What were you doing on September 11, 2001?

[HossHarris]

It was 0800 Central Time (0900 EST) and I got a phone call from my mother in law. I was still sleeping (we were flying nights at the time, so I got home late and was sleeping in late before going to work again around noon).

Mom in law said a plane had hit a buidling in NY....flipped the TV on expecting to see poor visibility and a Cessna tail sticking out the side.

As I looked at the clear blue sky on the TV screen, I remember thinking to myself how anyone could not have seen that giant building filling up their windscreen. Just as I finsihed that thought, I watch the UAL 175 strike the South Tower, then reports of the Pentagon hit.

What the hell was going on?

Squadron initiates a recall...don't come to work....take your names off the outside of the house....THREATCON DELTA.

Sad day indeed.

To the 2,974 lost on that day...RIP!

Cap-10

Just down the street, doing the exact same thing.

[brwwg&b]

I was in high school at the time, and in Japan. Kind of strange because most peoples stories are of the morning, while for me it was in the evening due to the time change. At the same time, I was keeping my mother calm and the following week was quite hectic on the base, with the added factor of a typhoon coming through. Was a shock, especially knowing people in the pentagon and knowing several relatives who had been there only days previous.

For my brother, it was his first day at college, and being a small school in the south, they went to the first couple classes before determining it was best to just call school off.

to those affected, and their loved ones

[herkbum]

I was sleeping. I had just returned from SERE. The phone had been ringing for a while (not sure how long) and I finally decided to answer it. It was my brother asking me "what the hell is going on?". I told him I was sleeping and he said to turn my TV on. I did. As soon as I turned it on, the second plane hit. I told him I would call him back. Checked the answering machine and there were 2 or 3 messages from the squadron telling me that we were being put in Alpha and Bravo alert status. I was told to stay home until they called. Ending up watching the news coverage all day. Never forget!!

[The Kayla]

I was a senoir in high school in CA.

I didn't know what was going on until my second period class.. which was at 8:50am.

The Class clown in my first period class asked our econ teacher if we could talk about what happened.. and my teacher said "No, this probably affects me more then anyone else.. my sister is a United Airlines flight attendent, and we don't know where she is.." -- I asked the guy next to me if he knew what they were talking about.. and he had no clue..

So I go to my next class.. in I walk (I'm always early) and the TV is on, and my Teacher is balling... I watched the TV some and put two and two together. I guess you could say I was kinda numb after that..

My Husband was on a mission in Spain when 9/11 happened.

[TacAirCoug]

I was briefing to fly my 2nd sortie of Phase 3 down at Corpus. Went into the briefing room, everything was normal. Came out of the briefing room, everyone was packed around the little TV in the break room. We couldn't let a little thing like some idiot running into a building on a clear blue day stop the UPT syllabus, so we stepped. Ready to go, no ATIS, no response from tower, then we hear a message over the ATIS freq and on Guard shortly thereafter: "All NAS Corpus Christi aircraft are directed to discontinue training and return to base immediately, one to a full stop only. Repeat..." As I lowered the crew stairs, one of the MX dudes was jogging over screaming something about the Pentagon getting hit. The rest of the morning was spent in front of that little break room TV in a sort of daze. Pilot training suddenly had a whole new meaning.

[FalconXtreme]

i was a soph in high skool in california. so by the time i woke up for skool the first plane had already hit. i heard the talk on the radio but was too half sleep to pay attention. got to skool and for the rest of the day we were watching coverage on tv in every class.

once flt 93 crashed and it was released that flt 93 was a west bound united flight i instantly started feeling the worst emotional pain ever. without any conformation i knew that flt93 was the flight my aunt, a united flt atendant, was on. i spent the rest of the skool day hoping it wasnt her but knowing it was. then it came half way through my final class of the day. the note from the office that said go home immidiately after skool...

spent the next 3 weeks of my life traveling with family to and from penn, dc, nj, ny for memorials and such.

i for one will never forget to all those lost 7 years ago today.

[Sim]

I was in a chow hall listening to a radio when first plane hit. I though it was some fool in cessna...arrived to squadron and everyone was watching tele...

[Guest AndThenSome]

I was getting ready to start 1st block classes, senior yr of high school. I remember just staring at the TV, knowing life as we knew it was going to change, even as some other douche bags in the room lost interest after an hour or so.

Our principle actually ordered every teacher in the school to turn OFF their TVs and continue teaching class as if nothing happened. (Most said "screw you" and left them on.) Her decision was so controversial that Good Morning America sent a camera crew to interview her a few days later to explain why she was so retarded.

Never, ever forget.

[BattleRattle]

I was a junior in college and was getting ready to head into my second day at the local newspaper for my internship. I woke up and began making calls for an article I was working on when the person on the other end of the phone picked up already crying and told me to turn on the tv and then hung up on me. When I got into work, the staff was already getting everything ready for a same-day 4pm issue focused on nothing but the attacks.

On a related note, I just came from the Pentagon Memorial and it was very powerful. It was very thought-provoking to actually visit it on the day it was dedicated. Definitely worth checking out when you come to DC.

[ol-IEWO]

I was at work in Dallas discussing a business deal with several people in Great Britain. They were in their lounge with the TV on and were about to turn it off when a breaking news story ran. They told me a plane had crashed into a building in NYC. Dumb me wrote it off as a small plane in fog being lost and hit one of the taller buildings. I went back to discussing the deal and they filled me in about what was happening while we were working the deal. When they told me a second plane hit, I sensed that something was amiss. About that time my co-workers began running around in a panic, yelling about an attack on the US. With all the noise, hearing the Brit's was difficult and we agreed to reschedule the call. They said that they understood. Then I turned on my radio and learned what really happened. I really felt stupid.

[Guest Pogo]

Was on a USAF base in England, along with 850 US Army Rangers, a range of EC-130s, MC-130s, C-141s and C-5s who were all participating in a special forces exercise in Eastern Europe. Having read books about 9/11 and Afghanistan I've never quite worked out if it was coincidence or not.

[Guest regularjoe]

I was on leave planning to get married in a week and a half, by the time the second plane hit I had the phone ring non-stop telling me to return from leave.

Got married that night, next day my dad and I both deployed seperately to our respective stations.

[amcflyboy]

I was still in College at the time (University of Rhode Island). I was on my way to my first class which started at 9 am. Was on the main road when American Flight 11 hit the North tower (8:43 if I'm not mistaking). Didn't even know what was going on because the story hadn't hit the radios yet.

I get out of class at 10:30, and overheard two professors talking about an incident in New York City. Walked into the Student Union, and there were radios on everywhere. That's when I started realizing something was up. I get down stairs to get a coffee, and there was a MOB of people gathered around a T.V., and that's how I got the news. I was completely floored....

I called my then girlfriend now wife, frantically because she worked fulltime for an environmental company, and made routine stops in the city (she lived in Waterbury, CT). That was pretty useless because the bandwidths were totally hogged. She finally called me and told she was in Hartford at the time.

When I worked as a luggage slinger part-time for American Airlines out of Providence a couple of years prior, I knew some of the ticket agents. One of them I knew was on American Flight 11. Talk about small world.

I had drill the following weekend, and no cars were being allowed on base, and THREATCON CHARLIE was in effect. We were ordered to show at 6 am for ground support for a possible mobilization. Nothing ever materialized though.

[BitteEinBit]

I was on my second MR flight at Little Rock just after my PIQ/PMQ check on a simulated overwater navigation checkride. We were westbound towards OKC just over Tulsa when we heard numerous airliners talking to Memphis Center getting recalled or told to divert. This went on for about 20 minutes and then there was complete radio silence. We thought something was going on at Memphis Center and didn't realize it was a national crisis. Finally we did a radio check just to make sure we hadn't lost contact with Center when they told us to contact our command post to "see what they want to do with you." We asked what the problem was and they just said "Contact your Command Post, there is a national emergency in progress." We couldn't even imagine the carnage that was underway in New York and Washington. We thought maybe there was an assassination or a nuke had gone off. Curious, we contacted CP and asked what the problem was but weren't given any details. They just told us to come back "via the most direct routing, and max forward speed." We land at Little Rock, pull into the chocks, shut down and a crew chief comes up to the flight deck and says these words exactly "You're not going to believe this...two planes flew into the WTC and knocked them over...and another one blew up the Pentagon." Planes "knocking over" buildings just didn't sound realistic but we knew SOMETHING had happened. As we were walking back to the SQ we could see THREATCON DELTA procedures in effect. We knew something was wrong.

It really was hard to believe what I was seeing on TV...but we knew right then that life as we knew it was getting ready to change.

[Guest Boom]

I had just graduated tech school at Keesler AFB the day prior and was home on leave in Wyoming before PCSing to Robins AFB. My mom woke me up and we tuned into CNN to see the second plane live hit the other tower. I remember driving by FE Warren AFB that day seeing humvee's outside the main gate with cops manning .50 cals pointed at the limited people allowed on base (mission critical or if you lived there). Sad day.

[Big Bear]

I was in my 5th week of basic. We were out at medina annex of Lackland doing the whole warrior week thing. I remember we had JUST got out of the anti-terrorism brief and started that stupid 3 mile march where they pop smoke and you're supposed to duck for cover and all that mess...

Funny thing was, when they had us run back to the flagpole and told us what happened, everybody thought they were f*cking with us. It didn't occur to me that it was for real until they evacuated us back to our dorms.

Still hard to believe that happened. What an act of cowardice, makes me mad to this day... That's part of the reason I decided to stay in the AF and become an officer.

[Guest Boom]

Still hard to believe that happened. What an act of cowardice, makes me mad to this day... That's part of the reason I decided to stay in the AF and become an officer.

9/11 made you want to stay in and become an officer?

[Guest Sebastian]

I just started my senior year in high school on Long Island. Rumors starting coming in and the school went on lock down. Teachers wouldn't say much and the TVs in the class rooms weren't hooked up yet. A couple of students had cell phones and tried making calls. I remember one teacher told us cell phones weren't allowed in school and were told to put them away or else we would see the principal. We told her to screw herself. Some of us had parents in the reserves and guard and a lot of us had family that worked in the city.

One of the things I remember most about that day was regarding a buddy of mine. He had planned on joining the marines after school and was debating whether or not to graduate early. Of course if he did that he would miss out on all the senior year fun. That day, after we heard the first building collapsed, he looked at me and said, "Well that settles it. I got to go." It was a true act of service before self. He was one of the reasons I would later join up.

Edited September 11, 2008 by Sebastian

[Palangi]

I had just got back to Arizona from 2 years in California and my sister called to give me the news. For the first time in my life I really cursed my 28.8 KBps internet. I was attending a community college for my EMT recert. It was a tough class that night for our Paramedic/FF instructors and our class.

[Techsan]

I was a casual LT @ the time, so I was sleeping in. Got a call from my roommate..."dude, you haven't heard whats happened?" 2 seconds later, get the call from the squadron to report ASAP. Base is in Delta, and it looks as if WWIII is in full effect.

That same day, noticed they had 5 fully loaded Eagles cocked on alert @ the end of the rwy.

[Guest afwife52508]

9th grade at the time. I remember getting to the bus stop when a boy named Kyle (I will never forget his name) told us an airplane crashed into the trade centers. We all just brushed it off since he said it was "just a small plane and no big deal." Not so. Got to school and the principal wouldn't allow any of the teachers to have their tv's on. (9th grade was in the jr high building and he didn't want to expose young minds to such violence) Surprised we didn't get media coverage for that goof up. Got home that day and my parents were mortified when they realized that I had no idea what was going on due to that "smart" decision. The principal got a not so nice phone call later that week. My aunt was a flight attendant and my dad was on a business trip, but I knew that they were no where in the vicinity.

That still doesn't make the sick feeling I get in my stomach anytime I hear audio or video of that day go away.

I want to say thank you to you all for making our world a safer place.

[afnav]

I was scrambling to rip pitot covers off my plane and 12 ALCMs.

[Guest Smoke_Jaguar4]

I was assigned to the Pentagon; my wife and I had an apartment 3 blocks south of the Pentagon in Crystal City. On that day, however, I was deployed to the USAF Mission in Bogota, Colombia.

My wife was home studying for a school test and watching the WTC on TV. Suddenly she felt and heard a huge bang. She went to our balcony and saw the damage to the Pentagon. About 30 minutes later the roof of our building caught fire from the falling debris (we lived on the top floor). She evacuated and decided to get out of town, but by then all the major highways were deadlocked.

Downrange in Colombia, we went to THREATCON Bravo after AA11 struck the first tower. Whether or not it was terrorist related, we wanted to make sure the FARC didn't launch any opportunistic attacks. After the 2nd tower was hit, we were sure it was deliberate and we kicked into Charlie. It was my responsibilty to get 100% accountability of all our guys in the country. Someone yelled the Pentagon has been hit. I looked at the TV and had a very surreal moment. It was a shot taken from the South Parking lot where I normally walked to work. I walked up to the TV and stared at it for a minute. At that point I suddenly felt calm and dread at the same time.

Calm because I realized it was the part of the Pentagon that was under construction so it would be mostly empty. Dread because I knew my wife would be home, and we also had an office adjacent to the impacted area. I go back to my desk and try to finish contacting the last two locations on my list. I was worried about them because they were the deepest in Pacoland and hadn't reported in yet. Every ten minutes someone asks me if I'm Ok. At some point I get fed up, walk to the board, and draw out the impact site and the construction. I explicitly said "Now I've got a job to do, and so do you". Pretty ballsy for the lowest ranking officer and the only non-rated guy in the Section; after that they left me alone.

I tried calling both our offices in Rosslyn and my wife. Now comms were pretty bad under normal conditions, on that day they went to hell. I didn't get through until the next day when I found out my wife and co-workers in the Pentagon were Ok. The rest of that week were were in the middle of a rotation. With all flights grounded, we had guys all over the US inbound, as well as guy ready to go home. That week I think I got a total of 4 hours of sleep. I wound up extending my TDY to 179 day and flew my wife down to be with me in Colombia where I'd know she'd be safe.

SJ4

Edited September 11, 2008 by Smoke_Jaguar4

[Guest cheap]

My Husband was on a mission in Spain when 9/11 happened.

I was crew resting NAS Rota. One of the loads and I were walking around base (we were one of the few crews billeted on base at the time) and we bumped into another load coming out of the NX. He told us what happened and we walked into the powerzone one minute before the second plane hit.

All crews were recalled to base and we were told to triple up in billeting. Our mission out was cancelled (we were heading back towards the States) and we basically had to sit for four days until jets started flying again.

I think I was a SrA at the time.

[Guest Pathwarrior]

For me, I was sitting in the cafeteria in High School waiting to go to class. When I got to Geometry my teacher told us that the WTC and Pentagon had gotten hit. All I remembered is "Thank God Dad got home last night." At the time, my old man had just gotten home from a trip as a Captain for Delta. He flew over the Towers that morning before they fell, and the next time he flew over he said it looked like a huge construction site. I remember wanting to sign right then an there,, and actually I'm getting in the process of becoming a Load with the 167th, spoke with them today, of all days.

And yes, it is too bad that we as a society seem to have the attention span of a gnat, much too bad.

Never Forget.