rememberance 9/11

[olly]

has it really been 10yrs?
there has been many tv programs this week,tomorrow a memorial in newyork and in london.
as an outsider when i still see those images of that terrible day its still so very hard to comprehend,still hard to understand.
it would be easier to try to forget but all those who died need to be remembered.
they payed a terrible price for each and everyone of us.

to my american friends,to the familys of those who died......i will be with you in spirit tomorrow.
god bless you.

 

[michael0314]

Yes it was a tragedy. As an American thank you for your thoughts. There are lots of stories coming out or at least I'm hearing them for the first time. Stories of bravery and survival. A retired marine drove from con. And rescued 2 police alive in the rubble. There were so few. God bless you for your kind words.

 

[sadiemae]

Thank You Olly. To me, it seems like a lifetime ago that it happened. My kids were in grade school, my husband was healthy, and I weighed 120 pounds. Now Brian is in College, Ally is a junior in high school, my husband has ALS, and I do not weigh 120 any more.

 

[brooksea]

Thank you, Olly! The whole world has suffered since that day.

My husband called me from his office and told me to turn on the TV. One plane had just hit the tower. I had our son in my arms, he had recently turned one. My husband worked for a retired marine and was explaining this was no accident and then the 2nd plane hit as we were talking! I just cried as I held my son, wondering who could do such a thing and wondering about the future of our country!

I'm still wondering about the future...

 

[rose]

Thanks for starting this thread Caroline.

10 years ago tonight I was trying to catch the last flight home to Pittsburgh, which is where I lived at the time. I'd had a "crashpad" in the NYC area for quite some time, but still made the effort to go home on days off.

I was working a flight from Chicago to Newark, and we were delayed landing because of a fire at Newark airport at the port authority fire station on site at the airport. (funny this never ever made it on the news, I still wonder if the fire was a diversion so the terrorists could get some of their preliminary preparations done).

We finally landed, and I ran the length of the terminal, as absolutely far as one can go in the old terminal C of Newark airport, and caught the last flight out. I sat next to another flight attendant, and we talked about the port authority fire, my kids... this and that. It was raining and we were just happy to be able to get out of Dodge. I told her about the New Guy I was seeing (who is now the Old Guy I'm still seeing lol) and she asked me when I was going to come back over to international flying.

Next morning the phone rings, and its my daughter yelling for me to turn on the TV.

Part of me is still in disbelief as to what happened.... my cousin, who was also a flight attendant for the same airline, was on the employee bus on her way to annual continued certification training. She saw the second plane hit. She quit the job shortly afterward. It was just too much for her to deal with.

Eventually I got back to Newark. I remember standing on the sidewalk, waiting for a taxi to take me to the airport. I was in uniform, and it felt like complete strangers were staring at me, and they probably were.

I worked a flight from New York to Seattle. The passengers were awesome. They brought boxes of candy, homemade cookies, and cards. They said they would never forget. (but memories are short)

My crew stayed in Seattle for several days. The airline scheduling was complete chaos. They finally just deadheaded us back on an open flight.

A couple of months passed, and in November for my birthday, Don suggested we go into the City to visit Ground Zero, it seemed like the thing we should do, not at all celebratory, but, certainly a birthday I will never forget. So we went. And smoke was still billowing out of the manhole covers and storm sewers. It had been almost two months, and still there was black smoke.

We made our way to the site. It had a tall chain link fence around it, and as we stood and watched flat bed trucks haul out steel beams that were twisted and contorted so much, that one would not know they'd ever been straight, and the support for any building.

The smell was awful.

I am totally one of the lucky ones. I am still in awe of the United flight attendant that had the presence of mind to sequester herself in the lavatory and call United's employee scheduling line from her cell.

There are so many heroes. So many already forgotten, or never even acknowledged in the first place.

God Bless America, and may we remain the land of the free.

 

[apollick]

My husband at the time was a retired firefighter from Philadelphia and he received a call to be on call for the the NY Tower trip. I will say they never called but I have to say when it came to duty he would have been right there in the thick of it. Our prayers are going out to all of those families who has/had a loved one who lost their life to assist/help others.

There is a reason why I say all of this. Does anyone remember the Move incident in Philly in 85? Ed & I were married that day when _____ hit the fan and they called him into work. I almost lost my husband that night (almost is not the same as losing someone) but the feelings that I went through that night and we were just married that day was an emotional roller coaster ride because there was no communication for two days. I give anyone credit for doing what they do and putting their lives on the line for us.

But I will say this. For those of you who also put yourselves forward to assist a loved one with this awful ALS disease, I salute you. Our rewards from above are yet to come.

 

[brooksea]

I've been to Ground Zero and it was very humbling. The magnitude of what happened cannot be shown on TV. I cried openly.

 

[susanf]

I watched the towers being built as a kid crossing the Verazzano bridge going to my Grandma's every weekend. My parents dined often at Windows on the World, a restaurant at the top.
My father still grieves for his stockbroker. He was 24 years old and never made it out. He would always invite my Dad to come up and see his view out his office window.
My cousins will never be the same after seeing what they saw in the city that day.
As they say in the south, forget? never!

 

[HelenL]

Since the 2 planes that hit the towers left from Boston, there were many people lost in this area as well... I remember the horrific events, and it doesn't seem like ten years have passed... but my second grader is now a senior, and she remembers me coming to her school and bringing her home early, I had to have my kids with me. I was at work when it all happened, and I was so afraid that my brother was on one of the planes, as he usually flew out Mon or Tues morning, and usually tried to get the first flight out. Thank God he wasn't... but that weekend at my daughter's soccer game, many of the people I knew, had a boss, a coworker, a friend and her young daughter on the flights. I videotaped some of the programming on tv those first few days, as I wanted to teach my children about what happened when they were old enough to understand better... but there is no understanding of WHY, is there?

 

[peter57]

Thanks Olly for starting this thread.

10 years, where has the time gone.

It was night time here when it happened and I stayed up all night watching it unfold.

At work the next day it was very quiet. Most had very little sleep.

My best wishes to all who lost family, friends, people from their town etc.

Peter

 

[olly]

my son was was 12 then,he was at home because he had a virus or something.
i had just nipped out next door,came back home and shaun had been flipping through the channels and had it on the news.
it was around 2.30-2.45pm here,the first plane had already hit but we went on to see the second plane hit and everything after.

as i said i was one of the outsiders watching in and i can not comprehend how terrifying it must have been.
10yrs later and those images still have the same effect as they did on that day.
i was thinking is this the end,another world war.

thankyou for your stories, diane i had ofton wondered where you were that day,either flying or at home in newjersey.......did'nt like to ask,thankyou for your story.
i was a bit apprehensive about doing this thread (had thought about it over past few yrs)because i know its still raw for some and others dont want to be remindered.

but its a day in history that should never be forgotton.

true american style............... "you got the man in the end

 

[Sequoia]

The sisters here had a prayer service for the fallen and their families...very moving....as well as all those who have died or been wounded in the war, both sides. Thank God nothing terrible happened today....

 

[notme]

One of my issues is with my memory. I've been having more and more issues with it...but I doubt that 9/11 will ever fade. I remember exactly what I was doing when I saw the news.

I still can't believe it's been 10 years. Seems much closer to me. I watched a few of the specials and was saddened to learn how many of the volunteers and those working at ground zero during those first few days are now developing cancer.

Many heroes were lost that day--and many more in the days since. Very sad.

 

[olly]

i watched the rememberance ceremony on tv...........it was beautiful and understated.
the memorial at ground zero is breathtaking and a credit to all involved.
newyork,you did your country proud.