Where were you? Reflections on 9/11
Where were you on 9/11? That’s day that we will AlWAYS remember where we were the moment we heard or saw the tragedy unfolding at Ground Zero.
The Twin Towers fell on Tuesday September 11th, 2001.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, followed by UA flight 175 that hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.
The south tower (2 WTC) fell at approximately 9:59 a.m., after it had burned for 56 minutes. The North tower (1 WTC) collapsed at 10:28 a.m., after it had burned for approximately 102 minutes.
I was driving to my morning college classes when I heard on the radio a small plane had accidently flown into one of the World Trade Centers. The radio show hosts were laughing about it and the stupidity of “accidently” flying into such a tall building.
I had a few minutes to spare before class and there was a computer lab across the hall from the classroom. I looked up NYC and plane crash but only found a short AP blurb with no additional info. Remember, this was before smart phones, twitter and social media “instanews“. I went on to class and figured nothing more of it.
Our teacher was about 5 minutes late and when he walked in there was obviously something wrong. He explained his brother worked in the World Trade Center and that a plane had hit the tower. We all looked at each other and speculated what happened based on what he said and what we heard on the radio. He cancelled class and we all went our seperate ways. I headed to my next class only to find a note on the door that all college classes were cancelled for the day and to go home immediately. WHAT? Ok, now I was concerned and headed back to my apartment.
By the time I arrived home and turned on the news it was everywhere. I dropped my bag, my books and my cell phone. I called my parents and then my ex-boyfriend (now husband). My parents weren’t aware yet and I decided to go to their house. My ex was the first person I thought of because he was military and I really wanted to hear his voice.
For the rest of the day I watched along with the rest of the country as our nation changed, our people died, our hearts united to support each other and we were “one nation under God.”
Our country came together in an unprecented, unwavering and neccessary way in the following days. The patriotism, support and togetherness was amazing.
In the years since, our lives have all changed. Our country, our innocence, our whole being as a nation will never be the way it is was on 9/10/01.
For me, I married my ex-boyfriend I called that day and we’ve had two children. He has deployed several times to a war zone to fight for our freedom because of the events of 9/11. My daughters will never have a sense of innocence or naievety about terrorism like my generation did prior to 9/11. They are military brats and their lives will forever be different and shaped by 9/11 in ways that others’ may not. They see their father commit his life, risk his safety and serve the United States proudly EVERY day and deploy for a year a time repeatedly to fight for the freedom some of us took for granted prior to 9/11.
So today, remember 9/11, the lives lost that day AND the lives lost, risked and injured since that day BECAUSE of the events of 9/11. Remember the way we all came together as one, to support, to aid, to unite as a country. We are STILL at war every day. There may only be a small majority of American families feeling the effects of WAR and still worrying about their loved ones every day as they serve in the military but we are STILL fighting for and because of 9/11.
Where were you on 9/11?
Ms. MommyHH6
