Where Were You on September 11, 2001?
The photo above is of the Tribute of Light, which since 2002 is activated on the night of 9/10 and the night of 9/11. This tribute originally in 2002 was located at the site of where the towers came down. Then because of the ongoing construction and cleanup at Ground Zero, the tribute was moved to another location nearby.
The Tribute of Light signifies the lost lives from the September 11 attacks that started at 8:46 AM on a sunny and clear morning in 2001. This tribute was to only be displayed from March 11 to April 14, 2002 and again on the second anniversary in 2003. Though it was planned to end in 2003, it has remained piercing the New York City night skies every anniversary since then.
MY MEMORIES OF THAT DAY
I remember I was getting ready to take my car into the car dealership for a tune up. I turned on my TV as I got dressed, it was about 8:50 AM, and as usual I was watching Good Morning America. I wasn’t looking at the TV at first but quickly turned around when I heard a voice say that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. From that point on I was glued to the TV set.
I remember calling my best friend Jeffrey, waking him up, and telling him to turn on the TV. He asked why and I said, a plane flew into the World Trade Center and one of the towers are on fire. This was around 9:00 AM, and I could hear him fumbling for his glasses to find his TV remote, still groggy from being woken up. Before he could get his bearings I yelled out, Oh My God! It was 9:03 AM and I watched in horror as the second plane flew into the other tower on national TV.
Jeffrey yells back, what happened? I said, the United States is under attack. Another plane just flew straight into the other tower. That piece of information really woke him up out of his half-awake stupor. He finally turned on his TV and we stayed connected on the phone for about another 10 minutes. Then each of us hung up as we were getting calls from other people alerting us to what was happening only 25 miles away.
In the days that followed everything seemed surreal. The skies were quiet, all aircraft were grounded, and everywhere you looked, American Flags were rippling in the wind. The National Guard Armory in the northern part of my township, became one of the main supply and support location for operations at Ground Zero and at the securing of the George Washington Bridge.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Never again would we see something as awesome and as American as what is depicted in the photo above. I remember as a 5th Grader in 1973, watching the building of the World Trade Center forever change the New York City skyline. Then 28 years later, the skyline would be changed again. Now One World Trade Center, dubbed the Freedom Tower during early construction, has changed the skyline one more time. The 104-story building stands at 1,776 feet tall, not counting the broadcast antenna at the top.
What were you doing on that day in history back in 2001? Please share your thoughts below. If you know someone who passed away that day, please share their names here so that they will live on in this blog post that is indexed into Google for all to see and read.
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I was only ten years old, but I remember very vividly the moment I saw it.
I was coming home from school (I am French, so all the way over the Atlantic, it was 5pm when I got the news), and I got out of the school bus, which had left me right in front of our house, since we lived in this tiny village.
I walked into the house, and I could see the TV turned on a few meters away, and my dad watching it in the armchair, silent. My eyes became glued to the screen for a little while, and I was not understanding what was happening, even though it was said loud and clear in my mother tongue by the TV newscaster.
My first thought was "what kind of movie is that?". I know, odd thought to have, since it was live news... But as a matter of fact, I happened to not know of the twin towers at the time.
I discovered they existed only when I saw them being destroyed...
[Coincidentally, ten days later, there was an explosion in a fertilizer plant in a town near where we lived (one of the bigger towns in France), it was national news for a while, because of its size (it left a huge crater) and consequences. French people couldn't help but think it was also terrorist related. I remember the panic in my school as we heard a huge "boom" (the town was 60km away), and upon hearing what had happened on the radio, our teachers all panicked, not knowing what to do with the news...]
Everything after that day changed for everybody in the world. You didn't have to be an American to feel different. Thanks for sharing.
I was in Australia and believe me we were as shocked and stunned as you people who were so much closer
Beautifully written words, Robert, bringing us all back to that moment that forever changed our innocence in thinking that we were safe being Americans. The only other moment I remember that precisely, was when JFK was shot. I couldn't help thinking how ironic that President Obama spoke to the Country last night, not of this anniversary, but of the next major step in our fight against evil in our world. I wish that we could all just accept our differences and get along, but all each of us can do is our part to make the world a more peaceful, accepting place. Thanks for focusing us our thoughts for this memorial today, no matter where in the world we may reside as Weathy Affiliates.
Unfortunately Shell things are going to get a lot worse for many years to come no matter what we do or do not do. I am not trying to be the voice of doom and gloom but the Bible does say that large wars, famines, wide spread disease, earthquakes, all must take place before things will get better. We are now living in those times.
I was in my bedroom in Denver, CO, ironing a shirt, when I flipped the TV on and it was already started. I don't think I moved for about 2 hours.
9/11/2001
My wife had left for work to NYC. I was online on a forum. I didn't hear the first plane hit, I saw it on the news after it hit. I was transfixed, I saw when the second plane hit and I reported to the forum I was on that We Were Under Attack.
I went up to the roof of my building and watched the smoke from the towers. I thought of my wife and her safety and all of the people in those buildings. My wife made it home that night, and thousands didn't. Many wanted to help, give blood to help the survivors. They were turned away, they didn't need blood.
I worked around the corner from the twin towers in 1993 when they were first bombed. I'd been in the WTC many times before 9-11, I haven't been able to go back to the site since. I can see from my living room window, the blue beams that they light as a memorial to the towers. They'll probably be there tomorrow night as well. My thought will be on all of those that lost their lives that morning.
I was in London at a trade show, Plasa. Word drifted onto the show floor that a plane had hit the Twin Towers; I figured it must have been a small private plane like a Piper or something. When we got back to the hotel, the coverage was live; it was horrible to watch.
Everyone here prior to the 2nd plane hitting the other tower didn't know it was an airliner either. Then 17 minutes later they knew for sure.
I'll be able to see those blue beams from my living room window tonight.
I shared my thoughts on another members blog and I don't know what the rules are here for double dipping.
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The 2/9 01 Sad I bench underneath the two towers and took the picture as many others before me have taken. d 10 in the evening we traveled back to Europe from New Orleans.
The first fly hit when we were in Amsterdam and entering the European Union.
Quite short story is that my son was born the following year in August
Wow. Thanks for sharing Steen