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The security checkpoint at Blue Grass Airport on 9/11 after all flights in the United States were grounded. (Photo: Joseph Rey Au)
9/11 Memorial in Greenville, KY
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Written Stories:
1. "Due to renovations going on at my grade school, my first day of Kindergarten was pushed back to September 11th. While I understandably don't remember much, I do remember the teacher from the other class abruptly coming in and pulling my teacher out of the classroom.
One by one the kids were pulled out of class by their parents until my mom eventually got me. I asked,
'Why did I have to leave after just getting there'
She cried, watching the TV."
- Colin S.
One by one the kids were pulled out of class by their parents until my mom eventually got me. I asked,
'Why did I have to leave after just getting there'
She cried, watching the TV."
- Colin S.
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2. "It was my birthday. I had taken the week off of work to just chill and celebrate properly. My friend and I went to see the Mark Wahlberg movie Rockstar the night before. We went back to her apartment afterwards, drank, and I slept on her sofa.
Woke up the next morning and when I flipped on her TV within a few seconds I saw the fist tower on fire. I did not think it was an attack or terrorism or anything - just thought it was a terrible accident. I returned to my apartment across the street, made some coffee and when I turned on my TV the second plane hit. I met my Dad for lunch and we were almost the only people in the restaurant which was absolutely silent except for the TV's in the bar. My Mom was taking me out to eat that night for my birthday, but the mall was closed and only place still open was Outback. - D. T. |
3. "I was in medical school at University of Lexington (surgery). All personnel were called into the hospital. As a Trauma 1 Center, we were told victims would be incoming. Air time is only about two hours.
No one came.
That's when I knew how bad it was.
The wait was eerie and when the realization hit that there would be no one to treat a wave of incredible sadness came over us all."
- Anonymous
No one came.
That's when I knew how bad it was.
The wait was eerie and when the realization hit that there would be no one to treat a wave of incredible sadness came over us all."
- Anonymous
4. "I was in 7th grade and could tell something was going on at school because word spread classes weren’t doing any work. Pretty soon the teachers quit trying to keep it from us and turned on the TVs in every classroom.
I was in gym class and some people were playing basketball while the rest of us watched the second plane smash into the tower. That was when our gym teacher quickly shut off the TV and went to ask the principal if it was appropriate to let us watch more.
Soon after, they let us all go home.
My mom was glued to the TV at full volume so I had no choice but to watch or hear it all day."
- L. C.
I was in gym class and some people were playing basketball while the rest of us watched the second plane smash into the tower. That was when our gym teacher quickly shut off the TV and went to ask the principal if it was appropriate to let us watch more.
Soon after, they let us all go home.
My mom was glued to the TV at full volume so I had no choice but to watch or hear it all day."
- L. C.
5. "I was up at early because it was the first week of college classes and I was nervous about not knowing my way around campus. I saw the attacks on the morning news and decided in that moment to suspend my university studies.
On 9/12 I was in a recruiter’s office asking to enlist.
It was shoulder to shoulder in there with kids just like me. The recruiters were ashen-faced and somber and didn’t play it up like they normally did, they told all of us what we were in for because they knew a lot better than we did what was coming.
A lot of people left - I stayed.
Not because I wasn’t scared, I was, but more because I’m an immigrant and it felt like the right thing to do. This country did so much for my family and it felt like a way to express that gratitude.
I ended up deploying in support of operation Iraqi freedom five times, and after a career-ending injury in Baghdad, used the GI Bill and returned to service in a different capacity.
Now I help other injured veterans get the medical care they need. It makes me feel useful."
- C. C.
On 9/12 I was in a recruiter’s office asking to enlist.
It was shoulder to shoulder in there with kids just like me. The recruiters were ashen-faced and somber and didn’t play it up like they normally did, they told all of us what we were in for because they knew a lot better than we did what was coming.
A lot of people left - I stayed.
Not because I wasn’t scared, I was, but more because I’m an immigrant and it felt like the right thing to do. This country did so much for my family and it felt like a way to express that gratitude.
I ended up deploying in support of operation Iraqi freedom five times, and after a career-ending injury in Baghdad, used the GI Bill and returned to service in a different capacity.
Now I help other injured veterans get the medical care they need. It makes me feel useful."
- C. C.
6. "I was ten years old, being home schooled. As part of my home schooling my aunt would take me to the library once a week to check out a book and I’d do a little report on it. As I was getting ready to head out my mom said,
'I’m trying to figure out what happened. It looks like this building is on fire.'
She did not know what the twin towers were.
I get back from the library and I’m eating a subway cookie and mom says,
'Oh my God, a plane flew into that other building!'
My aunt says, 'A plane? I thought it was on fire.'
I sat down to do my work at the kitchen table and mom kept the TV on. She left the room, I looked up as the tower was falling and said,
'Mom, that tower fell..'
Mom was always afraid that being home schooled would put me behind somehow so I was rarely given 'days off,' but we took this one off and watched"
- L. P.
'I’m trying to figure out what happened. It looks like this building is on fire.'
She did not know what the twin towers were.
I get back from the library and I’m eating a subway cookie and mom says,
'Oh my God, a plane flew into that other building!'
My aunt says, 'A plane? I thought it was on fire.'
I sat down to do my work at the kitchen table and mom kept the TV on. She left the room, I looked up as the tower was falling and said,
'Mom, that tower fell..'
Mom was always afraid that being home schooled would put me behind somehow so I was rarely given 'days off,' but we took this one off and watched"
- L. P.
7. "We were outside as a class. One of the students had to go inside to the office and saw it on the news. He came running back outside to tell everyone.
The teachers got all of us back inside and we sat and watched the news for the rest of the day.
It was strange not having any planes in the sky. There was a lot of confusion -- practically from every parent was calling the school, nobody knew if we were going to be sent home early or stay in the building.
As the hours passed and more planes went down (United 93 and the Pentagon), nobody knew who was next. Students who had family in New York, DC or other effected areas were allowed to call home."
- C.
The teachers got all of us back inside and we sat and watched the news for the rest of the day.
It was strange not having any planes in the sky. There was a lot of confusion -- practically from every parent was calling the school, nobody knew if we were going to be sent home early or stay in the building.
As the hours passed and more planes went down (United 93 and the Pentagon), nobody knew who was next. Students who had family in New York, DC or other effected areas were allowed to call home."
- C.
8. "I'll never forget watching on a tiny 15" screen TV at the law firm where I worked when the second plane hit. Surreal- Almost everyone in the firm was gathered around this tiny set except for the attorney I worked for most directly.
I went into his office to tell him. He was on the phone, but cupped the receiver to hear what I had to say. When I told him the Pentagon had been hit he began laughing uncontrollably.
This was a man that fled a war torn country, came to America, became a successful attorney and had just finished a brutal divorce that he didn't want. I think the absurdity of that moment broke him.
Later that day me, a few other paralegals and clerks went to lunch at one of the busiest lunch places in town. It was empty. There was literally not another table of patrons.
Only time I ever ordered a drink over lunch at that job."
- S. I.
I went into his office to tell him. He was on the phone, but cupped the receiver to hear what I had to say. When I told him the Pentagon had been hit he began laughing uncontrollably.
This was a man that fled a war torn country, came to America, became a successful attorney and had just finished a brutal divorce that he didn't want. I think the absurdity of that moment broke him.
Later that day me, a few other paralegals and clerks went to lunch at one of the busiest lunch places in town. It was empty. There was literally not another table of patrons.
Only time I ever ordered a drink over lunch at that job."
- S. I.
9. "Freshman year of college, I was watching Golden Girls before an am class. Went to take a shower, came back and Golden Girls was preempted by the second tower being hit."
- H. S.
- H. S.
10. "I was in 3rd grade and they made an announcement over the intercom about what had happened and that parents were being contacted to come pick us up. Being young and dumb, I thought they were talking about the one skyscraper that was in my hometown. My uncle picked me up and we had the radio on listening to the news broadcasts, that’s when I learned about the second plane and started getting really confused on what exactly was happening.
Two grades later when the Iraq invasion began, they took us into the school’s library to watch videos of the invasion. All I remember was watching a mostly dark TV screen that occasionally lit up with bombs going off.
It didn’t register with me that this was war."
- B. B. N.
Two grades later when the Iraq invasion began, they took us into the school’s library to watch videos of the invasion. All I remember was watching a mostly dark TV screen that occasionally lit up with bombs going off.
It didn’t register with me that this was war."
- B. B. N.
11. "I was in the first grade in Paintsville. I remember it being a normal elementary school morning, until another teacher entered the room and took our teacher into the hall. A television was pulled into the classroom, and the news was shown for the rest of the day, but no one really understood what we were seeing.
When my dad picked up my sister and I from school, he explained more. I was shocked that what I had seen that day was an intentional act, and that other people wished real harm upon others, especially in that kind of magnitude. As a 6-year-old, I guess you don’t think that some people can be inherently evil. I sobbed the rest of the way home, and I vividly remember my dad quickly turning the radio off in his truck because of how profoundly upset I was getting. I was terribly confused, wondering if an airplane would crash into my house or my school. My world view changed that day, as did that of millions across the country.
I consider 9/11 my loss of innocence."
- Kelsey Gray
When my dad picked up my sister and I from school, he explained more. I was shocked that what I had seen that day was an intentional act, and that other people wished real harm upon others, especially in that kind of magnitude. As a 6-year-old, I guess you don’t think that some people can be inherently evil. I sobbed the rest of the way home, and I vividly remember my dad quickly turning the radio off in his truck because of how profoundly upset I was getting. I was terribly confused, wondering if an airplane would crash into my house or my school. My world view changed that day, as did that of millions across the country.
I consider 9/11 my loss of innocence."
- Kelsey Gray
12. "I was in college, living in an apartment just off campus and sleeping in after staying out late the night before, and not having class until noon that day.
My landline phone rang and I went over and picked it up. My mother was on the other end. Her first words were,
'We're at war.'
She told me that Palestinians had hijacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center. In the fog of war, there were indeed rumors that Palestinians had done that, probably because there was media footage of people celebrating in Palestine.
I turned on the TV and saw the WTC on fire. I decided I wasn't going to sit at home and went campus to be with my friends. Right before I left my apartment, I saw some debris fall from one of the WTC towers. On the bus to campus, all anyone could talk about was the World Trade Center attack. Then there were rumors the Pentagon had been attacked, that a missile had hit it or something. Someone saying they'd heard the tower had collapsed, I thought they were misinterpreting the debris falling off that I'd seen a few minutes prior. The idea of the tower itself falling was unthinkable.
I got off the bus and started walking into the student center. Most all my friends were there at our usual hangout place on campus, watching the whole thing live on CNN. The towers had actually fallen! I couldn't believe it when I walked into the student center and saw Manhattan covered in smoke and dust on TV.
My girlfriend walked in, bubbly and happy. She'd just heard that morning at about 8 AM that her application for graduation was approved and she'd be graduating in December, but hadn't heard anything about the attacks. She actually upset that people thinking 'some buildings falling down' were more important than her graduation. It was the beginning of the end of our two year relationship. She became very bitter and angry after 9/11, acting like somehow it stole her thunder. She was never the same after that.
There were so many rumors that day, that the Air Force had shot down an airliner, rumors of who was responsible, rumors of what was to be hit next. Nobody knew what was going on.
They opened up the theater on campus and started broadcasting CNN live on the screen, so everyone could crowd in and watch the days events unfold live. I remember them deciding to evacuate Manhattan, and watching people completely empty out of Manhattan island.
I only vaguely remember that classes were cancelled for the rest of the day, so were all the club meetings I would have attended, and basically anything else anyone was doing.
I know the day ended with me at a local comic book and gaming store trying to clear my head, walking around to my usual hangouts in a daze trying to make sense of the world. They had a D&D gaming league going on there, but the people scheduled to play that night didn't show up, nobody wanted to play. I remember getting roped into playing just so they could have a game, but my mind wasn't there and my heart wasn't into it.
I remember there was an e-mail put out on the discussion e-mail listserv for our campus gaming club recapping the news, just in case anyone had been completely out of touch with the news but was checking their e-mail. I remember a friend who had graduated but stayed on the e-mail list mailed us to say he wished he was around us right now, instead of at the law school he'd just enrolled in and surrounded by people he barely knew.
I went to sleep that night in a much more confusing, much darker, grimmer world than I woke up to that day."
- Joseph Osborne
My landline phone rang and I went over and picked it up. My mother was on the other end. Her first words were,
'We're at war.'
She told me that Palestinians had hijacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center. In the fog of war, there were indeed rumors that Palestinians had done that, probably because there was media footage of people celebrating in Palestine.
I turned on the TV and saw the WTC on fire. I decided I wasn't going to sit at home and went campus to be with my friends. Right before I left my apartment, I saw some debris fall from one of the WTC towers. On the bus to campus, all anyone could talk about was the World Trade Center attack. Then there were rumors the Pentagon had been attacked, that a missile had hit it or something. Someone saying they'd heard the tower had collapsed, I thought they were misinterpreting the debris falling off that I'd seen a few minutes prior. The idea of the tower itself falling was unthinkable.
I got off the bus and started walking into the student center. Most all my friends were there at our usual hangout place on campus, watching the whole thing live on CNN. The towers had actually fallen! I couldn't believe it when I walked into the student center and saw Manhattan covered in smoke and dust on TV.
My girlfriend walked in, bubbly and happy. She'd just heard that morning at about 8 AM that her application for graduation was approved and she'd be graduating in December, but hadn't heard anything about the attacks. She actually upset that people thinking 'some buildings falling down' were more important than her graduation. It was the beginning of the end of our two year relationship. She became very bitter and angry after 9/11, acting like somehow it stole her thunder. She was never the same after that.
There were so many rumors that day, that the Air Force had shot down an airliner, rumors of who was responsible, rumors of what was to be hit next. Nobody knew what was going on.
They opened up the theater on campus and started broadcasting CNN live on the screen, so everyone could crowd in and watch the days events unfold live. I remember them deciding to evacuate Manhattan, and watching people completely empty out of Manhattan island.
I only vaguely remember that classes were cancelled for the rest of the day, so were all the club meetings I would have attended, and basically anything else anyone was doing.
I know the day ended with me at a local comic book and gaming store trying to clear my head, walking around to my usual hangouts in a daze trying to make sense of the world. They had a D&D gaming league going on there, but the people scheduled to play that night didn't show up, nobody wanted to play. I remember getting roped into playing just so they could have a game, but my mind wasn't there and my heart wasn't into it.
I remember there was an e-mail put out on the discussion e-mail listserv for our campus gaming club recapping the news, just in case anyone had been completely out of touch with the news but was checking their e-mail. I remember a friend who had graduated but stayed on the e-mail list mailed us to say he wished he was around us right now, instead of at the law school he'd just enrolled in and surrounded by people he barely knew.
I went to sleep that night in a much more confusing, much darker, grimmer world than I woke up to that day."
- Joseph Osborne
13. "I was in Kindergarten coloring with my classmates when the other Kindergarten teacher came in and told my teacher to turn on the news. None of us were paying attention to the horror that was unfolding on screen, all that mattered was if we stayed inside the lines. No words were exchanged about it.
Parents started picking up their kids and the school board decided to call it a half day. I got picked up along with my twin sister by my Nana and Papaw. Nothing was said about it. As blissfully ignorant as a child could get; I just threw down my Winnie the Pooh backpack, took off my shoes and went to the playroom to watch Nickelodeon. Nana and Papaw remained glued to the TV. Once my Mom got off from work, she finally explained to my twin sister and I what had happened.
'Somebody mean crashed a plane into the twin towers.'
My sister and I were in shock. As Kentuckians who have never been to New York, we were blissfully ignorant to what had happened
'There were towers, that were twins?, They're just like us!'
Mom burst out in tears because of that. She then went to the church to pray for our country.
I remember the aftermath more than anything, after all it impacted a good chunk of my early childhood. American flags flew everywhere and 'I'm Proud to be an American' played on loop. The was unity and pride for our country.
When George Bush announced we were going to invade Iraq, our class assignments included making letters to send overseas to soldiers. Before my eyes family friends, relatives of classmates and relatives of friends were dawning camo uniforms and heading off to war - A war that extended to into my adulthood.
Now my childhood friends and my fellow classmates have joined them as well. As a jaded adult who has grown used to the sight of war, I am no longer blissfully ignorant.
I pray for a day we can finally live in peace."
- Sarah Renn
Parents started picking up their kids and the school board decided to call it a half day. I got picked up along with my twin sister by my Nana and Papaw. Nothing was said about it. As blissfully ignorant as a child could get; I just threw down my Winnie the Pooh backpack, took off my shoes and went to the playroom to watch Nickelodeon. Nana and Papaw remained glued to the TV. Once my Mom got off from work, she finally explained to my twin sister and I what had happened.
'Somebody mean crashed a plane into the twin towers.'
My sister and I were in shock. As Kentuckians who have never been to New York, we were blissfully ignorant to what had happened
'There were towers, that were twins?, They're just like us!'
Mom burst out in tears because of that. She then went to the church to pray for our country.
I remember the aftermath more than anything, after all it impacted a good chunk of my early childhood. American flags flew everywhere and 'I'm Proud to be an American' played on loop. The was unity and pride for our country.
When George Bush announced we were going to invade Iraq, our class assignments included making letters to send overseas to soldiers. Before my eyes family friends, relatives of classmates and relatives of friends were dawning camo uniforms and heading off to war - A war that extended to into my adulthood.
Now my childhood friends and my fellow classmates have joined them as well. As a jaded adult who has grown used to the sight of war, I am no longer blissfully ignorant.
I pray for a day we can finally live in peace."
- Sarah Renn
14. "I was 26 yrs old, living in central Kentucky. My mom and I were in my car on the way to her doctor's appointment and she was gonna borrow my car after dropping me off at work. As I was getting out of the car, the radio announced the first plane had hit. I was running late and my mom was going on about terrorists. I just chalked it up to her wild imagination and said,
'That's nuts. I love you. Be safe. Call me later and tell me what the doctor says.'
I rode the elevator to the 6th floor where I worked for a bank. When I arrived to my office, everyone was standing up looking over cubicle walls at the TVs. As I was clocking in, the 2nd plane hit. I now knew then my mom wasn't imagining things.
No one worked, we all just sat or stood and watched the events unfold. My mom called me about two hours later. Since no one was working, I asked my supervisor if I could go home. My mom came and got me.
When we left that morning, gas was $1.49 at the station closest to my apartment. When we got back later that morning, it was $2.49 and the line for the pumps backed down my street past my apartment entrance. Three cars actually cut me off and blocked my entrance because they were afraid I was trying to cut line.
The attorney general eventually fined the store $200,000 per instance for price gouging. The people that owned the store filed bankruptcy because it was over $200,000,000 in fines.
I didn't watch a lot of network news or listen to much talk radio, so I didn't really get a good grasp of the severity of the situation until that weekend. I spent the entire weekend watching clip after clip of footage of our first responders rushing towards those buildings while civilians fled, of people who chose to jump from windows hundreds of feet in the air rather than burn or suffocate. I watched our nation come together in some instances and in other instances spew hate and fear at people who were just as victimized. I watched some countries offer us solace and other countries parade in their streets at our downfall.
It was my first real introduction to the vast gray area of life in terms of ideological principles. I learned to accept and judge the person in front of me for their specific actions and not to generalize someone by their associations with a religion, government, race, etc. It was a truly traumatic event. Three thousand people died and even more grieved those terrible losses. It made me open my eyes to truths I may never have otherwise been exposed to.
I'm not grateful for those lessons, but I try to appreciate them every day because of the terrible price they cost."
- Anonymous
'That's nuts. I love you. Be safe. Call me later and tell me what the doctor says.'
I rode the elevator to the 6th floor where I worked for a bank. When I arrived to my office, everyone was standing up looking over cubicle walls at the TVs. As I was clocking in, the 2nd plane hit. I now knew then my mom wasn't imagining things.
No one worked, we all just sat or stood and watched the events unfold. My mom called me about two hours later. Since no one was working, I asked my supervisor if I could go home. My mom came and got me.
When we left that morning, gas was $1.49 at the station closest to my apartment. When we got back later that morning, it was $2.49 and the line for the pumps backed down my street past my apartment entrance. Three cars actually cut me off and blocked my entrance because they were afraid I was trying to cut line.
The attorney general eventually fined the store $200,000 per instance for price gouging. The people that owned the store filed bankruptcy because it was over $200,000,000 in fines.
I didn't watch a lot of network news or listen to much talk radio, so I didn't really get a good grasp of the severity of the situation until that weekend. I spent the entire weekend watching clip after clip of footage of our first responders rushing towards those buildings while civilians fled, of people who chose to jump from windows hundreds of feet in the air rather than burn or suffocate. I watched our nation come together in some instances and in other instances spew hate and fear at people who were just as victimized. I watched some countries offer us solace and other countries parade in their streets at our downfall.
It was my first real introduction to the vast gray area of life in terms of ideological principles. I learned to accept and judge the person in front of me for their specific actions and not to generalize someone by their associations with a religion, government, race, etc. It was a truly traumatic event. Three thousand people died and even more grieved those terrible losses. It made me open my eyes to truths I may never have otherwise been exposed to.
I'm not grateful for those lessons, but I try to appreciate them every day because of the terrible price they cost."
- Anonymous