9/11

I know it’s been done a plenty of times throughout the years, but I just wanted to make a thread about it today. I’ve been watching a lot of footage and interviews, listening to phone calls of victims in their last minutes and so on over the last couple of days. I still remember exactly where I was when it happened.

No matter your stance on inside job/terroristic attacks, politics, etc., it was a horrible day in U.S. history—maybe even the worst—and it changed the country permanently. Such a sad, sad, almost unthinkable and catastrophic tragedy.

Those poor people on flights, working in the buildings, and responding to the scene didn’t deserve it. The thought of having to choose between burning alive and jumping to your death(for those above the 90th and 78th floors of buildings 1 and 2, roughly and respectively) is just daunting and almost unimaginable to me. The firefighters and other first responders seeing the gore and horror on a beautiful Tuesday morning. The other onlookers in disbelief and shock. It’s unreal, really…

RIP to all those who suffered and died on that day. Much love and condolences to all the friends and relatives. Never ever forget. ❤️

And I’ll add my favorite song dedicated to it:

I will always remember where I was. I was almost to work when a radio report stated that a “small” plane had crashed into one of the towers. A few minutes later I was watching a live feed of the second plane.

I don’t watch any shows that repeat that. The image is still burned into my brain.

Great post LabDaddy1. So many good things and talking points you addressed, and I also really feel for those people who were tragically affected the most.

The part that sticks out to me the most about your post is how you mentioned how it changed our country, and it did for sure alter the course of history for us. What those hijackers pulled off changed the way we fly, changed the airline industry. Our military, defense contractors, and critical infrastructure defenses changed greatly and budgets have exploded since. My entire adult employment, both civilian and military, have revolved around the new world we’re in after 9/11, just like many I’m sure.

Hard Water Fan wrote:

I don’t watch any shows that repeat that.

Nat Geo often runs their shows called Inside 9/11 this time of year. Its a documentary that follows everything from the beginning with Bin Laden recruiting terrorists to the intelligence that was uncovered. There’s interviews with people who were in the buildings too. I find it to be very fascinating even though it was a horrific day.

I was in college at the time and didn’t hear what happened until later that afternoon. Social media and cell phones weren’t really a thing yet.

It was the first day of daycare for our first son. I was at my desk when I found out and I wanted to leave immediately to go pick him up. A group of us went into the lounge and watched as the second plane struck the other tower. It was a horrifying day as a new parent or just anyone in general. A friend of mine worked for an abatement company and he had to spend a lot of time out there doing lead paint and asbestos surveys. I dont think he feels the same since.

Remember to lower your flags {all day}. God bless the families! Thank you Tunnels to Towers for all their work since!!

I’d just gotten home from taking Ma to work and for some reason turned the TV on while I was getting ready for work myself. Like Hard Water Fan, I heard the report of a small plane hitting one of the towers and stopped to listen and watch. I called Ma and told her what had happened when the second plane was seen nearby and watched as it flew directly into the second tower as we were talking.

I too have that horrid event etched in my head and chose to not watch any more of the follow up stuff.

stevenoak wrote:

Remember to lower your flags {all day}. God bless the families! Thank you Tunnels to Towers for all their work since!!

Yes and very much thanks to our present day first responders also. Like, man, so much thanks…

Thanks for the reminder, stevenoak, to lower the flags. All I have is a stupid little pvc pipe flag mounted on the stucco on the front of the house, so not quite sure how to go half mast.. lol

Dan- thanks for your service and your reply. I agree 100%. You too, gim, cap, HWF, and Tom. Crazy stuff.

Captain- I’ll branch out from the asbestos thing. So chilling when you now see enhanced original footage of all these people covered in white dust and walking through billowing clouds of it, knowing that a lot of them are now dealing with different cancers(mesothelioma) and other respiratory illnesses because of it. So many have already passed because of that. And most those folks had no idea of that reality at the time or were too in shock to care about masking their nose/mouth…

Those buildings were built(finished) in I want to say 1971. Crazy to think that the world’s tallest buildings and feats of modern infrastructure only stood for thirty years before they crumbled…

Dad was a firefighter here in STP-just cannot watch those poor heroic FFs run into that impossible situation.

Like other have said, I was at work and heard someone talking about it from the radio, we turned the tv in the lobby on just to watch the other plane hit it. Really weird feeling, just didn’t know what to do. In reality there was nothing to do but continue the day, but it didn’t feel right. Still sends chills down my spine thinking about it. So many lives lost and so much changed that day.

Does anyone else feel like it’s being forgotten? I normally have a dozen emails from places like Scheels by now on 9/11 and I’ve only gotten one so far. I work with a lot of young 20 somethings and they have no memory of it at all. I was a senior in college watching Sportscenter before class when my roommate told me to switch to CNN. Watched the 2nd plane hit live.

I was in college and walking down the hall to class. There were some students watching the tv in the hall so I stopped to see what they were watching just in time for the second plane to hit the tower. Later in class we found out it was a terrorist attack.

I was a Sophomore in high school and walked through the library on my way to Breakfast and say the first plane had hit and it was being reported as an accident. After that I headed outside for Phyed and when we returned two hours later and the whole school was watching on small TV it felt like we had entered a different world.

Four years later I became an EMT and that event drove me to become one and have worked in EMS ever since.

Stay safe everyone and God Bless America.

The one thing about 9/11 that really resonates with me now is all of the young men and women that signed up for the military knowing full well they were headed off to war.

True bravery!

-J.

Alex Fox wrote:

Does anyone else feel like it’s being forgotten? I normally have a dozen emails from places like Scheels by now on 9/11 and I’ve only gotten one so far. I work with a lot of young 20 somethings and they have no memory of it at all. I was a senior in college watching Sportscenter before class when my roommate told me to switch to CNN. Watched the 2nd plane hit live.

Some 20 somethings weren’t even alive yet when it happened.. Others were only a couple years old. Hard to forget something that you didn’t experience.

Never forget. Google Todd Beamer “Let’s Roll…” and Rick Rescorla with Morgan Stanley to read about some hero’s from that day that saved thousands of lives.

From my much younger nieces time line. I couldn’t stop reading it although I wanted too.

Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?
Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?
Todd: No
Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?
Todd: There are three that we know of.
Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?
Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?
Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.
Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?
Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.
Lisa: Have they said what they want?
Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.
He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!
Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.
Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.
Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.
Todd: It’s United Flight 93.
Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?
Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?
Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.
Lisa: Has anyone been injured?
Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.
Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?
Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!
Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!
Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.
Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?
Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??
Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.
Todd: Oh God —help us!
Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?
Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.
Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..
Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?
Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.
Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…
Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……
Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.
Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?
Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.
Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?
Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.
Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?
Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..
Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?
Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.
Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.
Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.
Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?
Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.
Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.
Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?
Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?
Lisa: Yes…What is it?
Todd: Would you pray with me?
They pray: Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…..
Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll……………………

Along with everything said here already which I whole heartedly agree w.

I really dislike fear mongering and don’t want to take this thread another way but I am very grateful for all the current branches of goverment who serve our country every single minute of every day doing stuff we’ll never hear of thwarting plans of terrorists. FBI, CIA, even down to the TSA agent checking bags at terminals and safety persons at ports scanning cargo.

This radicalism isn’t going away, nuclear power in the wrong hands simply isn’t an option, w the likes of Russia, Iran, N. Korea out there aiding these tiny lil cells it only takes one to succeed to and create another absolute tragedy like 9/11. With the staggering number of air travelers, imports at all our incoming ports, to water patrols and border officers these folks are our frontline to this crap.

God bless all of them.

BK….I’ve heard that conversation summarized many times, but never read the full transcript. Thank you.

Alex Fox wrote:

Does anyone else feel like it’s being forgotten? I normally have a dozen emails from places like Scheels by now on 9/11 and I’ve only gotten one so far. I work with a lot of young 20 somethings and they have no memory of it at all.

I don’t think it’s being forgotten, but you’re correct in pointing out that it WAS almost a quarter century ago and as you rightly point out, there is now a significant segment of the population that wasn’t born when it happened. Therefore they don’t have the memories or the raw emotions to connect them to this event the way those of us who were alive that day do.

There was a period of almost half a century when the most solemn day of memorials and remembrance in America was on November 11. Now, I doubt 1 person in 10 would know why that was or what happened on November 11 that made it so. As time moves on, the personal connection to any event, no matter how significant, changes, and yes, eventually it fades somewhat.

I don’t think the young people who were born after 9/11 “don’t care” about what happened then. I just don’t think you can be emotionally connected to an event like that unless you lived through it. I think they view it as many of us who weren’t born on Dec 7, 1941 view Pearl Harbor’s bombing. I know about it, I understand its significance, but that day wasn’t etched in my memory the way it was for my grandparents.

Dan wrote:

BK….I’ve heard that conversation summarized many times, but never read the full transcript. Thank you.

Same here and many thanks. That is something we should all read to remind ourselves of the sacrifice.

Never Forget

Good posts everyone and yes never forget.

Dan wrote:

BK….I’ve heard that conversation summarized many times, but never read the full transcript. Thank you.

For the record, there is not a transcript or recording. The above is the recollection of the operator after the fact.

Personally, that’s close enough to a transcript for me.

i remember that day like yesterday and remember what i was doing!!!! i put out my flag every 9-11 also.

regarding comments of the younger generation not really knowing what happened, in my mind must be living under a rock, or plain dont care to realize what it did to this country. but then its my opinion.

Just got home from working all night . Ate breakfast and heading to bed.Turned on TV and watched it al unfold . So much for sleep . Called wife at her work place told her and concerned, she worked for the USDA . The year before wife and i were at the base of the towers . Felt surreal watching them collapse live on TV . Truely a dark day in American history .

Deuces wrote:

I am very grateful for all the current branches of goverment who serve our country every single minute of every day doing stuff we’ll never hear of thwarting plans of terrorists. CIA,

Well the CIA first trained Bin Laden (Afghan-Russian war), lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction and the terrorists origins that led to unnecessary and costly (in lives and money) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, meanwhile they knew the 9/11 terrorists were primarily Saudi’s the entire time. And the CIA also knew they were planning an attack by July, 2001 and that it would likely be through the air as Al-Qaeda operatives were taking classes at flight schools. This also led to ISIS, increased instability in the Middle East, the Taliban controlling Afghanistan, an ongoing war in Syria and I’m sure I’m missing a few other things. But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?

Never forget Ruby Ridge.
Never Forget the children burned at Waco.
Never Forget the Kansas City Federal Building.
Never Forget Ray Epps.
Never Forget Building 7.