.
Remember it like it was last night."
- David M.
7. "9/11 happened at around 11 pm in Australia. By then everyone was asleep. It was still pretty much the pre-internet days so we had no idea what we were about to wake up to.
I woke up at 7 am. I was in my first year of high school and they used to have this music show on in the morning that we'd tune into except today it had some news show on. I switched it over to channel that had cartoons. Still news - Switched channels, news again.
My father came into the room and said,
'Huh, would you look at that. Some idiot crashed a plane into a skyscraper.'
At this point we still had no idea off the magnitude of what was going on. Because it was about 10 or so hours since it had all unfolded we got all the updates in a quick 10 minute recap:
- Images of smoke from the first tower
- The second plane hitting the tower
- The Pentagon burning
- People jumping from the tower in desperation.
- One tower coming down, then another and another.
It was a lot to take in and, not going to lie, it felt like the apocalypse was on us. We stayed home from school that day.
Later in the afternoon when everything had calmed down I went to football training and talked to a kid that went to school. He said only five other students went to school and three teachers."
- Diego
I woke up at 7 am. I was in my first year of high school and they used to have this music show on in the morning that we'd tune into except today it had some news show on. I switched it over to channel that had cartoons. Still news - Switched channels, news again.
My father came into the room and said,
'Huh, would you look at that. Some idiot crashed a plane into a skyscraper.'
At this point we still had no idea off the magnitude of what was going on. Because it was about 10 or so hours since it had all unfolded we got all the updates in a quick 10 minute recap:
- Images of smoke from the first tower
- The second plane hitting the tower
- The Pentagon burning
- People jumping from the tower in desperation.
- One tower coming down, then another and another.
It was a lot to take in and, not going to lie, it felt like the apocalypse was on us. We stayed home from school that day.
Later in the afternoon when everything had calmed down I went to football training and talked to a kid that went to school. He said only five other students went to school and three teachers."
- Diego
8. "I was 23 years old, fond of late-night training sessions at my nearby gym. I remember being on the bus, listening to music, and awaiting my stop. The city streets weren't too congested so the 10-minute ride was smooth with only a smattering of fellow passengers causing the stop-start of the usual trip.
It was after 10 pm when the bus pulled in front of the busy pub that was my stop. I was instantly struck by a feeling of something very wrong. The bouncer who worked on the door was missing. He never left his post. As I turned to look inward at the pub, I noticed a crowd of people inside all fixated on the television. I drew nearer the window and saw flashes of buildings on fire and planes. The ticker across the bottom of the screen with breaking news of the US having been attacked. It made little sense but I knew it was serious. It felt like we were staring into the mawing abyss of World War III.
I ran to my gym, got my friend to turn the gym televisions from the relentless music videos over to the main stations. We stood there stunned in silence as we watched the world change. I wanted to call people. Tell them. It was late. They'd be asleep. I shouldn't wake them. They'll know soon enough.
The towers fell in front of our eyes. The Pentagon burned and nothing would be the same. Retaliation would follow, but how much more carnage was planned? Was this just the beginning. Was the US to face mass terrorism alone or were all her allies in the cross hairs as well?
I walked home a few hours later. It rained softly and I contemplated all that was happening on the other side of the world in a place that I would visit two years later. To pay some respects and understand the gravity of it all at Ground Zero."
- S. Morrison
It was after 10 pm when the bus pulled in front of the busy pub that was my stop. I was instantly struck by a feeling of something very wrong. The bouncer who worked on the door was missing. He never left his post. As I turned to look inward at the pub, I noticed a crowd of people inside all fixated on the television. I drew nearer the window and saw flashes of buildings on fire and planes. The ticker across the bottom of the screen with breaking news of the US having been attacked. It made little sense but I knew it was serious. It felt like we were staring into the mawing abyss of World War III.
I ran to my gym, got my friend to turn the gym televisions from the relentless music videos over to the main stations. We stood there stunned in silence as we watched the world change. I wanted to call people. Tell them. It was late. They'd be asleep. I shouldn't wake them. They'll know soon enough.
The towers fell in front of our eyes. The Pentagon burned and nothing would be the same. Retaliation would follow, but how much more carnage was planned? Was this just the beginning. Was the US to face mass terrorism alone or were all her allies in the cross hairs as well?
I walked home a few hours later. It rained softly and I contemplated all that was happening on the other side of the world in a place that I would visit two years later. To pay some respects and understand the gravity of it all at Ground Zero."
- S. Morrison
9. "I was 7 years old and when I woke up to get ready for school, my parents were watching the news. It had happened hours ago by that point, but they were still watching, waiting for the next strike. They believed it was World War III and since Australia is pretty cuddly with the US, we too were in danger.
I was three hours late for school that morning, and most of the other kids were either just as late or didn't arrive at all. Now my parents were very strict. We were never late, and we never had the TV on in the morning, so this was extremely unusual. While I didn't understand, I did know all the adults around me were scared. That made me scared too.
After that, the government started up with some pretty creepy stuff. They sent around letters and fridge magnets encouraging you to dob in your neighbour for being a terrorist. It was pretty obvious to me even back then that 'being a terrorist' pretty much meant being brown. There were ads on the TV of people spying on their neighbours and everything.
I genuinely believe it changed my country, but I think the act itself didn't. We weren't even involved. It was the government's inappropriate response that changed things for the worse. It was 'reds under the bed' all over again."
- A. A.
I was three hours late for school that morning, and most of the other kids were either just as late or didn't arrive at all. Now my parents were very strict. We were never late, and we never had the TV on in the morning, so this was extremely unusual. While I didn't understand, I did know all the adults around me were scared. That made me scared too.
After that, the government started up with some pretty creepy stuff. They sent around letters and fridge magnets encouraging you to dob in your neighbour for being a terrorist. It was pretty obvious to me even back then that 'being a terrorist' pretty much meant being brown. There were ads on the TV of people spying on their neighbours and everything.
I genuinely believe it changed my country, but I think the act itself didn't. We weren't even involved. It was the government's inappropriate response that changed things for the worse. It was 'reds under the bed' all over again."
- A. A.
10. "I was 10 years old living in Melbourne and had just left the house to primary school with my mother. She had a mobile phone, which wasn't that common at the time, and received a call from my father at work. I remember she had a shocked look on her face and instead of going to school we turned around and went back home. I had never heard of the twin towers and wasn't of an age to understand the geopolitical significance of what was occurring.
This happened during the one year of my life where my family had cable TV, so we sat glued to 24 hour CNN watching the events happen.
I don't think even while watching the news I understood the scale of what had just occurred. To me, it was a far-off tragedy like many others that appear on the news.
If anything, I was glad to have the day off school."
- Jonathan Schlossberg
This happened during the one year of my life where my family had cable TV, so we sat glued to 24 hour CNN watching the events happen.
I don't think even while watching the news I understood the scale of what had just occurred. To me, it was a far-off tragedy like many others that appear on the news.
If anything, I was glad to have the day off school."
- Jonathan Schlossberg
11. "I was 14 and lived in Melbourne, we were sleeping when the planes hit and didn't hear anything until the morning. I still remember Mum woke me up on the morning of the 12th with,
'Something horrible has happened in America.'
We watched the news as we ate breakfast. I remember seeing someone wave a white cloth or something like that out of the window and then the tower collapsing. I went to school and 'God Bless America' was written on the year level whiteboard."
- Nicole Stephenson
'Something horrible has happened in America.'
We watched the news as we ate breakfast. I remember seeing someone wave a white cloth or something like that out of the window and then the tower collapsing. I went to school and 'God Bless America' was written on the year level whiteboard."
- Nicole Stephenson
12. "I was living in Melbourne, watching TV around 11 pm. I was watching the documentary of the famous Ali/Foreman fight 'Rumble in the Jungle' on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) when a ticker went across the top of the screen about how two planes had been flown into the World Trade Centre. When I first saw it I assumed it was part of the doco and figured some plane crash had happened in the '70's that I hadn't heard about until now. When the ticker ran again a few minutes later I switched the channel to the news and saw everything that was going down.
After watching for a while I heard my flatmate upstairs go to the bathroom. We had a bit of a frosty relationship at the time but I figured it was something he needed to hear about right now. I went upstairs and when he came out I told him that some serious shit had gone down and he should check it out. He was like 'Nah,' and started to walk back to his bedroom so I said,
'They've flown two planes into the Twin Towers in New York, this is huge.'
So he came down to have a look and after watching it for a couple of minutes he said of the U.S.
'Ohhhhhhh, they're gonna go SPASTIC.'
After watching for a while I heard my flatmate upstairs go to the bathroom. We had a bit of a frosty relationship at the time but I figured it was something he needed to hear about right now. I went upstairs and when he came out I told him that some serious shit had gone down and he should check it out. He was like 'Nah,' and started to walk back to his bedroom so I said,
'They've flown two planes into the Twin Towers in New York, this is huge.'
So he came down to have a look and after watching it for a couple of minutes he said of the U.S.
'Ohhhhhhh, they're gonna go SPASTIC.'
Spastic is an un-politically correct usage of the word often used in Australia to describe someone who gets so angry that they lose control and lash out in wild, unpredictable and extreme ways. Well, he wasn't far wrong, I'll give him that."
- N. K.
- N. K.
13. "Was playing an online MMO until someone in guild chat typed about it.
I turned on CNN on Foxtel and we just kept chatting in the game as it went on thru the night I remember watching it and seeing another plane hit the other building. The commentators said there appears to be another explosion thinking it was the same building. But.... That was another plane, you just got a glimpse of it from the left of the screen.
Was a surreal night, felt like a movie. Was absolutely terrible.
Then there was the plane that was over run by the passengers and then the Pentagon. At the time, thinking when is this going to stop!"
- E. W.
I turned on CNN on Foxtel and we just kept chatting in the game as it went on thru the night I remember watching it and seeing another plane hit the other building. The commentators said there appears to be another explosion thinking it was the same building. But.... That was another plane, you just got a glimpse of it from the left of the screen.
Was a surreal night, felt like a movie. Was absolutely terrible.
Then there was the plane that was over run by the passengers and then the Pentagon. At the time, thinking when is this going to stop!"
- E. W.
14. "Was watching the news while getting ready for bed. Sandra (Channel 10 anchor) popped up saying a plane had hit one of the towers. They believed it was a small plane at first. We just shrugged it off and went to bed.
Not much work got done the next day as everyone waited for updates etc.
My in-laws were visiting New York at the time and were staying near one of the fire stations who were amongst the first responders. They would walk past each morning and chat to the fire crew as they went about their business. They were heartbroken to learn afterward how many firies from that station died when the towers collapsed. They had flown out of NY early that morning of the 11th. Then they got stuck in Hawaii for two weeks on the way home when Ansett (Australian airline) collapsed."
- M. B.
My in-laws were visiting New York at the time and were staying near one of the fire stations who were amongst the first responders. They would walk past each morning and chat to the fire crew as they went about their business. They were heartbroken to learn afterward how many firies from that station died when the towers collapsed. They had flown out of NY early that morning of the 11th. Then they got stuck in Hawaii for two weeks on the way home when Ansett (Australian airline) collapsed."
- M. B.
Rove Live (2001)
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15. "I was 15, watching Rove Live & painting my toenails. My parents were on their way back from the movies and my sister was already in bed. As I’m on the west coast of Australia we started to get the news around 9:30 pm.
I remember the news scrawling across the bottom of the screen which was attention grabbing back then. It wasn’t until I started flipping through the channels & realized everything had been interrupted and they were all showing the same sunny footage of New York and the disaster." - M. F. |
16. "I was 29, at home awake at a strange hour with my third child. We just got Foxtel and I was flicking between the Australian news channel and American morning show channel. That’s when I saw about the first plane. I kept thinking this is not real and I was getting upset seeing it on the TV, but I had to know what was going on so I kept the channel on - and I wish I didn’t! Even though I was on the other side of the world, I was in disbelief and was finding it hard to really comprehend that this was real footage happening.
I rang my hubby as I was distraught at what I saw. I will never forget the second plane hitting the towers and the true heartache I felt, the tears I cried when I saw people on the edge of the building- making their last decisions to jump or stay....their image is a very uneasy memory to pass through my head - and to know that I saw some of them jump to their death was very distressing.
I will always remember the bravery of their situation and the choices they were left with at that time. Then came the the falling of the towers - that literally made me numb. Watching the towers fall and knowing the emergency community were still inside trying to rescue who they could.... I knew from that moment that a lot more lives had been lost as well. Cried all day on and off - usually don’t like talking about this as it was a horrible moment in life."
- A. F. L.
I rang my hubby as I was distraught at what I saw. I will never forget the second plane hitting the towers and the true heartache I felt, the tears I cried when I saw people on the edge of the building- making their last decisions to jump or stay....their image is a very uneasy memory to pass through my head - and to know that I saw some of them jump to their death was very distressing.
I will always remember the bravery of their situation and the choices they were left with at that time. Then came the the falling of the towers - that literally made me numb. Watching the towers fall and knowing the emergency community were still inside trying to rescue who they could.... I knew from that moment that a lot more lives had been lost as well. Cried all day on and off - usually don’t like talking about this as it was a horrible moment in life."
- A. F. L.
17. "I was 39 weeks pregnant, my brother called from London and started screaming at me to turn the TV on,
'WW3 has started!'
I gave birth two days later and every year at her birthday, I'm reminded of 9/11"
- G. B.
'WW3 has started!'
I gave birth two days later and every year at her birthday, I'm reminded of 9/11"
- G. B.
18. "Sydney, in my early 20s. It was late evening at a friends place. His house mate came downstairs saying that everyone has stopped playing Counter Strike on the server, there had been a terrorist attack or something in the US and everyone was logging off. Took us about five minutes of back and forth to realise it was a 'real' terrorist attack.
My mate didn’t have an antenna on the house and only had a crappy old TV. We rigged a wire coat hanger an antenna cable and tuned in to the news.
We each took turns holding the antenna out the window.
We watched the second plane hit in real time.
It was all pretty surreal."
- I. T.
My mate didn’t have an antenna on the house and only had a crappy old TV. We rigged a wire coat hanger an antenna cable and tuned in to the news.
We each took turns holding the antenna out the window.
We watched the second plane hit in real time.
It was all pretty surreal."
- I. T.
19. "I was 11 in Taree, New South Wales. It happened late at night here and my dad woke me and my sister up to watch the news on TV after a friend of his had called him and told him about it. He said we should watch it because it was important. I didn't really understand what was happening at the time, just that the skyscrapers were on fire and that a plane had crashed into the building. I think my dad thought it was an accident at first.
He was right though, it was an important piece of history and it changed the entire world."
- M. Richardson
He was right though, it was an important piece of history and it changed the entire world."
- M. Richardson
20. "I was 15 years old in Melbourne and my mother, brother and I had spent the day moving house. We were exhausted but stayed up late to get things into order so the house wasn’t a complete mess in the morning. My brother was in his room setting up his TV when he yelled out to us to come and look.
We stood there watching as the second tower was hit in real time. We sat on the floor, transfixed for hours in disbelief and horrified by what was happening before our eyes. It was just chaos. Planes aren’t supposed to fly into buildings! Why would anyone do that?
Then came the reports of a plane that crashed into the Pentagon and another plane that had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
Then the towers collapsed. I’ll never forget the sight of people running from the dust inferno that engulfed the city. People seeking refuge wherever they could and rinsing their faces with water. It was heartbreaking to watch.
I will never forget the sorrow I felt for the lives lost that day."
- Jessica Lord
We stood there watching as the second tower was hit in real time. We sat on the floor, transfixed for hours in disbelief and horrified by what was happening before our eyes. It was just chaos. Planes aren’t supposed to fly into buildings! Why would anyone do that?
Then came the reports of a plane that crashed into the Pentagon and another plane that had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
Then the towers collapsed. I’ll never forget the sight of people running from the dust inferno that engulfed the city. People seeking refuge wherever they could and rinsing their faces with water. It was heartbreaking to watch.
I will never forget the sorrow I felt for the lives lost that day."
- Jessica Lord
21. "I was at my girlfriend’s house and we were flicking through channels on TV when what we saw what I thought was a movie. Then every channel had it on. I heard sirens outside, tyres screeching, and we just looked at each other. I rang my parents to wake them and tell them what had happened, just as I watched the second plane hit live on TV, then the Pentagon crash. My parents were half asleep and didn’t realise the gravity of the situation until the next morning. My girlfriend and I just sat there in disbelief at the whole scenario, and at the same time scared that Australia was about to be attacked too."
- Matt
- Matt
22. "I was 19 at the time, in Army Reserve training that night. I got home about 2300 (UTC +10) and as usual, turned on the TV. It was surreal. The one moment I recall vividly was one tower in the centre of the screen, but my eyes darting to the other tower in the background as it started collapsing.
I sat there in my uniform until about 0700, just absolutely horrified.
- T. P.
I sat there in my uniform until about 0700, just absolutely horrified.
- T. P.
23. "I was 6 years old and remember seeing the news with my parents late that night. I asked them,
'How do they keep putting the building back together so fast.'
When I was watching them rewind the footage of the twin towers being destroyed.
My mind couldn't process that people were being killed."
- Anonymous
'How do they keep putting the building back together so fast.'
When I was watching them rewind the footage of the twin towers being destroyed.
My mind couldn't process that people were being killed."
- Anonymous
24. "I was in Year 11 here in Australia, 16 years old heading towards 17. While the events of September 11 happened on Tuesday morning it was early Wednesday for us - it was also a pupil-free day that Wednesday. Subsequently, I spent the night on the couch after probably a marathon session playing something like Heroes of Might and Magic II with some mates.
Anyway - my dad who is also a shift worker was home. He woke me up and said,
'Jays, look at what's happening in New York.'
The North Tower was burning. He said,
'They'll show a replay of it in a moment. Oh, here we go. Watch this.'
Anyway - my dad who is also a shift worker was home. He woke me up and said,
'Jays, look at what's happening in New York.'
The North Tower was burning. He said,
'They'll show a replay of it in a moment. Oh, here we go. Watch this.'
I watched the TV through blurry eyes. It wasn't a replay though, it was the South Tower being hit by a second plane. It took a moment for me to register what was going on. It also took my dad a moment to realise as well.
'Oh, shit' escaped his lips as we watched the events unfold.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep much more since so much of our media was covering in it. Everything else started unfolding, details that are obviously well documented and probably better left to other individuals. One thing I think is worth mentioning is that Thursday, back at school, when we were all standing around trying to make sense of what was going on. All I really remember is the idea floating around that there's a chance we were going to war, that we had no idea if inscription would be enforced, what it would mean for us and everything like that. Obviously it never came to that, at least not for us. But I do remember that conversation, all of us closing in on an age of what may result in having to fight someone else's war.
Finally, my wife and I married in 2016, and our honeymoon was a trip to the States. She'd already visited the site of the Twin Towers, back when it was still being cleared (which would have been 2002). Being there now though, being at the memorial... it's such a surreal experience. Despite the noise and bustle of New York, somehow there's a pocket there where I think such a significant moment of human history has occurred that it's hard not to realise what you're feeling there. There's only one other place I've felt a similar feeling, and that's Ground Zero in Nagasaki, Japan.
At both sites I fought back tears... while it's hard to fathom completely the events that unfolded there, there's just something about it that is such an incredibly moving feeling. It's something that is uncomfortable, impossible to ignore and yet difficult to sustain.
Despite everything that's going on in America at the moment (between 2020/21) I think for me what holds greatest is how the American people were able to come together during 9/11. That epitomises what your country is about, and nothing can take that away from you.
- Jay Hellis
'Oh, shit' escaped his lips as we watched the events unfold.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep much more since so much of our media was covering in it. Everything else started unfolding, details that are obviously well documented and probably better left to other individuals. One thing I think is worth mentioning is that Thursday, back at school, when we were all standing around trying to make sense of what was going on. All I really remember is the idea floating around that there's a chance we were going to war, that we had no idea if inscription would be enforced, what it would mean for us and everything like that. Obviously it never came to that, at least not for us. But I do remember that conversation, all of us closing in on an age of what may result in having to fight someone else's war.
Finally, my wife and I married in 2016, and our honeymoon was a trip to the States. She'd already visited the site of the Twin Towers, back when it was still being cleared (which would have been 2002). Being there now though, being at the memorial... it's such a surreal experience. Despite the noise and bustle of New York, somehow there's a pocket there where I think such a significant moment of human history has occurred that it's hard not to realise what you're feeling there. There's only one other place I've felt a similar feeling, and that's Ground Zero in Nagasaki, Japan.
At both sites I fought back tears... while it's hard to fathom completely the events that unfolded there, there's just something about it that is such an incredibly moving feeling. It's something that is uncomfortable, impossible to ignore and yet difficult to sustain.
Despite everything that's going on in America at the moment (between 2020/21) I think for me what holds greatest is how the American people were able to come together during 9/11. That epitomises what your country is about, and nothing can take that away from you.
- Jay Hellis
25. "A friend and I were coming down hard after a multi day bender. We'd run out of things to say so I turned on the radio, hoping for some music to fill the silence. Within moments, a report came on that a plane had crashed into a building in NY. My first though was how horrible it must be for everyone, especially the air traffic controller who screwed up and must be besides themselves right now.
Then the second plane hit and my friend said it must be some sort of sick joke. She was usually right about things in general, but I tried to check to confirm. It wasn't until I couldn't reach any news sites that it became real - and even then, neither of us made the leap to terrorism. It still seemed surreal, too unimaginable that it could happen at all - much less that someone would do it on purpose."
- Matthew G.
Then the second plane hit and my friend said it must be some sort of sick joke. She was usually right about things in general, but I tried to check to confirm. It wasn't until I couldn't reach any news sites that it became real - and even then, neither of us made the leap to terrorism. It still seemed surreal, too unimaginable that it could happen at all - much less that someone would do it on purpose."
- Matthew G.
Remembering Australian Victims of the Attacks
Peter Gyulavary, 44