Written Stories
BRAZIL
1. "I was 15 years old at school in São Paulo. One of our teachers suddenly invaded the classroom and announced the news that there had been some sort of attack in the USA using planes. Most students, maybe all of us, had no idea what that could mean. After classes ended, we went by the teacher's room and saw they were all standing dumbfounded around a small TV. Some talked about it being something from 'the Middle East.'
Then another bit of breaking news was shown of the Pentagon and that's when it fully hit me that something HUGE was happening. Any and all certainty about the future of the world had been shattered. I was horrified.
When I got home, due to my brother getting us cable TV channels, I was able to watch it all live on CNN, Fox News and others. Nobody else was home and it was probably one of the scariest days of my life - I watched the collapse of both towers in utter horror, alone.
I truly felt a nuclear war would begin there and then. Weeks later, the first bombings in the Middle East brought the same dread of impending destruction. The world clearly changed after the Sept. 11 attacks, and for the worse."
- Gustavo Mota
Then another bit of breaking news was shown of the Pentagon and that's when it fully hit me that something HUGE was happening. Any and all certainty about the future of the world had been shattered. I was horrified.
When I got home, due to my brother getting us cable TV channels, I was able to watch it all live on CNN, Fox News and others. Nobody else was home and it was probably one of the scariest days of my life - I watched the collapse of both towers in utter horror, alone.
I truly felt a nuclear war would begin there and then. Weeks later, the first bombings in the Middle East brought the same dread of impending destruction. The world clearly changed after the Sept. 11 attacks, and for the worse."
- Gustavo Mota
2. "I was watching Dragon Ball Z on TV. I think it was about 10 or 11 AM local time. Suddenly they cut to show what I thought was a movie ad, but my uncle told me those big burning buildings I was seeing were actually real.
Within the hour every channel was broadcasting the same thing. It seemed like everyone went crazy, my neighbor who lived in a three story building was planning to move to another house because he thought terrorists would try to attack his home."
- Reddit user /u/Brazilian_Soldier
Within the hour every channel was broadcasting the same thing. It seemed like everyone went crazy, my neighbor who lived in a three story building was planning to move to another house because he thought terrorists would try to attack his home."
- Reddit user /u/Brazilian_Soldier
CZECHIA
1. "In the office when someone said,
'Hey, there's shit seriously hitting the fan.'
We watched the events bewildered."
- S. C.
'Hey, there's shit seriously hitting the fan.'
We watched the events bewildered."
- S. C.
2. "I remember it quite clearly, I was 9 years old and playing outside with my friends. I came home to get something to drink just as the second plane crashed. My parents were watching it on TV, obviously shocked. I didn't really understand at that moment what really happened.
I thought it was just a unlucky accident."
- Reddit user /u/best_ive_ever_beard
I thought it was just a unlucky accident."
- Reddit user /u/best_ive_ever_beard
3. "I was almost 10 and I think I didn't care, it was just some attack far away like when they show bombs somewhere else. My whole world was friends from our joint 4th and 5th class of about 10 people total, one village, an encyclopedia about animals. I didn't know what internet or the international world was or that it may have any effect on anybody outside that far away country. I don't even remember if the teacher talked about it in school, probably not. The same with parents, I don't remember them saying anything about it.
The first time we were told anything in school about it I remember was perhaps 8th grade when teacher told us to stand up and pay a minute of silence. Since I and my best friend were the edgy teenagers, we were super annoyed."
- Reddit user /u/Boredombringsthis
The first time we were told anything in school about it I remember was perhaps 8th grade when teacher told us to stand up and pay a minute of silence. Since I and my best friend were the edgy teenagers, we were super annoyed."
- Reddit user /u/Boredombringsthis
ESTONIA
1. "I was just 7 and I do remember that day, although it did not really touch me at that time. It's kind of like how I think most Estonians remember where we were when we heard of the sinking of MS Estonia (second deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history).
It was a sunny day sometime around 4 pm, I was eating Domino cookies (like Oreos, but Finnish) while walking to my mother's work from school, in front of the then-Hansapank building in Haapsalu, and somebody mentioned a plane hitting a building in USA. I didn't think much of it at that moment."
- Reddit user /u/qountpaqula
It was a sunny day sometime around 4 pm, I was eating Domino cookies (like Oreos, but Finnish) while walking to my mother's work from school, in front of the then-Hansapank building in Haapsalu, and somebody mentioned a plane hitting a building in USA. I didn't think much of it at that moment."
- Reddit user /u/qountpaqula
2. "I was 7 and had just started school. It was my Name Day and my uncle had called me in the morning to congratulate me. I don't think I've ever been wished a good Name Day before or since.
When I came home with mom, father was already at home, which was unusual (he would normally come home a few hours later). He told me that there had been a terrorist attack in New York and they'd all gone home.
We spent the evening watching news, the replays of the plane hitting the buildings and the buildings collapsing. It was on loop permanently. I think that event was actually quite influential for our national TV to start becoming a little bit more modern in their presentations.
Regarding the 'Estonian 9/11', that would probably be the sinking of MS Estonia in 1994, but that I do not remember."
- Reddit user /u/sanderudam
When I came home with mom, father was already at home, which was unusual (he would normally come home a few hours later). He told me that there had been a terrorist attack in New York and they'd all gone home.
We spent the evening watching news, the replays of the plane hitting the buildings and the buildings collapsing. It was on loop permanently. I think that event was actually quite influential for our national TV to start becoming a little bit more modern in their presentations.
Regarding the 'Estonian 9/11', that would probably be the sinking of MS Estonia in 1994, but that I do not remember."
- Reddit user /u/sanderudam
3. "Was driving back to office with a colleague after a customer meeting, heard it on radio. The number of people present in the buildings.. did not immediately register with me, so I assumed there would be hundreds not thousands of deaths.
In the evening after reading the news, I concluded that yet another war would start in Afghanistan and I wrote a blog article about previous wars in Afghanistan. I knew that war would follow, but hoped it would not be a senseless one. I became interested in foreign policy and started observing what would happen. History later proved my hopes less than correct. Change was achieved, but with too much collateral damage and too much cutting of corners. Important principles were discarded along the way. As a result of learning about the aftermath, the image of the US changed in my eyes from an almost fully positive image to more of a 'loose cannon.' Instead of full support, I shifted towards having many reservations. I learned that good intent isn't enough.
In a way, Bin Laden achieved his objective indirectly: he provoked the US to make lots of mistakes, and a superpower's single mistake exceeded his full capacity to inflict harm by multiple times... and mistakes were many.
I still feel sad for the people who lost their lives, both in the US and Afghanistan, and by some logic in Iraq, and subsequently in Syria... because it all snowballed. Afghanistan became both a reason and a hurdle against success in Iraq. Iraq became a reason for ISIS/Daesh to exist and conquer much of Syria.
In retrospect, I strongly feel that the response should have been handled very differently. Hindsight is much better informed than foresight, of course, but... it was a geopolitical turning point for the worse."
- Reddit user /u/perestroika-pw
In the evening after reading the news, I concluded that yet another war would start in Afghanistan and I wrote a blog article about previous wars in Afghanistan. I knew that war would follow, but hoped it would not be a senseless one. I became interested in foreign policy and started observing what would happen. History later proved my hopes less than correct. Change was achieved, but with too much collateral damage and too much cutting of corners. Important principles were discarded along the way. As a result of learning about the aftermath, the image of the US changed in my eyes from an almost fully positive image to more of a 'loose cannon.' Instead of full support, I shifted towards having many reservations. I learned that good intent isn't enough.
In a way, Bin Laden achieved his objective indirectly: he provoked the US to make lots of mistakes, and a superpower's single mistake exceeded his full capacity to inflict harm by multiple times... and mistakes were many.
I still feel sad for the people who lost their lives, both in the US and Afghanistan, and by some logic in Iraq, and subsequently in Syria... because it all snowballed. Afghanistan became both a reason and a hurdle against success in Iraq. Iraq became a reason for ISIS/Daesh to exist and conquer much of Syria.
In retrospect, I strongly feel that the response should have been handled very differently. Hindsight is much better informed than foresight, of course, but... it was a geopolitical turning point for the worse."
- Reddit user /u/perestroika-pw
4. "4th grade, I was at school and only one of my classmates had a cellphone. His father had called him and had told the story. I remember asking whether the Empire State Building was still intact because it was the only building I knew in NYC, I had never heard of the WTC towers. I skipped my last class, took the bus home, ran towards home and turned on the TV. I had no remote and I did it by hand and the TV was on a high shelf, so I barely reached it. I remember my first sight of the flaming towers and of their collapse. I remained ogling the TV, both mesmerized and frightened."
- Reddit user /u/k6lvatu
- Reddit user /u/k6lvatu
5. "I was 6 y/o at the time and was sitting by the table in the living room drawing. Mom came into the room to watch the 9 o'clock news and the attack on the WTC was the main topic of the day. We both were watching it, but for some reason it didn't click that this was a real thing. I thought that this was from some kind of action movie. It took a few years before I understood that this was something that actually happened."
- Reddit user /u/Hellmaze
- Reddit user /u/Hellmaze
6. "I was at grandma's when the news hit TV. The family kind of just looked on in silence, confused at what the world has come to. The news was always droning on about bombings and killings due to the Second Chechen War, ETA in Spain, IRA in Ireland, Yugoslavian, Palestine, individual 'Bomb men of Pae street', etc. So to this backdrop, ramming the towers was definitely more spectacular than say, derailing a high speed train or rigging a gas explosion, but at least I hardly felt any extra emotion, this was just humanity's sad everyday and somewhat in the category of 'crazy stuff foreigners do'."
- Reddit user /u/AMidnightRaver
- Reddit user /u/AMidnightRaver
7. "Was 7 years old, watching MacGyver on Kanal 2 which was cancelled abruptly due to urgent news. Still remember the clips of people jumping down."
- Reddit user /u/massinelaarning
- Reddit user /u/massinelaarning
FRANCE
1. "I'm an ex-pat from Minnesota, who was living in France working in a translation agency. I was trying to meet some kind of deadline and my colleagues starting saying,
'Um, something's going on in New York...'
Which we all thought was a tragic plane crash. I went back to my document, and a bit later heard,
'You gotta see this...'
By then, the internet was inaccessible. It was the end of the day and I had to go pick up my son from after-school day care. When we got to the apartment, I told him that something terrible had happened back home and we needed to turn on the news. It was completely surreal seeing special bulletins on all the channels and the visibly shaken journalists.
Then we saw the towers fall."
- Reddit user /u/princessestef
'Um, something's going on in New York...'
Which we all thought was a tragic plane crash. I went back to my document, and a bit later heard,
'You gotta see this...'
By then, the internet was inaccessible. It was the end of the day and I had to go pick up my son from after-school day care. When we got to the apartment, I told him that something terrible had happened back home and we needed to turn on the news. It was completely surreal seeing special bulletins on all the channels and the visibly shaken journalists.
Then we saw the towers fall."
- Reddit user /u/princessestef
2. "I was 31, an American living in France, and my ex and I both had the afternoon off work. We had just pulled into a parking spot at the local shopping center when the news came on the radio. I don't remember the exact words on the broadcast, but I know I was in a state of shock when I picked our kids up at school an hour or so later.
Our TV antenna only received one channel at the time, and I remember going to a neighbor's house that evening to see if they received any channels from the UK, because they had a satellite dish. There was no language barrier; I was just looking for other coverage than what we were getting. News on the internet did not travel as fast then as it does now and we still had dial-up anyway."
- Reddit user /u/kerrtney
Our TV antenna only received one channel at the time, and I remember going to a neighbor's house that evening to see if they received any channels from the UK, because they had a satellite dish. There was no language barrier; I was just looking for other coverage than what we were getting. News on the internet did not travel as fast then as it does now and we still had dial-up anyway."
- Reddit user /u/kerrtney
3. "Unfortunately, I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for a wine tasting together with my class, because our graduation trip lead us to southern France. Suffice to say, when we returned to our hotel at around 2 pm we were rather drunk.
First thing we noticed was that everyone was hanging out at the bar, where the public telly was. I remember one of my mates shouting something like,
'Oh great, another Die Hard movie! I'm off to the pool!'
Then some of us realised that neither Bruce Willis nor his soft spot for saving the world were to be found, mainly because it wasn't a Hollywood movie on the screen, but CNN.
None of us were in the mood for more reveling afterwards, and most of us were well aware that the world we knew was about to end just like that. Sadly, we were right."
- Reddit user /u/ColourFox
First thing we noticed was that everyone was hanging out at the bar, where the public telly was. I remember one of my mates shouting something like,
'Oh great, another Die Hard movie! I'm off to the pool!'
Then some of us realised that neither Bruce Willis nor his soft spot for saving the world were to be found, mainly because it wasn't a Hollywood movie on the screen, but CNN.
None of us were in the mood for more reveling afterwards, and most of us were well aware that the world we knew was about to end just like that. Sadly, we were right."
- Reddit user /u/ColourFox
GERMANY
1. "I was in the US Army stationed in Darmstadt, Germany. We were in a class in the battalion HQ when someone came in and announced the first tower had been hit. Class went on until they came back in and announced the second tower had been hit. We were immediately released and told to go get our gear and report to our company where we were placed on perpetual guard duty. Things were pretty hectic for a few days. We were put on guard duty at random locations all over the area. I don't think I actually went home for three days."
- Reddit user /u/noodlenugget
- Reddit user /u/noodlenugget
2. "I had just separated from the military and moved to Germany to join my husband, who is in the military. I was in my second trimester of pregnancy and I was getting ready to run to the base and drop off some paperwork. I couldn't find my car keys and out of frustration, sat down to watch TV for a few minutes. I turned on European (England) CNN and saw the first tower on fire. As I was watching, the second plane hit the other tower. My husband called a few minutes later telling me to stay home, the base was locked down. I did not see him for over 24 hours.
Six weeks later I gave birth to a two month premature baby at an American army hospital. I was fortunately able to live at the hospital with him for three weeks until he could come home. The security was so heavy that getting in and out of the hospital was very difficult. My husband was in the first round of Airmen that shipped out to Iraq and that again threw us for a loop.
That entire phase of my life with a new marriage, moving overseas, 9/11 and a preemie was definitely very trying. Especially in the absence of no friends and family physically available for support. I appreciated the fact that our country seemed more unified than it had in decades and that is a feeling that we could so desperately use right now."
- Misty Betancourt
Six weeks later I gave birth to a two month premature baby at an American army hospital. I was fortunately able to live at the hospital with him for three weeks until he could come home. The security was so heavy that getting in and out of the hospital was very difficult. My husband was in the first round of Airmen that shipped out to Iraq and that again threw us for a loop.
That entire phase of my life with a new marriage, moving overseas, 9/11 and a preemie was definitely very trying. Especially in the absence of no friends and family physically available for support. I appreciated the fact that our country seemed more unified than it had in decades and that is a feeling that we could so desperately use right now."
- Misty Betancourt
3. "I was six when the towers fell. It was late after noon and my twin sister and I were sitting in the living room with our parents when they suddenly brought in live footage from the towers. I have never seen my dad cry before and I will never forget how horrified my mother looked as she sent me and my sister out of the room.
Months later it was revealed that one of the hijackers lived in Hamburg, just a few streets away from my school."
- Rick Makolla
Months later it was revealed that one of the hijackers lived in Hamburg, just a few streets away from my school."
- Rick Makolla
4. "I was 12 and on a school trip in 6th grade. We were on a hike through the forest when my teacher received a call on her mobile phone. She did not tell us the details of what happened but from what we understood, a building in the US was damaged/on fire/exploded and many people got hurt.
When we got back to the school hostel, we saw the news on TV. I sat alone in the lobby and watching the muted TV footage while everyone got ready for dinner. A very young boy sat down next to me and told me he was scared because now there would be a war."
- Lisa M.
When we got back to the school hostel, we saw the news on TV. I sat alone in the lobby and watching the muted TV footage while everyone got ready for dinner. A very young boy sat down next to me and told me he was scared because now there would be a war."
- Lisa M.
Red Faction (2001) gameplay.
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5. "11 year old me was in her room playing the Red Faction demo. I kept playing it after seeing news about the towers and imagined shooting the bad guys who did it in the game.
- Reddit user /u/HornetNo9360 |
Dragon Ball Z German opening.
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6. "I remember that it had already happened when I got home that afternoon, my dad was fixated on the TV.
I ate something, did my homework, and tried to watch some Star Trek. It wasn't on. At 19:00, I was excited to watch some Dragon Ball Z and both episodes weren't on. I was quite pissed and probably played some video games instead. When my father told me what had happened my reaction was along the lines of, "Well...." The next day, I had basically no idea whatsoever why the teachers were so sad and expected us to hold a minute of silence. They never aired those two Dragon Ball Z episodes in Germany. - S. B. |
7. "I was 18 and came home from school, wanting to watch TV before going to my church volunteer work. A Tagesschau speaker announced the first plane had already hit and basically on every channel besides MTV and Viva was on a live broadcast.
A few minutes later I saw the second impact live. I had to sit down as I stared at the TV screen, that was absolutely surreal!
When the towers collapsed, there was an emptiness were they stood before... I was pretty dumbfounded.
I am normally not a paper newspaper reader but I bought a couple of them the next morning. I still have them.
Life changed after that. In Germany its now possible for the Luftwaffe to shoot down civil airliners. Security checks at airports are way more strict then they were pre-2001. The next couple of weeks we had the War on Terror as the constant theme in our politics teaching. We even had access to counselors.
Western Germany was always heavy inspired by US culture after WWII. There is a reason why the nickname of the biggest banking place in Germany/Europe Frankfurt at Main was called Mainhatten.
Around a half year later, we had the school massacre of Erfurt which was one of the bloodiest school shooting in German history. That school year was pretty ruff. It's crazy to think about it. Children which parents died in 2001 are now the age I was when its happened and many people that died then were my ago now."
- Reddit user /u/TheNimbrod
A few minutes later I saw the second impact live. I had to sit down as I stared at the TV screen, that was absolutely surreal!
When the towers collapsed, there was an emptiness were they stood before... I was pretty dumbfounded.
I am normally not a paper newspaper reader but I bought a couple of them the next morning. I still have them.
Life changed after that. In Germany its now possible for the Luftwaffe to shoot down civil airliners. Security checks at airports are way more strict then they were pre-2001. The next couple of weeks we had the War on Terror as the constant theme in our politics teaching. We even had access to counselors.
Western Germany was always heavy inspired by US culture after WWII. There is a reason why the nickname of the biggest banking place in Germany/Europe Frankfurt at Main was called Mainhatten.
Around a half year later, we had the school massacre of Erfurt which was one of the bloodiest school shooting in German history. That school year was pretty ruff. It's crazy to think about it. Children which parents died in 2001 are now the age I was when its happened and many people that died then were my ago now."
- Reddit user /u/TheNimbrod
GREECE
"I was 39 years old, it was terrible. We saw everything uncensored on Greek TV, I just wanted to get home.
We flew to NYC on a nearly empty plane full of freaked out passengers four days later, and saw the burning ruins. Had to reroute to Baltimore/Washington Airport and take a Blue Bus to DC, vs our flight to National.
I'll ever forget seeing the ruins in NY and at the Pentagon, both still smoking and burning"
- T. Y.
We flew to NYC on a nearly empty plane full of freaked out passengers four days later, and saw the burning ruins. Had to reroute to Baltimore/Washington Airport and take a Blue Bus to DC, vs our flight to National.
I'll ever forget seeing the ruins in NY and at the Pentagon, both still smoking and burning"
- T. Y.
HUNGARY
1. "I was 6 years old, at home playing the old Die Hard video game which was my favorite game at the time. My parents were watching the news, and I thought it was the movie... Like Die Hard."
- Reddit user /u/Catatafish
- Reddit user /u/Catatafish
2. "In Budapest, my kids arrived home from kindergarten with their grandparents. I was just looking at the pics on TV - perplexed and astonished and horrified. I do not know what I commented to the kids. Something along the lines of,
'Evil people like to harm innocent people.'
'But why?'
'They feel treated unjustly and unheard.'
Any kid knows that feeling and how he or she then might try some trick or tantrum to get extra attention.
- Reddit user /u/yelbesed
'Evil people like to harm innocent people.'
'But why?'
'They feel treated unjustly and unheard.'
Any kid knows that feeling and how he or she then might try some trick or tantrum to get extra attention.
- Reddit user /u/yelbesed
ICELAND
1. "I was 10 years old and I had just come home from school. My mom was watching the news and just as I started watching the second plane hit the tower. I can remember the panic of the newscaster when they realized this was not an accident.
Even at 10 years old I sensed this was a major event.
My best friend rang the doorbell and I shouted in the door-phone that he needed to go home and turn on the TV.
The next day at school we had an assembly and moment of silence for those lost in the attack."
- Ármann Erlingsson
Even at 10 years old I sensed this was a major event.
My best friend rang the doorbell and I shouted in the door-phone that he needed to go home and turn on the TV.
The next day at school we had an assembly and moment of silence for those lost in the attack."
- Ármann Erlingsson
IRELAND
1. "I was nine years old, and had started at a new school in Dublin not long before. It was afternoon in Ireland when it happened, and no one knew what was going on outside class, so we didn't find out until we were going home. Two girls from my class ran up to me as I was leaving and told me a plane had flown into the Twin Towers. I got into the car with my mom and we listened to the news all the way home. We heard about a second plane hitting, at which point it became very clear it was an attack.
When we got in, we turned on the TV and put on the only 24 hour news channel we had. There were constant replays, so I don't remember entirely what I saw live and what I saw in replay, but I'm pretty certain we saw the towers come down. That was a shock. They just collapsed like a house of cards, so neatly, first one and then the other. And then they were just gone. I remember seeing all the New Yorkers covered in dust, walking like zombies, in shock. We saw the Pentagon attack and the flight that crashed in a field. There was a feeling of being very uncertain what else would be targeted. My dad came home from work early to watch the TV with us. We watched the news for the rest of the day. It was horrific to think of all the innocent people who were dying.
We discussed it a lot in class the next day. Our teacher had spent many years in America; I think her husband was American. She remembered the Gulf War and teaching kids with parents who were deployed, and figured there would be a similar situation again. Bush wasn't popular in Europe (and became less so), but there was a big sense of solidarity with America that day. The American flag was displayed in many official buildings, and we had a nationwide minute of silence."
- Aoife Murtagh
When we got in, we turned on the TV and put on the only 24 hour news channel we had. There were constant replays, so I don't remember entirely what I saw live and what I saw in replay, but I'm pretty certain we saw the towers come down. That was a shock. They just collapsed like a house of cards, so neatly, first one and then the other. And then they were just gone. I remember seeing all the New Yorkers covered in dust, walking like zombies, in shock. We saw the Pentagon attack and the flight that crashed in a field. There was a feeling of being very uncertain what else would be targeted. My dad came home from work early to watch the TV with us. We watched the news for the rest of the day. It was horrific to think of all the innocent people who were dying.
We discussed it a lot in class the next day. Our teacher had spent many years in America; I think her husband was American. She remembered the Gulf War and teaching kids with parents who were deployed, and figured there would be a similar situation again. Bush wasn't popular in Europe (and became less so), but there was a big sense of solidarity with America that day. The American flag was displayed in many official buildings, and we had a nationwide minute of silence."
- Aoife Murtagh
2. "I was reading the 'Popbitch' message board during my lunch hour. Someone on the board posted:
'Have you seen what's happening in New York?'
'Have you seen what's happening in New York?'
Within a couple of minutes, a photo of the WTC with gaping hole in it was posted on the site. One of my coworkers called from Madrid airport in Spain as she was waiting to fly back to Ireland with a message for me:
'I know you're a newshound, so you might be interested in something I just saw in the airport - a plane's crashed into the World Trade Center.'
A bizarre coincidence: the week before I had seen a documentary on the National Geographic channel about a plane flying into the Empire State Building in thick fog during World War II. The picture online looked similar, though larger.
'What a horrendous accident. I hoped there weren't too many killed.'
'Terrorists' said someone on the board.
'How do you know?' was the response.
I sent a text message to my fiancee:
'Plane crashed into WTC in NY. Turn on TV.'
And I got a reply within 30 seconds: 'TWO planes.'
She had been walking in the door of the house when she got my message, and turned on Sky News in time to see the second plane hit, live. The anchor was speechless.
Terrorists, definitely. The culprits? First thoughts: the Serbs. Allies had blown up a skyscraper in their bombing of Belgrade. Someone suggested anti-capitalists, but I couldn't believe they'd be that crazy.
I went down to the TV room in our office, and tuned it in. There were live pictures of the two buildings burning. Gradually, more and more colleagues filtered into the room. We stared at the screen in silence.
'I know you're a newshound, so you might be interested in something I just saw in the airport - a plane's crashed into the World Trade Center.'
A bizarre coincidence: the week before I had seen a documentary on the National Geographic channel about a plane flying into the Empire State Building in thick fog during World War II. The picture online looked similar, though larger.
'What a horrendous accident. I hoped there weren't too many killed.'
'Terrorists' said someone on the board.
'How do you know?' was the response.
I sent a text message to my fiancee:
'Plane crashed into WTC in NY. Turn on TV.'
And I got a reply within 30 seconds: 'TWO planes.'
She had been walking in the door of the house when she got my message, and turned on Sky News in time to see the second plane hit, live. The anchor was speechless.
Terrorists, definitely. The culprits? First thoughts: the Serbs. Allies had blown up a skyscraper in their bombing of Belgrade. Someone suggested anti-capitalists, but I couldn't believe they'd be that crazy.
I went down to the TV room in our office, and tuned it in. There were live pictures of the two buildings burning. Gradually, more and more colleagues filtered into the room. We stared at the screen in silence.
Conor O'Clery's account of 9/11.
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Conor O'Clery, the RTE business correspondent, who had been in New York that day covering a conference that my company was taking part in, was talking over a phone link. He was watching the towers live, describing events as he perceived them, but then his voice choked.
'I'm sorry, I'm going to have to stop talking. I'm just after seeing someone jump.' Silence. The studio anchors went silent. The image of the second plane hitting was played again and again. I went back up to my desk and checked the Web: CNN was down, BBC was down, ABC NEWS was down. A lot of the contributors to Popbitch work for the British media, and the message board was still up. The board contributors had stopped their usual trivial gossip to post only what was coming off the newsfeed tickers in their offices. The occasional sick joke was made and the normally cynical board members told them to f*ck off. |
My colleague had been desperately trying to get through to her sister who lived in NYC. She had been in the mall underneath the WTC, trying on her wedding dress. She finally got her at home in her apartment. When the first plane hit the other building, she had had the immediate instinct to get the hell out. The security guards had barred the door and tried to keep her inside, but she'd elbowed them out of the way and jumped on one of the last subways out of Lower Manhattan. She was in her apartment, watching out of her window as the buildings burned, crying hysterically.
Then I got another text message from my fiancee - 'One of them has collapsed.'
I ran back down to the TV, and my colleagues ran in behind me. We saw the huge pall of dust and smoke. 'Oh my God,' someone breathed. The entire company was crowded into the small room, and we watched and watched, and then the second building fell. The death toll could be as high as 50,000. Those poor people.
'Car bomb on Capitol Hill' was the next thing I heard, then 'the Pentagon has been hit,' then 'four more plane transponders have been switched off and are heading over the Canadian border.' By now the Web was totally locked up, so I went outside and listened on the infinite bandwidth of the radio in my car. The various rumours were scotched one by one, but a plane down in Pennsylvania was confirmed.
World War III was all I could think.
Then I got another text message from my fiancee - 'One of them has collapsed.'
I ran back down to the TV, and my colleagues ran in behind me. We saw the huge pall of dust and smoke. 'Oh my God,' someone breathed. The entire company was crowded into the small room, and we watched and watched, and then the second building fell. The death toll could be as high as 50,000. Those poor people.
'Car bomb on Capitol Hill' was the next thing I heard, then 'the Pentagon has been hit,' then 'four more plane transponders have been switched off and are heading over the Canadian border.' By now the Web was totally locked up, so I went outside and listened on the infinite bandwidth of the radio in my car. The various rumours were scotched one by one, but a plane down in Pennsylvania was confirmed.
World War III was all I could think.
Tony Blair's response to the attacks.
|
Back in the office, nobody could concentrate, nobody was doing anything, and I told my boss that I couldn't work on a day like this and was leaving. He agreed. Several friends had also left work early and we arranged to meet in a pub. We and all the other drinkers sat in the afternoon watching the big screen, normally reserved for sporting events, as it broadcast images of what had happened, over and over again. Tony Blair came on, live, and the entire pub was silent, gauging the British response to the American situation. We all feared an ill-considered military reaction.
The next day, British fighter jets banked over our house - by an agreement with the Irish Government they were protecting the Irish coast, and the British one by default, particularly round Wylfa nuclear power station on the Welsh coast, just a few miles over the water from Dublin. |
On my way to work, I drove past the US embassy, and there was a line of people snaking far round the building, more than a mile long, lining up to sign a book of condolences in a little tent at the front of the building. Flowers were piled high by the gates. Phantom FM, the pirate radio station I used to listen to, had switched over to live-relay a Chicago-based radio station for the benefit of US expatriates in Dublin for that week. Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, announced a National Day of Mourning, scheduled for Friday.
Four years before, almost to the day, I had been living in Connecticut, and a friend came to visit me from England. We decided to go into Manhattan. We were planning to go up the Empire State building, but I said,
'Fuck that, let's go up the biggest one!'
We stood on the viewing platform at the top of the WTC, freaking out at the insane height. For weeks after 9/11, I dreamed of being up on that viewing gallery again, and feeling a sickening lurch as the building collapsed beneath me."
- Jimmy W
Four years before, almost to the day, I had been living in Connecticut, and a friend came to visit me from England. We decided to go into Manhattan. We were planning to go up the Empire State building, but I said,
'Fuck that, let's go up the biggest one!'
We stood on the viewing platform at the top of the WTC, freaking out at the insane height. For weeks after 9/11, I dreamed of being up on that viewing gallery again, and feeling a sickening lurch as the building collapsed beneath me."
- Jimmy W
3. "I was 14 years old and in school that day. It was a normal enough day until the afternoon when a lot of people were being called to the principals office and going home. I mentioned it to a friend (who actually had family near the towers) about how weird it was.
I plodded along as a usual school day, not doing very well at my work and failing miserably at flirting with girls. I arrived home at 4 to my mother running out to me to saying,
'World War III has started! China has bombed America!'
Why she automatically thought this I still don’t know. After calming her down and assuring her that China has not bombed America and Ireland won’t be going to war with China, I walked into my living room and watched the most bizarre event I’ve ever seen on the news. It was like something from a movie but absolutely, terrifyingly real. Even as a 14 year old I knew the world would never be the same again. These things happened in other places right? Not in countries like my country. How stupid 14 year old me was.
Thankfully as a now 33 year old I’m a little bit more clued into the ways of the world.....just a little bit"
- Reddit user /u/Detozi
I plodded along as a usual school day, not doing very well at my work and failing miserably at flirting with girls. I arrived home at 4 to my mother running out to me to saying,
'World War III has started! China has bombed America!'
Why she automatically thought this I still don’t know. After calming her down and assuring her that China has not bombed America and Ireland won’t be going to war with China, I walked into my living room and watched the most bizarre event I’ve ever seen on the news. It was like something from a movie but absolutely, terrifyingly real. Even as a 14 year old I knew the world would never be the same again. These things happened in other places right? Not in countries like my country. How stupid 14 year old me was.
Thankfully as a now 33 year old I’m a little bit more clued into the ways of the world.....just a little bit"
- Reddit user /u/Detozi
ISRAEL
1. " Mom was cooking as I came home from school. I saw on of the towers in flames on TV and asked her what movie was she watching.
'It's the news.'
Took me a few minutes to realize it really was the freaking news, live!
I still remember the plane hitting the second tower live."
- Reddit user /u/Shoshke
'It's the news.'
Took me a few minutes to realize it really was the freaking news, live!
I still remember the plane hitting the second tower live."
- Reddit user /u/Shoshke
ITALY
1. "I was 10 and living on the Support Site American Base in Naples, Italy. It was a normal day at school and we were dismissed at 2:00 PM without knowing that the attacks began at the same time.
I walked home from school and everything was eerily quiet. Many of our parents were at work off-base, so it was just dozens of us kids hanging out and walking home with no knowledge of anything.
I got home, turned on the TV to one of the five channels we had on military cable, and saw the World Trade Center on fire."
- Jake Paxton
I walked home from school and everything was eerily quiet. Many of our parents were at work off-base, so it was just dozens of us kids hanging out and walking home with no knowledge of anything.
I got home, turned on the TV to one of the five channels we had on military cable, and saw the World Trade Center on fire."
- Jake Paxton
INDIA
1. "I was 8 years old and at home when the manager from hotel close to our house shouted to turn on the TV and watch the news.
I wasn't sure if everything was running live but I clearly saw the footage of second plane crashing into the tower and was confused and horrified.
I don't really remember much that came after that day like the start of the War on Terror, but that moment has stayed with me.
I hope one day I get the chance to visit the site and pay my respects.
- H. S. Tiwana
I wasn't sure if everything was running live but I clearly saw the footage of second plane crashing into the tower and was confused and horrified.
I don't really remember much that came after that day like the start of the War on Terror, but that moment has stayed with me.
I hope one day I get the chance to visit the site and pay my respects.
- H. S. Tiwana
JAPAN
1. "I was 26, living in Japan, when my brother woke me up with a call around 6:30 am Japan time.
'Things aren’t very good in the States right now...'
I was half asleep, alarmed that he was calling so early, and didn’t really get what he was saying, but I gathered it was something big. I had no internet in my apartment so I hurried to the internet cafe and spent the morning reading the news online."
- K.C.
'Things aren’t very good in the States right now...'
I was half asleep, alarmed that he was calling so early, and didn’t really get what he was saying, but I gathered it was something big. I had no internet in my apartment so I hurried to the internet cafe and spent the morning reading the news online."
- K.C.
2. "Even though Michigan is home, I happened to be on a business trip in Japan along with three others of the company I worked for. We arrived in Nagoya on September 9th and then took the train the following day to meet with our Japanese partner located in Okazaki.
On Tuesday the 11th, we began our long and exhausting meetings. By the time I went to bed at 11 pm Japan time, the attacks had already begun back home. Due to the jet lag, I only slept until 4 am and knew that I probably wouldn’t get back under. I turned on the TV out of boredom and came across a station showing planes flying into buildings, then those buildings falling down.
As I slowly woke up, I could see that these buildings were the World Trade Center towers. None of the TV channels available were in English and I didn’t know a lick of Japanese, except for how to order a beer so my first impression was that this was some Japanese made disaster movie... But why was it on a loop? The towers were being slammed into and falling down over and over... That's when I realized,
'This is real!'
I immediately went through the long process of dialing an international call home and; fortunately, was able to get a hold of my wife. She was very distraught with everything going on, and of course my not being there. I was easily on the phone close to 2 hours getting information and trying to calm her down. With all airline travel in the U.S. had been shutdown, she was naturally concerned about when I could get back home.
I met my coworkers for breakfast in the hotel and could tell that they had made similar calls back home. We exchanged what each of us had heard, but not much else was said. We were basically numb.
The Japanese national from our office joined us and offered his condolences. We agreed to continue on with our meeting plan as nothing else could be done. We couldn’t cancel our itinerary and immediately fly back home since all U.S. air travel was shutdown anyways. When we met with our Japanese business partners that morning, they all offered the same condolences, all conveying how sorry they were for what had happened to our country. All the Japanese we had met were very gracious to us. We talked about how helpless we felt being so far away, and how we couldn’t wait to get back home.
On Tuesday the 11th, we began our long and exhausting meetings. By the time I went to bed at 11 pm Japan time, the attacks had already begun back home. Due to the jet lag, I only slept until 4 am and knew that I probably wouldn’t get back under. I turned on the TV out of boredom and came across a station showing planes flying into buildings, then those buildings falling down.
As I slowly woke up, I could see that these buildings were the World Trade Center towers. None of the TV channels available were in English and I didn’t know a lick of Japanese, except for how to order a beer so my first impression was that this was some Japanese made disaster movie... But why was it on a loop? The towers were being slammed into and falling down over and over... That's when I realized,
'This is real!'
I immediately went through the long process of dialing an international call home and; fortunately, was able to get a hold of my wife. She was very distraught with everything going on, and of course my not being there. I was easily on the phone close to 2 hours getting information and trying to calm her down. With all airline travel in the U.S. had been shutdown, she was naturally concerned about when I could get back home.
I met my coworkers for breakfast in the hotel and could tell that they had made similar calls back home. We exchanged what each of us had heard, but not much else was said. We were basically numb.
The Japanese national from our office joined us and offered his condolences. We agreed to continue on with our meeting plan as nothing else could be done. We couldn’t cancel our itinerary and immediately fly back home since all U.S. air travel was shutdown anyways. When we met with our Japanese business partners that morning, they all offered the same condolences, all conveying how sorry they were for what had happened to our country. All the Japanese we had met were very gracious to us. We talked about how helpless we felt being so far away, and how we couldn’t wait to get back home.
International flights into the U.S. would resume on Saturday for countries that met the new standards for airport security. With those new security measures there were many carry-on items we could not bring that had to be moved in checked baggage. Even though the flight was after 4 pm, we got to the Tokyo Narita Airport at 9 am to give us plenty of time in light of those new security procedures. Normally I would dress in a collared shirt to be somewhat professional sitting in business class, but for Father's Day my wife had given me an American flag T-shirt with ‘USA 2001’ printed beneath the flag. I decided to wear that instead and received many compliments throughout the day from Americans in Narita and fellow passengers on the flight.
The check-in process was rather lengthy. We even had our check in luggage opened by security for inspection prior to baggage check, as well as extensive questioning by a couple of airline representatives about our purpose being in Japan. Once we got through airport security and customs for departure, we were in the duty free zone of Narita. This zone was for all international flight departures, so from here out I thought everything would be normal as before. This was far from the case. It was extremely packed with people on edge and eager to get back home. The boarding process was very chaotic as officials tried to comply with the new rules. Those with carry-ons had their bags opened up and checked again, even though they already went through the central security screening check and metal detectors. |
The flight for New York had already boarded for the most part when they announced something had been violated in the security protocol and the process had to start over. All those people emptied back into the concourse area, which just caused more agitation for everybody.
I was very slow and deliberate waiting in line, and let those that were more agitated in front of me. I wasn’t worried about getting behind, as I knew they would have to board all of us eventually.
I was finally able to get to my seat, and relax. In business class they would offer us alcoholic drinks before flight departure, which I naturally took them up on. It was well over another hour before the plane was finally loaded and we were able to pull away from the gate. I let out a big exhale knowing I was headed home.
The most noticeably different thing on the flight was that the silverware had been removed and replaced with plastic cutlery which was honestly a bit comical. The meat that was served was difficult to cut, with the fork spines kept breaking. I’m sure the airline was scrambling trying to figure out how to comply with new security regulations, while offering the level of service they were noted for in business class.
Outside of that the flight was uneventful, I was able to get more sleep than normal after being thoroughly exhausted with everything that went on for the week. We made up lost time from departure, and landed a few minutes early.
We happened to be one of the first international flight arrivals in Detroit. When going through immigration, the officer said he was happy to see us home, and mentioned my T-shirt was a sight for sore eyes.
I drove home to see my family, where all of us were thankful and glad we could be back together again."
- Guy Schafer
I was very slow and deliberate waiting in line, and let those that were more agitated in front of me. I wasn’t worried about getting behind, as I knew they would have to board all of us eventually.
I was finally able to get to my seat, and relax. In business class they would offer us alcoholic drinks before flight departure, which I naturally took them up on. It was well over another hour before the plane was finally loaded and we were able to pull away from the gate. I let out a big exhale knowing I was headed home.
The most noticeably different thing on the flight was that the silverware had been removed and replaced with plastic cutlery which was honestly a bit comical. The meat that was served was difficult to cut, with the fork spines kept breaking. I’m sure the airline was scrambling trying to figure out how to comply with new security regulations, while offering the level of service they were noted for in business class.
Outside of that the flight was uneventful, I was able to get more sleep than normal after being thoroughly exhausted with everything that went on for the week. We made up lost time from departure, and landed a few minutes early.
We happened to be one of the first international flight arrivals in Detroit. When going through immigration, the officer said he was happy to see us home, and mentioned my T-shirt was a sight for sore eyes.
I drove home to see my family, where all of us were thankful and glad we could be back together again."
- Guy Schafer
KUWAIT
1. "I worked as a DoD civilian in Kuwait. It was a Wednesday afternoon (our work Friday) and we had just gotten home from work. I went downstairs to my buddies apartment and he had it on TV. Just after the second plane hit I thought,
'They're going to collapse.'
I hated being right."
- Reddit user /u/pappyvanwinkle1111
'They're going to collapse.'
I hated being right."
- Reddit user /u/pappyvanwinkle1111
MALAYSIA
1. "I was 16 and due to the time difference, it happened at night for us. It was the weirdest thing because I went to sleep not knowing what happened. Woke up, went to school and heard absolutely nothing from anyone. It was by all means a very unremarkable day.
When I came home from school that afternoon, I served myself some lunch, plonked myself in front of the telly and turned it on. I flipped the cable channels and as soon as I got on to CNN was when I saw it. By that point, it has been at least 18 hours since the attacks happened. They were just on replay, but I was watching it as if it was happening for the very first time. Naive, 16 year-old, South Asian me kept thinking they were talking about the Empire State Building.
From then on, that's all everyone was talking about. Newspapers, news, magazines, dial up internet at cyber cafes."
- Reddit user /u/Fishwhocantswim
When I came home from school that afternoon, I served myself some lunch, plonked myself in front of the telly and turned it on. I flipped the cable channels and as soon as I got on to CNN was when I saw it. By that point, it has been at least 18 hours since the attacks happened. They were just on replay, but I was watching it as if it was happening for the very first time. Naive, 16 year-old, South Asian me kept thinking they were talking about the Empire State Building.
From then on, that's all everyone was talking about. Newspapers, news, magazines, dial up internet at cyber cafes."
- Reddit user /u/Fishwhocantswim
MEXICO
1. "I had planned a four day business trip to Los Angeles, and at the last minute my best friend and I decided to spend a day in Baja. It was my first time away from my 2-year-old daughter. I woke up in a little hotel, walked down to the kitchen to get coffee, and saw everyone looking at the TV in the bar. The first plane had just hit the tower, and we were all in shock. There were no phones nearby, and the news said the border to the US closed. I walked down to the beach, looked up, and saw my friend emerging from a room upstairs. She had been partying all night with some people she met, and had no idea what had happened.
We found an internet cafe in town, and I madly emailed my husband and family back east. I was terrified of being separated from my daughter. Driving was so surreal, seeing children in uniforms holding assault weapons everywhere.
When we were finally able to cross the border at Calexico I knelt and kissed the ground, which alarmed the soldiers.
I had drawn a social story book for my daughter describing me being gone for 4 days, her being sad, and me returning just like I promised I would. The irony? What was supposed to be a four-day trip ended up lasting two weeks, with me finally driving home cross country."
- Reddit user /u/kablammywhammy
We found an internet cafe in town, and I madly emailed my husband and family back east. I was terrified of being separated from my daughter. Driving was so surreal, seeing children in uniforms holding assault weapons everywhere.
When we were finally able to cross the border at Calexico I knelt and kissed the ground, which alarmed the soldiers.
I had drawn a social story book for my daughter describing me being gone for 4 days, her being sad, and me returning just like I promised I would. The irony? What was supposed to be a four-day trip ended up lasting two weeks, with me finally driving home cross country."
- Reddit user /u/kablammywhammy
THE NETHERLANDS
1. "I was on a Dutch airport/military base in Soesterberg, working on the fire and smoke detectors when suddenly four armed guys who look very nervous demanded I pack my stuff and leave pronto. This was awkward since I was basically in the middle of my testing, and dislike having to do work with multiple weapons aimed in my general direction. They told me to be quiet and offered no explanation.
I was escorted back to the front desk in quickstep and tried to ask the guard there what was going on, but he didn't explain either. There was a small TV in the corner where I saw an airplane smash into a building. I pointed to it, and asked,
'Hey, what movie is that?'
'That's live, not a movie.'
I learned what happened by listening to the radio."
- Reddit user /u/Brinxter
I was escorted back to the front desk in quickstep and tried to ask the guard there what was going on, but he didn't explain either. There was a small TV in the corner where I saw an airplane smash into a building. I pointed to it, and asked,
'Hey, what movie is that?'
'That's live, not a movie.'
I learned what happened by listening to the radio."
- Reddit user /u/Brinxter
NEW ZEALAND
1. "9/11 all happened during the night for us in New Zealand. When I woke up I heard the TV on and this was odd because we were never allowed the TV on in the mornings. I usually stayed in bed as long as I could, but this made me curious. I found my mum just sitting there, staring at the TV.
Very surreal."
- Anonymous
Very surreal."
- Anonymous
2. "It was my final year of university and I was staying at my girlfriends place the night the planes hit. A buddy of mine was out on the town and the bars in Auckland stopped the partying to turn on the TV and watch the new.
First plane hit ~12:45 am NZ time. He watched the second plane hit live on a bar's TV screen.
I woke up about 7-ish in the morning to a text message from him sent five hours before.
'World Trade Centre Bombed. Pentagon Bombed. WWIII'
We got out of bed quickly to turn on the TV and alerted all my girlfriend's flatmates to what was happened. I remember the absolute surreal feeling to what we were watching. We all knew the world was changed. We all knew america was going to go f*ck someone up. I don't think we could imagine how lasting the impact of that event would be on the world.
At the time I lived with an American foreign exchange student, who was actually from New York state and who had family who lived in the city. She was trying the phone all day to talk to someone and figure out if her family was safe. They all were thankfully. We all rallied around the few Americans on campus and shared their grief."
- Reddit user /u/cptnflinty
First plane hit ~12:45 am NZ time. He watched the second plane hit live on a bar's TV screen.
I woke up about 7-ish in the morning to a text message from him sent five hours before.
'World Trade Centre Bombed. Pentagon Bombed. WWIII'
We got out of bed quickly to turn on the TV and alerted all my girlfriend's flatmates to what was happened. I remember the absolute surreal feeling to what we were watching. We all knew the world was changed. We all knew america was going to go f*ck someone up. I don't think we could imagine how lasting the impact of that event would be on the world.
At the time I lived with an American foreign exchange student, who was actually from New York state and who had family who lived in the city. She was trying the phone all day to talk to someone and figure out if her family was safe. They all were thankfully. We all rallied around the few Americans on campus and shared their grief."
- Reddit user /u/cptnflinty
3. "I was 14 and my alarm clock was set to turn on the radio. The news that I listened to was about planes flying into buildings in NY. My mum came in and mentioned it, but she often mentioned current events and I hadn't caught on to it being so big.
At school that morning I had a lesson in the Library and was watching the aftermath on TV. We had a girl in my year from America and I remember her being upset. I thought at the time, as a 14 year old, that it was strange that she was upset when she doesn't know the people affected.
Almost 20 years on and I am living in Australia, listening to NZ radio when the Christchurch massacre plays out. I'm a lot older than on 9/11 but I now know why this girl was so upset. I don't understand why, but the heart aches with grief for people you do not know."
- Chris McKenna
At school that morning I had a lesson in the Library and was watching the aftermath on TV. We had a girl in my year from America and I remember her being upset. I thought at the time, as a 14 year old, that it was strange that she was upset when she doesn't know the people affected.
Almost 20 years on and I am living in Australia, listening to NZ radio when the Christchurch massacre plays out. I'm a lot older than on 9/11 but I now know why this girl was so upset. I don't understand why, but the heart aches with grief for people you do not know."
- Chris McKenna
NORWAY
"I was job hunting in Oslo, going bar to bar asking for a shift. I walked into a basement bar, I think it was the Theatre Bar, and as I came down the stairs I remember thinking that it odd that there were only three customers and a bar man with their eyes fixed on the TV. I glanced at it and saw video of a plane hitting the second tower and a smoking building to the left which I thought was a movie ad. I walked to the bar and asked the bar tender for work, he said,
'Don’t you know whats happened? Look at the TV.'
I looked back and saw the screen and noticed now for the first time it was CNN and the anchor was talking. I watched for five minutes - walked back up the stairs - and went straight back to my accommodation. I turned CNN on and watched the whole next 48 hours straight flicking between BBC and CNN."
- Simon M.
'Don’t you know whats happened? Look at the TV.'
I looked back and saw the screen and noticed now for the first time it was CNN and the anchor was talking. I watched for five minutes - walked back up the stairs - and went straight back to my accommodation. I turned CNN on and watched the whole next 48 hours straight flicking between BBC and CNN."
- Simon M.
2. "I was just a kid, at our family's cabin. When it came on the news and my grandma at first thought it was an American action movie."
- Reddit user /u/DogsReadingBooks
- Reddit user /u/DogsReadingBooks
3. "The first plane hit the North Tower at 8:46 am, which would've been 2:46 pm in Norway. At that time I was in the first grade, and would've been on my way home from school with my older sister. I remember playing with my toy cars in the living room when my parents came home and immediately turned on the TV before taking their jackets and shoes off, which was very unusual. I asked what was happening and my dad just said,
'Some tall buildings in America are on fire.'
We only watched the news for maybe two or three minutes before the North Tower collapsed. I remember sitting there in silence with my parents watching the constant replays of the second plane hitting and the towers collapsing. I think the footage was the live CNN coverage, but with Norwegian commentary on top of the footage.
The next day all the students and faculty at my school gathered in a big circle in the schoolyard and held a minute of silence. I remember hating Osama bin Laden. To six year old me he was the most evil man in the world."
- Reddit user /u/FyllingenOy
'Some tall buildings in America are on fire.'
We only watched the news for maybe two or three minutes before the North Tower collapsed. I remember sitting there in silence with my parents watching the constant replays of the second plane hitting and the towers collapsing. I think the footage was the live CNN coverage, but with Norwegian commentary on top of the footage.
The next day all the students and faculty at my school gathered in a big circle in the schoolyard and held a minute of silence. I remember hating Osama bin Laden. To six year old me he was the most evil man in the world."
- Reddit user /u/FyllingenOy
4. "I was having a driving lesson. I came back to my brother all pale, telling me something awful had happened."
- T. O.
- T. O.
THE PHILIPPINES
1. "I was 7 years old and we were having breakfast with the TV was on. The usual talk show was now replaying the plane hitting the World Trade Center. I remember seeing that and thinking it’s got to be a joke, a movie! I saw people jumping out the windows and cried when I realized the repercussions of the collapsing buildings. The whole thing seemed so unreal.
That whole day was spent just glued to the telly."
- Reddit user /u/AnywhereNowhere
That whole day was spent just glued to the telly."
- Reddit user /u/AnywhereNowhere
POLAND
1. "I remember it very well. I was at school, My friend came into the classroom and said,
'World War III has started.'
- Reddit user /u/ColourFox
'World War III has started.'
- Reddit user /u/ColourFox
RUSSIA
1. "I was working on Tverskaya Street in Moscow when someone local named Yuri came and said that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center in New York. We all thought that he had a really poor and distasteful sense of humor.
Then we saw it on RT, the local news channel. The second plane hit and we realized Yuri was, for once, was being serious.
It was late in the afternoon in Moscow. The ride on the Metro that night was surreal. Many, many Russians asked if I was American, I guess I just 'looked' the part. They offered their sincere condolences. People I had never before met and would probably never see again were offering their sympathies and outrage over the situation.
The next day at the American Embassy in Moscow, the street was impassable from all the flowers left there by Muscovites in memory of those killed in the incident.
It made a deep impression upon this world traveler…"
- Martin L.
Then we saw it on RT, the local news channel. The second plane hit and we realized Yuri was, for once, was being serious.
It was late in the afternoon in Moscow. The ride on the Metro that night was surreal. Many, many Russians asked if I was American, I guess I just 'looked' the part. They offered their sincere condolences. People I had never before met and would probably never see again were offering their sympathies and outrage over the situation.
The next day at the American Embassy in Moscow, the street was impassable from all the flowers left there by Muscovites in memory of those killed in the incident.
It made a deep impression upon this world traveler…"
- Martin L.
2. "I went to a video games club, popular at the time everywhere in the country. Me and my friend discovered a game called Ace Combat and played the shit out of it that day.
Upon my arrival back home my father told me,
'Son, American was bombed to pieces.'"
- Reddit user /u/Cpt_keaSar
Upon my arrival back home my father told me,
'Son, American was bombed to pieces.'"
- Reddit user /u/Cpt_keaSar
SAUDI ARABIA
1. "I was in the USAF and was deployed to Saudi Arabia on 9/11. Because of the time zone it happened at the end of the day for us. A co-worker turned to me and said,
'Two planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is on fire.'
I laughed. It seemed absurd!
Over the next few days bin Laden's name started to be reported. It was kind of disturbing to be on Prince Sultan Air Base during that time. The coalition compound where we lived was built by the Saudi bin Laden Company and the name was stamped everywhere."
- Neil Belden
'Two planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is on fire.'
I laughed. It seemed absurd!
Over the next few days bin Laden's name started to be reported. It was kind of disturbing to be on Prince Sultan Air Base during that time. The coalition compound where we lived was built by the Saudi bin Laden Company and the name was stamped everywhere."
- Neil Belden
SENEGAL
1. "I was in West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I had no idea until late that night when villagers came to my hut to check on me thinking I had lost family members that day. In a village of 200 people, they had no idea how massive the US is. They were genuinely concerned for me.
I spent the rest of the night listening to the BBC but didn't fully grasp what happened until seeing it several days later in the capital city on a TV. Quite frankly, there was no other place I would have rather been."
- Reddit user /u/eelkabnets
I spent the rest of the night listening to the BBC but didn't fully grasp what happened until seeing it several days later in the capital city on a TV. Quite frankly, there was no other place I would have rather been."
- Reddit user /u/eelkabnets
SINGAPORE
1. "I was 8 years old, watching TV in the living room with my parents when the screen switched to the emergency live broadcast and my mom started freaking out, leaving me in shock too because that was the first and last time i ever experienced something like that. At a young age, I saw how evil the world can be."
- Alexandra
- Alexandra
SOUTH AFRICA
1. "I was 19 years old, working as a waitress at a pizza place. It was about 15:30 in the afternoon; I had Teletubbies on while I got ready for work.
The broadcast switched to news. I remember being upset because it messed with my routine (Teletubbies was part of my routine!), and at that point it was only one plane. It was a crazy enough accident that I stopped and watched, only to see the second plane crash a minute or so later.
I clearly remember thinking 'This is no accident' and a feeling of dread wash over me. I watched for as long as I could before I had to leave for work.
Because I left for work when everyone was going home from work, the roads were usually busy, but that evening there was hardly any traffic.
The broadcast switched to news. I remember being upset because it messed with my routine (Teletubbies was part of my routine!), and at that point it was only one plane. It was a crazy enough accident that I stopped and watched, only to see the second plane crash a minute or so later.
I clearly remember thinking 'This is no accident' and a feeling of dread wash over me. I watched for as long as I could before I had to leave for work.
Because I left for work when everyone was going home from work, the roads were usually busy, but that evening there was hardly any traffic.
I got to work and it was the quietest night we had ever had- this was a 10 table restaurant bar that did 200 covers on a slow night; if we had 30 people in that night it was a lot. We were connected to a sports bar next door, so we took turns sitting next door to watch everything unfold. The fear and uncertainty was palpable, and the main thing I took from that night was that the world would never be the same again."
- Reddit user /u/DawnWillowBean
- Reddit user /u/DawnWillowBean
SOUTH KOREA
1. "From Idaho, but was in the military station in Korea.
Time zones being what they are, I had just fallen asleep. There was a banging on doors up and down the hallway in the barracks followed by calls of,
'We are under attack!'
At first I thought it was a joke. There was no shortage of pranksters in my unit. I turned on the TV just in time to see coverage of the second plane collide with the tower. Seconds after, the screen went black. We truly were under attack, and a media blackout meant I had no idea what the extent of the attack was. I picked up my cellphone, desperate to know that my wife and son were safe, but cell towers were overloaded and I couldn’t get a call through.
I was still trying to call home when all leadership got called to report to the commanding officer for a briefing. We were told there were coordinated attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon, and that the theatre commander had ordered a media blackout. All information would come through the chain of command. All flights had been grounded, so if we had any personnel on leave we needed to get in contact with them ASAP. The gates were locked and no one was allowed through under any circumstances, so if were had personnel outside we needed to find them at the fence line to give them an update and set a daily meeting time to check on them as well.
It was five days before two of my soldiers were allowed back in the gate. It was seven days before I was able to talk to my wife and hear that she was okay. There was one soldier who lived across the hall in the barracks who was in NYC on the day and rushed into the towers to help where he could. He never made it back."
- Reddit user /u/Nottherealeddy
Time zones being what they are, I had just fallen asleep. There was a banging on doors up and down the hallway in the barracks followed by calls of,
'We are under attack!'
At first I thought it was a joke. There was no shortage of pranksters in my unit. I turned on the TV just in time to see coverage of the second plane collide with the tower. Seconds after, the screen went black. We truly were under attack, and a media blackout meant I had no idea what the extent of the attack was. I picked up my cellphone, desperate to know that my wife and son were safe, but cell towers were overloaded and I couldn’t get a call through.
I was still trying to call home when all leadership got called to report to the commanding officer for a briefing. We were told there were coordinated attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon, and that the theatre commander had ordered a media blackout. All information would come through the chain of command. All flights had been grounded, so if we had any personnel on leave we needed to get in contact with them ASAP. The gates were locked and no one was allowed through under any circumstances, so if were had personnel outside we needed to find them at the fence line to give them an update and set a daily meeting time to check on them as well.
It was five days before two of my soldiers were allowed back in the gate. It was seven days before I was able to talk to my wife and hear that she was okay. There was one soldier who lived across the hall in the barracks who was in NYC on the day and rushed into the towers to help where he could. He never made it back."
- Reddit user /u/Nottherealeddy
SWEDEN
1. "I vaguely remember it, I had just got home from school. It would've been around 15.00 local time, and 7 year old me wanted to watch MTV or something, but my mom said that she had to watch the news. So she did, for hours.
She tried to explain to me what was going on but I probably either didn't understand or didn't really care at the time. We held a minute of silence in the following days at school. It was one of three silent minutes that we held at our school during my time there, with the others being for the murder of then Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh in 2003 and the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
She tried to explain to me what was going on but I probably either didn't understand or didn't really care at the time. We held a minute of silence in the following days at school. It was one of three silent minutes that we held at our school during my time there, with the others being for the murder of then Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh in 2003 and the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
Here is the front page of Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, Wednesday, September 12th. The whole paper was dedicated to cover to attacks.
[TRANSLATION:]
THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH
Thousands dead in the USA - President Bush: America will hunt and punish the perpetrators - Flight ban over Brussels - NATO ambassadors in emergency meeting - French Air Force raise its readiness - Israel closes its borders - Charter flights to the US cancelled - Raised readiness at American bases in Japan - Civilian aircraft banned from London airspace - Russian Military in emergency readiness - US border to Canada and Mexico closed - Stock exchange in free fall all over the world.
- Reddit user /u/AirportCreep
[TRANSLATION:]
THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH
Thousands dead in the USA - President Bush: America will hunt and punish the perpetrators - Flight ban over Brussels - NATO ambassadors in emergency meeting - French Air Force raise its readiness - Israel closes its borders - Charter flights to the US cancelled - Raised readiness at American bases in Japan - Civilian aircraft banned from London airspace - Russian Military in emergency readiness - US border to Canada and Mexico closed - Stock exchange in free fall all over the world.
- Reddit user /u/AirportCreep
SWITZERLAND
1. "I was 5 years old, at the dentist with my siblings and my dad. He used to work for a big international company and had many American business acquaintances and friends and all of a sudden he kept getting calls and text messages. We drove home right after and saw what happened on TV.
My parents tried their best to tell me what had happened and to put it into context. It really bothered me and me and my siblings apparently wouldn't sleep well at night after the attacks, I kept having bad dreams. Somehow, even though I was very young, 9/11 and the severe horrors of it got to me and brought a life-long lasting sense of how cruel some people can be."
- Reddit user /u/schnaebinase69
My parents tried their best to tell me what had happened and to put it into context. It really bothered me and me and my siblings apparently wouldn't sleep well at night after the attacks, I kept having bad dreams. Somehow, even though I was very young, 9/11 and the severe horrors of it got to me and brought a life-long lasting sense of how cruel some people can be."
- Reddit user /u/schnaebinase69
TURKEY
Soldiers landing at Gallipoli depicted in The landing at Anzac, April 25, 1915, by Charles Dixon.
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I was 15 from Australia, on holiday in Turkey with my family. We were near Gallipoli, a significant place for Australians and New Zealanders as it's where many WW1 soldiers lost their lives.
It was mid afternoon and I was having a nap in the hotel. My dad came in and said, 'I don't want to worry you, but it looks as though someone has flown a plane into the World Trade Centre.' We went down to the hotel bar where everyone was watching it unfold on TV. People were lending the American guests their phones to call home and the hotel staff were letting them use their computers to email. My dad called his friends back in Australia (which would have cost a small fortune then) and my mum ordered a gin from the bar - something I had never seen her do before. At one point I went to get some food from a corner store. The streets were quiet as everyone was glued to their TVs. The guy at the counter of the store didn't speak English but gestured to his TV when I walked in and shook his head really sadly. - A. D. Sherman |
UKRAINE
1. "I was at the students' dorm, hanging out with my friends. When I returned to my room, my roommate told me that terrorists hijacked several planes and destroyed a skyscraper in NYC and a part of the Pentagon.
At first I thought he was kidding me because it sounded absolutely crazy, but a few minutes later I saw it on TV."
- Reddit user /u/lskd3
At first I thought he was kidding me because it sounded absolutely crazy, but a few minutes later I saw it on TV."
- Reddit user /u/lskd3
AT SEA
1. "I was aboard the USS Carl Vinson at the very southern tip of India. It was the day after my birthday and I was doing laundry when the ship suddenly started shaking as we pushed forward at the highest speed I had ever felt the aircraft carrier doing. We all ran to our shops and I got there just in time to see the second tower hit.
I was an IC-man (interior communications electrician) so I had access to the phone system. I called my parents, told them I was safe for now and had just enough time to tell them I loved them before we shut down all non-essential incoming and outgoing communications. It was six months before I heard their voices again. 48 hours after the towers fell we launched our first offensive and in the 111 days we spent bombing straight we dropped more ordinance than was dropped in all of WW2. I came home to Boise almost 9 months after that and the Idaho I returned to was not the Idaho I left. Flags everywhere." - Reddit user /u/36monsters |