NEW JERSEY
"Where were you on 9/11?" as remembered by those in New Jersey that day.
New Jersey resident Veronica remembers the uncertainty that school children felt in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
1. My name is Veronica from New Jersey and this is my memory of 9/11. I had just started high school and I was in a study skill class. Our principal came running into the classroom, crying and out of breath to tell us what happened. She went to all the classrooms and buildings individually because she didn't want to announce it over the speaker and cause panic.
We had a perfect view of the New York City skyline from that classroom. The curtains happened to be closed that morning otherwise we would have seen it from the start.
When we opened them, we just saw smoke instead of the towers. Everyone gathered in the locker room as we waited for our parents to pick us up. Everyone was very scared and we thought bombs were going to start falling from the sky.
My mom took my siblings and me to our grandparents' house and then we went to my father's office closer to the city. He saw the whole thing happen from his window. We have a picture of us on his office roof with the smoke behind us. Some of my siblings were very young so they're smiling in the picture, not knowing what was going on.
It was such a strange and sad day and everything changed after that. I'll never forget it.
- Veronica P.
We had a perfect view of the New York City skyline from that classroom. The curtains happened to be closed that morning otherwise we would have seen it from the start.
When we opened them, we just saw smoke instead of the towers. Everyone gathered in the locker room as we waited for our parents to pick us up. Everyone was very scared and we thought bombs were going to start falling from the sky.
My mom took my siblings and me to our grandparents' house and then we went to my father's office closer to the city. He saw the whole thing happen from his window. We have a picture of us on his office roof with the smoke behind us. Some of my siblings were very young so they're smiling in the picture, not knowing what was going on.
It was such a strange and sad day and everything changed after that. I'll never forget it.
- Veronica P.
Written Stories
2. "I was in 6th grade English class when the principal came over the loudspeaker and announced there had been an accident:
'A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.'
As 11-year-olds, many of us didn't really understand the implications of this announcement. However, one girl immediately raised her hand, and in a very small voice asked if she could go to the principal's office... her father worked in the WTC.
Our town was a bedroom community, where many of our parents worked in Manhattan--including my own father. The girl's departure put the incomprehensible announcement into context, and we all began to feel afraid and uneasy. While we tried to continue with class, the second announcement for the second tower came. While our teacher continued the lesson afterwards, doing her best to keep our minds off this enormous event, our silence was due mostly to shock.
The rest of the school day was mostly a blur. Over the next few hours, many children were called out of school to go home with a parent or loved one. The classroom phone would ring, class would be interrupted, and a child would leave for the main office. Some children were taken home to wait for a parent who worked in Manhattan. Other children went home as their parents thought it was safer to be together on a day where so much was unknown.
Lunch that day was quiet. By 11:40am, at least a quarter of the students had been pulled out. A normally bubbly girl at my table was quietly crying into her arms, meal untouched. Her mother worked in Manhattan and she had no idea if she was safe. In 2001, children didn't normally have cellphones. Two kids did try calling loved ones at their classmates' request, but the calls wouldn't go through as the cell towers were overloaded. We had no way of knowing if our parents and siblings were okay, and we were afraid.
In the midst of our collective fear and anxiety, I felt blindly confident that my father would be fine, even though I knew he worked in Manhattan. There was just no way, I thought, that anything could happen to him or anyone else I loved. When I myself was called out of class and to the office, my father stood there and lovingly told me that he was fine. I gave him a hug and nonchalantly announced,
'I knew you'd be fine, there's no way anything would happen to you.'
Then I went back to class.
He had decided to work from home that day. He was extremely shaken, worried about his own friends in WTC and our country's future. These fears buzzed at the back of his head while he visited me, but the absurdity of my blind faith cheered him up the tiniest bit.
Finally the school day finished and I took a half-empty school bus home. My mother greeted me unusually with a very long, tight hug, and while I was in her arms she asked me to prepare the guest bedroom.
'In case any children don't have anyone waiting at home for them today, I've volunteered to take them in for the night.'
It was only in this moment, when I pictured a child needing to come to a stranger's house because her own home was empty and dark with parents who hadn't come home, that I comprehended the human toll of this tragedy. I ran to my dad's study where every TV station played the coverage, and for the very first time that day--six hours after the second tower fell--I saw the footage of the towers. I cried, my parents rushed to me and comforted me, and the fact that I still had both my parents to care for me made me cry even more.
My town lost more than 30 people that day, a few of them family to other children in my school district. The days after were lost in a blur, but that one Tuesday will always be burned in my memories."
- Anonymous
'A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.'
As 11-year-olds, many of us didn't really understand the implications of this announcement. However, one girl immediately raised her hand, and in a very small voice asked if she could go to the principal's office... her father worked in the WTC.
Our town was a bedroom community, where many of our parents worked in Manhattan--including my own father. The girl's departure put the incomprehensible announcement into context, and we all began to feel afraid and uneasy. While we tried to continue with class, the second announcement for the second tower came. While our teacher continued the lesson afterwards, doing her best to keep our minds off this enormous event, our silence was due mostly to shock.
The rest of the school day was mostly a blur. Over the next few hours, many children were called out of school to go home with a parent or loved one. The classroom phone would ring, class would be interrupted, and a child would leave for the main office. Some children were taken home to wait for a parent who worked in Manhattan. Other children went home as their parents thought it was safer to be together on a day where so much was unknown.
Lunch that day was quiet. By 11:40am, at least a quarter of the students had been pulled out. A normally bubbly girl at my table was quietly crying into her arms, meal untouched. Her mother worked in Manhattan and she had no idea if she was safe. In 2001, children didn't normally have cellphones. Two kids did try calling loved ones at their classmates' request, but the calls wouldn't go through as the cell towers were overloaded. We had no way of knowing if our parents and siblings were okay, and we were afraid.
In the midst of our collective fear and anxiety, I felt blindly confident that my father would be fine, even though I knew he worked in Manhattan. There was just no way, I thought, that anything could happen to him or anyone else I loved. When I myself was called out of class and to the office, my father stood there and lovingly told me that he was fine. I gave him a hug and nonchalantly announced,
'I knew you'd be fine, there's no way anything would happen to you.'
Then I went back to class.
He had decided to work from home that day. He was extremely shaken, worried about his own friends in WTC and our country's future. These fears buzzed at the back of his head while he visited me, but the absurdity of my blind faith cheered him up the tiniest bit.
Finally the school day finished and I took a half-empty school bus home. My mother greeted me unusually with a very long, tight hug, and while I was in her arms she asked me to prepare the guest bedroom.
'In case any children don't have anyone waiting at home for them today, I've volunteered to take them in for the night.'
It was only in this moment, when I pictured a child needing to come to a stranger's house because her own home was empty and dark with parents who hadn't come home, that I comprehended the human toll of this tragedy. I ran to my dad's study where every TV station played the coverage, and for the very first time that day--six hours after the second tower fell--I saw the footage of the towers. I cried, my parents rushed to me and comforted me, and the fact that I still had both my parents to care for me made me cry even more.
My town lost more than 30 people that day, a few of them family to other children in my school district. The days after were lost in a blur, but that one Tuesday will always be burned in my memories."
- Anonymous
3. "I was 7 years old, my uncle worked in the South Tower and my dad in a building down the block from the Trade Center. We could see the Towers burning from across the bay. Both my dad and uncle made it out of the city, but I can remember getting pulled out of school and going to my aunts house. We didn't know where they were, even though they both had cellphones the signal was down because the antenna was atop the North Tower.
Everyone was in panic mode until they made it out of NYC and back to my aunt's place before Manhattan island went on lock-down. I’ll never forget it."
- Anonymous
Everyone was in panic mode until they made it out of NYC and back to my aunt's place before Manhattan island went on lock-down. I’ll never forget it."
- Anonymous
4. "I was in my building on Washington Street in Hoboken about 1.5 miles across the river from Twin Towers. I was awoken by my older brother with the news and we went up to the roof after both planes had hit.
My brothers and I were filming an indie film at the time so took out our equipment and turned the cameras toward New York. We captured real time reactions as they unfolded, including the collapse. Unbelievable morning, to say the least."
- Judge D.
My brothers and I were filming an indie film at the time so took out our equipment and turned the cameras toward New York. We captured real time reactions as they unfolded, including the collapse. Unbelievable morning, to say the least."
- Judge D.
5. "I was 16 years old and attending high school in Jersey City. I was in the gym class weight room, watching the news on TV after the first plane hit. By the end of class, the second plane had hit and we all knew something was very wrong.
They ushered us into classrooms and told us we could call our parents to pick us up. One student said that her father worked in the World Trade Center and we all fell silent. Thankfully he got out.
My father drove to pick me up and on the way home took a back route through Liberty State Park. There was normally a clear view of the NYC skyline and Towers, but that day it was just a giant plume of thick, black smoke like an unholy volcanic eruption.
They ushered us into classrooms and told us we could call our parents to pick us up. One student said that her father worked in the World Trade Center and we all fell silent. Thankfully he got out.
My father drove to pick me up and on the way home took a back route through Liberty State Park. There was normally a clear view of the NYC skyline and Towers, but that day it was just a giant plume of thick, black smoke like an unholy volcanic eruption.
I don't think the major evacuation efforts had even begun because the park wasn't too busy. He drove me to my mother's house and I remember sitting on our back porch, lighting up a cigarette and not even caring if I got in trouble. I just sat there hanging my head in my hands. I knew on some level that everything had changed, but I didn't know yet what that meant.
As an adult I recognize that as the day my childhood ended. After 9/11 every time I went into NYC there were blocks and blocks of missing persons posters and shrines. The scale of loss was and is unfathomable.
No matter how much time passes I will always remember the feeling of unease, of realizing my safety was an illusion, and of those giant plumes of smoke on that terrible day."
- Colleen M. F.
As an adult I recognize that as the day my childhood ended. After 9/11 every time I went into NYC there were blocks and blocks of missing persons posters and shrines. The scale of loss was and is unfathomable.
No matter how much time passes I will always remember the feeling of unease, of realizing my safety was an illusion, and of those giant plumes of smoke on that terrible day."
- Colleen M. F.
6. "I was 7 years old, in northeastern NJ, 12 miles from the city. I remember being one of the last kids to be picked up from school even though I lived a block away. We just watched the news all day.
In some parts of my town, particularly the hill my high school is on, you can see the NYC skyline on a clear day. Some high school teachers later told me they could see the towers from there."
- A. N.
In some parts of my town, particularly the hill my high school is on, you can see the NYC skyline on a clear day. Some high school teachers later told me they could see the towers from there."
- A. N.
7. "Freshman year at Rutgers (30 miles or so from the World Trade Center). I was sleeping in my dorm when a friend bursts in telling us a plane crashed into one of the WTC towers. We watched the news coverage all day, witnessing the second tower get hit and the surreal images of them collapsing.
Friends of ours were frantically trying to get in touch with family members that worked in the area, but there was absolutely no cell phone reception. Later that night the campus was eerie. You had religious groups leading large groups into prayer circles, people crying. There was news of minority students of getting assaulted at frat row. Just a lot of emotion and no idea how to deal with it.
As the days passed, news hits closer to home as we find out the names of people we know that were gone.
Our school lost a lot of alumnus that day and they're honored every year."
- H. A.
Friends of ours were frantically trying to get in touch with family members that worked in the area, but there was absolutely no cell phone reception. Later that night the campus was eerie. You had religious groups leading large groups into prayer circles, people crying. There was news of minority students of getting assaulted at frat row. Just a lot of emotion and no idea how to deal with it.
As the days passed, news hits closer to home as we find out the names of people we know that were gone.
Our school lost a lot of alumnus that day and they're honored every year."
- H. A.
8. "I was 13, living on the NY/NJ border twenty five minutes away from Ground Zero. They stopped class to tell us what had happened and school let out early. Most of us including myself had family like my dad working on the same block as the Trade Center and a teacher's aide was on the plane that crashed in PA.
Phone lines were down and we couldn't call anyone in the city so I had no idea if my father was alive. The local news was showing jumpers, thinking they were debris. The car crash like sound of them hitting will forever be in my head somewhere.
Seeing the second plane hit, seeing the towers falls... there was so much horrifying footage. To this day I can't even look at even a picture of the towers. I've suffered with night terrors and sweats since. I'm not sure exactly what seeing it all so close and uncensored did to my young brain, but it did something that's for sure."
- T. D.
Phone lines were down and we couldn't call anyone in the city so I had no idea if my father was alive. The local news was showing jumpers, thinking they were debris. The car crash like sound of them hitting will forever be in my head somewhere.
Seeing the second plane hit, seeing the towers falls... there was so much horrifying footage. To this day I can't even look at even a picture of the towers. I've suffered with night terrors and sweats since. I'm not sure exactly what seeing it all so close and uncensored did to my young brain, but it did something that's for sure."
- T. D.
9. "I had just left my husband and moved in with my parents in South Jersey.
After watching the news all morning I went for a walk at Cape May Point at noon. Tourists hadn't heard about the attack yet and there was a couple pointing at one of the warships surrounding the peninsula,
'Ooh, Look that must be the ferry.'
Nope, not the ferry. The ferry doesn't have gun turrets."
- L. N.
After watching the news all morning I went for a walk at Cape May Point at noon. Tourists hadn't heard about the attack yet and there was a couple pointing at one of the warships surrounding the peninsula,
'Ooh, Look that must be the ferry.'
Nope, not the ferry. The ferry doesn't have gun turrets."
- L. N.
10. "It was my first week at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. If you walked 2-3 blocks from the school you could actually see the Twin Towers. At first everyone thought it was just some sort of an explosion until it was confirmed that an airplane struck the first tower. There was a full lock-down of the school with early dismissal and all PATH trains in Jersey City shut down. No one really knew anything until maybe early afternoon.
A few kids from my school lost their parents."
- Roger Marciniak
A few kids from my school lost their parents."
- Roger Marciniak
11. "Just got back from walking the kids to the school bus stop. My boyfriend was still home because we needed to discuss why he was spending so much time talking to his ex-wife’s sister. We were arguing, is cell phone rang and I could hear his sister-in-law screaming.
We turned on the news and saw the first tower burning.
'Surely it had to be because of pilot error!'
Then we saw the 2nd plane hit. I ran to the bathroom and vomited.
I was in Momma bear mode and wanted my kids with me. In my head the world was ending and I wanted them. My two kids and his two kids, all in different schools. I couldn’t drive because I was shaking so bad.
Looking up into the most beautiful, cloudless sky I questioned how God made something so perfect that day and none of us would be the same.
My cell phone rang and it was my ex-husband. He was panicking and lived a couple hours away. He wanted to make sure I was getting the kids."
- L. E.
We turned on the news and saw the first tower burning.
'Surely it had to be because of pilot error!'
Then we saw the 2nd plane hit. I ran to the bathroom and vomited.
I was in Momma bear mode and wanted my kids with me. In my head the world was ending and I wanted them. My two kids and his two kids, all in different schools. I couldn’t drive because I was shaking so bad.
Looking up into the most beautiful, cloudless sky I questioned how God made something so perfect that day and none of us would be the same.
My cell phone rang and it was my ex-husband. He was panicking and lived a couple hours away. He wanted to make sure I was getting the kids."
- L. E.
12. "Was in school, the teachers didn't tell any of us what happened and kept a good job at hiding it. I found out when I got home and had to flip the TV channels a few times because I thought it was just a movie with good special effects.
My neighbor across the street worked in the towers, we were worried sick about him and at 11 pm that night he knocked on our door to let us know he was okay. I remember him standing at the doorway with his suit and briefcase in hand, he was really clean looking... he said the firefighters hosed everyone off. We made him some tea and he just told us everything that happened.
It was like something out of an actual horror movie.
He was also working in the buildings when they were bombed in the early 90's so when the building swayed as the plane hit, he knew something really bad had happened so he ran for his life. You could see the smoke in the air for days in New Jersey. I have a few friends that have lost parents, relatives, etc. Really dark times."
- A. P.
My neighbor across the street worked in the towers, we were worried sick about him and at 11 pm that night he knocked on our door to let us know he was okay. I remember him standing at the doorway with his suit and briefcase in hand, he was really clean looking... he said the firefighters hosed everyone off. We made him some tea and he just told us everything that happened.
It was like something out of an actual horror movie.
He was also working in the buildings when they were bombed in the early 90's so when the building swayed as the plane hit, he knew something really bad had happened so he ran for his life. You could see the smoke in the air for days in New Jersey. I have a few friends that have lost parents, relatives, etc. Really dark times."
- A. P.
13. "I was 8 years old from Australia, traveling with my family on our first ever trip to America. Dad was there on a business trip and had brought us with him. We were staying in a hotel in Secaucus, NJ and watched it all happen from across the Hudson.
My mother and I love tall buildings, and whenever we visited a big city with a tall building that had an observation deck she would always take me up there and we'd get a photo together from the top. My dad and sisters are scared of heights so they never want to do that. When we first arrived in New York, I saw the Twin Towers and immediately wanted to go up to the observation deck. My sisters quickly decided that wasn't happening and we would go and see a Broadway show instead. Mum promised she would take me up the towers on the weekend, that was Sept 9.
We all woke up on the 11th quite early as the fire alarm had gone off in the hotel. Once we had been evacuated and then cleared to go back in, we turned on the TV and saw one of the towers on fire. At this point, they were saying it was an accident so Dad went to work at usual.
Once he got to the office, he said everyone was crowded around this little TV at the reception desk and they watched the towers fall. At that point, everyone was told to go home and dad came back to find us at the hotel where he was then frantically trying to call everyone at home to tell them what happened and that we were ok, keeping in mind the phone lines were completely jammed and at this point it was about 11 am NY time so like 2 am in Sydney.
We were unable to get a flight home for about 2 weeks after that, so we just continued as we were as much as we could until then. We ate in empty restaurants, visited empty museums and even watched an almost deserted Broadway show to pass the time.
When we did eventually get a flight home, we flew United from EWR-LAX-HNL on a pretty much empty 767, and then a Qantas-operated 747 they had nicked from Ansett who had gone bankrupt on September 11 brought a full load of Aussies home on a repatriation flight."
- P. S.
My mother and I love tall buildings, and whenever we visited a big city with a tall building that had an observation deck she would always take me up there and we'd get a photo together from the top. My dad and sisters are scared of heights so they never want to do that. When we first arrived in New York, I saw the Twin Towers and immediately wanted to go up to the observation deck. My sisters quickly decided that wasn't happening and we would go and see a Broadway show instead. Mum promised she would take me up the towers on the weekend, that was Sept 9.
We all woke up on the 11th quite early as the fire alarm had gone off in the hotel. Once we had been evacuated and then cleared to go back in, we turned on the TV and saw one of the towers on fire. At this point, they were saying it was an accident so Dad went to work at usual.
Once he got to the office, he said everyone was crowded around this little TV at the reception desk and they watched the towers fall. At that point, everyone was told to go home and dad came back to find us at the hotel where he was then frantically trying to call everyone at home to tell them what happened and that we were ok, keeping in mind the phone lines were completely jammed and at this point it was about 11 am NY time so like 2 am in Sydney.
We were unable to get a flight home for about 2 weeks after that, so we just continued as we were as much as we could until then. We ate in empty restaurants, visited empty museums and even watched an almost deserted Broadway show to pass the time.
When we did eventually get a flight home, we flew United from EWR-LAX-HNL on a pretty much empty 767, and then a Qantas-operated 747 they had nicked from Ansett who had gone bankrupt on September 11 brought a full load of Aussies home on a repatriation flight."
- P. S.
14. "I was a senior in high school sitting in my Allied Health class. We were just working on our laptops when someone got the news something big was happening in NYC. We turned on our TV in the classroom right away. Of course, none of the stations were working except one broadcasting in Spanish. We thankfully had Spanish speakers in our class to translate. This was about 20 min away from NYC so a lot of friend's parents worked there and people began to panic. One of my friends wouldn't believe us. Her dad worked in the towers and was also there for the '93 bombing. She was inconsolable. We later found out he was fine and walked almost the whole way home.
I called my mom because I wanted to go home. She worked at the recreation department in town and since its a government building she had warnings to lock down. She was petrified and hysterical and told me I had to stay in school because that would be safer. I don't remember much else but watching the towers fall on TV was surreal. I had been there just a year prior to shop and eat during a day out in NYC. Being so close, we actually had our sports practices canceled that afternoon because the cloud of smoke was over the town. It was very smoky for a couple days."
- Sandy Schiff
I called my mom because I wanted to go home. She worked at the recreation department in town and since its a government building she had warnings to lock down. She was petrified and hysterical and told me I had to stay in school because that would be safer. I don't remember much else but watching the towers fall on TV was surreal. I had been there just a year prior to shop and eat during a day out in NYC. Being so close, we actually had our sports practices canceled that afternoon because the cloud of smoke was over the town. It was very smoky for a couple days."
- Sandy Schiff
15. "I was in the 2nd grade and my school in northern New Jersey went into lock-down. My teacher told us what was happening and put on the news. Parents came in droves but they weren't allowed to pick us up for a long time while the school was locked down. When my mom was finally able to bring me home, I remember wanting to sit outside in the hammock. My parents said I had to come in because the sky was filling with smoke.
I don't remember every detail from that day, but I distinctly remember looking up as the sky turned grey."
- Sabrina Chapman
I don't remember every detail from that day, but I distinctly remember looking up as the sky turned grey."
- Sabrina Chapman
16. "I was in first grade in my small, southern New Jersey town of maybe a few thousand people. I don't remember much, other than my teacher reading us a story at circle time and the phone ringing. While she was on the phone, us little kids started chattering and talking amongst each other like little kids do. I happened to look over at her desk and all I remember was my teacher with her head in her hands, looking like she was crying. I didn't think anything of it at the time, because no announcement was made and we didn't have TVs in our classrooms. After a while, my teacher got up and went back over to us. We continued on like it was a totally normal day.
After school, my mom picked my older sister and I up and as we were heading out of the parking lot, my sister asked mom,
'Did you hear what happened? Did you see what happened?!'
My mom said quietly yes, she did. Again, me not knowing what was going on and being a curious little kid wanting to be included, I kept asking 'What? What happened? What happened Mom?'
My mom snapped at me,
'Some people flew a plane into a building!'
That seemed to be enough for me, because I remember not really asking any more questions or anything and just thinking, 'huh...alright then.'
It wasn't until a few hours later when my mom was cooking dinner and watching the small TV in our kitchen (she always watched KYW News at 5:00). I saws the news reporter walking next to the debris of the World Trade Center and all of the papers scattered around. I wasn't listening to what they were saying since it wasn't really interesting to me. Again, 1st grade at the time and being from a small town, I didn't know the true magnitude of what actually had happened.
Probably a year later on the anniversary of 9/11, the Discovery Channel had a special showing all of the amateur footage of what had happened on that day minute-by-minute. I remember my dad and I watching it and there was one video where you can hear the jet engines coming closer and closer until finally you see first plane hit one of the towers. It was then that I finally realized what really happened that day. Videos of fully-grown adults screaming and crying watching this all happen really kind of shocked me.
To this day, I think that that was one of the first times I realized how screwed up the world outside of my small life really is, and that I was sheltered from a lot of grisly things happening around me that were out of my control. When I was older, I ended up getting my pilot's license and I remember my flight instructor and I were up flying on a crisp winter day with zero clouds and unlimited visibility. He said to me,
'It used to be that on days like today, you could see the World Trade Center from here...'"
- Ken Walker
After school, my mom picked my older sister and I up and as we were heading out of the parking lot, my sister asked mom,
'Did you hear what happened? Did you see what happened?!'
My mom said quietly yes, she did. Again, me not knowing what was going on and being a curious little kid wanting to be included, I kept asking 'What? What happened? What happened Mom?'
My mom snapped at me,
'Some people flew a plane into a building!'
That seemed to be enough for me, because I remember not really asking any more questions or anything and just thinking, 'huh...alright then.'
It wasn't until a few hours later when my mom was cooking dinner and watching the small TV in our kitchen (she always watched KYW News at 5:00). I saws the news reporter walking next to the debris of the World Trade Center and all of the papers scattered around. I wasn't listening to what they were saying since it wasn't really interesting to me. Again, 1st grade at the time and being from a small town, I didn't know the true magnitude of what actually had happened.
Probably a year later on the anniversary of 9/11, the Discovery Channel had a special showing all of the amateur footage of what had happened on that day minute-by-minute. I remember my dad and I watching it and there was one video where you can hear the jet engines coming closer and closer until finally you see first plane hit one of the towers. It was then that I finally realized what really happened that day. Videos of fully-grown adults screaming and crying watching this all happen really kind of shocked me.
To this day, I think that that was one of the first times I realized how screwed up the world outside of my small life really is, and that I was sheltered from a lot of grisly things happening around me that were out of my control. When I was older, I ended up getting my pilot's license and I remember my flight instructor and I were up flying on a crisp winter day with zero clouds and unlimited visibility. He said to me,
'It used to be that on days like today, you could see the World Trade Center from here...'"
- Ken Walker
17. "I was in kindergarten and the first class of the day was gym class. We were getting ready to start that days game when a teacher ran into the gym and whispered something to the gym teacher, who looked like he had seen a ghost at that point. Faster forward a little to a bunch of kids names getting called for early dismissal, mine included (which never had happened before). We go to the office and our parents are standing there. My mom brings me to our car and starts driving home, she looks extremely panicked.
We get home and my brother and cousin are there, I remember looking at the TV news coverage when the towers began to collapse. Still not quite understanding what was going on, I ask my mother with the innocence of a child,
'When is this going to end?'
She replied with a soft. almost whisper,
'It never will....'
My father, who was a policeman, was at the county courthouse on one of the tops floors which has a picture perfect view of the NY skyline. He said time had almost stopped as they were watching everything unfold."
- Rob H.
We get home and my brother and cousin are there, I remember looking at the TV news coverage when the towers began to collapse. Still not quite understanding what was going on, I ask my mother with the innocence of a child,
'When is this going to end?'
She replied with a soft. almost whisper,
'It never will....'
My father, who was a policeman, was at the county courthouse on one of the tops floors which has a picture perfect view of the NY skyline. He said time had almost stopped as they were watching everything unfold."
- Rob H.
18. "I was in 6th grade, 11 years-old at the time. I attended a small private Catholic school in Woodbridge, NJ, which is about a 30 minute train ride to the city. We got news that planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and everybody thought two planes collided and fell into the towers...strange but we were young and at first found it somewhat funny.
Then kids were getting called to the principal's office to go home, starting with those who had parents working in or near the Towers. Teachers were whispering, lessons had stopped. Kids were getting anxious and sick to there stomachs from the anxiety and tension. By the end of the day, I was one of maybe 10 kids left.
I took the bus home and my Granny was waiting at the bus stop. I cried out,
'Why didn't you get me!'
As I jumped off the bus. Being the stoic, Irish-Catholic, first generation American woman she was she simply said,
'What good would that do, you are as safe there as you would be here.'
We walked home quietly. My neighbor took his kids and myself down to a nearby waterfront where we watched everything burn. It was smoke and sadness. People crying quietly, us children not truly understanding but still anxious and quiet for once.
That evening I couldn't stop watching the news. Nobody could though. I didn't sleep all night. I sobbed and sobbed thinking about the evil men coming for America. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing the towers burning, the clips of people in the Middle East celebrating our pain, the footage of people dazed, confused...covered in debris and dust. Before this I was so painfully unaware of worldwide events and politics. Truthfully, I am not a super patriotic person but I truly long for how united we felt on 9/12/01. Nobody cared who was a Democrat or a Republican, nobody cared who was voting for who in that moment. It was simply that we were all Americans and had to find a way to survive that days terror."
- Erin Walsh
Then kids were getting called to the principal's office to go home, starting with those who had parents working in or near the Towers. Teachers were whispering, lessons had stopped. Kids were getting anxious and sick to there stomachs from the anxiety and tension. By the end of the day, I was one of maybe 10 kids left.
I took the bus home and my Granny was waiting at the bus stop. I cried out,
'Why didn't you get me!'
As I jumped off the bus. Being the stoic, Irish-Catholic, first generation American woman she was she simply said,
'What good would that do, you are as safe there as you would be here.'
We walked home quietly. My neighbor took his kids and myself down to a nearby waterfront where we watched everything burn. It was smoke and sadness. People crying quietly, us children not truly understanding but still anxious and quiet for once.
That evening I couldn't stop watching the news. Nobody could though. I didn't sleep all night. I sobbed and sobbed thinking about the evil men coming for America. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing the towers burning, the clips of people in the Middle East celebrating our pain, the footage of people dazed, confused...covered in debris and dust. Before this I was so painfully unaware of worldwide events and politics. Truthfully, I am not a super patriotic person but I truly long for how united we felt on 9/12/01. Nobody cared who was a Democrat or a Republican, nobody cared who was voting for who in that moment. It was simply that we were all Americans and had to find a way to survive that days terror."
- Erin Walsh
19. "I'll never forget what a beautiful day it was on September 11th. I started my day as any Junior in high school would. Getting up early heading out to the bus, attending home room, sleeping through first period, and attending American Legal Systems. I actually enjoyed that class. Soon after arriving, my teacher began class but was abruptly interrupted by another teacher. He stepped out for a moment and came back in, turning on the TV hanging in the corner of the class. To our shock, is what we all remember - The photos and videos of the first tower. The charcoal smoke billowing out of it. We listened intently and the room was extremely silent; unusual for any classroom.
The broadcast was full of theories of what happened and speaking with multiple people on the ground. We were hearing everything from a missile hit the building to a plane to just an explosion. Moments later we saw live what the true answer was. I'll never forget the girls in class gasping and crying in horror. It was complete shock. Almost as someone was playing a movie and we were oblivious to the prank. The second tower was hit by what seemed to be a commercial aircraft. We all knew at that moment war was impending. Who were we dealing with?
The rest of the day news of other hijackings were spewing through the halls. I was constantly trying to call my father but the lines were jammed. He worked at the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City. So I wanted to make sure he was ok and if he knew anything more of what was going on. I believe the 177th provided air support during that time i'm just not sure how much. They were home to many F-16s.
All I really remember beyond that is how the country really came together. The days following really gave me insight on how something so tragic would also bring everyone together as one. I'll never forget that day."
- Bryan Howard
The broadcast was full of theories of what happened and speaking with multiple people on the ground. We were hearing everything from a missile hit the building to a plane to just an explosion. Moments later we saw live what the true answer was. I'll never forget the girls in class gasping and crying in horror. It was complete shock. Almost as someone was playing a movie and we were oblivious to the prank. The second tower was hit by what seemed to be a commercial aircraft. We all knew at that moment war was impending. Who were we dealing with?
The rest of the day news of other hijackings were spewing through the halls. I was constantly trying to call my father but the lines were jammed. He worked at the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City. So I wanted to make sure he was ok and if he knew anything more of what was going on. I believe the 177th provided air support during that time i'm just not sure how much. They were home to many F-16s.
All I really remember beyond that is how the country really came together. The days following really gave me insight on how something so tragic would also bring everyone together as one. I'll never forget that day."
- Bryan Howard
20. "I was in 7th grade in a northern NJ town where a lot of people commuted into the NYC for work. The high school apparently knew as it was happening and students had open campus and radios so everyone was just listening the entire day. There was a sticky note system at the front office when word came in if parents were safe.
Middle school was different though. The students had no way of finding out on their own and I guess the administration decided not to cause mass hysteria in a bunch of kids who wouldn't know if their fathers were dead or alive. Earlier in the day, one of the kids was acting out in class like he always did - with no idea that his father was already dead. So maybe those extra moments of ignorance were for the best.
The principal came on the loud speaker at the end of last period (Social Studies for me) and pretty much just said something terrible happened and God bless the United States. When my mom to pick me up a few minutes later, I remember joking that it sounded like we were going to war. I'll never forget how she simply responded,
'Well, we might.'
I was all of 11 that day and even after watching the footage for hours, I didn't understand what was happening. I knew it was important but I didn't quite understand why it was SO important. They were just buildings, right? It wasn't until that evening when I was taking a shower that it hit me - there were people in those buildings."
- Katie Thomas
Middle school was different though. The students had no way of finding out on their own and I guess the administration decided not to cause mass hysteria in a bunch of kids who wouldn't know if their fathers were dead or alive. Earlier in the day, one of the kids was acting out in class like he always did - with no idea that his father was already dead. So maybe those extra moments of ignorance were for the best.
The principal came on the loud speaker at the end of last period (Social Studies for me) and pretty much just said something terrible happened and God bless the United States. When my mom to pick me up a few minutes later, I remember joking that it sounded like we were going to war. I'll never forget how she simply responded,
'Well, we might.'
I was all of 11 that day and even after watching the footage for hours, I didn't understand what was happening. I knew it was important but I didn't quite understand why it was SO important. They were just buildings, right? It wasn't until that evening when I was taking a shower that it hit me - there were people in those buildings."
- Katie Thomas
21. "I was taking psych 101 in my first year at Montclair State University, where you can see New York City from the school. My class was talking non-stop about the first tower being hit and the professor came in confirming the 'accident.' When the second plane hit, you can hear screams in the hallway and we knew this was no longer just an accident.
The TV was turned on and we all watched in horror at what happened next. Our highways were on a standstill as everyone was trying to get into New York. It was a complete nightmare and for the next week, all the channels on TV and radio stations were talking about what happened. Our firefighters and police officers went over to New York to help out anyway they could and I remember seeing certain houses with balloons and candles burning right outside to signify they lost someone. The nightmare of this day will forever burn in my memory. But the other thing that I will never forget is how we became united as a people and as a country. This day is not just a day of sadness and grief, but it was also a day that made me proud to being an American."
- Angelica Monteverde
The TV was turned on and we all watched in horror at what happened next. Our highways were on a standstill as everyone was trying to get into New York. It was a complete nightmare and for the next week, all the channels on TV and radio stations were talking about what happened. Our firefighters and police officers went over to New York to help out anyway they could and I remember seeing certain houses with balloons and candles burning right outside to signify they lost someone. The nightmare of this day will forever burn in my memory. But the other thing that I will never forget is how we became united as a people and as a country. This day is not just a day of sadness and grief, but it was also a day that made me proud to being an American."
- Angelica Monteverde
22. "I was in 5th grade, about an hour from Manhattan. Another teacher of ours opened our classroom door and called our teacher over. She seemed panicked and our teacher walked over immediately. The two spoke in the hallway for what seemed forever. While they spoke, a classmate returned to our classroom from the nurse's office and told us what he knew.
'Something happened in New York, like an explosion.'
Everyone panicked and started to speculate what was going on. After some time, we were all ushered down the hall and into our lunch room. None of our teachers would tell us what was really happening.
'Something has happened in our country and your parents will be picking you up and explaining it to you.'
We were all scared and the vague responses only made our minds wander. I remember walking up to the lunch line counter and hearing a radio blasting the news. Just like my classmate had said, the radio mentioned something about explosions in New York and then... I heard screaming.
It was terrifying.
Our lunch ladies gave us all snacks-- bagels and cream cheese, milk, and something else like a fruit or a cookie--then marched us into the gym with our homeroom teachers.
Everyone in my small school was packed like sardines. It was hot. Everyone was scared. One of our teacher's aids was ushered out because she was crying hysterically. All of this happened with absolutely no explanation.
My teacher finally broke her silence to me and another student after we kept bugging her with questions.
'There was a plane crash in New York and it looks like it could be terrorism but no one knows what's going on. Your parents will be here soon to explain it.'
The moment my mom picked me up felt a little surreal. It was dead silent outside despite the panic in the school. She found out what was happening from my aunt in Oklahoma who called her panicking about the stock market. Mom brushed it off at first because 'we don't have any stocks!' My aunt told her to turn on the TV to any channel...any channel. Mom said,
'You know it is serious when someone tells you to turn on the TV to ANY channel.'
As soon as I arrived home I remember my step-dad was home watching the TV. He was shaking his head in disbelief. The huge gut punch was watching those poor people jump to their deaths from the towers. I will never get that image out or my mind, I'm tearing up thinking about it right now.
The rest of the day was chaotic and confusing. Other than the initial speech George W. gave that morning, it felt like we were all incredibly vulnerable and confused. It was particularly eerie and terrifying to be such a short distance away from the epicenter of terror, less than 50 miles.
As the days went by, I learned that some of my classmates had parents and loved ones in the towers. A classmate of mine's uncle and father were both in the south tower, but thankfully got out. They left the building after the north tower was stuck, even though they were told to stay put."
- Anonymous
'Something happened in New York, like an explosion.'
Everyone panicked and started to speculate what was going on. After some time, we were all ushered down the hall and into our lunch room. None of our teachers would tell us what was really happening.
'Something has happened in our country and your parents will be picking you up and explaining it to you.'
We were all scared and the vague responses only made our minds wander. I remember walking up to the lunch line counter and hearing a radio blasting the news. Just like my classmate had said, the radio mentioned something about explosions in New York and then... I heard screaming.
It was terrifying.
Our lunch ladies gave us all snacks-- bagels and cream cheese, milk, and something else like a fruit or a cookie--then marched us into the gym with our homeroom teachers.
Everyone in my small school was packed like sardines. It was hot. Everyone was scared. One of our teacher's aids was ushered out because she was crying hysterically. All of this happened with absolutely no explanation.
My teacher finally broke her silence to me and another student after we kept bugging her with questions.
'There was a plane crash in New York and it looks like it could be terrorism but no one knows what's going on. Your parents will be here soon to explain it.'
The moment my mom picked me up felt a little surreal. It was dead silent outside despite the panic in the school. She found out what was happening from my aunt in Oklahoma who called her panicking about the stock market. Mom brushed it off at first because 'we don't have any stocks!' My aunt told her to turn on the TV to any channel...any channel. Mom said,
'You know it is serious when someone tells you to turn on the TV to ANY channel.'
As soon as I arrived home I remember my step-dad was home watching the TV. He was shaking his head in disbelief. The huge gut punch was watching those poor people jump to their deaths from the towers. I will never get that image out or my mind, I'm tearing up thinking about it right now.
The rest of the day was chaotic and confusing. Other than the initial speech George W. gave that morning, it felt like we were all incredibly vulnerable and confused. It was particularly eerie and terrifying to be such a short distance away from the epicenter of terror, less than 50 miles.
As the days went by, I learned that some of my classmates had parents and loved ones in the towers. A classmate of mine's uncle and father were both in the south tower, but thankfully got out. They left the building after the north tower was stuck, even though they were told to stay put."
- Anonymous
23. "I was fourteen years old from Clifton, walking into sophomore math class when a classmate announced that two planes had crashed into each other near the WTC. That was what he had heard, but no one was sure what was going on.
We started our math lesson and a few minutes in, the teacher was called to the door. He stopped teaching for the rest of the period and put on a radio so we could hear the reports of what was occurring.
Growing up in the NYC suburbs, many kids had parents who worked in the city, some at the WTC.
For the rest of the day, classes were quiet, save for the sound of the radios playing broadcasts about what was happening. No one talked, not even the students. I just remember my friend asking me,
'Are you okay?'
Because I was kind of stunned.
As the day went on, the loudspeaker called for certain students to come to the principal's office. Their parents were picking them up.
As usual, I took the public bus home but it was also quiet, there was no cellphone reception . A layer of dust came over parts of my town. From the hill by my house, my dad took photos of the towers collapsing.
When I got home, my mom said our neighbor worked in the WTC, in the North Tower.
She never was found.
Her brother went to Ground Zero every day, trying to find out news about her, but they never found her body. I can only hope she did not suffer. She was young."
- Angela Christiaanse
We started our math lesson and a few minutes in, the teacher was called to the door. He stopped teaching for the rest of the period and put on a radio so we could hear the reports of what was occurring.
Growing up in the NYC suburbs, many kids had parents who worked in the city, some at the WTC.
For the rest of the day, classes were quiet, save for the sound of the radios playing broadcasts about what was happening. No one talked, not even the students. I just remember my friend asking me,
'Are you okay?'
Because I was kind of stunned.
As the day went on, the loudspeaker called for certain students to come to the principal's office. Their parents were picking them up.
As usual, I took the public bus home but it was also quiet, there was no cellphone reception . A layer of dust came over parts of my town. From the hill by my house, my dad took photos of the towers collapsing.
When I got home, my mom said our neighbor worked in the WTC, in the North Tower.
She never was found.
Her brother went to Ground Zero every day, trying to find out news about her, but they never found her body. I can only hope she did not suffer. She was young."
- Angela Christiaanse
24. "I went to high school in New Jersey, about a 20 minute drive outside of NYC. School wasn't cancelled but it was pure panic because every teacher, student, staff, janitor, etc., knew someone that works or lives in NYC. I was in math class but as soon as the announcement came over our loudspeaker, my teacher ran out of the room with tears in his eyes. His daughter worked in NYC.
Some other teacher came in to cover for us and was just making it 100x worse. He said that he heard the Sears Tower in Chicago had been hit and that basically all of the US was under attack. I didn't have a cell phone yet so I couldn't even call anyone. There was no social media or anything. My parents came and picked me and my siblings up and we drove to an area on the water where you could just see the MASSIVE cloud of smoke. There were hundreds of people crowded in that area to watch it.
The following weeks and months were like nothing I had ever seen and still haven't seen since. You don't typically think of New Jersey or New York as a 'Murica!!!' place; it's usually just people doing their own thing in one big rat race. Well not during those weeks after 9/11. There were crowds at every post office waving flags all day and cheering. We would drive past and beep the horn and everyone would just cheer like crazy. It was pretty wild."
- Jim M.
Some other teacher came in to cover for us and was just making it 100x worse. He said that he heard the Sears Tower in Chicago had been hit and that basically all of the US was under attack. I didn't have a cell phone yet so I couldn't even call anyone. There was no social media or anything. My parents came and picked me and my siblings up and we drove to an area on the water where you could just see the MASSIVE cloud of smoke. There were hundreds of people crowded in that area to watch it.
The following weeks and months were like nothing I had ever seen and still haven't seen since. You don't typically think of New Jersey or New York as a 'Murica!!!' place; it's usually just people doing their own thing in one big rat race. Well not during those weeks after 9/11. There were crowds at every post office waving flags all day and cheering. We would drive past and beep the horn and everyone would just cheer like crazy. It was pretty wild."
- Jim M.
25. "I was a 1st grader and what I remember is how scared the teachers looked. School was cancelled halfway through the day and our parents had to pick us up. The kids that normally walked home had to wait for their parents to come.
I didn’t know what happened until my mom picked me up.
'Two planes flew into some towers in the city and they fell down.'
I asked if everyone got out ok.
'No.'
There were no planes in the air except some fighter jets flying low and fast and loud. The father of one of the kids in my class was in one of the towers. He died that day."
- Anonymous
I didn’t know what happened until my mom picked me up.
'Two planes flew into some towers in the city and they fell down.'
I asked if everyone got out ok.
'No.'
There were no planes in the air except some fighter jets flying low and fast and loud. The father of one of the kids in my class was in one of the towers. He died that day."
- Anonymous
26. "At about 10:30, a nun came around to each classroom in my K-8 school to announce that there was 'an emergency' in NYC and DC. She led us all in prayer.
My dad worked in NYC, so I started crying. My teacher let me go to the office to call home and see if mom had heard from him. Mom answered and I could hear she'd been crying, too. She said Dad was fine (he worked in midtown), and asked if I wanted her to come get me. I was only 10, but somehow I guessed that you shouldn't drive while crying. So I thought fast and said,
'No, you shouldn't be on the roads if there's an emergency. The police might need to get through. I'll, uh, finish the day.'
So I did. Other students' parents showed up in droves to take them home, but I stayed. There were only three kids left in the entire 5th grade by 2 pm. My teacher held it together as best she could and read short stories aloud to keep us occupied. I remember one of them was about the Iditarod sled dog race.
The rest of the week was pretty wild because the teachers couldn't talk about anything else, they were too upset. I remember that on the 12th, one of them said that we should take a good look at the sky because it'd be the only day of our lives with no contrails. There were multiple school prayer services & masses, we made a prayer wall for all the community members who were still missing. I wrote down that I hoped Jesus could forgive the hijackers, and they hung that one on the wall too.
Social studies class was interesting because we tried to talk a little bit about where this attack came from, but the teacher didn't really seem to know, either. So that was unproductive. Eventually she got desperate for a change of topic and spent two months on Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition. I still can't hear mention of Shackleton without thinking about 9/11. I hardly remember anything else from 5th grade.
I really impressed my mom with my sense of calm, though, and later on I became an EMT in which capacity I responded to the 2013 Boston bombing... But that's a different story."
- Claire Fisher
My dad worked in NYC, so I started crying. My teacher let me go to the office to call home and see if mom had heard from him. Mom answered and I could hear she'd been crying, too. She said Dad was fine (he worked in midtown), and asked if I wanted her to come get me. I was only 10, but somehow I guessed that you shouldn't drive while crying. So I thought fast and said,
'No, you shouldn't be on the roads if there's an emergency. The police might need to get through. I'll, uh, finish the day.'
So I did. Other students' parents showed up in droves to take them home, but I stayed. There were only three kids left in the entire 5th grade by 2 pm. My teacher held it together as best she could and read short stories aloud to keep us occupied. I remember one of them was about the Iditarod sled dog race.
The rest of the week was pretty wild because the teachers couldn't talk about anything else, they were too upset. I remember that on the 12th, one of them said that we should take a good look at the sky because it'd be the only day of our lives with no contrails. There were multiple school prayer services & masses, we made a prayer wall for all the community members who were still missing. I wrote down that I hoped Jesus could forgive the hijackers, and they hung that one on the wall too.
Social studies class was interesting because we tried to talk a little bit about where this attack came from, but the teacher didn't really seem to know, either. So that was unproductive. Eventually she got desperate for a change of topic and spent two months on Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition. I still can't hear mention of Shackleton without thinking about 9/11. I hardly remember anything else from 5th grade.
I really impressed my mom with my sense of calm, though, and later on I became an EMT in which capacity I responded to the 2013 Boston bombing... But that's a different story."
- Claire Fisher
27. "On the morning of 9/11, like so many other mornings, I entered school about 7:30 a.m., the weather was exceptionally bright and cool. I distinctly remember the beautifully clear, cloudless sky over New York harbor. It was a magnificent sight. I was a Basic Skills teacher assigned to P.S. 41 on Ocean and Wilkerson Avenue in Jersey City. P.S. 41 is at the top of Liberty State Park on Ocean Avenue. It has an outstanding view of the lower New York Bay and of course, at that time, the Twin Towers. From the northwest corner of the building, you could almost reach out and touch the towers and Battery Park. It seemed that close. As was my custom, after completing my last-minute prep for what I had planned that day, I went back to the first floor to a small room where the speech teacher had a pot of coffee and a small TV that was always on for the morning news reports.
Then It Happened!
As I walked into the room the speech teacher told me that a plane just hit the World Trade buildings.
'Was it a small private plane?' Thinking perhaps, a pilot’s heart attack. “No! It seems to be a commercial liner,” she answered. How could this happen? Then I realized that this, in all likelihood, was not an accident.
My wife is a registered nurse and was on her way to work when this happened. I called her at the adult day care center where she worked and she told me that they already had been instructed not to expect to leave work at the end of their shift, in the expectation of hundreds of injured. All medical personnel in every hospital as far away as New England were ordered to stand by for the expected injured. This expectation was never realized. There were few injured but many dead.
On the third floor of the school building, teachers were standing outside their classrooms with tears streaming down their faces. These were the people who were really tough, who faced down every problem the inner city had to offer. We could see what was happening, we knew that there were people dying. We could see, what we knew in our hearts, were humans who had to make the most horrible choice of burning to death slowly or jumping to their death. There was no escape. They were very small black dots falling from the burning building. Then the second plane hit.
The first building was burning profusely and most of us realized it couldn’t last much longer. We watched it come down and we prayed for those who we knew were dying or trapped in the rubble. There was nothing we could do but pray for them.
Our students in the classrooms were also suffering. They knew from our reaction, as much as we tried to hide it, that something horrible and beyond belief was happening. Some of those kids had parents that worked downtown. Some of them worked in the World Trade buildings.
Very soon, Air National Guard jets were flying over the school and headed across the harbor. They were flying over the city in expectation of another plane flying into what was left of the trade center or other buildings. You could see the missiles on their wings and I had every expectation that they also were carrying a full load of ammunition for machine guns. Understanding that an accident had recently occurred in a practice gun run in South Jersey where an elementary school near a bombing range was totally shot-up and almost totally destroyed, during an overrun in gunning practice, I suggested that we move all the students from the third floor to the first floor. We were that close to the harbor. This suggestion was denied because an assistant superintendent didn’t think it was necessary. Considering what just had happened, I thought it was prudent to do this but was overruled.
The Immediate Aftermath!
All schools have procedures for these types of situations. In this case, very soon, people were coming into the school in droves to pick up their children because there was extreme fear and panic among the adults in the community. This in itself caused many problems. The entire community was terrified!
Every child is supposed to bring home and return to school a form that establishes who can legally take the child from the school building in an emergency. It also should be changed if the people identified are changed. This form is kept on file and consulted in an emergency. We will only release a child to a person with proper identification who is named on the list. There is no other way to get a child out of the building in an emergency. The only two male teachers in this elementary school building were assigned to guard the school office and to only let into the office those who had proper identification. As you might imagine, this was not a popular and fun assignment, but we both made it through the day.
I will remember this day as one of the most horrendous days in my teaching career. I find it hard to believe that I watched 3,000 Americans killed before my eyes.
Over the next three days, my wife and I sat in the Hudson County Park on the Newark Bay in the evening and simply looked around us. We lived in Bayonne at the time and were very near the New Jersey Turnpike, the Newark Airport, numerous boat, train, bus and truck routes. We had become accustomed to the noises of daily life. When the common noise isn’t there, the sounds of silence are very, very loud and upsetting. Everything was closed, stopped or shut down. Nothing moved... there was no traffic by car, boat, train or plane. The Turnpike bridge across the Newark Bay was empty. There was no movement at all.
In the months that followed, my wife and I, as a custom, would go for a walk in the evening. We liked to walk in the park by the Kill Van Kull near the Bayonne Bridge. Here we saw the barges that carried the rubble from the towers to a remote and protected site on Staten Island, where it was sorted to find body parts and personal identification.
The sadness continues to this day, and will never leave. Even thinking about it, I mist as I try to hold back the tears and control my anger. God has blessed America and I hope He or She will continue to do so."
- James Aumack
Then It Happened!
As I walked into the room the speech teacher told me that a plane just hit the World Trade buildings.
'Was it a small private plane?' Thinking perhaps, a pilot’s heart attack. “No! It seems to be a commercial liner,” she answered. How could this happen? Then I realized that this, in all likelihood, was not an accident.
My wife is a registered nurse and was on her way to work when this happened. I called her at the adult day care center where she worked and she told me that they already had been instructed not to expect to leave work at the end of their shift, in the expectation of hundreds of injured. All medical personnel in every hospital as far away as New England were ordered to stand by for the expected injured. This expectation was never realized. There were few injured but many dead.
On the third floor of the school building, teachers were standing outside their classrooms with tears streaming down their faces. These were the people who were really tough, who faced down every problem the inner city had to offer. We could see what was happening, we knew that there were people dying. We could see, what we knew in our hearts, were humans who had to make the most horrible choice of burning to death slowly or jumping to their death. There was no escape. They were very small black dots falling from the burning building. Then the second plane hit.
The first building was burning profusely and most of us realized it couldn’t last much longer. We watched it come down and we prayed for those who we knew were dying or trapped in the rubble. There was nothing we could do but pray for them.
Our students in the classrooms were also suffering. They knew from our reaction, as much as we tried to hide it, that something horrible and beyond belief was happening. Some of those kids had parents that worked downtown. Some of them worked in the World Trade buildings.
Very soon, Air National Guard jets were flying over the school and headed across the harbor. They were flying over the city in expectation of another plane flying into what was left of the trade center or other buildings. You could see the missiles on their wings and I had every expectation that they also were carrying a full load of ammunition for machine guns. Understanding that an accident had recently occurred in a practice gun run in South Jersey where an elementary school near a bombing range was totally shot-up and almost totally destroyed, during an overrun in gunning practice, I suggested that we move all the students from the third floor to the first floor. We were that close to the harbor. This suggestion was denied because an assistant superintendent didn’t think it was necessary. Considering what just had happened, I thought it was prudent to do this but was overruled.
The Immediate Aftermath!
All schools have procedures for these types of situations. In this case, very soon, people were coming into the school in droves to pick up their children because there was extreme fear and panic among the adults in the community. This in itself caused many problems. The entire community was terrified!
Every child is supposed to bring home and return to school a form that establishes who can legally take the child from the school building in an emergency. It also should be changed if the people identified are changed. This form is kept on file and consulted in an emergency. We will only release a child to a person with proper identification who is named on the list. There is no other way to get a child out of the building in an emergency. The only two male teachers in this elementary school building were assigned to guard the school office and to only let into the office those who had proper identification. As you might imagine, this was not a popular and fun assignment, but we both made it through the day.
I will remember this day as one of the most horrendous days in my teaching career. I find it hard to believe that I watched 3,000 Americans killed before my eyes.
Over the next three days, my wife and I sat in the Hudson County Park on the Newark Bay in the evening and simply looked around us. We lived in Bayonne at the time and were very near the New Jersey Turnpike, the Newark Airport, numerous boat, train, bus and truck routes. We had become accustomed to the noises of daily life. When the common noise isn’t there, the sounds of silence are very, very loud and upsetting. Everything was closed, stopped or shut down. Nothing moved... there was no traffic by car, boat, train or plane. The Turnpike bridge across the Newark Bay was empty. There was no movement at all.
In the months that followed, my wife and I, as a custom, would go for a walk in the evening. We liked to walk in the park by the Kill Van Kull near the Bayonne Bridge. Here we saw the barges that carried the rubble from the towers to a remote and protected site on Staten Island, where it was sorted to find body parts and personal identification.
The sadness continues to this day, and will never leave. Even thinking about it, I mist as I try to hold back the tears and control my anger. God has blessed America and I hope He or She will continue to do so."
- James Aumack
28. "I grew up in Parsippany, New Jersey, just 45 minutes from New York, where a lot of our parents worked. I was eleven years old, a sixth-grade student at Brooklawn Middle School at the time, and at 8:46 AM on 9/11 I was in my second-period social studies class with my teacher Ms. Neilan. I got the news a little while later, when I was in fourth-period math with Mr. Luther and somebody barged into the classroom saying that America had been attacked. The rest of the day was chaos. Class was not canceled that day, though it was for my cousins who lived in Queens. I remember the TVs in the cafeteria all tuned to the news.
I also unfortunately remember what I personally did that day. My mind flush with anger at the attack, I scrawled terrible things in the bathroom stalls, numerous racist comments calling for violence and revenge against 'the Arabs' because they attacked us.
I still hold onto my middle-school yearbooks, the World Beat news recaps at the end filled with additional juvenile 'commentary' of mine, not just for nostalgia's sake but to periodically remind myself of the less pleasant things that happened because of that day. We speak today about the sense of unity that emerged from the attacks, but all too often, we leave out the anger, the hatred, the negative emotions that the attacks also brought out from us, a negativity that (at risk of getting too political) I believe sent this country down a very dark path.
'Never Forget' should mean not just remembering those we lost, but also remembering the mistakes we made in our sorrow."
- Kevin Rooney
I also unfortunately remember what I personally did that day. My mind flush with anger at the attack, I scrawled terrible things in the bathroom stalls, numerous racist comments calling for violence and revenge against 'the Arabs' because they attacked us.
I still hold onto my middle-school yearbooks, the World Beat news recaps at the end filled with additional juvenile 'commentary' of mine, not just for nostalgia's sake but to periodically remind myself of the less pleasant things that happened because of that day. We speak today about the sense of unity that emerged from the attacks, but all too often, we leave out the anger, the hatred, the negative emotions that the attacks also brought out from us, a negativity that (at risk of getting too political) I believe sent this country down a very dark path.
'Never Forget' should mean not just remembering those we lost, but also remembering the mistakes we made in our sorrow."
- Kevin Rooney
29. "I was in 9th grade and my teacher was about to show us a video tape. As he turned on the TV, we saw the news feed and I knew my dad, a Port Authority Police Officer, was running into the tower. I spent all day with other kids in the school library waiting for word about our parents. It wasn't until about much later that night my dad was able to get word through a mobile command post to my grandmother who then called my mom.
He was safe."
- Larry Greenstein
He was safe."
- Larry Greenstein