UTAH
"Where were you on 9/11?" as remembered by those in Utah that day.
A man fresh off breaking up an engagement remembers how difficult it was to find information on the internet following the attacks.
1. "Fresh off a broken engagement, so I was spending my mornings in the gym. I came out from my workout, and was sitting on the locker room bench when I looked up to see what's happening on the TV. That's when the second plane hit.
I cleaned up and got into work at the IT department on BYU. We spent much of the day refreshing CNN.com for updates, watching them go offline and online until they eventually just put up a single, static html page to handle the traffic."
- K. S.
I cleaned up and got into work at the IT department on BYU. We spent much of the day refreshing CNN.com for updates, watching them go offline and online until they eventually just put up a single, static html page to handle the traffic."
- K. S.
Written Stories
2. "I had a meeting scheduled in the World Trade Center at 8 am on 9/11. I finished my work early and ended up postponing the meeting and flying back to Utah early on 9/10.
Good call.
I don't know what might have happened and I've always been grateful for choosing to come home early. Not long after, I returned to NYC and had a sobering view of the still smoldering site. Seeing the footprint of those massive buildings, the missing persons posters, the flowers, candles, and other tokens lining the fences was heartbreaking to behold. I will never forget the intensity of those emotions."
- Shyloh Robinson
Good call.
I don't know what might have happened and I've always been grateful for choosing to come home early. Not long after, I returned to NYC and had a sobering view of the still smoldering site. Seeing the footprint of those massive buildings, the missing persons posters, the flowers, candles, and other tokens lining the fences was heartbreaking to behold. I will never forget the intensity of those emotions."
- Shyloh Robinson
3. "I was in 5th grade, had a teacher with a really warped sense of humor. He would show us 'shock videos' like where a skateboarder broke his arm and you could see the bone come out of the skin, etc.
When he told us about the attacks we all thought it was a joke, but then our parents started calling the school to ask if they could bring us home early. We were dismissed at 10 a.m. and spent the rest of the day watching the news. My mother was stuck in Oklahoma City for about three days while all airlines were grounded so I stayed with my friend’s family."
- Dan C.
When he told us about the attacks we all thought it was a joke, but then our parents started calling the school to ask if they could bring us home early. We were dismissed at 10 a.m. and spent the rest of the day watching the news. My mother was stuck in Oklahoma City for about three days while all airlines were grounded so I stayed with my friend’s family."
- Dan C.
4. "I was a freshman in high school, in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. I had just gotten to school and was in my 1st Period band class. My band director always had news on in the morning so I looked up at the TV and saw something smoking on the screen, but couldn't tell what it was. I asked a classmate if that was another forest fire or something. He said no, it was the Pentagon and that a plane had crashed into it.
When class started, the director gave us a quick talk about what was happening and how some planes had been hijacked, but no one knew how many. He even suggested places like Chicago could be attacked. From there, we carried on with rehearsal.
I do remember watching a replay of the second plane hitting, there was a collective gasp in the room as it happened.
When the towers came down, it was surreal to say the least. Watching the people on the ground run away from the massive wall of dust and debris was...intense.
Throughout the day, different teachers handled it differently. In homeroom, the teacher didn't even know what was going on and was confused when we all demanded she turn on the TV. She thought we were pulling her leg. When she came back, she looked like she was going to cry.
In another class, my teacher didn't allow us to watch the coverage, stating that we had things to do. For the most part, there wasn't a lot of learning going on as everyone was glued to the TVs, they were even wheeled into the cafeteria during lunches for us to watch.
When I got home, my dad, a federal employee, was already home. His office, like many other federal agencies across the country had closed early. Throughout the rest of evening and days to come, the news was always on.
At age 14, 9/11 was my entry into the world of politics and global affairs."
- G. R.
When class started, the director gave us a quick talk about what was happening and how some planes had been hijacked, but no one knew how many. He even suggested places like Chicago could be attacked. From there, we carried on with rehearsal.
I do remember watching a replay of the second plane hitting, there was a collective gasp in the room as it happened.
When the towers came down, it was surreal to say the least. Watching the people on the ground run away from the massive wall of dust and debris was...intense.
Throughout the day, different teachers handled it differently. In homeroom, the teacher didn't even know what was going on and was confused when we all demanded she turn on the TV. She thought we were pulling her leg. When she came back, she looked like she was going to cry.
In another class, my teacher didn't allow us to watch the coverage, stating that we had things to do. For the most part, there wasn't a lot of learning going on as everyone was glued to the TVs, they were even wheeled into the cafeteria during lunches for us to watch.
When I got home, my dad, a federal employee, was already home. His office, like many other federal agencies across the country had closed early. Throughout the rest of evening and days to come, the news was always on.
At age 14, 9/11 was my entry into the world of politics and global affairs."
- G. R.
5. "I was on my way to work and turned off the radio so I wouldn't have to listen to it. I couldn't do anything about it, all it did was make me angry and sad with no way to make a positive contribution.
I was into High Power Rocketry in those days and our club was about to host our big annual launch festival on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The FAA handed us over to NORAD because NORAD was in charge of the airspace. They let us fly rockets on Friday, but shut us down Saturday and Sunday.
The airspace over the Bonneville Salt Flats usually has constant air traffic. It was eerily quiet that weekend.
- U. B.
I was into High Power Rocketry in those days and our club was about to host our big annual launch festival on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The FAA handed us over to NORAD because NORAD was in charge of the airspace. They let us fly rockets on Friday, but shut us down Saturday and Sunday.
The airspace over the Bonneville Salt Flats usually has constant air traffic. It was eerily quiet that weekend.
- U. B.
6. "I was in college. I arrived early to campus to go to the computer lab in the school's communications building. In the building's lobby there was a large screen TV airing the attacks on the Twin Towers. I walked past and thought,
'Why in the world are they showing a blockbuster movie this early in the morning?'
I didn't realize anything had happened until about 30 minutes later when I got to class and everyone was talking about it. That was a surreal day."
- J. M.
'Why in the world are they showing a blockbuster movie this early in the morning?'
I didn't realize anything had happened until about 30 minutes later when I got to class and everyone was talking about it. That was a surreal day."
- J. M.
7. "Living in Benson, getting my 8 year old daughter ready for school and myself ready for work. I watched the news and didn’t want to send my daughter to school but I had to get to work. I worked at the USU space dynamics laboratory and we had a huge TV in the conference room where everyone watched the tragedy unfold. Some of our department heads were actually in Washington DC and New York at the time.
It was such a scary and sad day. I found out I was pregnant with our now 18 yr old daughter. We had been trying for a while to get pregnant and to find out on that day was such a twist. Life changed that day. There is before 9/11 and after 9/11."
- Christy Noble
It was such a scary and sad day. I found out I was pregnant with our now 18 yr old daughter. We had been trying for a while to get pregnant and to find out on that day was such a twist. Life changed that day. There is before 9/11 and after 9/11."
- Christy Noble
8. "We saw the second plane hit on live tv before going to school in a small Utah town. It was terrifying. Once I got to class, our high school teachers turned off the tv and told us to focus on math.
The whole day was spent pretending like this day wasn't the turning point of modern America. I was afraid we were going to go to war and I'd be drafted to fight in a major retaliation based war... and here were my teachers, telling me to continue on as usual.
I resent their nonchalance, every year when September rolls around."
- Anonymous
The whole day was spent pretending like this day wasn't the turning point of modern America. I was afraid we were going to go to war and I'd be drafted to fight in a major retaliation based war... and here were my teachers, telling me to continue on as usual.
I resent their nonchalance, every year when September rolls around."
- Anonymous
9. "I was a student at the University of Utah, riding a campus shuttle early that morning on my way to Chemistry lab. It was only the shuttle driver and me at the moment the radio was interrupted with breaking news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We both made the assumption that it was an agricultural plane that had a terrible accident.
By the time my lab was over and we all walked outside, we had heard that it was a commercial plane. I went to my next class and I had heard mumbling that a second plane had hit. After that class was over, I was walking through the Marriott Library where there were TVs everywhere with large crowds around each one. I stopped to see what had developed and I watched on live TV, huddled together with 30-50 strangers around the TV, as the first tower fell. I will never forget that moment. The involuntary gasps of disbelief, the crying, and finally the complete silence that happened after the initial shock was over.
Most of us stayed watching the coverage for awhile. I remember thinking I didn’t know what I was watching for but it felt important. And then the second tower fell. It’s a day I certainly will never forget."
- Anonymous
By the time my lab was over and we all walked outside, we had heard that it was a commercial plane. I went to my next class and I had heard mumbling that a second plane had hit. After that class was over, I was walking through the Marriott Library where there were TVs everywhere with large crowds around each one. I stopped to see what had developed and I watched on live TV, huddled together with 30-50 strangers around the TV, as the first tower fell. I will never forget that moment. The involuntary gasps of disbelief, the crying, and finally the complete silence that happened after the initial shock was over.
Most of us stayed watching the coverage for awhile. I remember thinking I didn’t know what I was watching for but it felt important. And then the second tower fell. It’s a day I certainly will never forget."
- Anonymous
10. "I was in 3rd grade and remember my teacher turning on the TV for us all to sit around it and watch the news coverage. I don’t think many of us really knew what was going on but we were scared. I was really worried about all the smoke I saw on TV and thought it would get to us in Utah and we’d suffocate.
My teacher was trying to reassure us things would be okay even when, in retrospect, I’m sure she was freaking out. The school let our parents come pick us up for the day. It was one kid’s birthday so everyone was pretty bummed but we got a cupcake on our way out."
- E. K.
My teacher was trying to reassure us things would be okay even when, in retrospect, I’m sure she was freaking out. The school let our parents come pick us up for the day. It was one kid’s birthday so everyone was pretty bummed but we got a cupcake on our way out."
- E. K.
11. "I saw it on TV as I was getting ready for school, but remember not fully grasping what was happening. We watched the news in a couple classes.
My mom came to pick us up that day and apparently before school actually let out, the school officers escorted a group of kids out - Kids who were Muslim or from the Middle East. I believe it was to protect them from being beat up or harassed by other kids."
- Anonymous
My mom came to pick us up that day and apparently before school actually let out, the school officers escorted a group of kids out - Kids who were Muslim or from the Middle East. I believe it was to protect them from being beat up or harassed by other kids."
- Anonymous
12. "10th grader, rode the bus to school every morning and we got to school very early. I had a lot of friends in orchestra, and the orchestra room had the best couches, so we would go there every morning before class. The TV was usually on, but I remember on this particular day when I looked up at the TV - I saw the World Trade Center burning.
I thought it was a joke until I saw the second plane hit. The whole rest of the day, in every single class, we just watched the news. It was a day I will never forget."
- W. L.
I thought it was a joke until I saw the second plane hit. The whole rest of the day, in every single class, we just watched the news. It was a day I will never forget."
- W. L.
13. "I was a high school senior living in Brigham City. I remember getting in the shower that morning and I could hear the news coming from my mom's room next to the bathroom and there were all kinds of bizarre words, like 'smoke' and 'towers' - just really strange things, when normally it would be really light gossipy stuff or weather.
I got out of the shower, put on a towel and I walked around to her bedroom. It was hard to comprehend what I saw on that TV, my first thought is that it was some kind of accident, that the plane lost communication or something and that's how it ended up in the tower.
I went to school and we went from class to class, glassy eyed and in shock, but craving more information throughout the day. Finally, in the afternoon, the principal said that we should stop watching the news, that it was only upsetting students.
And so, it was turned off.
That whole day was like living in a dream, no one really knew what happened or why, but we had to keep our eyes on it, just on case it came for us."
- S. R.
I got out of the shower, put on a towel and I walked around to her bedroom. It was hard to comprehend what I saw on that TV, my first thought is that it was some kind of accident, that the plane lost communication or something and that's how it ended up in the tower.
I went to school and we went from class to class, glassy eyed and in shock, but craving more information throughout the day. Finally, in the afternoon, the principal said that we should stop watching the news, that it was only upsetting students.
And so, it was turned off.
That whole day was like living in a dream, no one really knew what happened or why, but we had to keep our eyes on it, just on case it came for us."
- S. R.
14. "I was 4 years old so I can only vaguely remember sitting on the living room floor playing with some toys. My parents were freaking out, mom was crying.
I just thought it was a movie."
- B. B.
I just thought it was a movie."
- B. B.