99 20 2325 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was in eighth grade at the time, and I was very naive to the world. I had no idea what terrorism was and I never hear of the twin towers. On the morning of September 11th, my dad woke me up to take my usual morning shower. While I was in there he ran in and yelled Kayla the a plane just hit the Twin Towers!. When he told me that nothing ran through my mind until I sat down and watched the tv. I couldnt believe my eyes. I saw people jumping out windows, huge flames, and people panicking, this one thought went through my mind. How can people be capable of doing such horrible things. It made me feel unsafe, as everyone in the United States did. I went to school and in every one of my classes we watched the news. I was very angry and upset that day. I wished I could have done something to help my country but I couldnt. A year later my school showed a documentary in the gym. That made me feel like going out and killing all of those terrorists. Ive never felt this much anger. I really dont have a special story to tell anyone but I just wanted to get out how I feel. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. yes because I am afraid to go traveling. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? all of the people who died that day..... NMAH Story: Flag 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 i did. a huge one infront of my house 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 nmah6798.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. 2004-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.74.187.250 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was at my brother's home, babysitting for his twins(boy/girl)age 3 and another girl only 6 months old. I was tuning in to the morning show w/Jane C. and Bryan G. When it all happened. I was glued to the tv, shocked. Couldn't believe what had happened when the first airplane hit; then stunned when the 2nd hit while Bryan G. was on air talking. I knew something was wrong then. Too much of a coinsidence that two planes hit the same area. Just knew it had to be an attack. I couldn't keep my eyes off tv, sat all day as much as I could watching. Hoping most would survive and nothing else would happen. It was a big tradegy for America. My heart goes out to all that lost loved ones. I the next day, wrote a poem; in rememberance and hopefully giving hope to all. It was published in our local newspapers(2) and also now published in a book of poetry for all to see and remember. Teresa J. Long (MD) NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. For the most part, life goes on as it always did. But if anything that day makes me think even more than I did before. How precious life and our loved ones are to us. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? How all came together as one. That neither race nor religion played part. All were there to help out no matter what color or any other things that seemed to matter before,,,,didn't anymore. The way it should be! NMAH Story: Flag 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 I did fly the flag in any way possible. As well as doing things on the net, like using the candle icon for rememberance of that day. And a flag for the back drop while not in use. I have always had respect for our flag and it's meaning, but I would have to say more so now. 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 nmah5226.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. 2002-10-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.39 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I still haven't cried. We'd been out the night before with friends, and we were sleeping in. I had my earplugs in, so I wouldn't hear the upstairs neighbor's son running around. The phone rang, and I didn't stir. My boyfriend woke up, and made a dash for it, but missed the call. It went to the answering service. The message was from my best friend Heather, who lived three blocks away from us. She was screaming into the phone "I hope that when you were in New York two weeks ago you went to the World Trade Center, cause it just fucking blew up!!! Call me back!" Andy called her right back, groggy with sleep, and not for a second understanding what her message meant. When the call was done, he came back through to the bedroom. "Wake up, baby, the Americans have gone to war, and they don't know who with. The Twin Towers burned down. We have to go to Heather's." He said, gently nudging me awake. I opened one eye, saw the strained, confused look on his face, took out one earplug and said, "Whaaat? What are you talking about?" He told me Nevermind, that we had to get over to Heather's. You see, I dislike commercial television, and never bothered installing an antenna or anything on mine. I only used it to watch videos. So I threw on some clothes, and we headed to Heather's. It was about 10:30 in the morning, but the streets were quiet; deserted. Like some post-apocolyptic ghost town. When she opened the door, she threw her arms around me and cried, "It's so horrible!" I walked into her living room, looked at the television, and began to laugh. Over and over the Twin Towers swayed, and collapsed. Over and over a plane flew into the side of each one. Over and over Peter Jennings ran his hand in a downward motion across his eyes, as if he could make the images go away. Once my initial laugh had died away, it turned to full-fledged shock. I sat on the sofa, like so many others that day, and watched. I couldn't look away. Maybe I didn't blink. But I laughed. It was too hard to cry. Besides, it wasn't real! How on earth could it be real? Yet there it was, time after time, first the planes, the flames, then the collapse. That huge cloud of dust that spilled through downtown Manhattan still haunts me. The rest of the day passed in a blur of smoke and take-out. We went to the home of a friend of ours, an out-of-work journalist who still had good contacts. We were getting the story from all available mediums - TV, phone, net, and journalists finishing their shifts and stopping by. We got take-out because we couldn't take our eyes off the television long enough to cook. It was an End Of The World party. That's what we called it. Dan Rather got tired and said things like Great...balls...of...fire, and we laughed because we felt sorry for him. Peter Jennings got even more tired, and described the collapse of the Towers "Poof, gone". At that point we knew it was time for Peter to go home, but on and on he battled, another of the heroes of the day. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Everyone's life has changed since that day. We saw the USA, Canada, Britain and other assorted Allies march off to a war with no beginning and no end. A war that had no clear enemy - an attack that had no clear target. We, as citizens, stood behind our soldiers and politicians, in a way we perhaps have never done, even though deep inside we knew it was a war we could not win. Not yet. Not if it was fought in haste. I am not afraid to fly. I do not fear crowded places or large events. But one night, sitting in a cinema watching Tom Clancy's Sum of All Fears, I finally cried. I cried for New York, I cried for Washington. I cried for dead police and firefighters. I cried for my home. Sum of All Fears was filmed in Montréal. My city was dressed up to look like Baltimore (and not very well, I might add), and I had to watch a nuclear bomb turn it into a smoking ruin. I cried. Montréal is only a few hundred miles from New York. We are their Canadian Twin City. Montréalers feel New York in a way that other cities do not. I mourned. For all of us. It only took 11 months... NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Everything, bad and good. Living in Scotland now, I have watched the readers of a local British free paper quibble over whether or not it should be written 9/11 (the American Way) or 11/9 (the British way). It's not important how we write it, just that we write it at all. We can't let ourselves forget this - ever. We need to remember that depraved animals from another country - another world - tried to tear us apart. And we need to remember that no matter how hard they tried, we just got closer. My fondest memory of the day, the only one that gave me a little peace, was Giuliani walking through the early stages of the rubble, hard hat on, and a policeman told him "You can't come this way, Sir, it's too dangerous." Not even breaking his stride, Giuliani said "Fine, we'll go this way!" it was his city, his towers, and if they were going to burn, he was going to be there! NMAH Story: Flag 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? I flew an American flag outside my Scottish flat this past 4th of July. And the company I work for is American, so we have a big Stars and Stripes in our lobby. It's nice to see every day. Reminds me of home. On Wednesday, September 11, 2002, I will place a single white rose on it. I will remember what it stands for 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 nmah1982.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. 2002-09-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 172.183.65.134 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. On September 11, 2001, a day after my birthday, was the most trageic day I had ever experienced. At 9:51 2nd period ended and we enetered are next class where we found out the tragic news. After everyone walked into the classroom, Mrs. Edwards are third period reading teacher told us to quiet down and she told us what was going on. A little bit later, a second plane came and it crashed into the second tower. Everyone gasped with horror. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I think my life has changed because of September 11, 2002. I think I appreciate more things know. Knowing that I might not be here tomorrow. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think the people who died and the people who helped save lives should be rememebered. Also I think we should never forget where we were that day, what time it was, and who were we with, knowing that we will one day be telling this story to are kids and grandkids. NMAH Story: Flag 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, My family and I, hung a flag outside of are house the day after September 11, 2001. Also we bought small flags to fly. 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 nmah3402.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. 209.3.137.130 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I have witnessed September 11th in school. I has horrfied when our principal spoke over the intercom sayin that we had a terriost attack on The United States Of American. I was in totall disbelief that something like this has happened to us. I have never witnessed nothing like that on the television when i got home from school. What kind of people do we live wiith in society today? NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. September 11th has changed my life a great a deal.I have become more active in my communtiy by becomingh a Volunteer Fire Fighter in my community. September 11th made realize that everyone is under attack in terrisom in the world. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think that the people who have passed away in this horrific tradgy. That would be a real honor to rember all those people who have got there life taken in this tradgy. NMAH Story: Flag 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, I did fly an American flag after the events of September 11th. No I dont believe that after September 11th changed my feelings about the AmericaN Flag. 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 nmah3076.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. 209.204.95.2 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. i was sleeping when in happened. my mom came in and woke me up. she said that new york was under attack. i just rolled over. then she came back in and practically dragged me to the TV. we sat there watching for a long time. i didnt want to but i had to go to school. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. not really. my day to day life is still the same. i still wake up everyday and go to school. then come home and do my homework. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? i think we should remember the people that died, and everyone that helped with the rescue. we should also remember that we arent invulverable. we can still be attacked, even in america. NMAH Story: Flag 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? my house has always had an american flag on it. i have always been thankfull that i live in america. i love the flag. 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 nmah2762.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. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.79.73.140 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I sat down to lunch in my school cafeteria when a girl slammed her bag lunch down in front of me, eyes welling with tears. She demanded to know if what I thought happened was funny. Startled, I asked what happened, and she glared. "They crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. People are laughing." Other kids came to the table and backed the girl up on this. "One plane hit one tower of the Trade Center, and then another one hit the other tower. And the Pentagon, too. Everything's in flames." "The towers fell." "They're watching it in all the classrooms." "People are laughing." No one ate. We left the cafeteria as one, threading our way down a hallway crowded with huddles of students and teachers whispering, crying, sometimes praying. Not a one was laughing. When we rounded the corner into the library I could see over the stacks of books and parititions alike to the gaping TV perched in a corner of a history teacher's room. The captions were too far away to read, the spoken words to soft and choked to hear. I wouldn't have heard them anyway, though. Sight, sound, speech--all senses succumbed to the smoking hulks of steel and glass pictured on the screen. We approached the entrance to the classroom--nobody knew the teacher--like pilgrims, tentative and afraid, and the teacher stood heavily at the door like a man beaten, ushering us in with an all-encompassing hand to join the dozens of others already packed into the room. "Come on in, come on in," he urged sadly, then added, "There are tissues on that side table there." We sat and the room with its crying eyes and confused teenagers faded away; all faded away save the struggling voice of the news anchor and the images slamming into us like the very planes we watched again and again: people falling; no, jumping from 100 and more stories up, people holding hands, people screaming. "They haven't fallen yet," the girl next to me whispered. "You watch. They'll show them falling." They did. "And this is the footage of...of..." the news anchor trailed off. Rigid steel and plexiglass popped apart as if pricked with a pin; angry clouds surged up and out and barreled through streets hunting people who screamed for mercy from a God who didn't appear to be listening. We watched as the dark cloud overtook the cameramen and drove the picture to fuzz, watched as ashes of ghosts leaned on each other and found no voices to cry with, watched the twin smoking spires topple and crash, from a different angle every time, every one the harsher. And then, before we could even draw breath to splutter a protest, refuse everything that was blaring plain as death across the screen before us, the screen wrenched itself into another embodiment of horror, this one lower to the ground and far more familiar to the hundreds of military kids attending Lake Braddock Secondary School. "My dad," the girl next to me hissed, taking the words right out of my mouth. "Oh God, my dad--" "No." I looked around at all the faces, tearful and stonily indrawn alike, and clawed for anything that would keep it from being true. "No." A banner danced across the bottom of the screen almost too fast for blurry eyes to catch. "Look! Look there!" I cried, reading, "All 4,000 workers evacuated from Pentagon." Even as I read it the ruinous wreck of security on the screen above the words made them false. I didn't care. "Look, see? Your dad's fine. He's fine. They say so." She too, chose to believe the impossible, and sat back down from when she'd shot to her feet. The numbing effects of the footage were beginning to wear off, and all that I didn't dare think about crashed down. "I think...I'm going...to call home," I managed, and had to stammer and stutter my way out of a doorway jammed ages ago. Everyone I passed looked away; no one wanted to see their fears reflected in others' faces. But at the same time I passed not a smirk or a smile. Where had all the jokesters gone? Where were the people who had laughed at the idea of two planes smashing into twin towers, one right after the other? I'd wring their necks. At the pay phones as everywhere else in the school, kids stood around helplessly and talked to their shoes. Sometimes they received answers from passersby who knew as little as they did--who did it? Why? What's next? My hands shook as I dropped the coins in the slot, praying--not for the first or last time, that day--for the phone to be working, for someone, anyone, to be at my house. Our conversation was flat. I refused to cry. "Mom? It's me." "Hello. Is everything all right?" "Where's Dad?" "He's on his way home." "He wasn't giving a brief at the Pentagon or something?" "No, but he'll probably be pretty late getting home since all the roads are clogged up." Silence. My father was safe, which left God knew how many other people jeopardy. An insidious threat that had been prowling at the back of my mind since the shot of the shattered five-sided figure reared. "Do you know what part of the Pentagon that was?" "What?" "You know, who worked there? What military branch? Navy or Air Force or--" "No honey, I don't know." "Did Dad say anything? Doesn't he know?" "I don't know. We'll have to wait 'till he gets home. Are you okay?" "Yes." No one was okay. "I'll see you when you get home, then, all right?" "Okay." "Bye." "Bye." I whirled from the phones onto the uneasy bunch of teenagers gazing out at the sunshine with mixed drinks of expressions. "Do you know what part was hit? Anything? Who worked in that part of the Pentagon or..." I trailed off. All I got were shrugs. "The cellphones stopped working," a boy offered. That was all he had. Then the real praying began. My father had retired from the Navy last June and now worked for a firm in the Navy Yard; the chances of his being at the Pentagon had been slim from the beginning. Who did I know that still worked there, then? Who was there to-- My teacher. My eighth grade English teacher, the best teacher I ever had--I was dead sure (and snarled at the words) that her husband was in the Air Force. Did he work at the Pentagon? I didn't know. But chances were...I stopped in the hallway in the middle of my flight to nowhere. What could I do? What use would I be to her, to anyone, if a loved one died? Images I hated boiled in my mind; images of tears I couldn't help and gaping maws in souls I couldn't ever fix. Damn me, I thought, I'm a freaking 15-year-old! What use am I to anyone? None. I could do nothing. Except hope. I was not religious for many reasons, but hadn't quite joined the "God is dead" crowd that thronged my school. So as the lunch period wilted I wandered around the libraries, the televisions, trying to pray--one step at a time, I told myself, one step at a time--for my teacher's husband's safety. But I couldn't even do that. The words ran away from me; were chased away by those instant replay videos from a thousand angles, mulitplying in on themselves until even the patterns in the carpet and the tilie floors twisted themselves into visages of falling figures and glinting plane wings and dark eyes staring out of gray faces that don't know who they belong to anymore. I ran out of cursewords for myself, even, when faced with this blatant show of worthlessness. Hell, I couldn't even pray, for God's sake. So I wrote, instead. I went to math class early, took out the notebook I was supposed to reserve for creative writing, and gripped the pen as I had been able to grip no one, embrace no one, since the seemingly ancient world collapsed. "Lord God," I wrote, telling myself that I'd better make it pretty formal. "--Jesus Christ," I added, trying to think back to Sunday school classes I'd never attended to see if my wording was offensive. I didn't know, and plunged onward anyway. "Please let her husband be okay." That was all I wrote. For twenty-six pages. When class started we made a half-hearted attempt to factor polynomials, but no one could see the paper through their tears. Some went to the phones, some buried their heads in their folded arms and wept, while others gathered close in little prayer groups. I sat and glared back tears, and wrote. "Lord God Jesus Christ, please let her husband be okay. Lord God--" The bell rang. In creative writing we were slammed with the pictures again; another hefty TV occupied a corner of the room. We were instructed to write about today, and I complied as did the rest of the class--always in the shadow of the Pentagon. Or the towers. Or the even crueler shadow of the lack thereof. Could I make face-to-face inquiries? No. The same walls that kept me from crying out to my mother over the phone kept me from putting myself in the path of tears. I was terrified--as was everyone, of more things than we could ever imagine--of actually seeing confirmation. Tears, sobs that I would never be able to alleviate or, most likely, even mention...I couldn't face it. So I went home directly in a silent carpool driven by my friend's mother, where the only words spoken were her few husky Spanish syllables, "It's a sad day." My father was there when I came home; the entire family was closeted in the family room with the shades drawn to keep the glare off the TV. I fled the tomb-like closeness for the false security of my bedroom, but not before firing off an email: "Are you okay?" Ten pages later I received a reply--yes, her husband was fine. And home. And he didn't even work for the military. And...I was a good person? I ignored that. I had lied to the girl whose dad worked at the Pentagon that morning; I did not need to start telling lies to myself as well. Tipsy from relief, I read another line. Her dad's nephew and his pregnant wife worked at the Pentagon. No one had heard from them. And so it began again. I came down into earshot of the television if not eyesight; listened to crying fathers searching for daughters, husbands searching for wives, and the breakdown of one woman who knew she wouldn't find her son. He had called her from his cellphone, and she knew. I cursed myself for being lazy but begged for the safety of her "extended family" now; I was desperate for quantity large enough to combat what I was seeing--even though it was a losing battle--and actually ended up falling asleep, alone, in front of the spot-lit Pentagon that provided its own light through flame. If whoever led me to bed saw what I was writing, I never heard about it. No one touched anyone in my family that day or after, and it stood to reason that emotional walls would follow the physical ones. There was no school September 12th. I staggered into the computer room, my hand still in the shape it took to hold the pen, and read an email. Yes, everyone she knew was okay. Whether I had been of any use or not, they were okay. Which left how many people who weren't? NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Yes, my life has changed. I don't believe there is an American life that hasn't. I feel, if not closer to the church that binds, more isolated from the sneering, jeering crowds who claim all existence is pointless. The big questions aside, I feel a deeper responsibility to and, since college and afterward the "real world" looms closer, a shame in face of, my dad. If he hadn't retired when he did, he would be dead. Most of his friends are. I remember sitting in this office, sinking into that leather chair on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and still can't visualize those familiar things Not being there. I remember being led through the change in area, having the renovation pointed out to me. "Can you tell the difference?" I could. And if that plane had hit anywhere besides the freshly-redone side it did, hundreds more would have died. My father is a hurting man, and I don't think any of the uselessness I wrestled with on September 11th will truly go away, because there is no way I can "fix" Dad. I will never be able to live up to his expectations because I'm not built for them and am too foolishly selfish to bend myself in the right ways; I will never be able to bring his friends back for another Christmas Open House. But the guilt is still there. And no matter how aloof my family members are with each other, I don't think I'm alone. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? We were on our annual family road trip in the Appalachians of Maryland and Pennsylvania when the strikes on Afghanistan began. I stood in a Wal-Mart in LaVale, Maryland, with a pile of socks under one arm and a fleece blanket under the other due to the unseasonal cold the region was facing at the time. All at once all the TVs switched off the shoppers' channel disappeared, to be replaced by the carefully manicured countenance of a new reporter. Everyone froze until the words came over the announcement system that had just been plugged into the channel: "The U.S. has begun targeting specific sites in Afghanistan and launching attacks..." And we broke from our trances and came toward the TVs in wonder, and the sliver of ice that had grown over "community" since the One America attitude of September 11th shattered. I asked a woman twice my age with a baby in her cart was happening and she told me; a man who could have been my grandfather came up soon after and I gave him as much infomation as I knew. There were no social boundaries or inhibitions; for those few minutes in a Wal-Mart we weren't New Families or Wayward Suburbanites but an excited clot of Americans cheering our boys on. That bond is what I think should be remembered about September 11th, no matter what the cynics said when they finally crept out of their we'd-better-keep-quiet-'cause-we're-still-in-mourning holes. For a time, brief though it may have been, we were whole, whether in grief or hope or triumph. And that doesn't deserve to be forgotten. NMAH Story: Flag 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? I flew the American flag then and I do now. I used to wish I'd been born a generation earlier so that I could have been "part of something", but that wish has faded to the here and the now and the knowledge that that scrap of cloth flapping outside my front door means I'm just that. Part of something. And I think it's worth it. 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 nmah4299.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. 152.163.189.198 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I first heard of the September 11th attacks eleven hours after they had happened. I was on Semester at Sea, a program that allows students to take university classes on a ship while circumnavigating the globe. On my way to breakfast, I found a large group of fellow students huddled around the one page of fax that comes in daily, our main source of news. People were crying and my first thought was that we were unable to visit Japan for some reason, the first stop in our voyage. The page had a grainy image of the second hijacked plane about to hit the tower and a time-line of events. "This has to be some kind of joke" I thought. Rumors were not uncommon on the ship. Slowly I realized this was no joke, and I sat with friends to grasp the magnitude of what had happened. The full reality didn't hit me until we arrived in Japan and saw the horrific footage of the attacks. I could not take my eyes off the images of the planes striking the towers, and bodies flying from burning floors. At every turn, compete strangers would express their sympathy to our country's loss. "Are you American?", they would ask. Many were eager to discuss what had happened with us and asked us how we felt. About a month later in Singapore, I was showing my passport to a customs agent. He said, "You are American? Your country is bombing Afghanistan, have a nice day." When we first sailed on the ship on August 31, I would have never believed anyone if they told me in eleven days our country would be at war. When I got home in December, my friends said they felt sorry for me that I wasn't home to experience the events and the unity that followed. I told them I felt immense unity among the 700 Americans I was sailing with and that I felt sorry for them for not seeing the events from the international perspective with which we experienced. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag 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? When I got back to the states, I was amazed. American flags were everywhere! They were on every car and on every home. I immedialy placed a flag sticker on my (Japanese) car and it proudly still there, all be it faded. After the attacks, the flag didn't just stand for our country. Now I realize it honors the thousands of lives that were lost on September 11th, and every other life that had died to preserve it. Whenever I look at the flag now, I remember September 11th. 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 nmah69.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. 2002-07-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 170.213.132.250 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I went to school that day like everyday. It was normal, except my friend Jackie P. was upset. I thought not long after gym class that she missed her mother because she was going to California; forget homework or something like that. He knew what had happened already. It still seemed like a normal day, I had fun in science and math class, joked around in English Language Arts, and took a bunch of notes in social studies. The rest of the day was better. At lunch, I had the usual: ginger ale, bagel, granola bars, and coffee cakes. After eating, I went over to visit some friends. I told my friend Taylor this funny joke I had heard last night, and she says, Did you hear about the terrorist crashing into the Twin Towers? I laughed Nice one, ha ha, Funny. Taylor had a serious face. I am not kidding. This is why Jackie was upset, her mom could have been on that flight, but luckily was not. I went home and watched the news. With my brothers and mom. Later I went to dance. I remember my dance teacher telling us to not talk about it, and This is where we can escape the world. Which I thought was a good thing because I was scared. We all were, and none of us knew how to react. I went home and did my homework. I watched the news for the next week, trying to understand it all. Believe me, I do not like the news very much, but I wanted to know. Teachers did not want us to talk a lot about what had happened. They thought we were too young. So next year here I am, writing about it. I know how history can be boring, but this was real life, like they say, History in the making. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. For as far back as I can remember, my older brother has always wanted to be in military. This past year he signed up for the USMC, United States Marine Corp. It is kind of scary, knowing he might die protecting people he doesnt even know. And we might be going to war with Iraq, so he has a good chance he could be out there fighting. Another thing that has changed my life is my faith. I am a Christian, who took, and takes, a lot of things for granted. After September 11th, however, I have learned not to take for granted many things, such as knowledge, freedom, peace, and health. I still go to church every week, like normal, but I get more out of sermons. I listen better because I realize that I might not live until I'm 100, and I want as much knowledge as I can get. Also I want to know how god wants to use me in other peoples lives, so I play closer attention. These are some reasons of how my life has changed since September 11th. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think that everything you can remember should be remembered. I think that the plane crash in Pennsylvania should be remembered, but a lot of people do not think of it right away. They overthrew the terrorist and crashed the plane so less people could die. We should not forget where all the tragic planes crashed, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania. In the Twin Towers, there were thousands of people, and many had died. I remember hearing how people had called on their cell phones, people who were stuck under the debris. Our freedom and liberty is another thing we should never have forgotten, and should not in the future. Mostly we should remember how September 11th happened and not to let it happen again. NMAH Story: Flag 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? Every time I go riding in the car and hear the flapping flag Im reminded of September 11th. Every overpass that is covered with flags, you can only think of the innocent people who lost their lives. I have, with millions of other Americans, flown a flag after September 11th. I only hope we can keep our patriotism strong. 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 nmah5237.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. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I first saw the incident on television at school. It was on all the TVs. At that time hadn't heard much; My first thoughts were maybe a bomb or a fire. I was casually watching the screen when the second plane hit. The actual impact was just spectacular... but the consequences of that were just horrible. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Truthfully, it hasn't changed the way I live, but hopefully it has changed the way I, and everyone else in this nation thinks. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Everything we can. The World Trade Center, the impact, the people. How it has changed and will forever change our nation. I would like to tell my kids and grandkids, who will probably read about this in their text books at school 10 or 20 years from now, what I saw. The collapse, the people running for their lives and the terror on their faces. These are the things we should never forget.I pray nothing this tradgic never happens again to any country, state or city. NMAH Story: Flag 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, on the tree in my front yard. September 11th hasn't changed the way I feel about the American flag. 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 nmah650.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. 2002-08-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.191.87.61 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was at working that morning providing tech support to Casio customers when one of my customers didn't completely hang up his phone, so I just stayed on the line and in the background I could hear that he had the news on, and I heard something about a plane and the WTC. A very good friend of mine had moved there the previous year and last I had heard he worked at the the WTC, I had no Idea that there was more than one building, so I got off the phone and went and told my supervisor. We got out our Casio T.V's and the radios and listened, we thought it must have been an accident, but I was still concerned about my friend that was there. As we were watching, we saw another plane hit and couldn't believe what was happening,after that no one in the building recieved a call,the whole world must have been glued to their tv"s and all I could think about is where is he, is he ok, I have to get ahold of him, I drove home and as I was driving the chaos began,every gas station had lines backedout into the road and every place I drove by gas was higher and higher, I think the highest I saw was around $5.00, all I could think about is what if something happened to RH, there is so much I would like to tell him,things I haven't had a chance to before.I don't smoke but I had to pick up a pack of cigarretts to calm me down. I cried just thinking he may be gone, as soon as I got home I emailed him and called his wk# and his cell,, no calls were going thru , the circuts were overloaded,there was nothing I could do but wait to hear back from him, so I went back to work and heard about 2 other planes crashing, I called my grandmother to tell hes in case she hadn't heard, she hadn't. Everyone though the world was going to end,the stores were running out of bottled water, flash lights,batteries and some food. Where was he? All I could think of is I never really got the chance to really tell him how much he means to me and how much I need him in my life. Several hours passed and he finally called work and he could only talk for a minute,I was so relieved I could barely talk, I told him I was so relieved he was ok,and I cared about him and to be safe. Later I found out his company had moved across the river in NJ a few months previous. I was in shock all day and all I could do was watch every news flash that came on the tv, I don't think I slept that night. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. The people in my life are more prescious to me and RH knows all my feeling and how deeply I care for him,at least I can feel good about telling him what I should have long ago. Security is everywhere and nothing will ever be the same again, things are going to be harder for my daughters generation and I treasure my time with her more and appreciate the little things, the dishes can wait!! NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Its not what should be remembered, its who should be remembered,the childern who lost a parent that day, the children who weren't born yet who will never know their fathers,the families of those who lost their lives trying to protect others,the people on the planes who knew they were going to die and couldn't do anything about it,those who the last time they saw the person they lost they were arguing and didn't get to say I love you one last time. NMAH Story: Flag 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, I had flags all over, the stores ran out of anything that was red white or blue. 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 nmah6503.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. 2004-04-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.117.15 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I am a teacher in Winfield, Kansas. I remember that day well as I am sure the rest of the country does. It was a beautiful morning. Fall was lingering in the air that September morning and I was traveling between two schools. I heard the initial report on the radio that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. My initial reaction was hopeful that this was a grave accident. By the time I made it to the school and found a television, the second plane had struck and we all knew it was not an accident. I realized then what a monumentous day this was in the history of our country. The rest of the day was spent following news reports and trying to explain such uncomprehensible acts to my students and my children. I pray for those who died and those who lost their loved ones. The country cries with you. Michelle Russell Winfield, KS NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. America is the greatest nation in the world. We have lived most of our history apart from the violence and war in the rest of the world. To experience this on our own soil fundamentally changes they way we live and think. Michelle Russell Winfield, KS NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? It should be written in history as the second foreign attack on our soil. But what people should never forget is the heroism, bravery and loss that came from that day. The true meaning of patriotism shone from those who lost their lives to save others. Michelle Russell Winfield, KS NMAH Story: Flag 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, I always have been a patriot and have strong feelings about our great country. I flew the flag in honor of those who lost their lives on that day, and how proud I am to be a citizen of this country. Michelle Russell Winfield, KS 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 nmah3171.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. 64.254.46.242 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. At the time I was working as a secretary in the Principal's Office at St. Frances de Chantal Parish School. The entire school (over 600 students) had just walked over to church for the Opening of the New School Year Mass. I received a phone call from my husband, Tom, who had retired from the NY Fire Dept. earlier that year. He could not believe what he just saw on television and was calling to make us aware of the situation. WHen he called again about the 2nd plane, we were stunned and not sure what to think. We turned on the radio and started answering the phone from concerned parents. Pretty soon, parents started to arrive at the school wanting to take their children home. One parent arrived sobbing-having just made it back from Manhattan by bus. She said " People were screaming and banging on the bus windows for us to stop -it's like a nightmare!" We did all we could to field all the calls and dismiss the children as their parents arrived. THe school lobby was crowded with parents, our phones were ringing, the P.A. system was in overdrive as each student was called down to meet their parent. My heart was racing as I thought about what happened and tried to remain calm in front of all these children. We didn't know it then, but we lost many friends that day- and nothing was ever the same again. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Each day I remember Sept. 11 - I pray for the lost souls and their families. Our friends are gone and we still cannot accept it. My husband had just retired from the Fire Dept. earlier that year due to a torn rotor cuff which required surgery and the placement of 4 pins to repair his shoulder. He was trying to deal with having to leave a job which he took much pride in and was dedicated to. After his countless days at Ground Zero helping with the search and recovery, I can see he is a changed man. He has witnessed a war zone surrounded by an unspeakable horror -The remains of innocent victims. Everyone has to go on with their lives now, but carrying this memory is more than most can bear. I pray each day for my husband and for all of us. We were witness to a crime against humanity and need to have faith. Let us all pray as one that our children will live in a world one day free of hate and prejudice. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? ****I have sent a mailing to you with photos and quotes about Sept. 11th. and the firefighters we knew from my husband's firehouse Ladder 42/Engine 73 in the South Bronx. Please let me know if you received this mailing. Carol O'Malley 2784A Miles Avenue Bronx, NY 10465 718-931-1481 Email - Clemalley@AOL.com NMAH Story: Flag 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 had our flag outside our home. It is our flag and always will be a symbol of our freedom and the spirit of all Americans is reflected in each wave of our flag. 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 nmah5453.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. 2003-03-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.73.252.71 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. On September 11, I was working at my office. Like new York - I´m living at Dortmund/Germany - it was a very beautiful day. Bautyful until I saw a very small article at my news ticker. i thought an accident has happend. But than..., the second plane hit the WTC. I stopped working. Until 20 h (cet) I tried to watch all news I could receive with a girlfriend and her husband at their house. Unable to speak unable to think clearly. On my way home by subway all the people around me where talking, loughing, or just smiling because they had been shopping or working, not knowing what has happend. I felt that something has happend to the world and my life that hasn´t happend to them. Imagined that it will only take a view minutes until they are at their homes and their lives where changed too, forever. Mightless. Sleepless for many days. All those lost lives, this senseless act. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. The rememberence hurts in my head. It hurts but I hope I won´t lose it for my whole live. I do not want to forget any second of this day, maybe one day I am able to accept the fact that this act of terrorism has really happend but I know even than I will be unable to understand why. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Everything should be remembered. New York, Washington, the passengers and crew of the Airplanes. every human beeing should remember his/ her feelings of this day. But can you remember how peaceful live was on September 10? Today it seems to be imagination. NMAH Story: Flag 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? 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 nmah5245.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. 2002-10-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 217.0.49.77 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I awoke that morning to the ringing of the phone thinking that it was far too early to be getting calls. We were living on the west coast at the time and everyone we knew understood they were not to call before 8am pst. I has been sick in bed - not planning to go to work that day and not expecting to get up so early. My husband answered the phone and I remember hearing ask if our friend was joking. And then the PC in the bedroom was on. CNN from the cable and his favorite online news site open in the corner of the monitor. I think the second tower was falling (or just about to fall) and the footage played over and over. I watched the dust cloud tear across the streets, people running ahead and through the grey dust. And I cried. I sat in bed watching that PC monitor for three days and I cried. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. My life changed in subtle ways. Fear and suspician seem to be a part of holidays and big events now. I wonder when the next opportunity for mayhem might occur. I was relieved to move away from the west coast (with it's dense population and wide range of possible targets). I can accept my loss of the cosmopolitan to gain a feeling of safety in the obsucity and distance in rural America. We didn't move because of September 11th, but I would be lying if I said it didn't influence the choice. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I don't know what should or should not be remembered about September 11th, but I know I can't forget the people who died. It's a horrible thing to become some unknown threat's pawn, dying for a cause you know very little or nothing about. NMAH Story: Flag 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? I did not fly an American flag, but I did wear a small flag pin for several months, pinning it above the phone at my desk later. Symbols only have power when people recognize them as such and assign meaning en mass. And before the attacks I hadn't thought much about this symbol beyond it's association with the country itself. But in the months after the attacks, everyone again began to notice the flag, flying it to express their respect, sadness, and confidence. It drew Los Angeles' varied communities together with a common understanding which transcended language and cultural boundaries. 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 nmah346.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. 2002-08-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.230.111.131 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I Remember September 11th, 2002 everybody remembers exactly where and when they were when it happened; when the 1st airplane slammed into the first twin tower, when the 2nd plane crashed into the side of the Pentagon, when the 3rd hijacked airliner flew into the 2nd Twin Tower, and then the infamous moment when the towers fell. All hope was lost at that moment, all peace in our country was forgotten, and any sense of security we once had as a nation was lost. It appeared that the enemy, whoever it was, had won, until that 4th plane until the crew of American Airlines Flight 93 realized the chaos that had been going down and realized what they had to do to prevent any more innocent lives from being lost - until the now famous Todd Beamer said those two words, LETS ROLL! And ever since then, we have been doing exactly that. I remember near the end of my first block class, General Drafting with Mr. Cassady, when the one of the juniors from across the hall ran into our room exclaiming, Weve been attacked, weve been attacked! I remember when he first turned on the television. I remember when the first images of the attacks flashed across the screen. I remember when I saw the second hijacked plane slam into the second Twin Tower. I clearly remember exactly what it looked like, and I play the image over and over in my head even until this day. I remember watching, waiting to see what else was going to happen. I remember a new sense of patriotism. I remember after finding out who did it that I immediately wanted to in-list in the armed forces. I remember wanting revenge for the innocent lives that had been taken. I remember everything. I remember everything about all of the events that happened, except for anything we did school related. My mind was lost all day, I could focus on only one thing, the fact the we, The United States Of America, were not as invincible as I once thought. The following weeks, much less months, were very hard for me. I just couldnt soak up all that had happened what seemed so long ago. People all around me were the same way; nobody knew just how to react to these attacks, even months after it all went down. The only real way our nation knew to react was through a new-found sense of patriotism- the sense of patriotism that can only be found in America, the sense of patriotism that sends chills up our spines every time we watch some video that commemorates September 11th, the sense of patriotism that only the greatest nation in the world can posses. And to this day, not a day passes when the horrible day runs over and over in my mind, and I will always remember. But then again, I would like to find someone who wouldnt remember, because we are the greatest nation, and we will NEVER FORGET! NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag 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? 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 nmah5173.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. 2002-09-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.204.242.22 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. On September 11th, I wook up to the door bell of our front door. My naeighbor told us to wake up, and turn on our T.V. We all thought that it was just some multi-media sports event, until we turned on our T.V. As soon as we did turn on our T.V. The second plane whent into the second tower. Our whole family finally woke up and we all watched the news until school started. When we arrived at school, almost every television in all of our classes was on. We then learned that it was a terrorist attack, made up by the Tallaban leader, Osama Bin'laden. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Yes. Since September 11th, I think that I have become a lot more Patriotic. I have also tried not to take things for ganted, as much as I would before September 11th. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I personally think that the things that should be remembered, are the many thousands of Fire Fighters, and Police Officers, who risked their own lives to help save the hundreds of injured victims from the rubble of the world trade center towers. NMAH Story: Flag 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. Our family did hang an American flag, but I really don't feel much different agout the flag. I mean I like seeing the flags out alot more, but I still think of the flag the same. 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 nmah1067.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. 2002-09-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.237.72.252 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. Just arriving home from the supermarket I flicked on the TV. There, on CNN was what I thought was a movie, showing the first WTC tower billowing smoke. As confused and bewildered as the commentators and TV reporters themselves sounded, I sat in disbelief wondering what on earth had just happened. Freak accident with a plane? Big fire outbreak up the top of the skyscraper? A terrorist attack? Dear God, no. Then, like the rest on the western world, I stayed transfixed to the tv screen, with tears of distress, watching the next plane hit, hearing the reports of a strike at the Pentagon, witnessing the collapse of the first, then the second tower. I saw pictures of people screaming and running, covered with dust and blood, all as if it was a horror video I'd just brought back from the mall. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. My life hasn't changed because the World Trade Centre was destroyed. I did not lose friends or family. For those who did, then of course the answer would be entirely the reverse. But I say this because the way the world functions has not changed, and therefore, neither has my life. I think people have a tendency to say that it has altered the way we live and the way we think about things. I don't buy that. Yesterday I went to the supermarket, and I picked up a video. I came home and turned the TV on. Tomorrow I'll go to work. I'll have three meals. I'll sleep in a warm bed. But more importantly I'll know that I can continue to do these things without any more risk of it changing than there ever has been. The horror of the WTC destruction was as much symbolic as anything. It is easy to forget that the epicentre of a globalised economy, spearheaded by American democracy and capitalism was the main target of the terrorist act. Not the 3,000 lives. It is somewhat of a paradox then that the 3,000 lives lost seem infinitely more important than the vast and imposing skyscraper targets. But today we are at no more risk of a sudden death at the hands of hostile armies, nuclear weapons, disease, car crashes, political oppression or terrorists than we ever have been. Quite the contrary. We live in a world safer than ever before. If I came from Libya, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Palestine, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Zimbabwe or Afghanistan, one could not truthfully state such a thing. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? By far the most important question to ask is 'why'? Why would people do this? What sort of desperate people could be driven to such acts of violence? In answering this question it must be remembered that a whole community in Afghanistan, husbands, mothers, children, farmers and labourers will be asking the same thing as they see their country bombed from above. Here lies the answer. Atrocity breeds atrocity. There is no doubt that those who flew the planes had before seen their homelands ravaged, their dignity striped and their families and friends killed. Their response was to inflict the same suffering upon the enemy. Responding in a similar manner makes the Western world no better. Poverty is most often at the roots of suffering and despair. This is what a war on terrorism brings. This is a lesson which needs to be learned. This is what should be remembered about September 11th NMAH Story: Flag 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? I lit a candle after the events on September 11th. I lit it for those who had died, for the families and friends who were affected, but most importantly in a desperate hope that what was to follow might not be as bad. I don't think much of flags. To me they are symbols of a fragmented world. Flags have no relevance for what happened. Peoples from all the world - America, Europe, Asia, Africa - died when those towers collapsed. People from all the world continue to die - Asia, Africa. My hope though is that the American flag can change it's stripes and become a force for good. Start by clearing third world debt. Spend half as much on foreign aid as on defence. Promote peace by halting the arms trade. Work on poverty in countries before the next war breaks loose. 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 nmah60.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. 2002-07-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.120.107.9 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. SEPTEMBER 11TH ESSAY Commemorative Edition THE TENNESSEAN Nashville, TN Lynn A. Hafner Our hearts stopped, the earth stood still, we watched, waited, prayed and hoped. The words most whispered hung on the lips of all, where are my children, relatives and friends, are they OK, did we know any one there. 9 11 was a wake up call for the entire world and especially Americans. Regardless of prior incidents against the United States, many believed not us, it doesnt happen here, this is America! The clean up began, the days past and the dust settled. It was true, there were few to no survivors and so many lost. Everyone in this country experienced a bonding as never before. Heros praises were sung, contributions and support to help the victims and their families exceeded all expectation. Help came from everywhere. A new wave and show of Patriotism swept the country…. Since 9-11, the American flag has been displayed everywhere. From lapel pins to underwear, the red, white and blue Stars and Stripes abound. Americans rallied to show their true colors, their support of their government and their solidarity in defeating terrorists and terrorism in the United States and throughout the World. In my work place I see hundreds of large trucks displaying American flags every day. After 9-11, those flags increased a hundred-fold. They are literally painted and pasted on the sides of the trucks and flying on multiple antennas. A few days after 9-11, one of the truck drivers, a tall, thin, older man, neatly dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and hat, sleeveless tee-shirt, sporting a few tattoos walked up the stairs to the platform to load his truck. He started and then stopped, went down the stairs, opened his truck door, reached inside and pulled out a small American flag on a stick and a roll of tape. He climbed the stairs again and taped the flag on the very top hand rail and then finished loading his truck. As he passed by the flag on his way down the stairs, he stared at it and as he reached the very bottom step, he turned, stood and stared up at the small flag he had just secured to the rail. He took his hat off and saluted the flag, turned and climbed into his truck and drove off. I was stunned and totally caught off guard. Over the next few months, as 100s of truck drivers climbed those stairs, they would stop, look at the flag, some would salute, some would smile and give a nod, others checked to make sure it was secure, even reinforcing the tape. There was an incredible show of reverence and pride for such a small replica of a symbol that means so much. If ever there was any doubt as to the strength and depth of the feelings Americans have for their country, it was forever erased in the display of respect, awe and caring displayed by those men and women who paid homage to that American flag. A sever storm broke the flagstick a month or so ago. The flag ended up hanging in my work area in the window for all to see. It is a constant reminder of who we are and what we stand for in this country and what we must never forget……THIS IS AMERICA, THE LAND OF THE FREE and UNITED WE STAND. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag 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? I have added an american flag to my vehicle. I have always displayed one at home. I now have multiple flags in my work area where the public can see them. 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 nmah803.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. 2002-09-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.216.26.196 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I remember calling out to my husband to "hurry quick, come here! A plane flew into the Trade Center tower." He came into the living room not knowing what I was talking about. We sat and watched smoke, just tons of smoke. And fragments of papers floating through the air not having any idea of what was happening. As the morning went on, I felt scared and confused. I kept thinking that this just had to be a freak accident. But it wasn't. I've never before felt so helpless and small. Nothing that I had to think about or worry about that day seemed to matter anymore. Everything else seemed so insignificant at the moment. The people that lost loved ones, family and friends - not to mention the Police Officers, Firefighters and volunteeers that put their lives on the line to save total strangers are the most heroic people. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have been one of the wives that received phone calls and messages from their husbands. I admire them for being able to go on with their lives and taking care of their families. I don't know if I would be strong enough myself to do it. My thoughts go out to everyone that lost loved ones, family members and friends as well as the Police Officers and Firefighters ~ You are truly admired. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag 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? 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 nmah3695.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. 64.12.96.236