September 11 Digital Archive Stories

I was a NYC Detective on September 11, 2001. I had worked very late the evening before and my husband had let me sleep while he got the kids ready for school. He had turned on the tv and saw that a plane had struck the Trade Center. He ran up the…

I had gotten up and I wasn't sure if I took a shower after or before, but I remember being in the dark in the kitchen. I didn't want my mom to turning on the lights because I just like the calm outside light. Anyways, she asked me why was it dark,…

I remember sitting at my desk when a person sitting on the other side of the petition said "I need to call my dad and tell him that a plane just crashed into the WTC". I then got up and went to a room where patients watch television, but I could not…

I came in about 20mins to 9:00am. I turned on the radio,
the announcer said jokingly that a small plane apparently hit one of the twin towers. I thought it was a joke. Then his voice changed and he stated its actually a large aircraft. I then went to…

I was at work. Once the shock settled over me, all I wanted was to be home, safe with my family near me so I could hug and kiss them, and tell them I love them.
Life had to continue. We all stayed at work, and did the best we could, and did not let…

It was nine o'clock in the morning. My husband and I woke up to our phone ringing. Being eight and a half months pregnant, I slowly got up to answer the phone. It was my mother-in-law, crying and telling me to turn on the t.v. I woke up my husband…

The morning of September 11th, I had just gotten to work, and as I normally do, I went to my desk, turned on my computer and my radio. Just as I turned on the radio, I had heard the unconfirmed report of what was thought to be a small plane hitting…

I HAD JUST GOTTEN OUT OF THE SHOWER TO GET READY FOR WORK. THE TV WAS ON, AND THE NEWS CAME ON AND SAID THAT A JET HAD HIT THE TRADE CENTER. I THOUGHT IS MUST HAVE BEEN A PLANE TAKING OFF, LOST ALTITUDE AND CRASHED. I WAS WATCHING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN…

My name is Tom(21), I live in Belgium, I was on vacation in New York to see a Michael Jackson concert.
I stayed in Hotel Pennsylvania on 7th avenue ride across MSG.
I arrived in NY on september 5 and was suppose to go back to belgium on september 11.…

I had just finished Mass for the Sisters and had eaten breakfast and had returned to my little house. I turned on the TV to the FOX News channel which I usually do to catch up on the latest news. I kinda listen while I do other things. I sat down…

In Loving Memory of James A. Nelson
July 10, 1961 - September 11, 2001


Port Authority Police Officer James A. Nelson was working at the PAPD academy in Jersey City on the morning of September 11th. He was sent to the World Trade Center…

I had woken up earlier that morning and was getting out of the shower when my room mate told me to watch the news that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers in New York. We were horrified as we watched first one tower then another crashed…

September 10, 2001

The 100-mile drive down to Manhattan is uneventful except for unexpected traffic on the West Side Highway at almost 10 PM. I stop in front of 3 World Trade Center, the Marriott hotel, get out of my car and hand the key to the…

On September 11, 2001, I was standing in the kitchen of my brother's condominum in Venice, Florida, ready to pack the van for a return trip home to Fort Wayne, Indiana. My oldest brother and I had made the trip to Florida to celebrate my retirement…

Hi, my name is Stephannie Aquil. I used to live in New York, now I'm living in North Carolina. I just moved here two months ago. I was in New York when all this happened. I was in my school, University Neighborhood High School, in the Lower East…

My name is Mandice and I am 27 years old. At my age and in the short years I've lived on this planet, I have never experienced so much devestation so quickly in my life. Older generations speak of the World Wars, Vietnam, and the Korean war. I've…

I was home in California on September 11, 2001. My husband and I were still in bed as it was only around 6:00am in California. My husband woke me and he had the tv on in the bedroom and told me to "LOOK AT THIS". I thought he was watching a movie…

We woke up from sleep and Jim my fiance went down to make the coffee and I turned the TV on it was sometime five in the morning or so... I saw the first plane hit the first tower and I couldn't believe what I was actually seeing and then the next…

We had just came back from our 2 week vacation to North Carolina where we spent the most beautiful, loving summer. The plane back was delayed in St. Louis and it was either very late at night or very early in the morning when we arrived to San Jose…

I was on Active duty in the Army stationed in Giessen, Germany. It been a long day, not bad, but long. My thoughts drifted off to going home and relaxing. Around 3:30 pm that day someone started talking something about Washington D.C. had been…