TEXAS
"Where were you on 9/11?" as remembered by those in Texas that day.
El Paso college student David remembers how 9/11 felt like the moment his life began down a new path and how it compares to the defining historical events of his family.
1. "I was in college in El Paso, living at home with my grandmother. The sound of news coming from the living room while she watched her morning rotation of shows was very familiar. On that particular morning, I was still in my room getting ready before class.
My grandmother called from the living room,
'Davie, something has happened in New York.'
I could not have imagined what was going on, but I am sure I was not too concerned. When we started watching together, it was still unclear what was going. There was obvious concern that it was a terrorist attack, but most of the news was hesitant to call it that.
It went from an interesting story to a life changing event when we saw the second plane hit. The news anchor still didn't realize it, but it played behind her. My heart sunk and the whole world sort of went deaf. There was no background noise and everything just felt numb.
There was, at the same time, an incredible urge to do something, but a lack of ability to. It sounds cliche now but back then I feel like we all were blissfully unaware of the danger around us and in the world. We had experienced attacks in the past, but not to this degree and not in a place that so much represented the country. Now danger was around every corner.
My university had not canceled yet so I went, wanting to be around my peers. My professor told our class,
'Today is a day you all should be with your families. You will remember this day for the rest of your lives and the country may never be the same. The university has not canceled class, but I am. Go home and be with the people who love you.'
I to the student union and everyone was gathered around the big lounge TVs. We were all family in that room; no one was a stranger.
For months after, every group gathering or holiday was tainted with fear. The news on Halloween warned people to not gather in large groups. Everyone gossiped about threats that were floating out there and Muslims and people who looked like they might be were attacked in the street. The country went from mourning to war.
It was a pivotal moment in my life. I left El Paso and moved to Austin because of 9/11. I got married to my girlfriend because it felt important (it didn't last). Now when I try to describe that time to my kids and I hear my uncle talking about Vietnam or my Grandmother talking about The Great Depression. Nothing I say can convey the experience of that time."
- David M.
My grandmother called from the living room,
'Davie, something has happened in New York.'
I could not have imagined what was going on, but I am sure I was not too concerned. When we started watching together, it was still unclear what was going. There was obvious concern that it was a terrorist attack, but most of the news was hesitant to call it that.
It went from an interesting story to a life changing event when we saw the second plane hit. The news anchor still didn't realize it, but it played behind her. My heart sunk and the whole world sort of went deaf. There was no background noise and everything just felt numb.
There was, at the same time, an incredible urge to do something, but a lack of ability to. It sounds cliche now but back then I feel like we all were blissfully unaware of the danger around us and in the world. We had experienced attacks in the past, but not to this degree and not in a place that so much represented the country. Now danger was around every corner.
My university had not canceled yet so I went, wanting to be around my peers. My professor told our class,
'Today is a day you all should be with your families. You will remember this day for the rest of your lives and the country may never be the same. The university has not canceled class, but I am. Go home and be with the people who love you.'
I to the student union and everyone was gathered around the big lounge TVs. We were all family in that room; no one was a stranger.
For months after, every group gathering or holiday was tainted with fear. The news on Halloween warned people to not gather in large groups. Everyone gossiped about threats that were floating out there and Muslims and people who looked like they might be were attacked in the street. The country went from mourning to war.
It was a pivotal moment in my life. I left El Paso and moved to Austin because of 9/11. I got married to my girlfriend because it felt important (it didn't last). Now when I try to describe that time to my kids and I hear my uncle talking about Vietnam or my Grandmother talking about The Great Depression. Nothing I say can convey the experience of that time."
- David M.
Written Stories
2. "I was living in Abilene, going to aviation MTX school and working for an American Airlines small market subsidiary American Eagle. My two oldest brothers also worked at the same place, but on night shift.
I got to class that morning and some guys in another class had borrowed my truck to go to a private airfield and pick up an old radial engine for the school. I was stuck for hours after the lock-down with no way to do anything. The guys that borrowed my truck were goofing around and weren't even listening to the radio.
When I finally got home, I had to call my frantic mom back, because my brothers had been asleep and weren't answering the phone. I woke them up and told them what had gone down, and that our job was locked out."
- L. L.
I got to class that morning and some guys in another class had borrowed my truck to go to a private airfield and pick up an old radial engine for the school. I was stuck for hours after the lock-down with no way to do anything. The guys that borrowed my truck were goofing around and weren't even listening to the radio.
When I finally got home, I had to call my frantic mom back, because my brothers had been asleep and weren't answering the phone. I woke them up and told them what had gone down, and that our job was locked out."
- L. L.
3. "I was in the 5th grade, sometime after our 1st class every other student started getting pulled out and taken home by their parents. It was scary seeing my classmates leaving without knowing a reason why. By the time recess was over, they sat us all down on the basketball courts to listen to a special announcement. Something along the lines of,
'I’m sure you’re all wondering why so many of your classmates are being pulled from school today. We’re sorry to tell you that there has been a tragedy in New York City and a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Class will continue as usual for the remainder that day.'
Being 5th graders, this was unreal information to take. We didn’t know what to make of it.
A plane crash? - Into a building? - Is everyone okay? - Why? - Are we safe? - Why am I still here at school?
School ended and I rode the bus back home. Much quieter than the usual ruckus of children. My mom was home watching TV, tears streaming from her eyes. I saw people hanging off the towers jumping and falling from the smoke spewing windows.
I felt cold and empty.
Seeing people have no choice but to jump rather then burn or suffocate to death... It seemed like a movie."
- Carlos T
'I’m sure you’re all wondering why so many of your classmates are being pulled from school today. We’re sorry to tell you that there has been a tragedy in New York City and a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Class will continue as usual for the remainder that day.'
Being 5th graders, this was unreal information to take. We didn’t know what to make of it.
A plane crash? - Into a building? - Is everyone okay? - Why? - Are we safe? - Why am I still here at school?
School ended and I rode the bus back home. Much quieter than the usual ruckus of children. My mom was home watching TV, tears streaming from her eyes. I saw people hanging off the towers jumping and falling from the smoke spewing windows.
I felt cold and empty.
Seeing people have no choice but to jump rather then burn or suffocate to death... It seemed like a movie."
- Carlos T
4. "I was in 7th grade in Dallas, getting ready for school and listening to KLIF on the radio when I heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
I grabbed a bowl of cereal and went to the living room to flip on the TV. Lots of speculation, guesses that it was a small plane, an accident, etc. Seemed like a news story, but something that might become background news in a few days to the shark attack epidemic or that missing intern.
Then I saw the second plane. My initial thought was something very close to
'That's really fast to make a recreation of what they think happened... Wait, shouldn't there be a label that it's a simulation?'
Then the announcers freaked out and I realized it wasn't a simulation, it wasn't an accident, and that the world was not the same as yesterday. I had recently read the Tom Clancy book where the angry Japanese pilot kamikazes into the joint session of congress and makes Jack Ryan the president and I told my mom and sister it had to be terrorism. Mom shooed me out the door to catch my bus.
I grabbed a bowl of cereal and went to the living room to flip on the TV. Lots of speculation, guesses that it was a small plane, an accident, etc. Seemed like a news story, but something that might become background news in a few days to the shark attack epidemic or that missing intern.
Then I saw the second plane. My initial thought was something very close to
'That's really fast to make a recreation of what they think happened... Wait, shouldn't there be a label that it's a simulation?'
Then the announcers freaked out and I realized it wasn't a simulation, it wasn't an accident, and that the world was not the same as yesterday. I had recently read the Tom Clancy book where the angry Japanese pilot kamikazes into the joint session of congress and makes Jack Ryan the president and I told my mom and sister it had to be terrorism. Mom shooed me out the door to catch my bus.
At school I didn't know much. My teachers didn't show the news and I don't think it made the announcements. I had a couple electives with 8th graders though, and one of the 8th grade history teachers was showing the news in class. We talked about the Pentagon and the two collapses and I decided that the President was on Air Force One with a bunch of F22s around him. Again, I got the idea from a Clancy novel.
The thing I remember most when I got home was how clean the living room was. It was vacuumed, everything was dusted spotlessly, I think there was furniture polish out - Mom had just stress cleaned all day."
- D. S.
The thing I remember most when I got home was how clean the living room was. It was vacuumed, everything was dusted spotlessly, I think there was furniture polish out - Mom had just stress cleaned all day."
- D. S.
5. "I was four when 9/11 happened and I remember sitting next to my dad’s big green chair in the living room while he watched tv. At the time my dad was the new owner of a large, local candy and nut factory so he usually wasn’t around when I was awake. It was odd he was home, but it wasn’t concerning to me as a child.
Regardless I wasn’t really paying attention since I was preoccupied with a toy until I looked up and watched the TV footage of the plane hitting. The footage was rewound and I remember excitedly asking my dad how he was able to rewind the movie. At that point he snapped at me to be quiet and that it wasn’t a movie.
I don’t remember anything clearly after that except for feeling a sense of dread and realization that this was really serious. I suspect that’s why I still remember that small sliver of the day at all."
- A. C.
Regardless I wasn’t really paying attention since I was preoccupied with a toy until I looked up and watched the TV footage of the plane hitting. The footage was rewound and I remember excitedly asking my dad how he was able to rewind the movie. At that point he snapped at me to be quiet and that it wasn’t a movie.
I don’t remember anything clearly after that except for feeling a sense of dread and realization that this was really serious. I suspect that’s why I still remember that small sliver of the day at all."
- A. C.
6. "I was at home sick during my junior year of high school. Was replaying Earthbound when my mom called from work to tell me to check the news."
- K. N.
- K. N.
7. "It was picture day in the sixth grade. I was wearing a new t-shirt I had gotten for my birthday two days earlier. While waiting in line for the pictures in the library, I saw the TV in the teachers lounge with teachers crowded around. There was smoke from a building I didn't recognize and was entranced. I figured it was a show.
The second plane hit - I smiled for my picture and moved on.
They cancelled Channel 1, a news show that some company piped into schools, that day. By cancelled, I mean our teachers lied telling us they had no show and turned all of the TVs off. Then I went to social studies and my favorite teacher told us what happened. I realized what I saw earlier was real. I had been lied to all day until that class. He said he may be fired, since the teachers all made a pact deciding that they weren't the ones to tell us, but he couldn't do that to us. That was the first day I truly respected an adult besides my parents."
- Anonymous
The second plane hit - I smiled for my picture and moved on.
They cancelled Channel 1, a news show that some company piped into schools, that day. By cancelled, I mean our teachers lied telling us they had no show and turned all of the TVs off. Then I went to social studies and my favorite teacher told us what happened. I realized what I saw earlier was real. I had been lied to all day until that class. He said he may be fired, since the teachers all made a pact deciding that they weren't the ones to tell us, but he couldn't do that to us. That was the first day I truly respected an adult besides my parents."
- Anonymous
8. "I was in 5th grade at the time and I remember kids kept getting pulled out of class and one kid sprinted to get his book bag. Some kid—without any knowledge of the events—joked that his dad was in a plane crash (he wasn’t, but I remember looking back at the irony of that joke). During 1st period, the teachers called everyone together and said terrorists had flown planes into New York and that school was cancelled and our parents were coming to pick us up. I remember looking around as parents were freaking out and kids were running to their cars.
My dad was on a plane to the east coast that morning—it took a while before his plane landed somewhere else and I found out he was alright. It was such a memorable moment for me as a 10 year old and seeing humans killing each other for real for the first time.
I had always thought war and what-not was a thing of the past. Going home and seeing people jump from the buildings and my mom telling me to not watch caused me to grow up instantly.
Changed my whole world view."
- Anonymous
My dad was on a plane to the east coast that morning—it took a while before his plane landed somewhere else and I found out he was alright. It was such a memorable moment for me as a 10 year old and seeing humans killing each other for real for the first time.
I had always thought war and what-not was a thing of the past. Going home and seeing people jump from the buildings and my mom telling me to not watch caused me to grow up instantly.
Changed my whole world view."
- Anonymous
9. "Tuesday morning meant I had breakfast cleanup duty at the co-op I was living at during college at UT Austin. It was bright sunny day in my area. I return to my room and hopped on the computer to see there's an IM (instant message) from my girlfriend,
'We're under attack! Have you seen the news!?'
I tried to pull up CNN.com but it was down along with a couple other news websites. There was no TV in my room so I turned on my radio alarm clock to the Top 40 station that should have been airing the zany antics of their morning show. Instead they're now news casters, not sure how to report what's going on. Their on-air confidence was noticeably broken with a hitch in their voice as they spoke.
I found out classes were canceled and spent the next three days glued to the 24 hour news cycle. It made me apprehensive that I was living in the state capital that current president Bush used to be governor of.
I got my mini DV camcorder to wander around campus and document what was or wasn't happening, filming the news crews as they filmed, interviewing people that would give their thoughts. I wasn't a journalism major, but had the immediate sense this was an historic event to document.
I called my mom mid afternoon and assumed she knew what had happened, but her reply to my tepid,
'So... how are you doing?'
Was a cheery response about how she was glad to hear from me.
'Have you seen the news?'
I gave a brief synopsis of what I had heard and told her to turn it on. She was in disbelief either not believing me or misunderstanding what I had said. She was at a loss for words herself."
- Mike Siekkinen
'We're under attack! Have you seen the news!?'
I tried to pull up CNN.com but it was down along with a couple other news websites. There was no TV in my room so I turned on my radio alarm clock to the Top 40 station that should have been airing the zany antics of their morning show. Instead they're now news casters, not sure how to report what's going on. Their on-air confidence was noticeably broken with a hitch in their voice as they spoke.
I found out classes were canceled and spent the next three days glued to the 24 hour news cycle. It made me apprehensive that I was living in the state capital that current president Bush used to be governor of.
I got my mini DV camcorder to wander around campus and document what was or wasn't happening, filming the news crews as they filmed, interviewing people that would give their thoughts. I wasn't a journalism major, but had the immediate sense this was an historic event to document.
I called my mom mid afternoon and assumed she knew what had happened, but her reply to my tepid,
'So... how are you doing?'
Was a cheery response about how she was glad to hear from me.
'Have you seen the news?'
I gave a brief synopsis of what I had heard and told her to turn it on. She was in disbelief either not believing me or misunderstanding what I had said. She was at a loss for words herself."
- Mike Siekkinen
10. "I was in 6th grade and lived in an Air Force town. My campus wanted to keep as much of a lid on it as possible, but many military parents panicked and wanted to pull their kids out of school. I had an orthodontist appointment and when my mom picked me up she told me a plane crashed into a building. At the time, we knew it sucked but not that it was sinister yet. Once I was in the ortho-chair, they had the TV on and I saw the second plane hit."
- B. M.
- B. M.
11. "I was a freshman at college away from home. I had an 8 AM Tuesday class, and came out of the lecture room at 9:15 AM to see people clustered around a TV in the atrium of the building. Someone said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I biked back to my dorm in a big hurry. I didn't have a TV, but my dorm neighbors did and I watched a little to learn more what had happened. Then I tried to call my mom on my Nokia. I couldn't get a signal in the dorm because so many other people were calling; I went out by the street and got through. Talking to her, I started getting shaky and weepy. It was a lot to understand.
I don't remember if classes were cancelled the rest of the day; it's all a blur. There were some concerns about the school/city being a possible additional target. There was a prayer service at the church I attended that night."
- F. B.
I don't remember if classes were cancelled the rest of the day; it's all a blur. There were some concerns about the school/city being a possible additional target. There was a prayer service at the church I attended that night."
- F. B.
12. "I had just sent my kids off to school when the phone rang. My friend, who knew I didn't even watch TV, called and said,
'Turn on the TV!'
I was astonished. What was happening? What was going on? A few minutes later the second plane hit. It was surreal. I called my husband into the living room and screamed
'It's terrorists!'
He wanted me to calm down. I was livid. I was scared. I can't believe I'm typing this. It was a defining moment in my life."
- P. G.
'Turn on the TV!'
I was astonished. What was happening? What was going on? A few minutes later the second plane hit. It was surreal. I called my husband into the living room and screamed
'It's terrorists!'
He wanted me to calm down. I was livid. I was scared. I can't believe I'm typing this. It was a defining moment in my life."
- P. G.
13. "Having quit my job in Dallas not long before, I decided to take a road trip and visit my Grandfather in New Mexico. Intermittent country and western radio stations were not what I wanted to listen to on the long drive, so I armed myself with a pile of CDs to listen to. It was not until I stopped in Odessa for gas that I heard the news. That evening I checked into Monahans Sandhills State Park to camp and saw some of video on the TV at the rangers station. Camping that night I had nearly the whole park to myself and the complete lack of overhead plane travel was disconcerting. The next morning was one of the most open, clear skies I had ever seen.
Not a single cloud or contrail in the sky.
The whole event seemed disconnected from reality. Only after I got to my Grandfather's place the next day and was able to catch up on the news did things seem more real."
- S. B.
Not a single cloud or contrail in the sky.
The whole event seemed disconnected from reality. Only after I got to my Grandfather's place the next day and was able to catch up on the news did things seem more real."
- S. B.
14. "I was a thirteen years old eighth grader in San Antonio and my class was in the library when an announcement was made. The PA system was so garbled it sounded like they said a drunk pilot crashed at the airport - still serious but ridiculous - so I remember joking with my friends. All of the teachers in our other classes were somber but we were not allowed to watch what was happening. They also could not tell us anything and apparently they weren’t letting students be signed out either.
My mom picked me up from school crying. I asked her what the big deal was - still under the assumption it was a local isolated incidence of stupidity. She tried explaining but in the end just had me watch the news when we got home. My aunt and uncle live in New Jersey and once we found out they were safe my mom relaxed some, but I believe they knew people in the towers.
Some of my classmates said they could see the smoke from the towers on the horizon (yeah, I thought that was silly at the time too), and others thought we would be a target with all of the military bases in the city. My boyfriend at the time was in JROTC and assumed he would be deployed. My German class was supposed to do a mini study abroad in the spring but that was one of the most immediate cancellations or changes I remember. We only flew a few times before 9/11 so I don’t remember much about how things used to be in the airports just that it was an entirely different experience and I hated it when we flew in spring 2002.
I have since met someone directly affected - my fiancé’s father was flying from Toronto to Philadelphia that day. His flight was diverted but he was safe. My fiancé, being ten at the time, was mostly oblivious to the day’s events beyond worrying about his father."
- Laura L.
My mom picked me up from school crying. I asked her what the big deal was - still under the assumption it was a local isolated incidence of stupidity. She tried explaining but in the end just had me watch the news when we got home. My aunt and uncle live in New Jersey and once we found out they were safe my mom relaxed some, but I believe they knew people in the towers.
Some of my classmates said they could see the smoke from the towers on the horizon (yeah, I thought that was silly at the time too), and others thought we would be a target with all of the military bases in the city. My boyfriend at the time was in JROTC and assumed he would be deployed. My German class was supposed to do a mini study abroad in the spring but that was one of the most immediate cancellations or changes I remember. We only flew a few times before 9/11 so I don’t remember much about how things used to be in the airports just that it was an entirely different experience and I hated it when we flew in spring 2002.
I have since met someone directly affected - my fiancé’s father was flying from Toronto to Philadelphia that day. His flight was diverted but he was safe. My fiancé, being ten at the time, was mostly oblivious to the day’s events beyond worrying about his father."
- Laura L.
15. "I was in the first grade, just before lunch time, and we were standing in the hallway with my teacher when a man walked by holding his daughter's hand. My teacher asked why so many people were pulling their kids out early and the man told her that someone had bombed New York. My teacher was extremely worried. That interaction between my teacher and that parent is the most vivid memory I have of first grade.
As soon as I got home, my older brother told me some bad guys had killed a bunch of people in New York City. By this time, footage of Ground Zero was beginning to hit the news stations. I remember seeing my dad standing in front of our TV in silence as an image of one of the 'jumpers' came across the TV. My mother was crying and had my brother and I leave the room.
Even at seven years old, I remember thinking that our world had been changed forever."
- Will T.
As soon as I got home, my older brother told me some bad guys had killed a bunch of people in New York City. By this time, footage of Ground Zero was beginning to hit the news stations. I remember seeing my dad standing in front of our TV in silence as an image of one of the 'jumpers' came across the TV. My mother was crying and had my brother and I leave the room.
Even at seven years old, I remember thinking that our world had been changed forever."
- Will T.
16. "9/11 was my second day on the job as a newly minted Tier 2 desktop support technician at Boeing's Houston campus. At the time, Boeing was the prime contractor for the International Space Station and was also providing Shuttle support, so the company had about 3K people spread across four buildings in Houston, near the Johnson Space Center.
As a Tier 2 desktop support person, my job was to help out other Boeing folks who were having computer problems. They'd call the help desk, and if the help desk couldn't fix it, the ticket would go to me and I'd go to the person's desk and sit with them and solve whatever the issue was.
I showed up for work at about 07:30 CDT, and got my very first help desk ticket of the day at around 8. I had to leave the little IT office and walk through the lobby to get to the desk I needed to visit, and as I walked through, there was a cluster of folks around the lobby TV. I asked what was going on, and one of the people said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
'Huh, wow, what a horrible accident,'
I didn't think much more about it.
Walking back through the lobby maybe 45 minutes later and now there was a HUGE crowd around the TV. The second plane had hit, and no one—including me—was thinking 'accident' anymore. I went back to the IT office, and the other desktop guys had filched a TV from an unused conference room and put on one of the local over-the-air stations, which was repeating the national feed. We watched the next hour or so unfold, including the collapses of both towers.
Boeing's Houston campus is very tightly coupled to the Johnson Space Center just down the road, and shortly after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, JSC shifted to an elevated threat condition. The threat condition was increased again to THREATCON BRAVO, the center closed and all personnel were sent home. Boeing's Houston campus mirrored their closure and dismissed everyone at the same time.
I was at Boeing's 91-14 building and we had a great view of the Ellington Field runways. At the time, Ellington still hosted the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Fighter Wing, and as we walked out to our cars that morning, I saw a pair of F-16s screaming off the end of the runway, loaded with war-shots.
I'll remember that forever.
Then, like everyone else in America, I went home and absorbed CNN for the next 24 hours without stopping for sleep.
Six months later, my brother enlisted in the Army and joined the 101st Airborne. He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and fought in a bunch of places over there, and eventually lost his life on December 7, 2003, when his HMMWV drove over an IED in Mosul and he was killed. He was 20.
It's been so long since he died that I'm starting to have trouble remembering his face. But the f*cking war is still happening."
- Lee Hutchinson
As a Tier 2 desktop support person, my job was to help out other Boeing folks who were having computer problems. They'd call the help desk, and if the help desk couldn't fix it, the ticket would go to me and I'd go to the person's desk and sit with them and solve whatever the issue was.
I showed up for work at about 07:30 CDT, and got my very first help desk ticket of the day at around 8. I had to leave the little IT office and walk through the lobby to get to the desk I needed to visit, and as I walked through, there was a cluster of folks around the lobby TV. I asked what was going on, and one of the people said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
'Huh, wow, what a horrible accident,'
I didn't think much more about it.
Walking back through the lobby maybe 45 minutes later and now there was a HUGE crowd around the TV. The second plane had hit, and no one—including me—was thinking 'accident' anymore. I went back to the IT office, and the other desktop guys had filched a TV from an unused conference room and put on one of the local over-the-air stations, which was repeating the national feed. We watched the next hour or so unfold, including the collapses of both towers.
Boeing's Houston campus is very tightly coupled to the Johnson Space Center just down the road, and shortly after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, JSC shifted to an elevated threat condition. The threat condition was increased again to THREATCON BRAVO, the center closed and all personnel were sent home. Boeing's Houston campus mirrored their closure and dismissed everyone at the same time.
I was at Boeing's 91-14 building and we had a great view of the Ellington Field runways. At the time, Ellington still hosted the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Fighter Wing, and as we walked out to our cars that morning, I saw a pair of F-16s screaming off the end of the runway, loaded with war-shots.
I'll remember that forever.
Then, like everyone else in America, I went home and absorbed CNN for the next 24 hours without stopping for sleep.
Six months later, my brother enlisted in the Army and joined the 101st Airborne. He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and fought in a bunch of places over there, and eventually lost his life on December 7, 2003, when his HMMWV drove over an IED in Mosul and he was killed. He was 20.
It's been so long since he died that I'm starting to have trouble remembering his face. But the f*cking war is still happening."
- Lee Hutchinson
17. "I had just started 8th grade in Fort Worth. My middle school didn't start until 9 am Central Time, so I was home during the attacks.
My mom woke me up late that morning, turned on the TV and said,
'A plane has hit the World Trade Center.'
I assumed it was an accident. As I was sitting down to breakfast, watching the Today Show as we did every morning, the second plane hit. I could barely tear myself away from the TV to leave.
Nothing got done at school that day. During nearly every class, we watched TV or listened to the radio. Speculation was rampant all day. There was misinformation about how many planes were still missing and everyone speculated about what their targets might be. I lived near an Air Force base and many students had military parents. My own father worked for Lockheed Martin, writing programming for missile launches. We didn't know what any of this meant for us.
As the day went on, parents started taking their kids out of school. At least a third of the kids were gone before the end of the day. I remember being in the guidance office, watching parents go by with their kids, just laying my head on the work table and listening to the radio in silence. Students and teachers were united in disbelief and horror.
My mom picked me up at the end of the school day, and we spent the rest of the evening glued to the TV, watching the footage again and again. It was like that for days."
- Caroline Meloche
My mom woke me up late that morning, turned on the TV and said,
'A plane has hit the World Trade Center.'
I assumed it was an accident. As I was sitting down to breakfast, watching the Today Show as we did every morning, the second plane hit. I could barely tear myself away from the TV to leave.
Nothing got done at school that day. During nearly every class, we watched TV or listened to the radio. Speculation was rampant all day. There was misinformation about how many planes were still missing and everyone speculated about what their targets might be. I lived near an Air Force base and many students had military parents. My own father worked for Lockheed Martin, writing programming for missile launches. We didn't know what any of this meant for us.
As the day went on, parents started taking their kids out of school. At least a third of the kids were gone before the end of the day. I remember being in the guidance office, watching parents go by with their kids, just laying my head on the work table and listening to the radio in silence. Students and teachers were united in disbelief and horror.
My mom picked me up at the end of the school day, and we spent the rest of the evening glued to the TV, watching the footage again and again. It was like that for days."
- Caroline Meloche
18. "In first period, class was late getting started. One of my classmates came in saying,
'A plane hit the tower!' or something like that.
I didn't get that she meant the World Trade Center, because the city where I lived also had a 'Tower' (the Tower of the Americas), and I thought some careless pilot in a prop plane hit that. Not a big deal.
My teacher had a radio and she turned it on to the news... took me a good 15 minutes to realize they weren't talking about my home city. Class was very, very quiet. We were in high school and we definitely understood the gravity of the situation, even if it was happening half a country away.
Second period was history and as we all sat down we were completely quiet, I've never heard a class that silent before. The teacher said something like,
'You all know what's happening. This is history being made, so we're going to walk over to the special education building and watch it.' (the only TVs in our school that got live broadcasts were in the special education building).
We went over there, and I remember I was standing in the back of the group, being one of the taller kids in class... And that's how we watched both towers collapse.
Strangely, I don't really remember what my parents said or did about 9/11. I remember coming home while Columbine was happening to find my mother sitting on the floor of the living room, watching the news, just aghast, but nothing about 9/11."
- Graham Haskin
'A plane hit the tower!' or something like that.
I didn't get that she meant the World Trade Center, because the city where I lived also had a 'Tower' (the Tower of the Americas), and I thought some careless pilot in a prop plane hit that. Not a big deal.
My teacher had a radio and she turned it on to the news... took me a good 15 minutes to realize they weren't talking about my home city. Class was very, very quiet. We were in high school and we definitely understood the gravity of the situation, even if it was happening half a country away.
Second period was history and as we all sat down we were completely quiet, I've never heard a class that silent before. The teacher said something like,
'You all know what's happening. This is history being made, so we're going to walk over to the special education building and watch it.' (the only TVs in our school that got live broadcasts were in the special education building).
We went over there, and I remember I was standing in the back of the group, being one of the taller kids in class... And that's how we watched both towers collapse.
Strangely, I don't really remember what my parents said or did about 9/11. I remember coming home while Columbine was happening to find my mother sitting on the floor of the living room, watching the news, just aghast, but nothing about 9/11."
- Graham Haskin
19. "I was in first grade at Sherwood Christian Academy. I just remember everyone in school being suddenly called into our small cafeteria. Then the teachers wheeled in TVs and we all watched the tower was on fire. The teachers and older kids cried and us little kids where just kind of confused.
We went home early and my mom picked me. I remember it being all over the TV and I didn't know why. My mom was crying and my dad and mom were extremely angry days later. Mom said she wished she could go fight to get the people who attacked. People came together, but everyone was in mourning or angry.
It was surreal."
- Allison Hughes
We went home early and my mom picked me. I remember it being all over the TV and I didn't know why. My mom was crying and my dad and mom were extremely angry days later. Mom said she wished she could go fight to get the people who attacked. People came together, but everyone was in mourning or angry.
It was surreal."
- Allison Hughes
20. "I was a Junior in High School in Plano, Texas. I was in my room getting my JROTC uniform together when my dad popped his head in and said,
'Come check out the news, a plane hit the World Trade Center.'
I finished up and got dressed, thinking it was something small, like a Cessna. It had happened before, hell a B-25 hit the Empire State Building, I thought to myself,
'What's a Cessna to a 100 something story tall building?'
I walked out and saw the gouge. Coming from an Air Force family, I had taken a bit of a liking to aviation. The size of the gouge and the fire....there's no way in hell it was a Cessna. It was something big, a Boeing or an Airbus.
I got to my bus stop and sat in silence for a few minutes, let everything marinade. Had the plane gotten lost? No....it was clear. It felt deliberate. Some looney pilot lost his marbles and decided to go out in grand fashion. I got on the bus and started talking to my friend Allen. He had gotten on early enough that nothing had happened yet when he walked out of his house; he was one of the first stops, I was one of the last. We were both in JROTC so naturally we got along. I started filling him in, and he's the one that threw out the T Word: Terrorism. We went back and forth for the 15 minute ride with the typical gusto of high schoolers.
In the rush of the morning, I had forgotten my ID, so I went to my school's office in the cafeteria to get another one. Jeff, one of the teachers that had been in the military and someone that led a bit of a 'boot camp' USMC style workout for a few of us, was watching the TV taking things in. As I signed for the temp badge, the second plane hit, and a stunned silence filled the room for the next couple minutes. There was no looney pilot, Allen had hit the nail on the head.
The day's lessons were replaced with watching the news. My English teacher, Mr. E, was a Bronx native and was in shock seeing everything going on. The period after ours, the squat Navy vet got up on a table to turn the TV off and get lunch. He fell off the table, and thinking everything was OK, proceeded to walk to another building. He ended up passing out on the walk because of a hairline fracture, he was in a wheelchair or walking cast for the rest of the year.
Living under the approaches and departures of DFW, you got used to seeing air traffic, especially a lot of American Airlines flights. I didn't get used to the silence that followed for the next few days. Every day, I'd walk out, and notice the void in the air."
- Will R.
'Come check out the news, a plane hit the World Trade Center.'
I finished up and got dressed, thinking it was something small, like a Cessna. It had happened before, hell a B-25 hit the Empire State Building, I thought to myself,
'What's a Cessna to a 100 something story tall building?'
I walked out and saw the gouge. Coming from an Air Force family, I had taken a bit of a liking to aviation. The size of the gouge and the fire....there's no way in hell it was a Cessna. It was something big, a Boeing or an Airbus.
I got to my bus stop and sat in silence for a few minutes, let everything marinade. Had the plane gotten lost? No....it was clear. It felt deliberate. Some looney pilot lost his marbles and decided to go out in grand fashion. I got on the bus and started talking to my friend Allen. He had gotten on early enough that nothing had happened yet when he walked out of his house; he was one of the first stops, I was one of the last. We were both in JROTC so naturally we got along. I started filling him in, and he's the one that threw out the T Word: Terrorism. We went back and forth for the 15 minute ride with the typical gusto of high schoolers.
In the rush of the morning, I had forgotten my ID, so I went to my school's office in the cafeteria to get another one. Jeff, one of the teachers that had been in the military and someone that led a bit of a 'boot camp' USMC style workout for a few of us, was watching the TV taking things in. As I signed for the temp badge, the second plane hit, and a stunned silence filled the room for the next couple minutes. There was no looney pilot, Allen had hit the nail on the head.
The day's lessons were replaced with watching the news. My English teacher, Mr. E, was a Bronx native and was in shock seeing everything going on. The period after ours, the squat Navy vet got up on a table to turn the TV off and get lunch. He fell off the table, and thinking everything was OK, proceeded to walk to another building. He ended up passing out on the walk because of a hairline fracture, he was in a wheelchair or walking cast for the rest of the year.
Living under the approaches and departures of DFW, you got used to seeing air traffic, especially a lot of American Airlines flights. I didn't get used to the silence that followed for the next few days. Every day, I'd walk out, and notice the void in the air."
- Will R.
21. "I was in 8th grade journalism class in small town Texas, when we were suddenly rushed to our library to watch the news. My thought process at the time was,
'Ok, current events real time to practice writing an editorial.'
Watching the first tower burn, I thought a small plane crashed. I didn't know the weight of what was happening until the second plane hit the second tower. The teachers gasped and started crying. No one spoke a word. No one knew what to say or what to do. We stayed in the library the entire period until the last 3 minutes so we could go back to class to collect our things to go to the next class.
No one was allowed to go home. All of the teachers had their TVs or radios on in every classroom. The teachers never said a word, it was eerily quiet in the hallways. The school chose to keep us in our respective home rooms the rest of the week while we watched the news coverage. When I got home, every single channel, including MTV, was covering the attacks. My grandparents tried to explain, but were just as speechless. How do you explain a terrorist attack to a 13-year-old and the weight and gravity of it? How do you explain that you just watched the world change? That even though it happened in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania, it affected the entire world?
I still remember watching President Bush being told. I remember the look on his face, the confusion on the faces of others. I remember hearing that the passengers on Flight 93 fought the hijackers and it was why it crashed in Pennsylvania before it could reach the Capitol.
Ever year I watch documentaries, voice clips, old news clips, photos, etc on 9/11. Every year I watch the jumpers and wonder,
'Would I jump?'
I still don't know."
- Elle X.
'Ok, current events real time to practice writing an editorial.'
Watching the first tower burn, I thought a small plane crashed. I didn't know the weight of what was happening until the second plane hit the second tower. The teachers gasped and started crying. No one spoke a word. No one knew what to say or what to do. We stayed in the library the entire period until the last 3 minutes so we could go back to class to collect our things to go to the next class.
No one was allowed to go home. All of the teachers had their TVs or radios on in every classroom. The teachers never said a word, it was eerily quiet in the hallways. The school chose to keep us in our respective home rooms the rest of the week while we watched the news coverage. When I got home, every single channel, including MTV, was covering the attacks. My grandparents tried to explain, but were just as speechless. How do you explain a terrorist attack to a 13-year-old and the weight and gravity of it? How do you explain that you just watched the world change? That even though it happened in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania, it affected the entire world?
I still remember watching President Bush being told. I remember the look on his face, the confusion on the faces of others. I remember hearing that the passengers on Flight 93 fought the hijackers and it was why it crashed in Pennsylvania before it could reach the Capitol.
Ever year I watch documentaries, voice clips, old news clips, photos, etc on 9/11. Every year I watch the jumpers and wonder,
'Would I jump?'
I still don't know."
- Elle X.
22. "I was in second grade. My teacher was normally a happy and bubbly woman, so I knew something was wrong when she got a phone call and became quite solemn.
Parents began picking up their children from school. Throughout the day, the intercom would buzz and the secretary would inform us that another child was going home early. None of us knew why, yet. By the end of the day, there was just a handful of us left.
On our drive home that afternoon, I asked what was going on and my mother told me that people had attacked New York City with planes. I asked her if they were going to attack us too. She said no - but I knew that’s what she would say no matter what. When we got home, we all watched the news. It was my first time hearing about places like the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.
Within the next few days, my principal sent a letter to parents to aid them in talking to their children about everything that was going on. In it, he said something along the lines of,
'God help our children, for now they know that monsters are real.'"
- Kelsey Black
Parents began picking up their children from school. Throughout the day, the intercom would buzz and the secretary would inform us that another child was going home early. None of us knew why, yet. By the end of the day, there was just a handful of us left.
On our drive home that afternoon, I asked what was going on and my mother told me that people had attacked New York City with planes. I asked her if they were going to attack us too. She said no - but I knew that’s what she would say no matter what. When we got home, we all watched the news. It was my first time hearing about places like the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.
Within the next few days, my principal sent a letter to parents to aid them in talking to their children about everything that was going on. In it, he said something along the lines of,
'God help our children, for now they know that monsters are real.'"
- Kelsey Black
23. "I had just turned 4 and was out driving with my parents. I overheard something about a fire that took '11 firefighters' to help put out, and my only thought was that that must've been a big fire. Over a decade later I realized that I'd misheard what they'd said, and that they were either talking about how many fire stations got called in or some number relating to deaths."
- Mark DiSalvi
- Mark DiSalvi
24. "I was 3 years-old, going on 4. I recall getting home from daycare with my mother weeping on the couch and the news showing footage of the towers falling with people nearby running from the dust clouds. I thought it looked fun and I started running around the house pretending I was being chased by a big cloud of dust and debris.
Oh what innocence..."
- Jesse Lee
Oh what innocence..."
- Jesse Lee
25. "I was in the Army in Texas. We had just finished a four mile run for PT when I was walking back to my barracks room to get showered up and ready for the the work day. A guy who spoke really thick Ebonics walked up to me and said,
'Ey guy - gibberish - plane - gibberish - World Trade Center.'
Because I never understand what this guy is saying, I said,
'Whatever man, I don't care.'
And continued on my way.
I showered up, got in my uniform and went to the chow hall to get breakfast. I waited in line, got a ham and cheese omelette, and took my tray to a booth. I looked up at a nearby TV just as the second plane hit.
My heart dropped, I realized what the guy was saying to me before. I tried to explain to myself how this could be an accident, but I couldn't.
I scarfed my food and went to where we met up for work. Everyone had a look of apprehension as we waited to hear what our orders would be. My division (4th Infantry Division) had spent the last couple months at alert status, meaning we were in a state of combat readiness and ready to be deployed anywhere at any time (Divisions take turns being "on alert").
When it became evident that we weren't immediately being deployed, we huddled around a TV and watched. I watched in horror as the towers collapsed, wondering if they had managed to evacuate the buildings. I heard stories that the Pentagon was also attacked, and found out that another plane had crashed in PA. There were also reports of people firing their weapons into the air in celebration in Afghanistan.
My uncle worked in the Pentagon, so I was concerned that he might be dead. I spent a lot of time attempting to make phone calls to my aunt and my father, but the circuits were always busy and it was several days before I could get a call through to my dad and be informed that my uncle was okay.
I watched helplessly as first responders were trying to save people buried alive in the rubble, but I couldn't help them. I couldn't do anything. I was so angry, I wanted to find whoever did this and torture them to death. I was angry the army didn't send me to kill our enemies. They tried to destroy us, but instead they have created a monster so dangerous it would be foolish not to fear it.
We weren't being deployed to Afghanistan, because we were a mechanized division and Afghanistan is covered in mountains which are not vehicle friendly, so we waited. We continued to watch helplessly as people dug through the rubble in New York, thinking that if we went there we could be a massive help. No orders came, so we remained combat ready.
A year and a half after 9/11 we get deployed to Kuwait, and a couple weeks later we conquer Iraq, for some reason."
- Anonymous
'Ey guy - gibberish - plane - gibberish - World Trade Center.'
Because I never understand what this guy is saying, I said,
'Whatever man, I don't care.'
And continued on my way.
I showered up, got in my uniform and went to the chow hall to get breakfast. I waited in line, got a ham and cheese omelette, and took my tray to a booth. I looked up at a nearby TV just as the second plane hit.
My heart dropped, I realized what the guy was saying to me before. I tried to explain to myself how this could be an accident, but I couldn't.
I scarfed my food and went to where we met up for work. Everyone had a look of apprehension as we waited to hear what our orders would be. My division (4th Infantry Division) had spent the last couple months at alert status, meaning we were in a state of combat readiness and ready to be deployed anywhere at any time (Divisions take turns being "on alert").
When it became evident that we weren't immediately being deployed, we huddled around a TV and watched. I watched in horror as the towers collapsed, wondering if they had managed to evacuate the buildings. I heard stories that the Pentagon was also attacked, and found out that another plane had crashed in PA. There were also reports of people firing their weapons into the air in celebration in Afghanistan.
My uncle worked in the Pentagon, so I was concerned that he might be dead. I spent a lot of time attempting to make phone calls to my aunt and my father, but the circuits were always busy and it was several days before I could get a call through to my dad and be informed that my uncle was okay.
I watched helplessly as first responders were trying to save people buried alive in the rubble, but I couldn't help them. I couldn't do anything. I was so angry, I wanted to find whoever did this and torture them to death. I was angry the army didn't send me to kill our enemies. They tried to destroy us, but instead they have created a monster so dangerous it would be foolish not to fear it.
We weren't being deployed to Afghanistan, because we were a mechanized division and Afghanistan is covered in mountains which are not vehicle friendly, so we waited. We continued to watch helplessly as people dug through the rubble in New York, thinking that if we went there we could be a massive help. No orders came, so we remained combat ready.
A year and a half after 9/11 we get deployed to Kuwait, and a couple weeks later we conquer Iraq, for some reason."
- Anonymous
26. "My sister's birthday is September 11th. She was working on a job that traveled around the country and on her birthday she was in Connecticut working. My mom flew up to meet her as a surprise and the morning of 9/11 they were going to take a train to NYC for site seeing. I was asked if I wanted to travel with my mom on short notice but I couldn't raise the money for the trip in time.
The first plane hit before they were able to get a taxi to the train station, so they were clearly not able to go to NYC. One of the first stops on their plan was to go to the WTC complex, so there was a very small chance they would have been in the middle of the situation if they woke up earlier and traveled into the city.
I worked nights at the time so I was asleep when the events went down. I woke up around 2 pm on 9/11 with multiple voicemails asking if everyone was ok. I had a few from my mom and sister stating they were fine and not to worry because they didn't travel to NYC that day. Confused, I turned on the TV and switched over to CNN to see what they were talking about. To say the least, I was in utter shock. Like most people, after the shock wore off, rage took its place. It's just sickening to think back now and realize only around 20 people orchestrated the events and it tore this country's soul apart."
- JL Jenkins
The first plane hit before they were able to get a taxi to the train station, so they were clearly not able to go to NYC. One of the first stops on their plan was to go to the WTC complex, so there was a very small chance they would have been in the middle of the situation if they woke up earlier and traveled into the city.
I worked nights at the time so I was asleep when the events went down. I woke up around 2 pm on 9/11 with multiple voicemails asking if everyone was ok. I had a few from my mom and sister stating they were fine and not to worry because they didn't travel to NYC that day. Confused, I turned on the TV and switched over to CNN to see what they were talking about. To say the least, I was in utter shock. Like most people, after the shock wore off, rage took its place. It's just sickening to think back now and realize only around 20 people orchestrated the events and it tore this country's soul apart."
- JL Jenkins
27. "I was in 10th grade and just completed a practice state-mandated assessment test. Upon completion, we were assigned a designated teacher’s classroom waiting for the others to finish. Walking in the hallways to my classroom, a few fellow students were whispering and seemed perturbed about a 'plane crash in New York City.' I wasn’t a particularly social teenager, so it was just chatter that I overheard without thinking much more into it.
When I got to my classroom, a TV had been wheeled-in into the room with news anchors discussing the apparent tragic accident that had occurred. My immediate reaction was disbelief and confusion how a plane could accidentally crash into such a large and prominent building in Manhattan.
Almost immediately, the new showed what I thought was a replay of the original crash. I was dumbfounded that it was in fact a passenger plane that crashed into the World Trade Center and not a small aircraft, then instantly I wondered why both towers were smoking…
What felt like the longest pause of silence from the news anchors and everyone else in my classroom — teachers included — it became apparent that the south tower had also been hit. This was a terrorist attack unfolding in real-time.
The minutes that followed are a complete blur of memories that I’ll never get back.
The next thing I remember, I was sitting in my American Sign Language class and our teacher refused to show any news coverage, and instead, decided to tell us the importance of this moment in history and how the world will never be the same. Boy was he right.
It wasn’t until school was cancelled and I drove home that I heard about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crashes. The news coverage for the days and week that followed were all we could watch.
September 11, 2001 will forever be a day I’ll remember as a defining moment where my childhood ended prematurely and the realness of the world was realized."
- Kyle Lloyd
When I got to my classroom, a TV had been wheeled-in into the room with news anchors discussing the apparent tragic accident that had occurred. My immediate reaction was disbelief and confusion how a plane could accidentally crash into such a large and prominent building in Manhattan.
Almost immediately, the new showed what I thought was a replay of the original crash. I was dumbfounded that it was in fact a passenger plane that crashed into the World Trade Center and not a small aircraft, then instantly I wondered why both towers were smoking…
What felt like the longest pause of silence from the news anchors and everyone else in my classroom — teachers included — it became apparent that the south tower had also been hit. This was a terrorist attack unfolding in real-time.
The minutes that followed are a complete blur of memories that I’ll never get back.
The next thing I remember, I was sitting in my American Sign Language class and our teacher refused to show any news coverage, and instead, decided to tell us the importance of this moment in history and how the world will never be the same. Boy was he right.
It wasn’t until school was cancelled and I drove home that I heard about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crashes. The news coverage for the days and week that followed were all we could watch.
September 11, 2001 will forever be a day I’ll remember as a defining moment where my childhood ended prematurely and the realness of the world was realized."
- Kyle Lloyd