204 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: It was my third week of college, as I was a freshman enrolled at the University of Iowa. On Tuesdays, I only have one class, that being my Issues in European Society and Politics, taught by a Mr. Paul Custer, that started at 1:05 in the afternoon. However, for my Elementary German I class, we had a computer program for each chapter that had to be at least completed 50% by the day of the test. Since you could not get the program for your own computer, I had to go to one of the ITC?s (Information Technology Centers, I believe it stands for) to do this. I always went to the Foreign Languages Media Center in Phillips Hall, where my German class met, to do this program. Being I had nothing going on that morning, I went and had breakfast about 7:00 am and them left around 8:00 to go do this, since usually the computers were empty at this time of day. This was how I did this for the rest of the semester. The program took about an hour to complete, so I left Phillips Hall around 9:00 am. When I got back to Rienow Hall, the dorm I was living in, I had to wait for an elevator, since I lived on the 11th Floor. When the door opened, Erin, a girl I went to high school with, came out and asked my if I was listening to the radio (I was listening to Jimmy Buffet on my CD Walkman). I replied ?NO?, and Erin then asked ?Have you heard the news??? ?No, what happened? I asked. ?We?re all going to die, Andy. The World Trade Center, the Pentagon, they?re all gone, We?re all going to die!!? she replied in this hysterical tone. Some of her friends that were with her said ?Erin, calm down!? While I stood there listening to her, the elevator had closed, and I remarked ?Oh thanks, now I missed my elevator!!? I had seen Erin this way before, and it usually seemed it was little things that caused it, or else she was making it up, so I didn?t think much of it. Anyways, the only thing I could think of was that only a nuclear blast could have done what she just said, but dismissed that since I was sure I would have heard something already. Pretty soon another elevator came down and this other guy and I got on. I remarked to him, ?I?ll have to turn on the T.V. when I get to my room, just to make sure.? The guy replied, ?Yeah, it seems a little unbelievable.? When I got up to my room, Brett, my roommate, had the T.V. on. I looked at it, and they were showing a map with the World Trade Center marked with red blocks on this map. When I first saw this, my heart almost skipped a beat. It was like on all the 'day after' movies, with the maps on the screen showing the viewers what was no more. All I could think was, ?Oh God, who nuked us?. As I was thinking this, I said in a medium soft tone, ?Ok, I guess she was telling the truth.? Brett informed me that two jetliners had crashed into the buildings, and both had collapsed. Even when he said this, I made some sort of remark that ?Naw, it would have to be missles launched by someone.? Even when they turned to footage of the towers burning, I still thought it was a missle attack. The idea of hijacked airliners being used in that sort of manner didn?t seem possible. Then they showed footage of the second plane going into the tower. It was just like off of a movie, and the image still sticks out in my mind every time I think about it. I stayed by the T.V. the rest of the morning, with my eyes glued to the scenes of the attacks. It was an awfull lot to take in. I don?t really remember anyone talking about who could have done this sort of thing until later that night. All during the day the news stations were covering what was happening, new orders from the city and government about roads and air traffic being shut down, and so on and so forth. Along the bottom of the screen of the local station we were watching was a list of places closing for the day and prayer meetings for that night. In Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the schools were allowing parents to pick up their children if they wanted to. Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids closed, along with other public areas. I was trying to figure out why they were doing this in Iowa, but then I remembered Palo, a town near Cedar Rapids, which housed a Nuclear Power plant. (a few days later there was a rumor, I never heard it confirmed or denied, that on a list of targets found in one of the accused hijacker?s car, Palo was listed as number 8) Brett?s friend Jordan spent a good part of the day in our room watching coverage with us. Brandon, a guy who was then living in temp housing, came by fairly often. Brandon was from Chicago, and said that his mom worked at the Sears Tower, but couldn?t get in contact with her. He also pointed out that his dad was in the Marines and specializes with disasters like this, so that he would be going out there. I didn?t eat lunch that day, I wanted to stay by the T.V. and watch continuing coverage for as long as I could before I had to go. I left around 12:30 and headed off towards my class. When I got to Schaffer Hall, room 150 there was a sign on the door that read ?Paul Custer?s Issues in European Society and Politics Class will not meet today due to the recent happenings.? I walked as fast as I could back to my dorm room to watch coverage. I tried to call mom on the walk back on the cell phone, but she wasn?t home. When I got back to the room, Brett had downloaded a Boys-to-Men version of the Star Spangled Banner, and had to play it every time causality figures, video of one of the planes crashing into the buildings, and other footage like that was shown. It was either that or Taps. It got really annoying, and finally both Jordan and I told him to knock it off and that we wanted to listen to the television. I went to supper that night, but wolfed the food down and came right back. Mom called me that night, and it was nice to talk to her. SHe and Dad had just gotten back from a prayer service our church for the victims. She had a doctor's appointment that day up in Fort Dodge, a 20 minute drive from Dayton. They had heard a plane had crashed into the Trade Center, but wasn't until they got up to the doctors office they found out about everything else. I was chatting with Steve, a high school friend who was a year behind me, when missile strikes were reported in Afghanastan, but no one could get any confirmation on whether they were US missiles or missiles from the Northern Alliance. Steve commented that he had just registered for selective service, and from what I had read of his posts, seemed concerned about what was going to happen later on. The missiles were later reported to be Northern Alliance ones. At one point that evening Brett turned the station to something else that wasn?t showing coverage, saying silently as he did so ?eh, I don?t want to watch this anymore.? I could see where he was coming from and certainly understood, but I really wasn?t too happy about it. So when he left to go over to Jordan?s I changed the channel to CNN. I stayed up till about 10:30 or so that night, since I had to wake up for a 7:30 Algebra II class the next morning. In the Algebra class we went ahead as if nothing happened. There was a weird feeling there, like things weren?t the same like the last time we met, and no one was really talking. In my German class, we took about a quarter of the time period to talk about it. At first we weren?t really going to, like no one really wanted to start the conversation. We went to start learning German, and one of the guys said, ?I know someone that was lucky, I had a friend that had a meeting scheduled in the World Trade Center yesterday afternoon.? That broke the ice and we spent the next fifteen minutes or so discussing the happenings of the day before. Some of the conversation focused around who may have done this. One guy made a remark about Osama Bin Laden not being capable of pulling something like this off, that the only thing he could do was a car bomb. I wanted to make a comment that if history has taught us anything, it is to never say never, however the conversation had moved on before I could make it. There was discussion on how much money it could take to pull something off like this. The consensus that it could cost a lot, where the hijackers would have to be trained, or be relatively cheap by using already trained pilots. Then talk switched to the weekend?s professional sports events, and even the Iowa-Iowa State game, that was scheduled for that weekend. Everyone, for the most part, thought it was stupid to postpone all of those games. When the discussion quieted down, our instructor, Jim Rion suggested that maybe it was time to work on some German and get our minds off of New York for a while. We all opened up our books, seemingly voluntary as a sign of agreement. I rushed back to the dorm after the class to catch up on new happenings. When I got back, and saw that only a few bodies had been recovered, I realized that the need for blood that everyone was giving would not be needed, since they were finding very few survivors (but at least, I thought, they could use all this blood for other people needing transfusions. I was going to give blood, but since I had my second Measles vaccine a week before, I wasn?t able to. I however did give money to the Red Cross and different organizations.) While I didn?t watch the T.V. as close this day, I did stay on CNN and kept watch. On Thursday I had my Issues Class. Mr. Custer gave the whole period to discussing the terrorist attacks. He seemed really devastated by it. He told us that he had been in contact with his friends in England that he met when doing research for his dissertation. When the news first hit there, these guys were let off of work, and went to the local pub to watch coverage. Most of the people in the pub were in tears over what was happening in New York and Washington. Mr. Custer kept making the comment about this event is showing us just how much Britain and the US are friends. He also commented on teachers who didn't give the time of day to the attacks in their classes. He said that the people he talked to about it replied, ?Well, it had nothing to do with our class.? That response really pissed him off, and I don?t blame him, I felt the same way about one of my classes. It was a very involved discussion, and everyone shared their feelings about it. By that you could tell that most of the students in the class hadn?t had the opportunity to talk about it with others like we were then. At the end of the class Mr. Custer told us that he was going to give a twelve-pack of beer to the local fire station as a thanks for the sacrifices they were willing to make for us. That comment, and the class that day, really inspired me, and I went home and typed up a letter to the editor of the Dayton Review, my hometown paper, and how everyone should give the local volunteer firefighters a big thank you. Even though we didn?t get UPN on cable in the dorms, I was wishing we had, especially on this date. Thursday nights, UPN shows WWF Smackdown. This was the first WWF event since the attacks, and, from what I read, was the first major event and gathering of people at a non-9/11 related event also. WWF.com had a lot of videos from that show. The two videos that sticks out most in my mind was, amid ?U-S-A? chants, all of the WWF and WCW Superstars coming onto the stage, with Vince MacMahon at the head, when Lillian Garcia sang the national anthem. I swear that I saw Stone Cold Steve Austin?s eyes starting to water towards the end. The other was Kurt Angle?s comments. He stated that when he won his gold metals at the Atlanta Olympic Games, he was considered a hero. But in the face of what happened on 9/11, the idea of a hero has suddenly changed. That weekend was the Civil War reenactment at Usher?s Ferry in Cedar Rapids. There was questions on whether it should be held or not, but it was decided to hold the event, and not to let the terrorist win. Dave, one of my best friends and fellow unit member, bought yellow ribbon and black cotton. The yellow ribbon was for tying around trees and for pinning to our shirts, and the black cotton to wear on our jackets. It was really good for me to be around them that weekend. There was a lot of talk about the happenings. One of our friends in another unit said that we should do to these guys what the Marines did at Tripoli I think it was way back in the 1800?s; wrap them in wet pig skin and let it dry around them. It was a surreal feeling being there in all aspects. One group of guys left Saturday night because of that. One of them made a comment about the battle that ?there was nothing there, we were just going through the motions.? Both Friday and Saturday night we had a candle lighting around the flag. The Friday candle lighting was for President Bush?s request to the whole country, and that just consisted of seven other people and myself. It was a heart touching moment. The one on Saturday was for other reenactors. One guy was in tears after saying some remarks. This ceremony will stand out in my mind for the rest of my life. Four Hardcore reenactors (guys who try to look, eat, and breathe the part) came by with beeswax candles and lit them, then passed around a pipe. It was like the soldiers of old paying their respects to the victims of this attack. A few people came at a time to pay their respects. The ceremony ended with everyone singing ?God Bless America?. That was my expierences of the week of September 11. On Monday, I noticed things started getting back to normal, a little bit at a time. The nation, and the University of Iowa, started to heal. 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 story1449.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. 2002-08-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 128.255.198.234 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 driving my cat to the vet when I heard about the plane crashing into the first tower and I heard about the second plane hitting the second tower at my Vett's office. When I got home I watched TV and talked to my son for a long time. He didn't go to work on that day. I cried a lot in disbelief as to what had happened. I prayed for all the lost souls and for the loved ones they left behind. America was changed forever. We will never forget. 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 story4876.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. 199.183.107.109 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 like any other day. I woke up and sent my kid off to school and was sharing time with my youngest son when I decided to turn the television on and to my own disbelief I seen it all unravel before my eyes.I remember thinking what has happened and the fear of what else was in store for our nation. If this tragedy didn't put the fear of God on We THE PEOPLE, I don't know what will. God bless America, Land that I love and bless all those families still mourning for their loved ones! 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 story4140.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: My husband Rick and I had just recently moved from Kansas to Florida after he was discharged from the Military. We were driving from Jacksonville, Florida to Rotonda, Florida so my husband's parents could see their grandson for the second time, he had just turned a year old. We were listening to a morning show and all the sudden the hosts broke in with a report that a plane had hhit one of the Twin Towers. We were in shock. We honestly thought it was a joke...a bad one. We stopped at a Wendys to grab some lunch, and when we went in there was no one at the register or cooking food. All the employees were gathered around a 13 in TV in the Manager's office watching coverage of the attack. I was devistated. My husband was not totally seperated from the Army, he was still technically in for another sixty days. Was he going to be recalled? Was I going to be called. As a former Military Police Officer I still had five years in the Inactive Reserves. My heart dropped. When we arrived at my in-law's home, the coverage of the attack was immense. And then we started to get really nervous...Florida seemed to be on the news an awful lot. Eventually we settled into our visit. We went to the local Wal-Mart to buy an American Flag to put on out car, but they were sold out. THe only thing that was left was a pack of two flags that were pretty little. We bought them anyway. While in line to pay there was a middle eastern man and his caucasian wife in line behind us. He remarked that they had looked everywhere for a flag but weren't able to find any. I gave him one of ours. I figured he needed it more than we did. Neither I nor my husband were recalled, but my husband did rejoin the Army. Serving our country is what we do best. He is protecting all of our freedoms, and I am helping by supporting and loving him. Each day brings a new hope and a new sadness into our lives. A hope that things can get better and a sadness that they had to change. How bittersweet are our memories. How precious the new ones will be. Melissa L. Dwinnell 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 story4573.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. 217.1.79.37 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 will never forget the day. My classmates and I learned over the intercom from our principal that our nation had been attacked. There was so much going through my mind, so many questions, many left unanswered. As the day progressed and we got more and more details it became unbearable to imagine, the damage and loss of precious lives. As I looked into the face of a friend who had an uncle on the 66th floor of Tower 2, I saw what the pain and feelings that must have been in so many families eyes. As days went by and so many stories were being told I couldn't and still can't believe all that happened that day. The endless amounts of children and other family members and friends who lost someone they loved just is too hard to handle. As much as a cliche as it is I know that this is a day my grandchildren will ask me about, just like I ask mine about John F. Kennedy, and I hope that I can do my best to make sure that for generations to come the names and faces of the people lost will never be forgotten. 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 story4264.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 wake up every day to the radio on my alarm clock. I usually hit the snooze a few times before waking. The alarm went off, the radio came on, and before I could hit the button I heard the DJ say that a light plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I was immediately awake and turned on the TV to see a live shot of the towers on fire. It had already been an hour since the first plane hit, it was 6:45am Pacific time. My first thought was of the movie Towering Inferno and I then, "How are they going to get those fires out? How will they rebuild those floors?" As I watched for the next fifteen minutes or so, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was alone and just kept repeting to myself, "I can't believe this." I was watching NBC and their man at the Pentagon, Jim M. then came on to say that he didnt want to alarm anyone but there was a loud explosion at the Pentagon. Then came the tower collapsing. The shot from the camera made it look at first like an explosion had occurred on a lower floor, but then there was so much smoke and dirt, it was obvious what had happened. I remember one of the announcers saying, it was an act of war on the U.S. Somehow I managed to take a shower. I had recently been promoted and for some reason felt obligated to still go to work, although I didnt want to leave my TV for anything. Next thing I heard was that there was another plane missing and they presumed it had been hijacked, and then that it had crashed in PA. The TV was showing all of the firefighters and police officers going into the remaining tower. The announcer saying something about their bravery, going in and not knowing what was going to happen to that tower. At the time I was dating a police officer and so I was/am very sensitive to what happens to the men and women who protect us. I was scared for all of them. I decided to call my mom who was just arriving at work I guessed, and I didn't know what she would know. I was still in my towel, wet from the shower. When she answered the phone I asked her, "Do you know what is happening?" All she knew was that the towers had been hit. As I started to explain what had been reported, I started crying. Just saying it out loud made it real and totally scary and unbelievable. Just then the second tower collapsed. She later told me that I was hysterical, screaming into the phone, "It's falling, it's falling! The tower is falling on them." How I made it to my car, drove to Ballard and actually managed to do some work inbetween listening to the radio for news, I don't know. People I came in contact with were numb, you could read it in their face. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel it all over again. How those innocent people were taken from us all. I try not to think about it so much though. I don't want anyone to ever forget, however I do hope to move on, and so, tomorrow I am going to New York city for the first time. Although I have been told that you really can't see much of anything at Ground Zero, it will be the first place I go. 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 story7961.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. 2002-09-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.230.236.31 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 the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at Abilene Regional Hospital having some X-Ray tests done. Because they were doing tests which used radioactivity, the technician would have to come in and tell me to lay in a certain position and then he would go back into a separate room to take the x-rays. After he had gone back and forth a couple of times, he came back in and said that a plane had hit one of the World Tower buildings in New York City. I remember that all of the Dr.s and Nurses were all trying to decided whether it was a mistake, or if it was just an accident, and it really had been hit, and then he went out and came back in to tell me that the second building had been hit. I felt like I was almost in shock-we all were-none of us had ever imagined anything like this could have ever happened. After I left the hospital, I began to discuss what had happened with the woman who had come with me. I remember that we were flipping through all of the radio stations, and all we found was news-nothing but the story was on...As we were driving home, they announced that the Pentagon had also been hit. After that, there was nothing to say. We sat there together, and then we prayed, but it was so far away, and so unattached to our lives that it was tragic, but it didn't really touch our lives. I think that I was not truly affected by it until I learned that a co-worker had someone in the Pentagon. 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 story363.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. 2002-04-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.216.57.67 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site Religion DOMESTIC 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 2001 I SAT IN MY LIVING ROOM.I WAS ABOUT TO CONTINUE PLACING THE WOOD TILE DOWN ON THE FLOOR. I GET A CALL FROM MY WIFE TELLING ME TO TURN ON THE NEWS. I TURN TO CNN AND SEE THAT ONE OF THE TWIN TOWERS HAS A LARGE HOLE IN IT. FOR A MINUTE I ASSUME THAT IT IS A SMALL PLANE THAT LOST CONTROL AND FLEW INTO THE BUILDING. I ATTMPTED TO CONTACT MY BROTHER. I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD BE WORKING UNIL 8:00 PM THAT NIGHT AND WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM HIM AFTER I RETURNED HOME FROM WORK. AS I CONTINUED TO WATCH THE NEWS COVERAGE I COULD SEE THAT THE HOLE IN THE BUILDING WAS LARGER THAN I THOUGHT. I CONITUED PLACING THE TILE ON THE FLOOR. A FEW MINUTES LATER I SEE ANOTHER PLANE HEADED TOWARDS THE SOUTH TOWER. MY HEART DROPPED. I CONTACTED MY SISTER IN LAW WHO ADVISED ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE. I WATCHED IN HORROR AS TWO BUILDINGS THAT I GREW UP KNOWING AS THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK CITY,FELL TO PIECES. TIME WENT ON. I COULD FELT LIKE A PIECE OF MY HEART HAD STOPPED. THROUGH ALL OF THIS I EXPECTED TO HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS BACK IN FLORIDA. THE HOURS AND DAYS WENT BY AND STILL I WOULD GET THE SAME RESPONSE, " I'M STILL WAITING TO HEAR SOMETHING MYSELF". THANKSGIVING DAY I WATCH AS THE RESCUE WORKERS PLACE ANOTHER BODY ON A STRETCHER WITH AN AMAERICAN FLAG OVER IT. THE NEXT DAY I RECEIVE THE CALL FROM LILY. ALL SHE SAYS IS " COME HOME, THEY FOUND YOUR BROTHER. I ASKED IF HE WAS OKAY, SHE SAYS, NO". WE DEPARTED FOR NEW YORK THAT SUNDAY MORINING. WE ARRIVED AT 7PM. I HUGGED LILLY AND THEN WE ALL DROVE TO HER HOUSE TO MOURN. THE NEXT DAY WE ALL DRIVE TO THE ORTIZ FUNERAL HOME AND THERE WE SEE A BLACK AND GOLD BOX CONTAINING MY BROTHER'S REMAINS. DAVID WAS LAID TO REST THE NEXT DAY. I WAS VERY PROUD TO TELL THE WORLD THAT MY BROTHER DAVID ORTIZ DIED FOR HIS COUNTRY. HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE THE NORTH TOWER. INSTEAD HE ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO THE TOWER TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GET OUT. DAVID DIED ON THE STREET BY THE NORTH TOWER. HE NEVER MADE IT BACK INTO THE TOWER. MY REASON FOR WRITING THIS TODAY IS BECAUSE ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 I SAW MY BROTHER DAVID ON CNN NEWS NEXT TO AN EMT WORKER. IT LASTED FOR A AT LEAST 3 TO 5 SECONDS. I HAVE ATTMEPTED TO CONTACT CNN AND WAS ADVISED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY A $300.00 CHARGE FOR THE FOOTAGE AND THAT THEY DO NOT GURARANTEE ANYTHING. THEY ALSO ADVISED ME THAT THE FOOTAGE MAY HAVE COME FROM MSNBC. I ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT THEM AS WELL AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY DO NOT SELL THERE FOOTAGE. I HOPE THATONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT FOOTAGE THAT I WATCHED ON CNN OF MY BROTHER DOING WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND THAT THING WAS, TO HELP HIS FELLOW MAN. GOD BLESS YOU DAVID, YOU WERE THE BEST AND IN MY HEART, YOU STILL ARE,MARTIN. 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 story8625.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. 216.77.205.219 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 the five year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I don't think America is any "safer," but certainly I feel safer. That's because I moved out of the Washington, D.C. area. After 9/11, the "anthrax scare," and the "beltway snipers," I decided that I could no longer feel safe living in northern Virginia, so close to the nation's capital. When I neared completion of my doctorate program at George Mason University, I applied for jobs in all the "warm" states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana (thank goodness I didn't get a job in New Orleans!), Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. I also encouraged my college-aged daughters to leave the D.C. area. Now we are all re-located to "warm" states and I feel less anxiety about our individual safety. As I look back, I believe all three of us suffered physical and emotional stress as a result of this cluster of incidents. It was a very unsettling couple of years living so close to Washington, D.C. I'm glad to be gone from there. 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 story20647.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. 131.247.169.52 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: My husband Joe and our two friends Joe B. and Jeanette went to Atlantic City, N.J. for one last beach fling on Sept. 9-11, 2001. Jeanette and I were on the beach the morning of the 11th while my husband slept late in the motel and her husband played the slot machines in the casino. When someone in the casino told Joe B. about the first plane hitting the WTC tower, he came out to the beach to tell us. We all went back to our rooms, woke my husband, and sat paralyzed in front of the TV watching the second plane hit. I was afraid that Atlantic City would be a target--a perfect symbol of the decadent West--so we packed up and headed home early. Not knowing what other mayhem awaited this country, I chose to avoid driving through Philadelphia on our way home to central Pennsylvania, figuring it too might be a target. We wandered through south Jersey, into Delaware, and through the Pennsylvania countryside. The radio in our car doesn't work so we didn't know if any place else besides NYC, the Pentagon, and Shanksville had been hit. The eeriest sight was on I-81 outside Harrisburg, Pa. with the black helicopters circling the state capitol and a lighted road sign reading, "All roads to NY closed; NYC closed." I had an immense feeling of dread and relief. We'd stayed in the Marriott Hotel at the WTC the previous Dec. on a trip to see Paul Simon in concert. I was nervous then about staying there since the 1994 bombing. We walked all around the financial district to see some of the historic buildings then walked through Chinatown up to visit my husband's uncle on E. 16th Street. We thought about going to the observatory on the top floor of the WTC tower but decided to save the $44 and do it another time. Now there is no other time. Two weeks previous to the attacks we were in Washington, D.C. for a conference and drove past the Pentagon on the way to a Nils Lofgren concert in Alexandria, Va. On Sept. 11th I wondered what if this had happened while we were there and thought how lucky we were to have missed being participants in this terrible tragedy. How were my husband's aged uncle and aunt? Had they been affected by the cloud of ash covering lower Manhattan? By the time I reached them on the phone a week later, they assured me they were fine--after all, they'd lived through World War II. All I could think of was, "Yeah, but not in your own back yard!" As typical New Yorkers they had no time to talk because they were in the middle of eating their breakfast. It was as if the WTC disaster sixteen blocks away was in another world. We've been back to New Jersey several times since Sept. 11 but I can't bring myself to go to the shore to look at the hole in the skyline, nor to go to Ground Zero. It's too painful to dredge up the horrors of that day. I love to fly but have not been in a plane since the attacks; luckily I have not needed to fly. The thought of flying to Los Angeles next August for a conference makes my guts churn and adrenaline pump. I think about how I would react if terrorists attempted to commandeer the plane. Thirty years ago I physically defended my husband from a blindsided attack, jokingly referring to myself as the "family German shepherd," and I know I would do it again without hesitation. I hate that I have to feel on guard against unknown forces. I find it hard to watch the news programs during this first anniversary. Just listening to Bruce Springsteen's new CD The Rising brings tears to my eyes. While I'm looking forward to seeing him and the E Street Band in concert three times on this tour, I'm also scared of the raw emotions I'll feel as he sings about the firefighters going "up the stairs, into the fire." These will be teary, sad, and joyous concerts that I hope will bring a sense of peace for all we've been through in the last year. 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 story2635.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. 128.118.152.114 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 eighth grade at Washington Irving Middle School. I was in the middle of my Civics class working on an assignment when my teacher, Mrs. St. Clair heard the news of the attacks and turned on the television. At first I did not know what was going on I just saw a bunch of fire and chaos on the t.v. Then I realized what had happened and I started to think if I knew anybody that worked at the Pentagon. I knew that one of my friends dads worked there and started to worry. The rest of the day at school my teachers would not really let us get caught up in everything they wanted us to pay attention to our work. After school I got home as fast as I could and my brother was just as shocked as me, he was in 9th grade at the time. I went over to my friend?s house and watched the news till about 6 then went to my other friend?s house to see if his dad was alright, he was. The next day there were a lot of people crying and feeling the attack. I believe it was the next night there was a candlelight vigil all over our area and my family went outside to pay our respects. 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 story10807.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. 2004-09-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 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 working day shift for Harrah's Casino. My shift was to start at 12:00 noon. That day started like any other day: after waking up from a good nights sleep and feeding my kids I turned the T.V. on to view the Today show. Because my wife and I had two T.V.'s in our living room, one a small, black and white and another, a l7 inch color T.V. I put a Disney movie in the VCR for the kids to watch on the color T.V. On the Today show was hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lourer. One of the hosts were interviewing someone on the show, when Katie came on with a news flash about one of the World Trade Center towers being on fire. Because Katie and the media did not know exactly what had happened they speculated that a missle had hit the building or it was a result of an explosion inside. The building was heavily ingulfed in smoke and you could tell that there was a large fire inside. I remember telling my oldest son about the building being on fire and he looked at the image on t.v. briefly before turning back to view his video. I watched the image of the one burning tower for quite some time. I can't say for how long. I remember watching the one burning tower when out of nowhere a large explosion engulfed the other tower. My reaction was mixed of awe and disbelelief. I remember telling my oldest son (whom was 6 years old) again to come and see the image of the new burning tower as NBC replayed the explosion over and over again. His reaction to the image was also disbelief. He kept asking me "Is this real" to which my response was "yes". Moments later, from another camera angle it became apparent as to what had happened(the jet striking the second tower)and I knew at that moment that the jet hitting the building was no accident. That is was deliberate. The kids were still watching there movie as if nothing had happened. I glanced back to look at them and the cartoon that they were watching and what stuck in my mind was the image of a cartoon villian grinning maniacally. 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 story7050.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. 67.249.41.119 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: My husband and I were in Rostov, Russia completing the adoptions of our baby girl, Isabellah Monet and our baby boy, Nash Stephen. The morning we actually went to the orphanage to pick up Isabellah was the morning that the twin towers were attacked. We cannot explain the bittersweetness in our hearts that day. Here we were in Russia adopting our only children and that day was to be the happiest day of our lives. When we walk into the home of our host family, there were tears in the eyes of other adoptive parents. We had a new baby girl in our arms and were so elated to have her when we heard the news and saw on the television the devastation of the attacks. We could not believe what we were seeing. We immediately wanted to fly home with our babies and to be in our own country to mourn with our fellow Americans but then we were not able to do that due to the airport closures and plane groundings all over the world. We felt so helpless. What got us through the ordeal was that we had a new babies in our arms to keep us occupied until we could finally fly home after 3 weeks in Russia. The Russians were very empathetic for America and its citizens. 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 story1196.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. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.109.64.66 Annotation Annotations to this item. Americans overseas Struggle to get home INTERNATIONAL Notes Notes about this item. duplicate not posted 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 just dropped my youngest son off at kindergarten and stopped to chat with another mom on the school's parking lot. It was a beautiful day here in the midwest; the kind of day that makes you happy to be alive. Upon arriving home, I received a call from my mother telling me of the attack. She was quite upset and was recalling a day long ago when she was 12 years old - the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She said she felt like she did that day. I envisioned my 12-year old twins recalling this Tuesday many years from now. Such days leave a lasting impact. When my children, and, later, my husband, arrived home that day we gathered together for the evening to keep up with the day's continuing events, grateful to be together. 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 story4634.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. 67.28.95.254 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 a normal fall day in Shawnee, Kansas. I was driving into work that morning listning to the radio when I heard that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. I was surprised butat that point figured a small plane of some kind had miss judged an approach and had crashed into the building. When I arived at work about 10 minutes later my boss told me the TV was tuned into the news and that a second plane had just hit the other tower. I thought this was impossible since I did not yet know exactly what had happened. I went into our fitness center where the televisions are and could not believe my eyes as I watch the news footage of what was happening. I remember saying a quick prayer for the people there and then saw the towers start to collapse. It seemed like it was just a couple of minutes when in reality it was longer. The rest of the day I prayed off and on as a tried to keep my mind occupied with the normall business of the day. It was impossible. My heart wanted to go to the school where my boys were and take them home with me but as of yet we did not know if even that was safe here in the heart of the country. I listened to radio reports in my office because the pictures on the TV were more than I could handle. I listened as gasoline prices shot to the sky here in the midwest and to the updates of what was going on around the country. I thought of my Grandfather in Oklahoma and wondered if I would see him anytime soon or just what was next. Everything was so uncertain in the first 24 to 48 hours. I remember praying for God's healing and strength for the families of those who had died. I prayed for the leaders of our country and those around the world faced with dealing with this disater. I remember I was angry also. Angry at people I did not even know but wanted to hurt because they had dare to harm my country and my freedom. I worried about how this would affect my fifteen year old son. Would this be another Vietnam with the draft and young boys going off to war. So many memories of this type of thing came into my mind for the next couple of days. The silence of the skies after all planes were grounded was frightening. We live on the approach pattern for KCI where there are always planes in the sky and for them to all of a sudden be gone was so strange.Then when we would see a plane or helicopter we would wonder were they military,patroling the skies to try and protect us, or were they from somewhere else. It made you just stop and say another prayer. My two sons had so many quetions that evening and during our time before bed we prayed again for the families, our country, and our leaders. My youngest son who was 7 did not want to see or hear anything about the disaster after that.It was hard to protect him from all of the media coverage. It depressed him and made me sad that such a horrable event had caused him pain and hurt his young life. Again I was angry at "those people". The problem was who were "those people" the Arab who works at the gas station, the person who worked at the dry cleaners. I do not know. I know the Arab at the gas station was not he was a US citizen but he still lost business and almost his store because of his heritage. I was upset then not just at "those people" but at my own country men not just for shunning someone because of the heritage but for those who decided to take matters in their own hands. Those who harrassed people of Middle Eastern origan verbally and physically. For harming people because of their color, accent, or religion. I thought we had passed by so much of this hate and prejudice. How could we go backwards so fast. I remeber growing up hearing my Grandmother quote "One bad apple may spoil the pie but a bad person does not spoil the whole race". I also remember a feeling of pride in the Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Ambulance Crews, and others who willingly went into and stayed in those buildings trying to save lives not only at the World Trade Center but at the Pentegon also. Then when I heard about the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania I knew in my heart the crew had crashed it to keep from hitting another target and when I found out it was the passengers I felt pride and saddness. Pride that they were willing to give up their lives for others they would never know. Yet I was saddend for all the families who lost loved ones so tragically. All to often I think this group of heros are forgotten. They did not make great photo opps. There was only a hole out in the middle of no where but what if there wasn't that hole what great photo opp would we have. To me those people are the heros. The people at work are lost and I am saddened by that but they were at work. The rescue workers went in knowing they may not come out, but they faced that every day. The people on the plane in Pennsylvania made a choice to destroy the plane before it could destroy others. They are the heros of Sept. 11 and always will be. How will America remember Sept. 11 today we remember with vivid thoughts but will we in say 10 years. I am not so sure. This past year the Oklahoma City bombing was hardly mentioned and there the terrorists where US citizens. Will we remember? More importantly will we change? Will the unity we see now last? Will we support our Government and up hold what we believe to be right. Will we fight to protect those rights that these people lost their lives for. Will we keep our civil liberties or will we in a decision to stamp out terrorism and to protect us give up these rights willingly? I pray not! People since this land was populated have died to defend these rights in foreign lands and on our own soil. I hope we remember. I hope we defend their memory by defending our liberties. Then America will stay the great nation it is and always has been. September 11 is a day our nation, our citizens, or future generations need to remember and honor as the day we said our liberties and way of life are ours and no one can change them no matter what the cost. 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 story4527.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. 208.188.113.19 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: What a beautiful day it was starting out to be, but I had so much to do I decided to take a nap. I arose every morning at 2:30 am to go to the Hartford Courant depot to deliver the newspapers. My husband came in to wake me and tell me at 9:45 am that my daughter was on the phone. Annie asked me,"Do you know what is happening to our country?" and said to turn on the TV. My heart sank and I felt ill. I couldn't believe my eyes. The smoke the 2nd plane then right there, the whole building just went roaring down. We were in shock it was just horrible! People running and dazed... How many injured, killed?, and here I was at home not able to do anything but pray. I fumbled through the day mostly glued to the TV. The Pentagon in flames-The President in a special Bunker, another plane that might have been headed toward the White House or Capitol, had crashed in Penn. I was fumming mad! God's Love is Greater than all the hate and destruction, but the anger and rage and pain made it so confusing. I just determined to count God Faithful, He Loves us even though he allows these horrible things to happen. That takes Faith, when your feelings tell you otherwise. I just felt miserable..., called relatives and friends, e-mailed I love you's and wanted to do something and feel better. I didn't go to NY. I had to work and care for my family. I lit candles and Prayed for God to Comfort and care for the families of the victims. No, I didn't know any specific person who had died but they are my sisters and brothers. Now, one year later I begin to "feel" the Love of God is Able to help and comfort and heal us. I still pray that the victims can receive and Feel His LOVE and COMFORT too. The ememy never has won! God Bless America! The home of the Heroes, Brave, and True. May His Love lead us and empower us to continue to Triumph over all destructive, hate,ignorance,jealousy,and pain that drives people to do these insane malicious acts. 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 story4370.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. 64.252.133.88 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 moringin I had just returned from bringing my son to school. My daughter than 2 was watching TV, I began my day. Shortly after I arrived home my husband phoned and told me to put on the TV. I knew that something was wrong by the tone of his voice. I put on the news and watched as the day unfolded. Right away I became fearful, two days prior we (my family) had a reunion. I had family in from all over the country. Who was going site seeing in the city, who was getting ready to board a plan. There were over a 100 of us at the reunion. I remember spending the next several hours on the phone. I spoke with one of the girls who worked with my husband, her brother was an air traffic controller. He told her that there were still planes missing. I went to the school and took my son out. I spent the rest of the day with my family and was able to locate all of my family members that had come into town for the reunion. I still remember it like it had just happened. Even though 5 years have passed since that day the memories are vivid. 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 story20836.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. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.75.234.44 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 sitting at the breakfast table having my breakfast, when the morning show I was watching, went off and the news came on to show that a 'small' airplane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. Then they were changing the size to a larger airplane. I remember the size of the airplane kept changing and it turned out nobody had been right. It turned out it was an even larger one than first thought. But this plane hitting the tower wasn't being called 'terroristic' yet. People were hoping that it was an accident. I know I did. My mind didn't even go to the word 'terrorist'. Who would have thought all that had happened that day, would have? It still seems unreal. Like I dreamed it all and just can't wake up from the dream. Anyways, I watched a bit longer, rather stunned, with my parents. I stopped watching after a bit, not knowing that much worse was about to happen. I had to go to the store quick, did that, came back, only to find out another large plane had hit the OTHER tower now. Then the first tower came down. I couldn't believe it. Tears came to my eyes. We were seeing people running, full of soot, glimpses of people jumping off the building. Anything but to have to go down with it. Later, the stories and the grief from people who knew that they had relatives that were in there. High up on the top. And you just knew their relatives weren't around any longer. And you grieved as if the people were YOUR relatives. It was so Twilight Zone feeling, yet unfortunately, so real. You couldn't believe that someone would take life so easily for their own personal gain and do what they had done. And to the DEGREE they had done it. To kill and be killed themselves. Not caring, dieing for their misguided 'cause'. Whatever that may be. As long as I live, I wouldn't be able to understand that kind of thinking. Later that night on 9/11, I remembered something. I had just been in NYC a few weeks before, and had gone up into the Empire State Building. And by chance, I thought I might had taken some pictures of the World Trade Centers. When I was snapping pictures, I was just randomly taking pictures to take home to show my family who had never been to NYC before, so they could get the 'feel' of the place and all I had seen. So I found the batch of pictures they would have been in, and sure enough, there the Twin Towers sat on two of them! What was so weird about these pictures is how perfect the pictures were. I remember it had been the most beautiful day for picture taking, the sun had been shining as bright as could be on them. So there they are, centered on the photograph, and down in the harbor is the Statue Of Liberty looking up at them! When taking the photos, I never thought these pictures would ever be called 'special', as they are now. Just thought they were going to be the usual 'tourist' pictures that everyone takes. It's weird how they're so much more than that now. They're now something to save for years to come. 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 story4696.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. 24.48.119.71 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? I was at work. Somebody came into the office and told me the twin towers had been hit and I thought that it was a two or four person plane-never dreamed towers had fallen. I just thought that the people in the plane were hurt. Then I heard it was hit a second time, and I was like, "What's going on? It is it a joke, or what?" The news was on, in the Judge's conference room so I went out there. The buildings started to collapse, and I couldn't understand what was going on. We were all watching in disbelief. One woman in my office was very scared because her husband was in the Pentagon. Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I appreciate life more. It makes you realize that just going to work could be your last day or someone that you love's last day. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The heroes, the people that died, the families left behind, the survivors, how our nation pulled together. Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, we flew a flag. I appreciate more what the American flag stands for. I don't take it for granted anymore. 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 story8832.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. 2002-12-17 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: Following is a copy of an email I sent to friends and family during the early morning of September 12, 2001: I couldn't sleep much tonight, so I thought I would write and tell everyone that R. and B. and I are OK, and tell what I saw yesterday. I've told my story so many times, I can't remember who I've told and who I haven't. Most of my email addresses are in my office, so I can only write this to those of you whose addresses I know by heart or that are in my filofax. I left for work yesterday at about 8:50am, only about 5 minutes after the first plane hit the WTC. There was nothing on National Public Radio when I left my apartment, but as I passed a doorman on the way to the subway I heard him say the words "World Trade Center". My only thought was that I hoped the subways weren't delayed, because I was already running behind on the day that our new design director was starting work, and I knew it would be a busy day. I take an express subway train to Chambers Street, which is about 6 blocks north of the WTC. My train became very sluggish, and it eventually switched to the local track. Then the conductor made announcements that the train would not be able to stop at the World Trade Center, which, on the local train, is the stop after mine. Train delays aren't unusual, but by the time the train pulled into Chambers Street it was about 9:30, and I was definitely late and annoyed. The exit by which I always leave the subway is 6 blocks (about a quarter of a mile) north of the WTC, and it faces the towers. As the crowd came up the stairs, someone said "Oh my God" and I saw the smoke streaming sideways from the towers. A building was blocking my view, so I walked out into the crowd on West Broadway and Hudson Streets, and immediately saw both towers with their upper sections on fire, and simply couldn't believe my eyes. The northern tower had a huge hole in the middle of the north side, with two straight, ragged lines running out from the hole, which I later realized must have been caused by the impact of the airplane wings. The hole itself wasn't burning, but the floors around it were. I couldn't see the impact hole on the southern tower, but it was also ringed by fire and smoke. I was far enough away, and the fires were high enough that only the faintest crackling sounds could be heard. Silvery papers were fluttering out of the burning floors, and bigger pieces of debris were falling as well. So sharply was the whole scene set against the clear blue sky, it seemed unreal, as if against a special effects blue screen, and I half expected the towers to flicker and revert to normal. My eyes just couldn?t take it all in. Several people told me that planes had deliberately hit the towers. Although I wanted to stay and watch, I ran the two blocks to my office, passing an FBI agent already running the other direction. Four co-workers were in my office, looking grim. One assistant was crying. Our studio manager told me my brother had called, so I immediately called him, and he told me that he had seen the second plane hit, from his midtown office building. I don't remember what I said but hung up and then called B. at my apartment. He hadn't heard the news, and I had to repeat myself several times, as I could barely talk. When I hung up I turned up the radio, and milled around, unsure of what to do. I think I called my parents in North Carolina...I can't remember when I did that. Then the live radio announcer watching the fires started to yell that one tower was going down, and we simultaneously heard and felt the muffled crash. Someone said not to go outside but an assistant and I ran down the stairs and out to the avenue, and looked down Hudson. We could see a huge cloud of dust going up, and some of it was rolling up West Broadway, about 5 blocks away. We ran back to the office, knowing we had to leave. If the second tower fell north from its base, the top of it would come within a block or two or our building. Only one other person was in the office when we got back, and we turned off printers and computers, locked the door, and went back outside. There we saw my boss and studio manager on the other corner of Jay Street, looking down Greenwich Street. We went to join them watch the dust cloud dissipate, and the other tower burning. As we were watching the second tower, the crowd around us started to scream and yell, and we saw a handful of people tumble out of the second tower and fall like little dolls. At first I didn?t realize what they were, but then said aloud ?Those are people!? It was horrible. People looked away, covered their eyes, and some started to cry, including our two young assistants, who were very upset. The studio manager yelled at them to go home, and they left, joining the people running and walking north, away from the collapsed tower. The remaining three of us walked back to Hudson Street, where an FBI agent told us to leave. As we were standing there a jet fighter flew over us heading south, and turned over the trade towers. I only felt fear, uncertain whose plane it was. My boss, who is English, was being very cool, but I told him that I wanted to leave, as did the studio manager. We went back to the office. I called my brother again and he told me to walk to his office, about 2.5 miles away. Then D. and I left our office, and started walking up Hudson with crowds of people. Everyone was trying to use their cell phones, which were either overloaded or not functioning because the WTC antennae were out, I'm not sure which, but few were working. There were long lines at pay phones, and very little traffic. When were about three blocks north of Canal Street, the crowd started to scream, and we turned around to see the second tower collapse in on itself like a big cake, pouring debris as it fell. People around us, men and women, were yelling and crying. We kept going to a friend's apartment in the West Village, where I was going to stop and make phone calls. While we were there, the building superindentent called the apartment and told us to leave the building because there was a gas leak moving north. My brother said his building was being evacuated, so I began the long walk north to my apartment on 99th Street. There was very little traffic, and the sidewalks were thronged with people. Groups were gathered around televisions in bars, store windows, and even TVs that had been pulled out on the sidewalks. Cars were pulled over with all their doors open and had their radios blaring. At St. Vincent's Hospital the front of the hospital had been roped off, and ambulances were coming in to drop off the injured. I saw one person get out of an ambulance in a wheelchair, bandages wrapped around his head. People holding large signs with O- and O+ written on them headed long lines of blood donors that wrapped around the sides of the hospital. The number of people who were trying to help was heartwarming; one woman was walking through the crowd with a bag of cookies, offering them to strangers. I wanted to donate blood, but they were only taking O-, and I didn't know my type, so I kept going. The buildings in Midtown were emptying out by then, and as I got further north I ran into the crowds that were heading toward the train and bus stations at 34th Street and 40th Street. There was a large crowd outside of Penn station, and frustrated commuters were calmly eating lunch on the sidewalk. Since Times Square could be another target, I headed east to avoid the area. As I was walking along Port Authority bus terminal an empty bus opened its doors and I got on, with no charge. The bus quickly filled up and then slowly headed up Eighth Avenue. Crowds tried to push on at some stops, nearly causing fights. All morning long strangers had been talking to each other, which is very unusual for New York; it takes a lot for New Yorkers to break out of their self-protectiveness, but the disaster did the trick. On the bus one insolent teenager who was standing in the crowd asked a man who was sitting if he had a girlfriend on the bus, and when he said no she sat down in his lap. He looked stunned, but didn't push her off! My neighborhood seemed too quiet and peaceful when I finally got to 99th Street. At home during the afternoon I talked to neighbors and made phone calls, and then B. and I met my brother for dinner at a friend's apartment. My brother and friends had tried to donate blood during the afternoon, but had to put their names on lists because the hospital couldn't handle them at the moment. I told my brother that the day had surpassed a couple of our days in India as The Strangest Day of My Life. My office is in the area that is evacuated, so I don't know when I'll be able to get back to work. At the very end of the day we had the good news that my brother?s next-door neighbor, who works on the top floor of the south tower, was going to a meeting near the towers, and didn't have time to get up to her office before the planes hit. Somehow she made it to her parents' home in New Jersey. She left her cell phone near the towers when the FBI told her to run from the first collapse, so we had not been able to contact her all 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 story544.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. 2002-05-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.133.96.137