It was 25 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was driving into Boston Logan airport on the upper deck of route 93, and noting that it was a beautiful day in Boston. I was listening to “traffic on the 3’s” on the radio when the traffic report was cut short for them to say that an airplane had flown into the World Trade Center in New York. I thought “that is odd” and continued to airport parking. As I was reaching for the key to turn off my car, they reported that a second airplane had flown into the other tower.
I continue to the airport and asked “are you still flying?”. They said “I think so” and gave me my boarding pass. I continued to the gate and sat, and sat, and sat.
5 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave there was still no action at the gate, and no indication that we were going to board. The TVs that carried news had all been turned off, so we had no idea what was going on. Then they made an announcement that all flights were cancelled and we all needed to go home. I went home.
It was only after I got home and saw the TV news that I realized what was happening. I still feel quite lucky.
A neighbor, the entire family, was going to be on AA flight 11 to LA for vacation. However, their son (the same age as my older daughter, so quite young at the time) got an ear infection so the whole family stayed home. They all watched it on TV instead of being on the flight. They might have been even more lucky.
I was supposed to participate in an editing meeting three days later. It ended up being cancelled of course. My co-chair for the group knew someone who was in the SFO airport trying to fly home to Boston when this all happened. They went with a colleague to the car rental counter to try to rent a car to drive to Boston instead. The rental car company only had one vehicle left, and it was a van that held 21. They said “We will not rent it to you, but we will hold it for you. If you can find 15 people total going to Boston then we will rent it to you”. The two of them wandered around the SFO airport and ended up finding 11 more people going to Boston and 3 going to JFK (so 16 total including the first two). The 16 of them rented the van and drove to Boston, dropping three people off at JFK on the way. Kudos to the car rental company (who helped get 16 people home instead of 2).
My dad and his wife were at the Phoenix Airport waiting for their flight home. The whole airport shut down. Luckily they were visiting relatives who came and picked them up. They couldn’t get a flight home…and a week later, my dad was ready to rent a car and drive the 2500 miles home. And as luck would have it, there were also no rental cars to be had by the time he wanted to do that. They ended up in Phoenix for an extra two weeks…it was hard getting a flight.
It was so eerie during that time…with no planes flying over. I drove someplace near our airport, and there were no planes taking off…or landing. A very strange sight.
I was at work. It was the departmental supervisor staff meeting. Our boss called to tell us a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We had an old tv with rabbit ears and aluminum foil that would work if you put it in one spot in our room, so that’s what we did.
My dad at the time, worked for “the govt” and sometimes at the pentagon. We didn’t know if he was there that day, but nobody had his phone number at work and no cell phones. He wasn’t there.
But what I remember the most - and what I tell my kids - I was an active participant in running forums back then. We were all glued to the forum. Several were in NYC, DC, etc. one woman’s home office was in the WTC and lost everyone. but it was the first disaster where information was coming at you in real time like today. One woman worked for CNN and in charge of a team who collected all photos and decided which were ok to put online. Her team needed lots of counseling after that. She said for everyone shown, there were 100 that were just too terrible.
We were two hours behind in AZ, so I was just getting up and DH was getting ready for work when he got a call that his KPMG team was being told to evacuate from the south tower after the first plane hit the north; their client didn’t wait for instructions, they told everyone to leave, and everyone on the project got out safely though we didn’t have that confirmation until hours later.
We turned on the TV just as the second plane hit. Like everyone else, we just couldn’t make sense of what we were seeing. DH had been commuting between Phoenix and NYC, living in the Marriott World Trade Center, until two months prior when he was transferred to local project. It was agony waiting for information from friends and co-workers who were in the towers and vicinity that Tuesday.
Our son was four at the time and couldn’t understand my tears and his dad’s frantic phone calls. He saw the replays before we had the sense and understanding to turn the TV off and try to normalize the day for him. He says he remembers the tension and sadness of that day and the days that followed even if he didn’t really understand it.
Woke up, went downstairs, had coffee, and Mr. turned on the TV. I think it was tuned to CNN, and the first thing we saw was live images of the burning Pentagon. It was a very bright, warm, sunny morning, and the contrast with what was on the screen was absolutely shocking. We couldn’t understand what was happening… were we at war? Who attacked us? Because we haven’t seen anything about the other planes, we had no idea it was a plane, and that there were others… I don’t think the kids could understand what was going on. In the days that followed, with all airplanes grounded, the sky was eerily quiet. We lived under the flight path used by Boeing to test fly its aircraft, and we were absolutely used to the humming of these planes above us. A simple, ever present white noise. We were so happy when we heard this white noise again! It signaled the beginning of the return to normalcy - of sorts.
I was in my daughter’s school helping in the library (in NJ) . The secretary from the office came in and wheeled out the AV Cart with the TV. When my shift was over I went into the office having heard something was going on in the city. The secretary was pulling contact cards for all the students who had parents that worked in the city. When she asked where my husband worked and I said the Trade Center, her jaw dropped (but she actually didn’t give me details). I asked her to use the phone to check my phone messages at home (didn’t have a cell phone back then). I had dozens of messages, but the first was from my husband saying he was OK. I did not see what had happened until I arrived home and saw the endless news replays.
Now, my husband’s version of the day. At the time, he worked on the 46th floor of the trade center. He commute was to take NJ transit to Hoboken and then the PATH to World Trade Center. That day he had met a friend on the train and they both went down to the PATH station together. My husband did not squeeze into the first crowded train that our friend did, instead waiting for the next one. When my husband got to the WTC, he saw emergency workers running out of the building (I think he was probably on the last or next to last PATH train that pulled into the station - they halted them shortly after) and so he followed outside instead of going to his office. When he got outside the first plane had already hit and he just kept walking away from the building. He immediately called both me and his parents from a pay phone to say he was OK. He witnessed the second plane hit. He just continued walking northward until he arrived at another company office North of Times Square. He made it home much later that day when they started running trains again from Penn Station to NJ. It was years before he could watch anything about it on TV and he definitely has some PTSD from that day.
Unfortunately, our friend who squeezed on the first PATH train died. We had another friend, parent of my daughter’s friend die that day also. It was the worst day of my life (I hope no other day will ever be as bad.) Telling my then 7 year old daughter what had happened was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
I also want to add that my husband and his co-workers went back to work in downtown about 6 months later. Almost all of them have suffered from some form of cancer (my husband has Lymphoma but is in a long term remission). It is not just first responders who are living forever with the trauma and illnesses around this event.
Something I realize. Reading all your stories - some so very attached to that day and even people who perished….
Because we “know” each other here on CC so well over the years, these stories many hold In you, are heartbreaking and so very real to read . They are more meaningful because we sort of know each other (to a degree!) on a certain level.
We are sleeping as we are 5-6 hours earlier than East Coast. We woke to the awful news—not positive how we heard it. Since H worked with DOD, his entire workplace as on high alert— we were likely called by H’s workplace.
My parents and brother and their client were supposed to be flying from Europe to HI that day but because airspace was closed, they were diverted to Japan, where the client lives. They were able to send us a message not to worry and that they were all fine and would return when airspace of US reopened.
I’m sorry for all who have PTSD about all of this. It was truly horrifying and awful that so many have such poor health and cancer and respiratory conditions as a result.
I was also watching the Today show. I remember how Matt Lauer immediately said now we have to move from a possible accident to a deliberate act when the second plane hit.
Immediately after I saw the second plane I walked outside and saw my neighbor with her kid. Our kids were both first graders and I didn’t want to scare them so I just said “ have you seen the news” and she was like “I don’t watch Tv in the morning “ and I said you should turn on the Tv when you go back inside and she replied that she really didn’t like watching tv during the day. And I was emphatic “YOU NEED TO TURN ON THE TV RIGHT AWAY”
Later in the day I went to pickup my preschooler from her class held at the beach (in a Chicago suburb). To get to the beach you have to drive down along road. By that time the police had blocked the road because the water treatment facility was there and they’d gotten an alert to protect those facilities. The parents had to show ID to the police then walk down the road to get our kids and bring them back up.
I and my carpool were debating whether to take the kids to afternoon preschool. Then the synagogue where preschool was held called to say the police had told them to close.
Someone upthread mentioned turning on the tv after the kids were in bed ---- yes, this. I knew it was traumatic to overwatch but it felt so necessary, just like it is necessary to pause and remember now.
We were near the PA crash site about 9months later and you could simply drive down to the quarry and there was a chainlink fence there , simply covered, covered, with mementos and messages and flags and out in the field you could just barely see the edge of impact crater. I cried. Have never been back to see the memorial.
I took my daughter to NYC in 2007 and Ground Zero was still a hole in the ground. We were in NYC this weekend with friends and went to the memorial and talked about how long it took for the memorial to be built. One thought it was only 2 years and I noted that based on my trip it was a lot longer than that. We then looked it up and saw it was ten years. Another 3 for the museum.
It was a beautiful day here. Sunny and cool, a perfect fall morning. It was also my birthday.
I dropped the kids at school, then headed into work, wishing I had taken the day off. We had our Monday meeting. A worker in the mail room sent out an email that a plane had struck the WTC. We all thought it was a small plane, an accident. Then we knew it wasn’t. A group of us had planned to go out for lunch and my coworker insisted that we go. The television was on and we all sat there, just numb. A good friend from college, who always called on my birthday, lost her husband that day. I feel so sad every year, thinking about all the people who were lost that day and all their families left behind. I can’t stop thinking about the children who boarded a plane at Dulles, headed to LA on a field trip. Every year I’m glad to be another year older but I can’t help thinking about the people who never got that chance.
I also watched the news only in the morning before kids were up or after they went to bed. I also made sure my car keys and cellphone were always in my pocket at work for several months even though I am in the Midwest. I wanted to be sure I could get home in an emergency. I know someone on the east coast who will still not go in skyscrapers post 9/11.
I was bottle feeding my son on the sofa in Philadelphia. He was one month old that day and had slept through the night for the first time. My H called and asked if I heard about a small plane crashing into a building in NYC. I turned on the tv, saw an image, turned it off and said “ looks like a commuter plane”. We hung up.
5 minutes later he calls back and tells me to turn on the tv and that’s when I comprehended the magnitude of the situation. I sat there and cried and had nightmares for days. Once the anthrax scares got started the city was filled with sirens day and night. It was such a heartbreaking time. Just typing this makes my eyes fill with tears.
I was in the kitchen with the den TV on Good Morning America. Kitchen is quasi open to the den so TV is viewable while emptying dishwasher. Stopped kitchen work after seeing the first building hit and sat on sofa to watch the rest unfold. Friend called shortly after to see if I was watching on TV and if we should pick up or 2nd graders from school. Called school and they said “no” they are keeping an eye on what’s going on but if things change, they will send messages to parents. It was a gorgeous, clear blue sky, with white fluffy clouds, cool and crisp in Atlanta. Such a tragic day .
I had dropped my just turned 4yo for the first day of preschool where they only stayed for an hour or so. A friend and I went for coffee while we waited for the kids. There was a TV on and, like so many others, at first we thought it was a small plane. Once we realized the full extent of the horror that was going on, she was very worried as her husband was headed to downtown NYC for a meeting. Thankfully, he was OK. My husband worked across the river in NJ and they watched the towers fall. My other two were in school and the school did not tell the kids (I think they did at the HS but not middle or elementary). My oldest walked home and at first was happy to see his dad home, but then horrified. I still recall my middle child saying “I loved those Twin Towers” as they were something we could see from our area or on trips to the city.
I lost an extended family member that day. Was glad I had seen him at a family get together earlier that summer. His parents and wife were never the same. I watch the coverage every year and make sure to see his name announced.
One of my kids had a birthday the following week and I remember going to the mall to buy some gifts and it was deserted. Folks were terrified to go to public places for a while.
Just watched the video of the Today show and reminded me of how horrifying it was, but also how confusing. I had friends who tell harrowing stories of getting out of the city that day. Hard to believe it has been 25 years.
For many years I attended an annual memorial service in my town for families of the 9/11 victims. It was interesting watching the kids grow up from year to year and in many cases the spouses move on (remarry). However, the parents never, ever recovered, they remained devastated even after 15-20 years.
Although he had worked in the Trade Center on and off for many years, my husband had never been to the observation deck on the top. That is until the August before 9/11, when we went up there as a family. Honestly, he cannot bear to look at the photo I have of the three of us up there.
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