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911: What Do You Remember?
911: What Do You Remember?www.haitiquotidien.com - Sunday September 11, 2011Haiti Quotidien and partners solicited readers to submit their memories of the events and aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. We originally asked that submisisons be limited to 50 words or less, but once we saw the compelling nature of s
Wanda Berry, Hendersonville: “On 9/11, I was a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight from Paris, France to Dallas/Ft.Worth. We were over the Atlantic when, from a BBC broadcast through the cockpit radio, we heard of aircraft flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. We initially were notified by American Airlines dispatch that airspace over New York City was closed, and shortly afterwards were told that ALL airspace over the United States was closed. We did not know where we were going to land, but we knew we weren't going home. “Eventually, we landed in Gander, Newfoundland, where more than 40 aircraft bound for the United States were diverted. A town of 10,000 residents doubled in size from the passengers onboard all those airplanes. Our crew and passengers remained on the airplane for almost 24 hours, after landing, before we could clear Canadian customs. The first time I saw the broadcast of the airplanes flying into the WTC was on the afternoon of 9/12, and I stood in awe as I watched an American Airlines jet fly into a building. The first heroes to die on 9/11 were the crewmembers of Flight 11. Our flight remained in Newfoundland until Saturday, and we, as were all visitors from across the world, were welcomed and treated with such compassion by the “Newfies.” “The morning we departed, the rain was heavy and, just before we closed the aircraft door, I looked to the control tower and saw the American flag, which the airport staff had raised to honor and respect all those who died. I will never forget how in the face of evil, kindness shone through and I knew, at that moment, goodness was stronger than hate.” Mike Fussell, Portland native: “All of a sudden, I saw a plane in the background flying toward the 2nd WTC building. I looked at the television a bit puzzled, and thought, ‘Well there's another plane. What's it doing back there? I thought they were grounded.’ Then I saw it hit the building and explode, and I started yelling at the television. “When the first building imploded, at first I didn’t realize what was happening. But the top of the building kept going down further and further, and I watched in amazement as the buildings fell all the way to the ground and the plumes of smoke engulfed the entire downtown New York City area. I called and left one more voice mail for my wife and just said, ‘Honey. They are gone.’ I could not believe those two massive buildings - one upon which I had visited and stood on the top - were no more..” D. Warren Harrison, Hendersonville: “I was a Fire Chief in Frederick County (MD), home to Camp David, Fort Richie (the “Little Pentagon”) and Fort Detrick. My pager went off and I was alerted to what had happened. Each time my pager went off, the news was worse. “Frederick Municipal Airport is an occasional landing spot for the President or others going to Camp David. With all the civilian air traffic grounded, it was easy to hear and see the military jets circling the mountains in Camp David’s vicinity. Helicopters were ferrying people and supplies to Camp David and Fort Ritchie for days to come. During the early morning hours of 9/12, our department was asked to dispatch a ladder truck to the Pentagon to aid in fire suppression. “Due to the way the Pentagon is built, it is impossible to get any of the large trucks into the 'ring' of the building. Some of the firefighters on the scene were from Frederick and knew an smaller 65-foot ladder truck was available; it was dispatched and upon arrival, was driven into the ring where water was pumped from the ladder truck for nearly 2 days. Everyone knew our world had changed forever.” Linda Harrison, Hendersonville: "All televisions in our building were on, broadcasting the ongoing tragedies. I volunteered to phone traveling employees of my international company; 'Stay in place and keep in touch,' we told them. Most people were frantic to get home with their children and grocery stores were overrun quickly. Suddenly there was only a handful of employees on my usually busy floor - an eerie silence. Those of us who were left were told to leave only with a security guard, or we would be driven home if desired. Forty miles away, the Pentagon was on fire and news comes that another plane has crashed in Pennsylvania. I met my firefighter husband to transfer gear from my car to his fire vehicle, as he would be on duty indefinitely, expecting many days away from home. He and I quickly discussed a safety plan in case things get worse." Julie Harrison Brackenbury, Gallatin: “We took our son up after 9/11 and walked around Ground Zero. My parents had taken me to New York City when I was 13 and we were able to walk around the top of one of the towers. I remember our tour guide telling us to stand perfectly still and we would feel the building move and sway from side to side. … It was so incredible. And then to see it all gone years later. “That day I was sitting right there in the News Examiner art department. Evelyn Tuttle's husband, Wayne, brought us an extra TV so we could see the coverage. We also had an American Airlines pilot, who went to church with us, who called in sick to work that day while recovering from a recent surgery. He had been scheduled to fly to NYC early that morning. A day we will never forget.” Linda Carter, Hendersonville: “I remember that fateful September morning like it was yesterday. At 6 a.m., my flight-attendant daughter left for the airport. A short time later, the horror of the morning unfolded. Praying, I began leaving her numerous messages. After landing safely, she called. That was the best phone call ever.” Tom Neal Jr., Castalian Springs: “Betty and I were on a tour of Europe and on a motor coach between Vienna, Austria and Munich, Germany. The tour guide made an announcement to the American passengers that an unknown aircraft had struck one of the towers of the World Trade Center. We hoped for additional information from the BBC in our Munich hotel that evening. This was the only hotel during the entire trip that did not have the BBC or CNN. Everything was in German, and it was late the next day when we found out the serious nature of 911. “No planes were flying anywhere in Europe and none transatlantic. We proceeded on to London for our departure home. All phone lines to the airlines were constantly busy. Fortunately we were only about a half-mile from the London U.S. Air office. I walked to the office and they advised possibly the first flight back to the states would leave the following day, not sure but possibly. We should proceed to Gatwick and hope for the best. This was our original scheduled flight, and it indeed did leave the next day.” Harry Marsh, Gallatin: “As the twin towers burned on my television, I noticed that the day was unusually clear in New York. On just such a day in the 1980s I took my son into Manhattan to show him where I had lived in the 1960s. We experienced subways and skyscrapers, museums and parks and thousands of hurrying hard-working New Yorkers. Near sunset clouds rolled in as we took the ferry to Staten Island, and I snapped a photo capturing the sublime magnificence of the city as I’ll always remember it.” Steve Emrick, Hendersonville: “In 2001 I worked for a company in Nashville that was headquartered in mid-town Manhattan. On the afternoon of September 10, 2001 I flew up to NYC as I had 15 times in the previous three years. The World Trade Center towers were so beautiful and amazing. I was always drawn to them and visited the Windows on the World café on the 107th floor of the North Tower often. “The next day I woke up on a beautiful, crystal clear, blue-sky morning on that unforgettable Tuesday in September. I liked to watch the local news station in the AM. A helicopter hovering near the WTC showed a hole in one of the towers with smoke coming out. Being a pilot myself, I could not imagine a plane accidentally flying into the tower on such a clear day. “I called my wife in Nashville. We were watching the news together when, to our horror, the second plane hit the other tower. That was when I realized that two U.S airliners with passengers on them were purposely flown into the buildings and that are world would never be the same. All day Tuesday, the only aircraft to be seen in the skies over the city were Army helicopters. It was all very surreal. “Wednesday morning I got up and decided to go down as close as I could to the Trade Center to see if there is anything I could do to help. I got within a mile of what later became known as Ground Zero. Policeman with gray dust on their boots were manning the barricades there. People with pictures of their lost loved ones were frantically asking about their missing relatives. “There were rumors that nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare weapons might be in the city. A female colleague from my office was also marooned there. We were able to line up a rental car in a small town north of the city. We arranged for a limo service to drive us up there Thursday morning. The driver was Arab and was conversing on his radio in Arabic. When we got to the small town, he was having trouble finding the Rent-A-Car office. He turned around and told us both that he was scared because an Arab taxi driver had been murdered outside of the city the night before. Ironically, we were afraid to be in the city and he was afraid to be outside the city. When he found the Rent-A-Car, we gave him a very large tip and thanked him profusely. “As we were driving across the George Washington Bridge we could see the huge plume of smoke coming up from Ground Zero and blowing out to sea. Amazingly the song on the radio as we were driving over the Hudson River was Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water!'”
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“On 9/11/01, I was a freshman at UT. I remember how blue the sky was that day. Initially, I was excited that my 8:00 class was cancelled; however, I was soon horrified by the news of the attacks. I spent the morning communicating with family and staring at the TV with my roommates. The only thing I knew to do that day was go give blood with a group of other students. I stood in line probably three hours to do so.”
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