101 20 7169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: MARIA D. PENA WRITING M/W NARRATIVE COMPOSITION 1-27-03 WHERE WERE YOU ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 I couldn?t believe that it was true, what I was listening to on the radio while I was driving to work, I thought that I misunderstood what they were saying. A few minutes later, while walking through the houses that our broker was selling, I had already witnessed the crash of the first tower on their TV. I couldn?t believe what I saw when we got to the next house it was the second tower and on when we got back to the office it was the Pentagon. I was shocked and went home. There my mother and my brother were watching the news and it was showing the smoke coming out from the buildings and desperate people were jumping from the windows, the collapse of each of the large twins, the huge cloud of dust splitting to the sides and reaching the crowd running away. We were all shocked and panicked We knew what was happening by the news but we didn?t want to believe that it was really happening until we went out and drove across the Hudson and saw a large cloud of smoke coming out from the place where once there were the beautiful twins in the middle of the most beautiful view that I have ever seen of a city, ?The Big City?. I cried just by thinking of such an evil destruction could be true, that doesn?t just happen in the movies. I cry every time I think about all the people suffering: The ones inside those buildings before of the collapse, panicked in the middle of the fire; those that were still inside the underground levels after the collapse with the hope to survive; all the families and friends outside suffering for the lost ones and others suffering with the hope that the missing ones could still be alive underground. As the news continued giving new information and I heard the speculations of human loss, I felt more and more insecure. They were saying that it was the beginning of a war and the US. was going to respond. My family asked me to go back to my country because they thought we were going to be in the middle of a war and something bad could happen to us. I just thought that I could die any time, any where and the only thing I could do about it was to have my soul ready for that moment, even though I felt scared to death. Six days later I took my brother to a hospital in Manhattan for a scheduled surgery. That scared me even more. There was only one of the tunnels opened by then and every car going to the city was checked by the police before entering the tunnel. Our car was the only one in the tunnel. Days before there were hundreds driving into the dense traffic of Manhattan. When we entered the city, we were checked again, asked about our business there and where we were going to. There were few cars driving in the city and the police were all around checking cars, questioning the drivers and setting up detours. Many streets were closed. While my brother was at the surgery room my mother and I were at the highest floor in the hospital?s cafeteria having coffee and looking at the dark gloomy cloud of smock that was going to last for various weeks spreading out a stink of destruction and death. The same stink that I was going to smell again a month later when we went back. I wasn?t expecting by then that I had to walk around the streets next to ?Ground Zero? and look by my own eyes what it was left after the tragedy: A wall covered with names and photos where flowers and religious? objects were placed on the memory of the lost ones, the rubble of the destroyed buildings, a heavy stink of death that forced people to use masks while walking, and the sadness reflected on their faces. Although I am not American, I am a human being and I feel a very deep pain for this cruel tragedy. This wasn?t just an American lost, this was a human lost. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9150.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-03-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 140.144.48.131 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I WENT INTO THE HOSPITAL AT 6:00 AM TO BE INDUCED.MY CONTRACTIONS WERE GETTIN BAD .AND THE NURSE CAME RUNNING INTO MY ROOM AND SAID THE 1ST PLANE HAD JUST CRASHED,WE THEN STARTED WATCHING IT ON TV. I WAS HEARTBROKEN TO THINK THERES SUCH AWEFUL PEOPLE OUT THERE TO DO SUCH A THING.AT 12:38 PM RIGHT AFTER LUNCH OUR DAUGHTER CHEYANNE WAS BORN.A BLESSING FROM GOD.WE HAVE SOMETHING GOOD THAT HAPPENED BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH BAD THAT HAPPENED.AT 1 AND A HALF MONTHS CHEYANNE GOT PUT IN THE HOSPITAL BAD COUGHING SPELLS AT THAT TIME THEY FOUND A HEART MURMUR.IN FEB.02 SHE WAS SEEN BY A SPECIALIST AND THEY DECIDED SHE WOULD NEED SURGERY SHE HAD A HOLE IN HER LIL HEART.ON SEPT.4TH 2002 WE WENT TO OMAHA WERE SHE HAD A CATH. SURGERY DONE AND IT CLOSED THE HOLE IN HER HEART,WAS VERY SCARY BUT SHE CAME HOME THE NEXT DAY AND IS DOING GREAT.THANK GOD FOR WATCHING OVER HER.TODAY WE ARE CELEBRATING HER FIRST BIRTHDAY AND REMEMBERING ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS SAD DAY 1 YEAR AGO OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALL.GOD BLESS TO ALL. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4318.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was picking up my sister to drive her to work that day. When I got to her house, she mentioned something about a small plane hitting the World Trade Center. Before we reached her office, the second plane hit and word came that another had hit the Pentagon. The conclusion was inescapable: terrorists had hit the U.S. Your mind fixates on strange things when you are trying to overcome shock. I was angry with the radio announcers because they kept mentioning the victims in the planes, without saying a word about the thousands that worked in the World Trade Center. I've been in that building, seen the crowds. It was terribly personal, to know that where I had once walked, terrorists had dealt death to thousands of innocent people. When we arrived, everyone at the office was watching the television. We were just in time to see the first tower fall. I have never seen anything so terrible as the videos of the event, with terrified people running and the world caving in. And yet, we could see firemen and rescue workers walking into that hell . . . It only took a few minutes for me to head straight for church. Several others at our church were there, and we prayed for our nation, for the victims, for the rescue workers. We prayed for the lost souls who committed the evil deeds, and for Jesus to turn the hearts of the terrorists that remain. We prayed for protection. We prayed for comfort and hope. I know our prayers are being answered. The streets of St. Louis were nearly empty all day, as most people stayed by their radios or televisions. One shameful thing - some gas stations hiked their prices $2-4. I saw one with a price of $2.99, and a long line of panicked people. Not a mile away, normal prices prevailed. By evening, all the offending stations had been either shamed out of it, or deterred by Missouri's Attorney General, who threatened prosecution. I called all of my family and most of my friends. I wanted to hear everyone's voice and assure them of my love. Some of us gathered for dinner in the evening at a sports bar that ran 911 coverage non-stop. We were there when we heard President Bush's speech, and took comfort in the knowledge that at least one target had been missed, thanks to some courageous people who overpowered the terrorists and made them miss their mark. It is this, and the overwhelming response of the American people that I choose to remember. May God bless America once again. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6972.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On that fateful day I was on my way to work, which is the Merchandise Mart building in downtown Chicago. It is also a World Trade Center. On the radio I heard of the first plane hitting one of the towers in New York. Once arriving in my office I heard of the second attack. Although I was pretty upset, the office closed. On my way home I kept praying for myself to reach home safety, but also for all of New York. Sat at home in front of TV all day watching in horror of a Terrorist Attack on America. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2459.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.2.30.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When you work in a school of about three hundred or so, young children you want to protect (mother) each and everyone of then from the evils in the world. On September 11, 2001, that task became impossible. Approximately 9 o?clock AM on September 11, I went into our school copy room. I was given the horrible news. A plane crashed into the World Trade Center. It did not sink in until Kate told me twice. At first I thought,? How could a pilot not see those huge buildings? but then reality set in. It was not an accident! What do we tell the children? How can we explain to them that someone had that much hate in their hearts that they would kill so many innocent Americans. With our principles direction we did not speak of the cowardly and horrific act of violence. We wanted the children to have the last few hour of school to be as normal as possible because from that moment on things just would not be the same for anyone. We asked parents that came to help with lunch just not to talk about it in front of the younger children. The word of the tragedy had already started to circle around the second floor (older children). At dismissal, you could see on the faces of the moms and dads coming for their children that the world just would not be the same anymore. In month to come, I felt having an 11-year-old son (Robbie) and a 9-year-old daughter (Catie) that it was my job to help them to understand want had happened on that day. Over Easter break my sister and I took them to ?Ground Zone?. Not sure that I was doing the right thing I was very apprehensive, until Catie saw a small beanie baby someone had left in memory of a lost loved one. She said, ?Mommy look people left a beanie baby to remember somebody lost?. Right then I knew I did the right thing. She felt the lost that all Americans were feeling. Robbie noticed that people as far away as California sent big banners of prayers and love. To this day when we talk about what happened in New York City and in Washington, he will say, ?don?t forget the people on the plane in Pennsylvania?. He always remembers them. We pray every morning going to school for the souls God has taken home and for those loved ones left behind. My Story Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7246.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.154.29.167 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Better to be hit by a truck than buried under rubble. I was hit by a car while crossing 86th Street. I left the city to recover. With injuries from head to toe I was sad about my life....until the World Trade Center fell. Then I felt blessed to have been saved. I worked at Ground Zero. The stress of seeing the towers fall would have killed me. As it was I lost many friends. My life has been renewed. I had a strong faith before Sept 11, now I know that God had other plans for me. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story797.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Religion WTC, worked in (ever) DOMESTIC N-YHS Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had been dating a girl for some weeks, really starting to like her, but going very, very slow because I had just come out of a bad relationship. Her brother had been in a car accident and we had visited him in his room. I felt very close to her that night, she including me in her family affairs like that - she clearly loved her family and I admired that in her. I got to meet her Dad and he seemed OK with me, so that was nice as well. We went to dinner and I decided to tell her about a very weird dream I had the previous night, 9/09/01. I could not get this dream out of my mind. I was feeling rather tense, out of sorts, and this dream kept bugging me so I decided to tell her about it. In the dream, I was in a tall building that was lifeless and somber, a sort of leaden, concrete look to everything. I was running from floor to floor frantically looking for a way out, or just to figure out where I was. Then I noticed that there were bodies everywhere - not whole bodies, but torsos, heads, arms - but oddly, no blood or gore. Everything was just covered with thick grey dust. Finally I came to floor where I saw a maroon object wrapped in a white cloth - I approached it and to my horror, noticed that it was a baby that had been terribly burned. It made no sound but was writhing in pain, and extended an arm out to me, grabbing my ankle. Then I heard the most pitiful cry imaginable in my dreaming mind's ear - HELP ME it seemed to say. HELP ME HELP ME over and over. I woke up in a cold sweat thinking, "Boy, that was a doozy!" but could not shake the image of the bodies and that pitiful burned baby. The morning after my date I was awakened by the very first reports from the burning towers. Somehow I knew what was coming and was filled with the most terrible dread. I instantly knew that the hole in the building had been made by a large airplane, and was connected with the dream. I've always had a terrible dread of being trapped in a tall building by fire and being forced to jump - odd, because I have no fear of heights or fire individually, and I am not the "worrywart" sort. When the buildings collapsed and covered everything with grey dust, I was astonished and horrified to realize that my dream had in some sense come true. It took months to get over the shock and I'm still not over it. I worry about the next dream and tend not to remember them now, thank God. What can was say? Did I somehow hear the collective shout of agony of all the victims, who knew they were doomed? It's a terrible thing to live with. I almost feel like a survivor myself, that in some weird sense I was actually in the buildings. I'll never forget that one dream or that day. I hope to come to peace with it some time, but it hasn't happened yet. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10773.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-08-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.98.152.3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am employeed by a major business aircraft manufacturer and on September 11th we happend to have a large display of our aircraft scheduled just across the Hudson River at the Teterboro, NJ airport. A colleague was to fly up from North Carlolina in his single engine aircraft, pick me up at Dulles Airport and continue on to Teterboro. A little after 8 am we took off and headed north. As I think back now I can vividly recall taxing past the American Airlines gates at Dulles. I can see Flight 97 parked at the gate (although I of course didn't know it was Flight 97 at the time). It was not until a couple of days later that I learned we had lost a neighbor who was traveling aboard AA Flight 97 that day. The day was picture perfect, it was a great day to fly. My colleague and I both commented on what a beautiful day it was and chatted about work, home, the kids. It was a great day. Somewhere past Philadelphia we picked up a call from ATC: "New York Center is no longer accepting traffic". My colleague and I just looked at each other with puzzled looks of disbelief. What the heck was that all about. After a moment my collegue asked ATC to "say again". The response was, "New York Center is no longer accepting traffic, state your intentions". When we pressed the controller as to what was going on he stated that there was an "emergency" in the area and that he could not disclose the nature of the emergency over the frequency. I have to hand it to my collegue, he looked at me and simply said "terrorist". Again the controller asked us to "state our intentions". Knowing that we could not proceed to our orignial destination, we asked the controller to vector us to Trenton, NJ. As we lined up for our approach into the Trenton Airport, we could see a growing line of aircraft behind us. Upon landing, the Trenton tower told us that a "small aircraft" had flown into the World Trade Center. Right before we shut the engine down, the tower came back to say that a second aircraft had flown into the World Trade Center. As my colleague shut down the aircraft I ran inside the FBO to secure a rental car. I used my mobile phone to call my wife back in Northern Virginia and let her know we were ok. This was of course before the Pentagon was hit. After that quick call, the cell phone became practically useless due to the amount of calls jamming the system. By now the ramp was getting full and I could see many more aircraft on approach. As the attendant filled out the rental car papers (the last one available I might add), I walked into the pilot's lounge to view the media coverage. There was crowed and all stared in disbelief as we watched the first replay of the second aircraft going into the tower. I remember how surreal the moment was, like watching an action movie. It just didn't feel real. With many of our employees on the ground in the New York area for our display, we decided to drive up, make sure all were accounted for and assist in getting them out if necessary. Taking back roads due to heavy traffic, we soon noticed an unusual cloud formation in an otherwise cloudless day. After a moment I realized it was not a cloud, it was smoke, and we were still quite a distance from New York. That is when it started feeling real. As we drove through Newark we could see the smoke cloud growing but we could not see Manhattan just yet. Somewhere along the way we heard radio reports that the Pentagon and, erronously, that the Mall had been hit. Unable to reach my wife by cell phone, my anxiety grew. I felt some securiety in the fact that, at that time, we lived in Chantilly. Quite a distance from the attack. Just west of the Teterboro airport the road comes up over a hill. As we crested the hill and stopped for a redlight, we could finally gaze down into Manhattan. I'll never forget that sight of smoke and a dirty brown haze billowing up from the south end of the island. It was sickening, yet still surreal. It just could not be happening. I finally reached my wife who was naturally quite upset due to the attack in Washington. She told me that the kids were ok and home from school. However, addding to the anxiety were the rumors that another aircraft was still in the air. She said fighter jets were roaring over the house. She was scared. I remember her asking me through tears, "when are you coming home?". What I could not say was, "I really didn't know". I told her as soon as I could. That was the toughest phone call of our married life and the one point in the day where I simply lost my composure. We got our employees out of the airport and into a hotel in Parsipanny. All were shaken but holding up well. At that point I announced to all that I was commandeering our only rental car to drive back to Washington. Since it was our only retal car, and a scarce commodity, I had expected some possible protest. There was none. Another colleague from Savannah, GA raised his hand and asked to go with me. "I'll be 5 hours closer to Savannah" he noted. My colleague, not wanting to leave his aircraft, decided to stay and "wait it out". Bad decision. He too finally drove home to North Carolina days later. With a few hugs we said our goodbyes and headed to Washington. I-95 was empty. It was an errie sight. Other than us, the only traffic were emergeny vehicles headed northbound in sporadic convoys of flashing lights. The Washington Beltway was also empty, a sight I had never witnessed. Finally arriving home, there were hugs to go around and recollections of ours and our neighbors day. With the day over, we quitely wondered what the future would bring. All we could be sure of was that our lives were never going to be the same. "Normal" didn't apply anymore. Sleep did not come easy that night. One year after the attacks, we gathered at a neighbors house for a cookout and to remember the husband and father who died on Flight 97. As the sun dropped below the trees, his family scattered his ashes over the golf course behind his home. The gesture seemed appropriate, since he loved the course and was able to play only once, on opening day, September 9, 2001. To say the moment was moving would do it a disservice. But the gesture will help his family, and perhaps all of us, move on. More than any other image of that day, I'm haunted by the vivid memory of taxing past those American Airline jets that morning. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8629.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.105.57.130 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was about 8:30 in the morning and i was working on an english project when another teacher walked in and told Mrs.Misik to turn on the news. She turned it on and it was a huge shock. I didnt know what was happening. There was a long period of silence because nobody knew what to do or say. Later on that day it just hit us all more and more. It started to become real. No one believed what was happening until their parents were checking them out because they had a loved one in one of the towers. It was really heart breaking to know that there were people like that out there. What kind of a person would do that to other living beings. They were just innocent people doing their jobs to support their families. No body will ever forget 9-11... Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9277.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-04-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 was the sixth day of classes and I was trying to keep my stern face and no nonsense attitude alive. I did not want to appear weak - yet, although I had not recovered from our son's wedding on Sept. 1. West Springfield High School has a break each day between 9:10 and 9:30 and I was in my room planning for the next class, when another teacher yelled to me, "Quick, turn on the TV, the World Trade Center has just been hit by a plane!" I quickly turned to CNN and stood there in awe with tears rolling down my face. I could not speak. I had just been to New York a few weeks prior and marveled at how safe I felt in the big city. As students trickled in, they froze in their tracks. The bell rang and I began class by telling them what I was watching, and with little coaxing, I granted their wishes to watch, too. However, the pit in my stomach deepened with the second hit. By now even the 15-year-old students recognized terrorism. We all were sick about what was happening to New York, when CNN switched to Washington, D.C. A suffocating silence fell over the classroom like a deep blanket of snow when we saw the black plume of smoke at the Pentagon. Terrorism was in our backyard! I was brought back to the moment when I heard whimperings in the class and students asking if they could call a parent. I was dealing with 24 students' fears by sharing my cell phone, which would not work, and letting them email parents from my classroom computer. Even former students were coming to me for assistance. Our principal got on the PA to request we all stay in the building and to offer comfort to students and faculty. However, we quickly learned that communications were impaired and we felt isolated. Since about a third of my students' parents worked in the Pentagon, fear of the unknown penetrated our souls. This was a time to do my best with limited resources to help ease those fears with hugs, consoling words, and adult reassurance. Panicked parents were wisely lining up at school to take their children home. Because of the necessity to take care of my students, I had to put my own worry on the back burner. I kept thinking of my husband, who, periodically, had meetings at the Pentagon. Was this one of those days? I could not remember if he had mentioned he would be there or not. I knew I could not reach him via telephone or email; it was too late. I had to patiently wait, which isn't one of my virtues. After my classes, I quickly rushed home to find my husband on the phone. He was talking to someone long distance. I could not contain my emotions any longer and I burst into tears. He excused himself from the phone and just held me as I shared my day of extreme emotion. Then he told me about his day. He was on his way to work in Washington, D.C. as he has done for 26 years, but today he was much later than usual. As he was driving to D.C. the plane that hit the Pentagon flew right over him on I-395. He said his first thought was "That plane is way out of the flight path and it is going to hit a building in the area!" A few seconds later his words came true. He didn't dream it was actually on a mission aiming for the Pentagon. As smoke and flames poured from his sometimes workplace, traffic came to a halt. Commuters had to roll up windows to guard against inhaling jet fuel and smoke fumes. After two hours of nightmarish hell, my husband made the eight mile trek back home. The bridges into the District had been closed forbidding entrance into the District, so he couldn't get to work. All of a sudden, my husband told me that our son and his new wife were safe, too. I was scared and shocked again. I did not know what he was talking about. Trey and Sara were on their honeymoon in Hawaii! Of course they are safe. However, they were scheduled to return on Tuesday, Sept. 11. I did not know that. Our son and daughter-in-law were twenty minutes out of Dulles International Airport when the pilot came on the PA to announce that they had been told by FAA to divert to Cincinnati. The passengers on that flight from St. Louis that morning did not know what was happening on land. Trey said he knew something terrible had happened because he saw the military F14 escorts beside their flight. It was such a relief to speak to our children. They had a three day extended honeymoon - in Cincinnati - and a close friend at the University of Cincinnati loaned them his car to drive home because transportation was impossible to acquire those days following the attack. Our other son, a college student in South Carolina, was safe, too. Even his girlfriend's mother called from Japan to check on us. Many concerned calls came that day from all over the country. It was a good feeling to know that someone cares. I had an overwhelming need to hug and kiss my family that day. I am forever a changed person; maybe even a better person. I just know my priorities are different and I take time to appreciate the smaller things in life now. Although my life is guarded due to an element of fear, my focus on what truly matters is a blessing. Our students lost two parents in the Pentagon attack along with their innocence that day. Somehow, the basic things in life are important again because we all lost something that day. Simplicity is a necessity. Teaching has always been my passion and I feel very grateful that I am able to share life with wonderful young people, even during a tragedy. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story50.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.172.11.147 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Personal connection to someone at site Struggle to get home Students/Teachers Telephones and Cell Phones Television Coverage DC:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I happened to be picking my mothers pension up in the local post office.I then went to the local Conservative Club and in the company of Mr Keith Harse and Mr Douglas Hale the President of the Club my mobile phone beeped.I accessed the screen, it then told me a plane had crahed into the World Trade Center building.We then turned on the television and saw the first tower on fire,moments later the second plane crashed into the second tower.It is a memory that will live with me for the rest of my life!I later returned home and watched the rest of the event on tv.God bless everyone who lost their life in this terrible tragedy!!!!!!!! DEREK WOODMAN aged 58 of Rhiw-Wen. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7017.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.40.3.66 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Surreal. The feeling within me was completely surreal. It was almost like it wasn't happening. In my mind it couldn't happen. It was as if there was a bubble surrounding America, sheilding from all bad and horrible things. Sure I'd heard about past wars and events that had occured in America, but that was over. Such things couldn't happen again. Or so I, and many others, naively thought. September 11th was an enormous wake-up call, not only to us, but to the rest of the world. It brought us off of our high platform that rose above all other countries. Countries in which terrorism was a normal, even daily, occurance. We were on the same level with them. It was very humbling. It took away whatever sense of security that we thought we had, and that we took for granted. This fall from a high place did bring a greater sense of family and togetherness among Americans. Probably one of the few positive outcomes of this horrific event. For at least one day people stopped thinking about themselves and their petty differences, and they started thinging about others and their wellbeing. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2659.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.77.47.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: If it were not for a customers in a hurry to receive the materials he ordered I would have never been able to realise what was happening in New York 6 hours, and a continent away from me. I did not usually run such errands but the summer was still there and I was feeling restless so I volunteer for the 80miles round trip just to bring some tools to a customer ...as the road I was using was prone to traffic jam and accidents I switch the radio on a news program and it was just a little before 3pm that the speaker announced that there was a special report fron New York where an plane crash was just reported. In the mean time I had just arrived at the customer site so I stopped the car, delivered the parcel all the while chit-chatting with the people in the shopfloor. About half an hour later I start the car and was shocked to hear that the plane crash have developed into to planes hitting the twin towers. First question that came to mind: how can someone not to see two towers? Then first words of a terrorist attack strated to be spoken all the while the move of another plane were described as suspicious... and finally the crash at the Pentagon. For more than I care to admit I was scared, and if it were another country I would have thought about a coup. As it happens I piked up the phone and colled a dear friend of mine to inform her of the absurd and still unbelievable news. A news so unbelievable that my friend at first thought I was making fun of her... That entire afternoon will remain with me forever. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10907.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.64.72.252 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11, 2001 I was in Bethlehem, PA. I had just begun my first semester in Seminary. I remembered that day being a clear day...with Carolina Blue skies. It was cooler that morning and the air felt clean and unpolluted. Later that morning, I was in Old Testament class. We had just completed our break when only 1/2 class returned. Suddenly several people rushed into the classroom and announced that a plane had hit one of the world trade center towers. We attempted to pull the news up online in the sattelite classroom...to no avail. As we walked into the (SAAL) the news was being displayed on a huge screen that covered most of the wall. As we entered the room we saw the second plane hit. It looked like some Bruce Willis Hollywood movie. Even though there was a distinct sign that said "LIVE" it still didn't register with me that it was LIVE and not some horror movie. We sat together as a community for the entire day. Most of us sitting on the floor. The person who sat beside me was from Canada. He was blind and his seeing-eye-dog sat with his head in lap...as if trying to console me. I attempted to describe what I saw on the screen. But my friend seemed to understand what was going on without me saying a word. I will always remember the shock, the sadness, the tears, and the comfort of that community. I had never been that far away from home...and oddly enough...experiencing that day together bonded our community. Just like the song..."Where were you when the World Stop Turning"...I will always remember where I was the day the world stop turning...on that September day. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11799.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-09-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.152.90.27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11th I was at my school in Winter Park, FL. I went into homeroom and my teacher had the television on and that was the first time I saw the disaster. I didn't even know what it was or what was going on, I just thought it was just some accident, it didn't even phase me. Ten minutes later I went into my first class, which was history. My teacher was going crazy and had his down. He explained what had happened and how important the World Trade Center was. Slowly it all came together to me that this was much more of a problem than I had thought. When I got to my next class people were talking about it everywhere. Everybody was blaming different countries and pretty soon I realized that it was an act of terrorism and started to get kind of scared. I didn't know what was going to happen because for all I knew we could be at war the next day. The rest of the day went by very slowly because nobody knew what would happen. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9247.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-04-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.33.186.30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Reflecting back on this day I?m provided with a greater acumen on just how precious life is. Clueless to the tragic events that would unfold before my eyes later that morning I began my routine of a typical workday. Showered and dressed by 7:00 am. With ten minutes left before leaving for the train station I entered my four year old daughter?s room, a kiss on her cheek, a stroke of her hair and the daily whispered iterations of ?I love you, Have a great day, I?ll see you when I get home?. Back down the hall and into our bedroom I lifted the pillow off my wife Lisa?s head to give her a kiss and said goodbye. A last look at Kyle (four months old) I leaned over his bassinet and kissed him on his forehead. 7:10, time to go. It was one of those picture perfect days, a cool September morning, the sky a vivid blue without a cloud in sight. In less than an hour and a half this idyllic backdrop would play host to the horrific carnage that was to be. My commute was uneventful, the exchange of conversations and friendly banter with the usual fellow commuters. A cup of coffee and a quick read of the Star Ledger we were now in Hoboken. On the ferry my commuting buddy Jim and I sat in our usual spot on the top deck as we neared our destination in total ignorance that the prominence of the city?s skyline would forever change in less than 15 minutes. Disembarking at the World Financial Center I said goodbye to Jim and decided that with such beautiful weather the killing of ten or so minutes on a park bench was warranted. I backtracked a few steps and parked myself on a bench overlooking the marina. SIXTY SECONDS TO GO With the Trade Towers to my left and the Marina straight ahead I was taking in the usual sights, joggers, fellow commuters, a mother pushing her baby in a stroller. The calm and tranquility was suddenly pierced with the thunderous sound of a plane. My first impulse as I looked to the sky was that I would see an F-16 streaking by. Looking overhead in the wrong sector of space a tremendous boom resonated ? ? Holy shit he broke the sound barrier?. As I tried to process what was happening an eerie silence pervaded. There was no sound of a plane. There was no F-16 streaking by. The mother pushing her child in the stroller was now frantically running towards me repeatedly asking what was happening as she ran by. As I panned to my left it was clear that the upper floors of Tower One had suffered heavy damage. Time was now playing out in slow motion. Smoke was billowing from the north and west sides, flames growing in intensity were becoming more and more visible from within the upper floors. It was strange how in spite the ugliness that was visible from the north and west sides there was a certain element of calm and beauty from the south side as thousands of pieces of paper peacefully cascaded towards earth. I stood with the scores of others along the esplanade, all of us slack jawed as we helplessly stood by and watched. The plume of smoke continued to grow as the fire gained more and more strength. The crowd was growing in size as ferries continued to deliver more and more commuters. Women stepping onto the island of Manhattan were crying as some of the fellow passengers related that a commercial airliner had struck the north face of Tower One. As others tried to solve the perplexing riddle as to how a commercial airliner could fly into the World Trade Center I was beginning to realize that those above the area of impact would not be going home. It just wasn?t feasible; damage to the floors that swallowed the aircraft was simply too great. MORE TO COME As we stood in horror and disbelief the second wave of terror was underway. The sound of the second hijacked plane was beginning to permeate the air. As it grew loud enough to attract our attention, I as well as many others gasped in shear fright. Looking south another commercial airliner was heading straight for us. It was quickly apparent from its extreme low altitude that this was the second wave of a terrorist suicide mission. I held my ground not in defiance but rather in fright. With the United aircraft approaching us dead on there was no escape route. But we were to be spared as the aircraft pulled a hard right just before the marina. Now it was inherently clear not only to me but also to the countless other that stood with me ? run north. I recall looking over to others as we ran as if to ask, ?Is this really happening? ? ? Hey buddy rouse me from my sleep I?ve had enough of this nightmare?. Tower two was the target. The resulting explosion and fireball was somehow more magnificent then that of Tower One. Turning to look back at the Trade Center I was now able to see the gapping hole in the north side of Tower One. If I?m able to remember the chain of events properly, it was at this point that we began to witness people jumping to their deaths. In total I watched six people that either leapt or fell from the upper floors. They flipped and flopped like rag dolls though the air, and with each one it seemed to take much to much time to reach the ground. SENSORY OVERLOAD I was in a surrealistic state of existence. The Twin Towers were on fire. People were dying. The weather was perfect and I was standing in the midst of well-manicured lawns and well thought out perennial gardens. There were people openly weeping. There were people walking by in conversation as if oblivious to the tragedy underway. There were reports filtering through the crowd that the Pentagon was hit. There were reports that there was several more planes were in the air and unaccounted for. It seemed as if I was the only one without a cell phone trying to call home. Ferries were jammed with people heading back to New Jersey and I was afraid to get on one for fear that more attacks were under way. Adding to the confusion and panic a New York City Police helicopter was now descending upon the area in which we stood. Tree branches were snapping and I was looking for safe cover. The exodus from lower Manhattan was now underway and I was now beginning to focus on making contact with Lisa. In search of a pay phone I began to walk east towards the north side of the Embassy Suites Hotel complex. It was now approximately 10:00 am and I had just exited the park and stepped onto the street when Tower Two began to collapse. Within seconds it was obvious it was time to run yet again as a massively growing cloud of dust was quickly enveloping everything in its path. Running North and then across the West Side Highway I entered into Tribeca. My sense of urgency to get in touch with Lisa was first priority as I knew her anguish must have magnified due to the fact that Tower Two was where my office was. Pay Phones were not an option as each stood with long lines of people. I ran into two different parking garages where both attendants willingly allowed me use of their phones, unfortunately local calls were only accessible. Further north I crossed Canal Street and noticed a small sign for a Graphics Company on the second floor of an old warehouse. I flew up the stairs and confronted an older woman, the only one present within the company. I explained that I needed to call my wife and offered her money for the use of her phone. Understanding my plight she quickly made her phone available. CALL WAITING? As I fumbled to dial home I remembered that I had just cancelled call waiting, however Lisa had been diligent in keeping the line open as she awaited my call. It was as if she was finally able to exhale. She bade me to stay clear of the downtown area and in the frantic moments of our phone call she repeatedly thanked me for being safe and sound. My next cause of action was to make my way home and as I approached the West Side Highway from Canal Street I watched as Tower One fell upon itself. The upper floors pancaked onto the lower floors in sort of a reverse sinking. It seemed to fall slowly with its huge antenna remaining vertical as it rode the building down. In the final moments a sliver of buildings northwest corner, some twenty stories tall defiantly stood before crumbling to the ground. The unthinkable has happened. After a failed attempt some eight years ago the terrorists have succeeded in bringing down the World Trade Center. My initial thoughts were for the fire fighters whom I envisioned ascending upon the upper floors to fight the fires as others descended the floors to safety. In all 341 firemen were lost. I must have stood in that spot for some twenty minutes or so. I just kept looking at where the Towers were. I was in the midst of a sea of people and yet I felt so profoundly alone. For the remainder of day I panned the crowds for co-workers but never found any. As I walked uptown towards the Village on the West Side Highway a constant flow of emergency vehicles with sirens wailing traveled past towards the wreckage. It seemed that for each vehicle racing towards the downtown area there was an ambulance racing uptown. At one point as I approached the West Village I noticed a lone fireman walking away from the action. He was covered in dust and it seemed as if he just couldn?t cope with the losses of so many and was hanging it up for he day. At several different locales people were gathered around parked cars in which the owners played the late breaking news reports aloud. With the subways, Path trains and ferries from lower Manhattan suspended I began my walk to midtown to try and catch a ferry to Weehawken. At several points along the way I stopped and looked back in disbelief of what had occurred. To look at lower Manhattan without the Twin Towers was painful. I was beginning to realize just how much I loved those buildings and with them gone I was feeling guilty of how I thought to myself after the first strike that I would never step foot into them again. The line for the Ferry to Weehawken was extraordinary. It looped from 33rd Street to 42nd and back several times. I just wanted to get home. It was around 1:30 in the afternoon and quite obvious that I would not be getting home anytime soon. I was beginning to feel like a war refugee as I waited the hours in line. Lower Manhattan continued to billow huge amounts of smoke. F-16s continually streaked the skies overhead as FBI agents dressed in fatigues and armed with machine guns stood watch. I was finally able to get on a ferry to Weehawken and stood on the upper deck and viewed lower Manhattan as we crossed the river. It felt strange to be one of the fortunate ones as I thought of less fortunate that perished this day. I was finally able to arrive home at about 5:00pm and was met by my wife on the front lawn. We stood there and embraced as if we had been separated for a decade. Inside I was met by my children, friends and my father who seemed older and frailer from all the worrying he had done. My neighbor Susan had taken it upon herself to generously prepare a dinner for my family and I. As we sat on her deck that night I could not help but to feel guilty that I was sitting with my family and friends celebrating my safe return. I kept thinking of all the families that were probably gathering to mourn their loss of a loved one. I'll never forget September 11th, 2001 nor will I ever be able to comprehend how anyone can willfully snuff out the lives of innocent people in the name of God. My prayers and thoughts go out to all those who have lost loved ones. AND LIFE GOES ON Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10324.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.117.201.120 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As I watched in horror as the very safety and security of being an American was snatched from my memory, I began to cry with deep lament over a great nation losing precious lives, precious innocent lives. My sorrow and depression as a result of 911 lead me to the cross of Jesus Christ in repentance of my sins and I have a safety and security again that is unmatched by anything I have ever experienced in my life. My memories of 911 are of horror,death,destruction and yet a rebirth all at the same time. May God bless all the people who were affected by 911. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4155.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. A phone call from my husband, who was out of town, alerted me to turn on the television to witness a plane crash in New York City. I thought an accident had occured with a small plane and as I watched, a very visible large jet hit the second tower of the World Trade Center. The news coverage revealed that it was not an accident, but an act of terrorism, and other planes were not accounted for. I could not believe the horror of the events that were pouring out before me, I couldn't stop shaking, and I couldn't leave the television. When a third plane hit the Pentagon, I was so fearful for the safety of my next door neighbor who works there. I began to wonder if my children were safe and whether I should go pick them up, as the high school is located near Oceana Naval Air Station. Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I will never again trust the safety of our airplane industry completely. My husband travels extensively for business purposes by airplane to international destinations. It shocks me to know people of evil intent can gain access to the cockpits of American jetliners, and even more so that they were trained in how to do this in our country. I was na?ve to believe that the FBI, CIA, and other protective services in America could assure our safety. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The spirit of the American people who tried to help one another, the sacrifices that were made, the overwhelming love and support which was repeatedly demonstrated for strangers by strangers, and the determination of the American people to rise above catastrophe must always be remembered. As a nation we must learn from these tragic events and never forget our tremendous losses. We must better protect ourselves and coordinate efforts among federal agencies to avoid terrorist infiltration. Our immigration services must dramatically improve screening efforts. Illegal aliens must not be allowed to remain in our country and those who are here should not be afforded the same rights and privileges as legal citizens. Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? have your feelings about the American flag changed after the events of September 11th? The American flag and the ideals it stands for must be more visible in our daily lives. As such, I have flown the American flag from my house since the events of September eleven. My neighborhood made similar arrangements to fly the American flag continuously from our entrance sign, with a spotlight at night. This outpouring of patriotism, as demonstrated by increased numbers of flags on our streets, cars, and businesses has strengthened our resolve and commitment to the United States of America. May these reminders ever serve to unite us, empower us, and protect us from evil, with God as our witness. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8820.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Well I was in the third grade durning this time of the 9-11 , 8 years of age at the moment, while this event occured. Not knowing what was going on , and being truely honest I didn`t take upon any intrest in the fact that our country was under attack. Every teacher in the school had on radios and televisions. I thought that the army went back to Iraq. Now that I am 13 and aware of what went on and the lives that were taken I am truely grateful to be here today! God Bless America ! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20575.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at work on the Help Desk at a K St. law firm. I come in at 8, the guy who sat next to me comes in at 8:30. The first thing he always does is check CNN. The story of the first plane was on. We went to one of the attoney's offices on our floor because he had a TV. He turned it on & we watched for a couple of minutes, then he swung his chair around so his back was to the TV & said we would have to leave because he had a brief to write. Just then the second plane hit the second tower. He spun around to see it too & there was no more talk of writing a brief. I had to set up offices for new associates who were starting the next week, & I thought doing that would take my mind off it, so I went off to do that. When I was on another floor I heard a commotion from down the hall, I ran down to see & everyone was watching another TV & the tower had just fallen down. I left the attorney's office incomplete & went down the block to Radio Shack to buy a transistor radio so I could keep up with the news if I had to hike out of town. I was expecting the Metro to shut down. On the way to Radio Shack I ran into a guy who used to be in a vanpool with me, who worked at EEOC. They had just been evacuated. I told him what I was doing & he thought that was a good idea so he came too. Building management tried to evacuate Radio Shack while we were in there but we made them sell us the radios & batteries first. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't put the batteries in, so Bob did it for me. Then we left, he was going to walk across the bridge to Virginia & try to get home from there. I went back to the office, there were voicemails from my family & friends - was I ok? I called everyone & told them I was safe. The firm had sent out an email that we were closing but that people were welcome to stay if they thought they would feel safer. TV's had been set up with projectors in the conference rooms. I found a ride home with some people who live near me, but they weren't going to leave till 2, because the roads would be better then. They were all blocked. One of the engineers was crying because she was a single mother & couldn't get home to her daughter. I went to the noon Mass at the cathedral. The cantor started crying during the commnunion hymn. It was "He who believes in Me, shall never die. And I will raise him up, I will raise him up, I will raise him up, on the last day." I still can't hear that without crying. When I got back to the office after Mass, another employee was stading out front, & she said "We lost one." I asked who, & she said she couldn't tell me, there was going to be an official announcement to the firm tomorrow. I went back in & checked the list of who was on travel. When we finally left, one of the police directing traffic was screaming "We're going to get them - we're going to kill the m-f'ers who did this" He just kept screaming it over & over as he waved people along. When we drove past the Pentagon, you could see the smoke & flames still. I could feel a neck in my hands. I wanted to tear the throat out of whoever did this, with my bare hands. I imagined the veins & muscles ripping under my nails. I've never been so angry in my life. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1362.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.162.162.126