It seem's like yesterday but on that day I had gotten up early and pulled my 172 plane out of it's hanger at Mansfield , Ohio for a trip to a small air strip south of Effingham , Illinois . I was flying past Terre Haute , Indiana when the first tower got hit on a very clear day across most of the U.S. with two other gentlemen in my plane . At first like many I thought it had to be an accident but knew in my mind there was no way with the present conditions . It became more obvious when Terre Haute tower gave me a call and said everyone needs to land immediately . On that day I had filed IFR so he could read my destination and he gave me permission to finish out the flight to Effingham . Our original plans had been to fly into a small grass strip about 10 miles south of Effingham with the closest house being a good hike down the road with nothing but a old fall down hanger at the field . I talked it over with my passengers and we decided to fill up at Effingham and then precede to the other strip , still not fully understanding what was happening . Soon after we landed and had just walked into the terminal the second plane hit the second tower .
I was stuck there for five days before they would let me fly home and since it was to be a same day flight home we had nothing but the clothes on our backs . Some Americans were looking for ways they could help and others were looking for ways to get rich as fuel prices tripled . The guys at the airport loaned us a car , a big old Oldsmobile station wagon that got about 6 miles to the gallon and we were glad to have it . We were a lot better off then many others but after I got to finally fly home the plane sat for over a month in the hanger . I then came to the conclusion that I was not going to let some terrorists control me and put it back in the air .
I have flown in some very rough weather but that day was one of the nicest and scariest in the air for me .

 

I was at home watching FOX New Channel. First, I called all my kids to make sure they were OK.
I watched it from the first report until I couldn't stay awake any longer. I went through fits of anger and sadness the whole time.

 

I was watching TV in my morning routine, just had it on. I thought it was an accident at first, but pilots just don't fly into buildings! When the second plane hit I saw it live. I was shocked, could not believe what I just saw. Was it a re-run? No, the 1st building was still smoking. How can this be happening? Life was good! Why now? Of course I was thinking of myself, before my thoughts turned to my country.

I cried. For for days I cried to myself so I would not scare my family. Knowing this country has changed forever and we were going to war............... again. The ride was over, peace was gone, the dogs of war will be unleashed and many young men will die.......again. I cried for the young men & women who will be wounded and die protecting this country and never will have the chance to live the American dream.

World War III had just begun.

 

I was a full time firefighter at the time, and I was out doing inspections. I went into a shop that I was scheduled to inspect, and the guys were setting up a TV on a shelf in the shop area. The whole place was very quiet as everyone just stopped what they were doing and began to watch. I didn't know what was really going on until I watched the coverage myself. I at first thought it was an accident, but it became apparent that it was not. After about an hour of watching with the guys in the shop, I went back to the station where I continued to follow it on the news as did the others in the station that day. I remember thinking, "Is this going to continue, and spread into other cities accross the country? We're only 30 miles from Boston. We're less than 5 from a major nuclear plant. What a target THAT would make." It was a scary and nerve racking time for all of us, not knowing what might be happening next. As the incident progressed, our thoughts turned more to our brother firefighters who we knew had lost their lives. We were watching the whole thing unfold right in front of us and there was nothing we could do.

chaikwa.

 

I was at work in a Federal Building in the DC area. When the plane hit the Pentagon, we heard the explosion in the distance.. then chaos errupted. Every Federal building was being evacuated, no one cared if it was authorzied or not, there was a mad rush to exit, everyone wanted get out of the buildings and as far away as possible. Spent the rest of the day and night glued to the tv. I couldn't believe it was happening.

 

I was sitting in my truck watching tv waiting for my first Business class to begin. It really makes you think how vulnerable we really are. We used to go about our week w/o really paying any attention to anything. Now, we really notice everything.

 

i was in college. when it happened i was in chemistry and had no idea till i went to my scond class ( a Criminal Justice class). i remember people talking and i asked if it was an accident and they said they didnt think so. the first tower fell while i was in there. the prof let us out early to go find a tv and watch, but we sang "God Bless America" as a class before we left. I went to a lounge and saw the replay of it all and then went to work. called my mom on the way and we both just could not beleive it. got to work and we sat in the warehouse and watched two tvs with improvised antennas all day long. my sister called me crying after work and wanted to come home so bad but everyone was on eggshells....afraid something else would happen. it seems like yesterday..cant beleive its been five years. God bless the men and women who died that day.....and the men and women who have died since then fighting for redemption.

 

I was getting dressed when my mom said come see this. On the tv was the World Trade Center (1st one) smoking. Then a plane comes into view and nails a building. I was thinking this was a replay with the results beside the video, then no it's another hit. The next few days I could feel how still the air was outside with no air traffic. It was eeri. I don't have any idea how patriotic rodeos were before 9/11 went to my first one 10 days later and they were sure patriotic.

 

I was at home getting ready to leave for my "Tee time" at the country club, I just happend to have the TV on the news as I was going through my golf bag making sure everything was clean and ready to go.

The first tower was struck and I knew right then and there that our lives would never be the same again. I cancelled my golf plans and spent the rest of the day watching the news and checking out my survival supplies.

I made sure we had plenty of water, fuel for the generators, 10 cases of MRE's and about 5000 rounds of ammo for my Car-15. I wasn't expecting a ground attack near my home, but I dang sure was going to be ready to defend my family from anything.

 

I was at work with the radio in the shop tuned to the Howard Stern show as it usually was at the time......we heard the commentary from Howard himself as they watched the 2nd plane hit the tower from their studio. We thought he was kidding at first but there was something different in his voice that just made us feel that he wasn't kidding at all. I remember that day vividly.

 

I have a tape of the Howard Stern show on that day. Everybody was choked up for a few hours on September 11; I couldn't really talk cleary until around noon.

Other than a few hours of denial I wasn't really affected.

 

I was a junior in high school, woke up that morning and turned on the TV just as they broke in with the first plane crash and I didn't think much of it. They just reported it as a small plane crash. So I went to school and didn't think much of it. After my first hour of class, we all walked to our lockers and noticed a group of students and teachers around one of the TV's in the student center so we went over and asked what was going on, and saw that both towers were hit and that something bigger was going on. Half my class showed up for 2nd hour English, and halfway through a test, one of my classmates ran in and said the second tower had collapsed...We just stopped everything, the teacher dismissed us, and the rest of that day, we sat around the TV's. I remember some of my classmates crying, but most of all I remember how silent it was. Usually in the student center it was so loud with people chatting that you couldnt hear much of anything, but all you could here on the 11th were the televisions. It was really hard for a lot of people in my class for some reason...usually nothing really bothered any of us..now i am proud to say that almost half of my class is in the marine corp.

 

I was in the weld shop working on a pressure vessel weld procedure listening to it on the radio.

 

I was at work when a guy came in and said that a jet had just flown into the WTC. We turned the radio on and then heard about the second jet. They started talking about a couple jets flying around DC that would not respond to air traffic controllers so fighters were scrambled. Next thing I knew, the jet slammed into the Pentagon and we could see the smoke from where I work. They still talked about the second jet being up there and that it may be shot down if it didn't land. Next thing I knew that last jet apparently went down in Pa. I still think it was shot down by the fighters.........
A very sad day indeed........

 

I was just getting in the shower when the first plane hit. FOX was on and I had just returned from an all night HAZMAT spill. I was so tired when I first heard about it I thought it was just a small plane.

After the second tower was hit my girlfriend called me to find out where I was. When she told me what had happened I was instantly awake. I sat there in front of that television with my jaw on the floor. When my girlfriend got home I finally broke down.