9/11 Never Forget!
- Thread starter 1978 NYB
- Start date
I was retired from the Army......
On 9/11, I was working for the Army Test Center. We were working on a firing range downrange on the Edgewood Arsenal which was about 35 miles from the Pentagon as the crow flies. We were validating Russian main gun ammo for T-72 tanks that day. We got a message over the range radio that a plane hit the Twin Towers in NYC. That is about 175 miles north of us. We were scratching our heads wondering how could a plane hit a building so big? Then we heard a 2nd plane hit the towers. We all knew this wasn't no accident. We seen F-15 Strike Eagles screaming very low towards the Pentagon and the White House.
All those brave souls lost!
What a ****** up day!
On 9/11, I was working for the Army Test Center. We were working on a firing range downrange on the Edgewood Arsenal which was about 35 miles from the Pentagon as the crow flies. We were validating Russian main gun ammo for T-72 tanks that day. We got a message over the range radio that a plane hit the Twin Towers in NYC. That is about 175 miles north of us. We were scratching our heads wondering how could a plane hit a building so big? Then we heard a 2nd plane hit the towers. We all knew this wasn't no accident. We seen F-15 Strike Eagles screaming very low towards the Pentagon and the White House.
All those brave souls lost!
What a ****** up day!
I read somewhere that 9/11 is the most photographed event in human history and from begining to end, it all happened with in a span of a lil less then 2 hours. Yet i noticed most of the images of that day, don't get shown very much. Maybe It's because they are still to fresh in peoples minds, Still to painful for some to deal with or see and perhaps don't Get shown out of respect for those who were lost. Or could be because There is far too much censorship in todays world but Never the less, if you want people to Never forget, then i think everything should be shown. As absolutely terrifying and graphic as some of those images are, it's part of our history now.
I was only in 2nd grade when it happened, they waited to tell us as school was letting out for the day, not really knowing or quite comprehending what i just heard, i ran home to ask my dad about it, as i ran up stairs to see him, he was glued to the TV, and still seared in my brain today, was when they showed someone falling out of the tower on the TV. That instantly summed up the magnitude of the situation for me and even at a young age, i knew this was a event like no other.
I was only in 2nd grade when it happened, they waited to tell us as school was letting out for the day, not really knowing or quite comprehending what i just heard, i ran home to ask my dad about it, as i ran up stairs to see him, he was glued to the TV, and still seared in my brain today, was when they showed someone falling out of the tower on the TV. That instantly summed up the magnitude of the situation for me and even at a young age, i knew this was a event like no other.
Who keeps taking these photos down?
I was in lower Manhattan the mourning of the attack. At first we thought a smaller plane had crashed into the first tower, than I heard the second jet and it seemed to be right over us, a split second later I heard this sickening boom, then I knew we were being attacked.
All hell broke loose, people were running screaming just complete terror.
I was then assigned to help with the crowds that wanted to get on the ferry to Staten Island, only there was no ferry in the slip.
We had all the gates shut and the thousands of people were trying to get past them
We were worried the crowd would push the people in the front into the water
I was shoving physically pushing people back. The boat finally came in, then another and eventually the crowds became more manageable.
Then the towers collapsed, dust was thick and choking...
I thought I was sick and I had to pee constantly, it was nerves
I helped two young mothers pushing their toddlers in strollers...They lived in Battery park city which is next to the towers, they just ran out of their apartments to escape....
There was another young girl I tried to calm as she was hysterical, she lost both her shoes running away.
People were filthy from the dust and debris....
We did what we could, helped who we could..........
Later on about five PM we walked up to ground zero...The ash got deeper as we got closer, there was burnt up vehicles everywhere,,,Burnt pieces of paper that flew all over...I felt like I was in a movie scene, it was unreal...then I saw it, both towers collapsed, huge piles of rubble, twisted steel, everything destroyed...
Firefighters were dazed..
Two days later I was told take a truck fill it with bottles for burning torches and bring it up there...
We spent about 12 hours helping remove debris with buckets....I found a oxygen tank and than a fireman coat...For a few moments I thought I found a body of a firefighter.,..I called fireman and I think he thought the same thing but it was just the coat and the tanks that a running fighter must have shed as he tried to escape..... You have to understand the pile as it was called was huge, but yet when a whistle blew there was complete. silence and that meant a body was found and being removed...We all stood silent removed our hard hats... If you've ever been in my city you know how alive the place is, now it was deserted...
Only fighter jets flew over head.
I was in the service but never saw combat never feared for my life never saw death until that day and honestly one day was enough....A co worker was with me at the pile two days later, he was older than me. I admired that guy, a real mans man....He acted a little strange and left the area as soon as he could...Some time later I found out why.. I knew he was a VN vet who saw a lot and that day he smelled death and I guess it brought him back to a place he didnt want to be.
When I finally got home that night Sept 11 before I went into the house I stopped over my neighbors, there front door was open the lights were on it was about 11 PM....I walked in looked at her and her husband and she said Johnny is ok, her son a fireman
I walked to my side door and stripped outside to my shorts..I left all my dirty clothes out side that night ...That dust on my clothes all over me in my nose my hair my ears was the dust of people who to this day were never found....I showered for a hour.
That was my experience and God Bless America
Just a note.....
If you take the Penn Turnpike to Carlisle. The Flight 93 Memorial is on exit 110. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time enroute to Carlisle.
Flight 93 National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)
If you take the Penn Turnpike to Carlisle. The Flight 93 Memorial is on exit 110. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time enroute to Carlisle.
Flight 93 National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)
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That Tuesday morning 19 years ago is etched in my memory like yesterday.
Had ESPN on -- and they flipped to their ABC News affiliate to report what was happening... When does ESPN ever flip to regular news??? Knew something was amiss.
Then, 8:51 A.M., second tower hit, and we all (I know I did) went from thinking that this is one horrific accident --- to thinking "This is WAR... Or Terrorism...
This is NOT an accident..."
I watched in horror, as did 3/4 of the nation. I am at the beginning of Long Island, 35 minutes from
Manhattan... I went outside, looked westward, and with the standard easterly blowing wind, I remember that smell... That awful smell... A smell I never want to smell again.
We stayed glued to newscasts for two weeks as we were glued to the television for reports. We were numb. Our nation was just numb. I know a couple people that died that day, and one first responder who has passed since....
A somber day every September 11th. A day to never forget... A day we hopefully never live again, in this land of freedom, the USA, USA, the greatest country on Earth...
A Good memory ??? Two weeks later, when we all ready to Live again, get off our butts, and realize "It was time.". And, on that first day back, when Mike Piazza hit that game winning Home Run to beat the Braves... It was as if a tremendous weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we could say,
"We are New Yorkers, and we are tougher than anything you can throw at us !!!!!!!"
Take a moment to reflect on today, 19 years ago, and pray for those lost, pray for today, and pray for all the great tomorrows ahead !!!!!!
Had ESPN on -- and they flipped to their ABC News affiliate to report what was happening... When does ESPN ever flip to regular news??? Knew something was amiss.
Then, 8:51 A.M., second tower hit, and we all (I know I did) went from thinking that this is one horrific accident --- to thinking "This is WAR... Or Terrorism...
This is NOT an accident..."
I watched in horror, as did 3/4 of the nation. I am at the beginning of Long Island, 35 minutes from
Manhattan... I went outside, looked westward, and with the standard easterly blowing wind, I remember that smell... That awful smell... A smell I never want to smell again.
We stayed glued to newscasts for two weeks as we were glued to the television for reports. We were numb. Our nation was just numb. I know a couple people that died that day, and one first responder who has passed since....
A somber day every September 11th. A day to never forget... A day we hopefully never live again, in this land of freedom, the USA, USA, the greatest country on Earth...
A Good memory ??? Two weeks later, when we all ready to Live again, get off our butts, and realize "It was time.". And, on that first day back, when Mike Piazza hit that game winning Home Run to beat the Braves... It was as if a tremendous weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we could say,
"We are New Yorkers, and we are tougher than anything you can throw at us !!!!!!!"
Take a moment to reflect on today, 19 years ago, and pray for those lost, pray for today, and pray for all the great tomorrows ahead !!!!!!
Im a retired union Boilermaker, I learned my trade while employed in power generation, I've been a welder most of my career...Ive worked two jobs most of that time and while working for a shop I met Allan, Al was a emergency rescue firefighter, a Marine, who was a welder before he got on the NYFD....We worked well and I knew I could always count on Al.....He was suppose to be working for my buddy that day but couldn't because he had to cover for a sick guy so that day he went to work at the NYFD....
He was killed....Had he not went to work and did his side job he'd be alive today.....
RIP firefighter Allan T
He was killed....Had he not went to work and did his side job he'd be alive today.....
RIP firefighter Allan T
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Newport 66
Old Man with a Hat
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commando1
Old Man with a Hat
9/11 remains to this day the most horrific date in my life. It doesn't matter how and I won't bother to explain. It just was.
What is probably the most heart breaking outcome after all these years is how the country, as a whole, has forgotten 9/11 and anybody under 25 doesn't give a ****.
The biggest hurt inside me is seeing this country continuating to forget "Never Forget". The rage inside me about this is beyond description.
Is the above "Never Forget?". As a whole this country sucks.
What is probably the most heart breaking outcome after all these years is how the country, as a whole, has forgotten 9/11 and anybody under 25 doesn't give a ****.
The biggest hurt inside me is seeing this country continuating to forget "Never Forget". The rage inside me about this is beyond description.
Is the above "Never Forget?". As a whole this country sucks.
Newport 66
Old Man with a Hat
My heart still aches. My son enlisted in the Air Force mainly because of 9/11. I can't type, I'm in tears. God rest their souls and God bless each of us...
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
I had retired from the USAF two years prior almost to the day. My job afterwards was with a US contractor in Saudi Arabia. With the time difference, we were just getting off work and made the 18-mile drive from the Saudi base to the compound we were living in. Our routine was to turn on the TV to Sky News and see what was happening, and get dinner started. I turned it on, and saw the first tower on fire, with what seemed to be a cartoon imprint of a large plane on the side. Seeing the sky was cloudless, I wondered aloud "who hits a building like that on a perfect day to fly?" Moments later, the second plane hit. All four of us said "what the ****!!!" I remember saying at that moment "******* Saudis!"...which turned out to be eerily accurate.
We started making phone calls and watching the news, as the horrors only began to unfold. We were just zombies staring at the television, for what seemed an eternity. It was, and still is, the most horrifying event I've ever witnessed.
As the next day was Wednesday, a work day, the decision whether to cancel the next days' work schedule was discussed at length. We were to go to work.
No one wanted to drive the car for the morning commute. So I said I'd drive. I figure if we ran into trouble going in, I'd rather be behind the wheel. We had several "moments", but nothing I couldn't deal with. Got to work safely, though a little rattled. Four white guys in a sedan kinda stick out in Riyadh...
I think we all miss the world of 9/10.
We started making phone calls and watching the news, as the horrors only began to unfold. We were just zombies staring at the television, for what seemed an eternity. It was, and still is, the most horrifying event I've ever witnessed.
As the next day was Wednesday, a work day, the decision whether to cancel the next days' work schedule was discussed at length. We were to go to work.
No one wanted to drive the car for the morning commute. So I said I'd drive. I figure if we ran into trouble going in, I'd rather be behind the wheel. We had several "moments", but nothing I couldn't deal with. Got to work safely, though a little rattled. Four white guys in a sedan kinda stick out in Riyadh...
I think we all miss the world of 9/10.
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Willie was Vietnam Vet and my neighbor. He lived 100 feet from my house. I had no idea that he was a casualty at the Pentagon until I got home that 9/11 evening and saw all of the local police and military vehicles parked in front of his house. I live in a small community of about 100 houses. One road in and the same road out. There isn't any through traffic roads here. Mostly professionals live in my community, military, local, county, state law enforcement, firefighters, government people.
SSG Willie Q. Troy, USA, Retired | Pentagon Memorial Fund
SSG Willie Q. Troy, USA, Retired | Pentagon Memorial Fund
We will never forget.....
mikedrini
Well-Known Member
Growing up in Tampa and being around MacDill AFB, we were all scared. No one knew if there were other targets that day. The President himself was down the road reading to kids. Air Force One was parked at the end of Dale Mabry for christ's sake. I was in college with my then-girlfriend walking to class and we heard a passer-by mention a plane flying into the WTC and honestly my first thought was, "Man what kinda dumbass pilot flew into a tower?". I had no idea what type of plane it was, what happened, how many people were involved, etc.
I called my Dad on my Nokia brick phone to see what was up and he mentioned it being a possible terrorist attack and told me to look up and note there was no air traffic-talk about ominous. My girlfriend and I then rushed to the nearest tv at a Chili's huddled in the bar with a cross section of Americans. Bankers, construction workers, servers, college kids, homeless, etc. and we were all watching as the first tower burned. We all then saw the second plane hit live and we were floored. Everyone in shock, looking around and then what I can only assume was everyone reaching out to their loved ones, we started scrambling.
My parents left work and we all went home and watched the post-collapse horror unfold. The rage inside me from that day will never die. It is as strong as the love I have for my family and friends. Many times it's human nature to forget, be dismissive or simply not care, especially when you're young and you think you have all of life figured out. Those of us who actually lived through that day will NEVER forget that.
Every 9/11 I torture myself with war movies I can't get a dry eye through (Saving Private Ryan, Glory, Schindler's List, Dunkirk, Thin Red Line, etc.) and go to my local watering hole to chat with either my Father or other Veterans as a reminder, freedom ain't free. There is no "moving on" from September 11th, 2001. As long as I draw a breath, I will never forget.
I called my Dad on my Nokia brick phone to see what was up and he mentioned it being a possible terrorist attack and told me to look up and note there was no air traffic-talk about ominous. My girlfriend and I then rushed to the nearest tv at a Chili's huddled in the bar with a cross section of Americans. Bankers, construction workers, servers, college kids, homeless, etc. and we were all watching as the first tower burned. We all then saw the second plane hit live and we were floored. Everyone in shock, looking around and then what I can only assume was everyone reaching out to their loved ones, we started scrambling.
My parents left work and we all went home and watched the post-collapse horror unfold. The rage inside me from that day will never die. It is as strong as the love I have for my family and friends. Many times it's human nature to forget, be dismissive or simply not care, especially when you're young and you think you have all of life figured out. Those of us who actually lived through that day will NEVER forget that.
Every 9/11 I torture myself with war movies I can't get a dry eye through (Saving Private Ryan, Glory, Schindler's List, Dunkirk, Thin Red Line, etc.) and go to my local watering hole to chat with either my Father or other Veterans as a reminder, freedom ain't free. There is no "moving on" from September 11th, 2001. As long as I draw a breath, I will never forget.
barnfind
Old Man with a Hat
NEVER FORGET
3C's & a D?
Senior Member
Never forget the truth! The second planes flight path, which was well documented by radar, and many camera angles on the ground, could not be duplicated on a simulator by any vastly experienced pilot's, with 15,000-25,000 logged flying hours. Yet we are to believe a couple of guy's who took a beginner's course in commercial flying could achieve a perfect hit? The floors it struck were not random.
Largest crime every commited on US soil. Better get all the evidence on barges, and ship it clear across the ocean for processing?
I really didn't want to write this, and sincerely mean no disrespect. It's just sad that most bought the story we were fed. And truther's are made to look like conspiracy theorists, until you listen to one for even two minutes, with an open mind.
Largest crime every commited on US soil. Better get all the evidence on barges, and ship it clear across the ocean for processing?
I really didn't want to write this, and sincerely mean no disrespect. It's just sad that most bought the story we were fed. And truther's are made to look like conspiracy theorists, until you listen to one for even two minutes, with an open mind.
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