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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:16 am
by audit
I've mirrored that at http://www.personalwireless.org/~audit/911 in case that site goes down. I had quite a few 911 memorial sites mirrored before we formated the server, I'll see if I can find them in the backup's if I still have them after 9 months. Normally on 9/11 each year, I pull my main sites down and put up the memorial sites up in their place just so people never forget.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:40 am
by theprez98
[SIZE="2"]I have posted before briefly in this thread, but I wrote a longer version for my blog so I thought I'd post it here.[/SIZE]

On September 11, 2001, I was living in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, a few hours north of Seattle, Washington. I had moved there in the spring and was in training at the EA-6B Prowler fleet replacement squadron, VAQ-129. I was also taking flying lessons at the time, and had progressed about 1/3 of the way through the private pilot license syllabus.

I don't recall the exact time, but it was very early, 6-something (Pacific time), when the phone rang. I remember it was early because it woke me up. It was my Dad. He told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. That was the extent of the news at the time. I thanked him for letting me know and hung up.

As I wiped the sleep from my eyes and walked toward the living room, the first thoughts that went through my mind were that it was probably a foggy or cloudy day, and some poor Cesna pilot got lost and flew into the World Trade Center. As I turned on the TV sometime after 6 o'clock, however, it became immediately clear that something very different was occurring. It seemed to be that both towers were on fire (the first plane hit the north tower at 8:46ET and the second plane hit the south tower at 9:02ET). In my mind, I want to say that I saw the second plane hit on TV, but in reality it seems that this is not possible, as I don't believe the second plane hitting the south tower was broadcast live.

I also remember thinking that, despite hitting the towers with such force, there were relatively few floors in flames, and I never really suspected the structural integrity of the building was at risk. My only thoughts were: get those people out as fast as possible!

I immediately woke up my roommate Tom and his then-girlfriend (now wife) to let them know what was going on. I think we probably all stared at the TV for who-knows-how-long without saying so much as a word. What I do remember vividly was watching both towers collapse (the south tower at 9:59ET and the north tower at 10:28ET). More silence. I tried to calculate in my mind how many people must have been killed, just like that.

Tom and I were both in classes at the time and eventually had to go into work. I don't recall what time we actually went in, but I do remember that it was not difficult to get onto the base. What helps me remember this is how difficult it was to get onto the base in the following days--literally hours to go a half a mile. On September 12th, every vehicle was being inspected at the gates. I seem to recall it taking over two and a half hours to get onto base on the 12th.

Going back to September 11th. We were in class. The flight schedule was immediately cancelled, which seemed obvious. What was less understandable was the fact that our academic classes were continuing. I had several squadron mates who were frantically calling "home" to families in the NYC area trying to find out something. Every break between classes was a rush to the TV or the telephones. Our pleas to cancel class were basically ignored.

We did not know at the time, but one of my classmates did lose a family member. My friend Dave Ganci lost his uncle, Peter J. Ganci, who was a New York Fire Department Chief.

Sometime during the day we also learned of the attack on the Pentagon. The entire day was surreal and many of its details are burned into my memory.

That night, President Bush spoke to the nation:

[quote="President Bush"]The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed]

As I alluded to before, the next few days were complete hell trying to get into work. Schedules were changed and shifted, and somehow we kept on with class. I don't recall when we started flying again ("we" meaning the squadron; I was not at that phase yet); but all VFR air traffic was suspended for at least a month, so my flying lessons came to a halt (and unfortunately never started up again, something I regret to this day).

Many months later, we flew missions over Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Then it was over Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And now, of course, on the ground in Iraq. I did not lose a family member although my friends did. Yet my life was inextricably altered by the events of that day.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 6:08 pm
by DaKahuna
I was attending a 0900 meeting with the Departement of Treasury two and a half blocks from the White House. The Treasury Executive received a page and left the room, the meeting continued. A short period of time later the came back and was in his seat about 10 minutes when he received a second page.

When he returned to the room he calmy informed us that there had been an explosions at the Twin Towers in New York and that an explosion had just occurced at the pentago and all federal buildings were being evacuated. That the metro was being closed down and that everone was to leave the buidling and go home.

I had to walk back to my desk at the Federal Judicary building because I had no where else to go. I had, like many, taken the metro into town and with the Metro closed I had no where else to go.

I had to rely on what information I could get from the Internet on the incident and I have to admin the more I learned the more anger I felt.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:15 pm
by isulong seoph
1st plane I thought it was just a pure accident but when the 2nd plane crashed, I was frightened. Watching CNN at that time. It was horrific indeed.

All fall down...

PostPosted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:02 pm
by Airstreamer
I thought I'd commented on here once about the asbestos fire retardent, but I couldn't find it, so in light of all the conspiracy theories, I thought I'd note it again.

We had an asbestos abatement class, and the person that taught it had been all over the world doing structural fire protection. He remarked that if the building codes had NOT changed in NYC in the middle of the construction, the towers would in all likelyhood still be standing. Turns out that they outlawed the use of asbestos for the structural steel thermal wrappings about the time the towers were about one half to two thirds finished.

They had to switch to an alternate thermal protection material for the rest of the building that didn't stand up to the burning Avjet. He indicated that if they had continued to use asbestos for the rest of the structure, the fuel would have burned itself out before the steel could have heated to the point of failure.

PostPosted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:16 pm
by wiresalot
I was on my way to the coffe shop when my buddy called me and said a plane had hit the WTC. At first I thought maybe a Cessna or small plane. Once I got to the coffee shop it was on there TV, I was amazed. It wasn't a small plane. As I watched the second plane I was speachless and pissed.
I will always remember that day.

When I was younger about 10 or 12, My parents took to to see the towers and the Statue Of Liberty it was awesome. I had taken some pictures of that day, with my 110 Kodak camera, It was a dreary day so they are not the best.

But you are welcome to take a look.

LINK

[color="White"]Takeing advantage of Verizon's free web hosting.[/color]

wiresalot

PostPosted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:38 pm
by xor
I actually called out sick from work that day before anything had happened. Turned on the news just as all hell was breaking loose.

xor

PostPosted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:08 pm
by brwrdrvr
xor wrote:I actually called out sick from work that day before anything had happened. Turned on the news just as all hell was breaking loose.

xor


I was just getting over the "Aruban Flu" in my hotel room that morning. I had been medicated and sleeping for 3 days. I finally woke up and decided I was feeling better. Thought about going to get a steak and potato later that day. I turned on the TV to watch some movies and there was the whole thing going on. On every channel the island had on their cable system. I forget exactly how many channels there were but every channel had CNN on it.