58 20 70359 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was a nuclear electrician's mate on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). In early September, the ship was scheduled to be degaussed, a regularly scheduled procedure to reduce the magnetic signature and regulate the ship's compasses. The procedure was cancelled, and the brass decided to use the sea time to run reactor drills from Sept. 9-13. The ship went to sea with no ammunition, no airwing, and no aircraft; They were not needed for the drills. The morning of the 11th, I was just going off watch in the reactor plant, and decided to check the maintenance schedule in the office. As I opened the door, there was complete silence. The first plane had just hit, and the t.v. just happened to be on cnn. It seemed unreal, and as I stared, the second plane hit. Emotions ran through me in waves, starting with disbelief, then sadness, and finally settling on rage. I was somewhat relieved when the order was given to set sail to NY. The GW made turns for high speed, slowing down only momentarily to onload ammunition, and peices of airwing 6 from the USS John F. Kennedy. We arrived early in the morning on the 12th, and as dawn rose, the George Washington was just outside the harbor. An airborne blanket of F/A 18's, F-14's, and Seahawk helicopters provided what little relief we could offer. I rose early from an uneasy sleep to look at the sight from the relative safety of the hangar bay. The skyline was covered by an obscuring cloud of smoke. The GW provided air security in the area for the next 19 days. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Watching the second plane hit on live tv. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? It's obvious when you walk into an airport. People are no longer allowed to accompany loved ones to their gate, or meet them as they get off the plane. X-rays and metal detectors are everywhere. Heightened security is a must theese days. But the terrorists failed to learn from other's mistakes. The U.S. lies down for nobody, and we'll fight back with every resource possible. Personally, I will continue to live my life the way I want to. I feel if my lifestyle or opinions change due to 9/11, the terrorists have accomplished their goal. 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 lc_story69.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. anonymously 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. 2003-12-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.59.82.172 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I am a volunteer firefighter. I was driving into work when my fire department pager started to vibrate. I hate it when it goes off in the car because I always manage to get it tangled up in the seat belt. I managed to unholster it and read the message, which read, A small plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. I thought that was odd as I imagined a Cessna dangling from one of the top floors of one of the towers. It was probably some inexperienced pilot taking flying lessons I reasoned. The one thing I knew was that with something like this, I would probably get an update every few minutes so it was no surprise to me when my pager began vibrating again. The message was not quite what I had expected. Instead of an update on the Cessna, the pager flashed, A second plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Boy, its a bad day for pilots. I really did not think to turn on the radio since the messages did not reflect any urgency. Now I just imagined two Cessnas dangling instead of one. At work I could just watch CNN and they would summarize the whole story in 30 seconds and I could go on with my day. As I entered the office, I noticed people huddled around the television in the glass enclosed conference room. I went in to see what was going on. The pictures I saw were far worse than anything I could have imagined. Ash falling like snow; People with frightened faces running; Fire; Confusion; Amazement. What is that high pitched noise? one woman in the office asked. It is the PASS Alarm. I informed her If a firefighter does not move for 30 seconds, the alarm sounds letting everyone know that a firefighter is down and possibly hurt. I observed that there were several activated PASS Alarms with their unique high-pitched sound. My pager went off again Report of plane crash at the Pentagon. My God! What was happening? I felt like the world was coming to an end. Within minutes, CNN had begun coverage of the Pentagon. We all watched, stunned. After a few minutes, some of us meandered to our offices. We were at work after all. As much as the wheels of business tried to turn, there was no steam in the engine. We all sat at our desks staring into space. My pager chirped again with the message All hands report to duty. As members of a volunteer fire department, we all carried the pagers to inform us of working incidents within our jurisdiction. A working incident was just that, a structure fire or perhaps a school bus accident. The volunteers responded to working incidents regularly but since the department is combined paid and volunteer firefighters many of the volunteers did not take off work to go to incidents during the day. This message was asking everyone including paid firefighters on their day off and volunteers at work to come in. I sat at my desk, still too stunned to move when it was announced that the office was closing for the day. I did not think that I could really go anywhere. Some people in the office had said that the police closed main roads and bridges. Then it was rumored that there was an explosion at the Capitol. This was later revealed to being the sonic boom of the fighter jets as they approached mach one. Within 20 minutes of the incident, the US Air Force had jets in the air ready to shoot down any threat. When I am upset, I like to go for a drive, so I decided to go home. To my glee, my path home had not been closed to traffic as previously reported. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? As I pulled into the fire station, I was not sure what I was going to find. Our station was overflowing with firefighters, fire engines, ambulances, and rescue squads. It was so cramped that everyone was parked on top of one another. Units from as far as 40 miles were here to provide a supplemental roll. While units from our station were at the Pentagon, these supplemental units were assigned to the station to make sure there was sufficient coverage in case there was an emergency in our area. At first, there was a lot of waiting. Incident Command had determined that the best way to attack the situation was to have several shifts. I waited to get onto the next shift. As I sat waiting, I couldnt help but think of the incredible nature of what had happened. A common salutation among firefighters is See you at The Big One. The Big One is the mythical 100-alarm fire that brings out all the firefighters from all the surrounding jurisdictions. It is the event where you see every firefighter you have ever met in your entire life. The Big One is a concept; it is not real. I soon realized that it had in fact become real. This became even more evident later in the day when I met an old friend I had not seen in five years. He was just standing there, next to me. I was spooked. Another phrase I recalled was training for if a plane crashed into the Pentagon scenario. This scenario seemed so far fetched that it was like training for an alien attack. I quickly decided to remove these two phrases from my vocabulary. I heard my name called. I had been given a mission. The mission was for my partner and I to go and bring back a piece of apparatus that had gotten a flat tire while in the performance of its duties. We were to repair the tire and render the vehicle operational. We did not know in what situation we would find the vehicle, so we decided to first go to the auto parts store. My partner walked in and asked to speak to the manager. I trailed behind. We explained the situation to the manager and told him that we needed a tire and a jack strong enough to lift the truck. Oh, and we also explained that we did not have any money to pay for it. Within 15 minutes we were on our way. The store and located everything we needed in the correct size. My partner and I got to the site and noticed that the tread had been sliced off the tire. We managed to change the tire with just a bit of trouble and returned to headquarters. We got back to the station and noticed that Dominos had been nice enough to deliver pizza and Safeway had sent over deli platters. Since there was nothing else to do for the moment, I grabbed a slice of pizza. The phone rang. It was the Command Line. I was asked if we had two units ready and available to which I answered in the affirmative. I was told to stand by for a dispatch. This was it, I was going to the Pentagon. I hung up the phone and recruited sufficient staff to man two units. Just then, the loud unmistakable tones that proceed a dispatch sounded. It was an incredible sight. I saw people walking around everywhere and rows and rows of military helicopters. The alphabet soup was there (FBI, CIA, NTSB, FEMA, FAA, ATF, SWAT, etc).The first thing that hit me was just the shear size of the operation. Every imaginable resource had been tapped everything from the busses and drivers from the public transportation system, to flood lights from the Department of Transportation, to equipment provided by construction companies to security provided by local and state police as well as the military. We saw a firefighter we knew so we stopped. He asked that we take him to the medic station because he was having chest pains. Since we had just gotten there, we did not really have a good lay of the land. We drove around. While driving I noticed several military units camped out including a bio-chem warfare response unit and a nuclear warfare response unit. After we dropped off the firefighter, I saw an older rugged looking man. His uniform was of an army colonel. His eyes were sad as they looked at me as if to say Thank you. They were the eyes of a broken man. I wondered what battles he had fought and what hardships he must have endured. Sometimes, when I close my eyes I can see his staring at me. Behind him, I saw it; the hole. The dark, black empty space left by the airplane. I starred at it for a while. It amazed me that there was no sign of an airplane. The plane had for the most part, disintegrated. I saw offices with papers. Some were probably marked Top Secret I thought. I saw the computers and desks, everything you need to run an office except the people. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling. For our next mission, we were instructed to drive to the middle of the Pentagon rings and collect any empty bottles of air. We were to bring them to a location to be refilled. As we drove in, I couldnt help to think that there had been a building collapse earlier today here, not to mention the WTC collapse. I prayed that the walls would not fall on top of us. Also we were driving over hoses. These hoses were highly pressurized and not designed to have a heavy vehicle drive over them. I had witnessed one hose burst earlier. If the hose burst under our vehicle, we would surly be dead. I figured another prayer was in order. We entered the center and stopped. We both got out and I first noticed the smell. It smelled like gunpowder. If war movies had smell-o-rama, this is what it would smell like I thought. There was a thick white smoke in the air. It looked like someone fired a civil war cannon and the smoke had not cleared, only worse. Finally, I noticed everything moving in slow motion. It probably had to do with the fact that everyone was tired and therefore moving slower, but the whole scene was surreal. We made many trips back and forth and each time I was nervous. I was assigned to do a few other tasks throughout the day. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Patriotism brought the country together, I fear that patriotism will seperate us. There is a deep and growing riff between democrats and republicans. I think many people are afraid of future attacks. 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 lc_story172.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. anonymously 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. 2003-12-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.100.234.90 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) In Southwest Ohio the weather on September 11, 2001 was as glorious as it was in New York city on that tragic morning. I was teaching school at a large suburban Cincinnati High School. News came to me in the hallway, then down the stairwell as I hurried between third and fourth bell to study hall. A young man was telling his friend that a plane had hit the trade center. I dismissed the news and rushed along to the cafeteria. There I switched on the TV and watched history unfold. I told the students they were welcome to watch the news. I stared, whispered to myself, worried and monitored my increasing autonomic arousal. I teach US History and knew this attack was an act of war. Mentally I surveilled my knowledge of Pearl Harbor and compared the two. I knew instantly that which my students could not see, that the world they knew was bifurcated, cut in half, a time before and a time after. Looking back, and studying the days events I now know I saw the second tower (chronologically) collapse, but then in the moment I did not trust my eyes and an interesting psychological phenomena occurred. That phenomena was revealed when fifth period assembled. Chasity asked me if I had heard or seen the news. I said I had and had watched the news live during fourth bell. She said that then I saw the tower collapse as if imploded on itself. I responded with all the authority of an experienced teacher that no that did not make sense, the towers could not fall that way it was impossible... Only hours later did I know the awful truth, could I believe as I have faith in human goodness that the towers both had fallen. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? As a teacher of history I keep passive knowledge of the location of the president. My first rational insight on that day was that the president was safe in Florida. It gave me great peace to know he was not in DC. I repeated it endlessly to any who would hear me. By 7th period my classes and I had head-aches from watching the news. I asked them if they would like to watch more. They said no. Never before has the scientific method or an independent variable held such comfort (I teach AP Psychology). LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I have been concerned for sometime about the disasterous consequences of fear as a motivator. Fear of communism - historically and fear of terrorism in my lifetime has the potential to destroy the values upon which our nation is built. The Patriot Act has the potential to destroy the liberty of the individual. Had the fourth plane hit capitol hill and had our federal legislature been destroyed, out of fear, what emergency powers might have been granted the executive branch? The most infamous demogogue of the 20th century manipulated hate and fear to achieve constitutional dictatorial powers after the Reichstag burned. I need to know that public policy is just that, reasoned policy, not an instinctive fear response. 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 lc_story191.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.208.38 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) When the disaster of 9-11 happened, I was still in bed. I live in Alaska. It was still very early here with the 4 hour time difference. My girlfriend awoke me with a phonecall. She said a plane hit one of the WTC towers, she sounded very distressed. I flew out of bed and the TV was already on. I turned to FOX news just in time to see the second jet slam into the other tower. This is no accident I remember thinking. I was glued to the tube. I immediantly knew what I was seeing was history in the making. The world I knew along with everyone else had just dramatically changed, forever. I called my Dad and my sister. I called my boss. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? My most remembered thoughts of that day were how I had just witnessed a history making change in my life and of the entire world. I kept thinking to myself, 'nothing will ever be the same'. I thought of the horrible deaths of all those innocent people. I thought of the bravery of the passengers in PA. My mother had just recently died, like a month prior. I remember thinking how it was best , if she had to go, that she did before this awful event. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Those awfull events I believe have opened many peoples eyes. No longer is America protected by vast oceans. America is vulnerable now, and people realize it. Personally, I go about life normally. It has changed the way I think about the world. I now know how real the threat to the American way of life is. I now know how much hatred there is for our way of life. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource lc_story187.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.112.221.217 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I has just left work to run home for a few minutes and was listening to a radio show (Bob & Sherry). They were talking about how an airplane had just hit one of the WTC buildings. Then Sherry said something like "Oh my God" another plane has hit the other building. Then of course my thoughts went from what a terrible accident to instant confusion. I never would have dreamed that someone would be so evil that they would plot such an event. Then when I first heard the words "terrorist attacks" I just became even more emotional. I cried the whole day and many times since 9/11. I kept putting myself in the place of those who were trapped in the building. What they must be thinking and feeling. I prayed for them, for my country, for all of those families that lost someone dear to them on that day. As long as I live, I will never forget that historic, tragic event. I will also never forget what my then 4 year old daughter said to me. "Momma, I wish I was a Power Puff Girl so I could've stopped those planes from hitting those buildings." I regret that she saw the footage of the crashes on TV. I had a hard time of explaining it because I couldn't really understand it myself, but she said that and she meant it with everything in her. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Probably the footage of the crashes and the images of bodies falling to the ground. That greatly disturbed me. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Well, I think that if there is a silver lining to be found in the whole event, it would be that Americans showed their true spirit by joining together, giving of their time and money. Prayers for people they've never met or seen. Just a fellowship almost of an entire nation. 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 lc_story223.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. anonymously Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 161.6.16.197 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) working for the Coast Guard in Chesapeake, VA. I had not long been at work when a fellow technician came to tell me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Petty Officer Melanie Easterling, who would later volunteer for duty in New York assisting the Coast Guard and others in the post recovery efforts, motioned me toward the television in the operations center where I observed the first tower smoking. My initial thoughts were that the antiquated FAA systems I had heard so much about had finally caused the damage some had feared. When the second plane hit I knew it was something different. It was still hard to fathom terrorism because most of my generation had never witnessed this type of destruction on our land. I remained optimistic about degree of damage done and then came word of the Pentagon being hit and finally the failed attempt which landed in the woods of Pennsylvania. Soon it became clear to even the most doubtful that this was an act of aggression against the United States. My awe and disbelief peaked when the World Trade Center Towers collapsed. The numbers dead are still too steep to comprehend. I didn't think my life would change much as a result of that day but as I look back now...I know it has. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? The moment I was told of the first hit and looking toward the television. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Many freedoms have been restricted if not fully revoked. Our society has lost an appreciable amount of its freedoms in many areas. We do not travel as freely as we used to, we are more suspicious of activities as being related to terrorism (mass power outages, flu epidemic, anthrax, etc.). I carried a blank bullet key chain from 1989 until I had to fly to Cozumel, Mexico in April of 2002. The key chain was store bought, the attachment swivel went through the hole where the firing pin should have been and I had carried it on at least 10 flights prior to this. I had to leave it in the airport trash that day or I would have missed my flight and my reporting date to my ship. This was a small thing but it left me with a deeper understanding of just how much had really changed. I traveled a lot during 2003 and the airport liturgy made almost every trip a dreaded chore. People all but undressing at the screeners area, shoes off, belts off, not metal buttons and all the while every is checking over their shoulder in seeming paranoia. The US Patriot Act is probably the scariest change of all because it categorically revokes right and privileges afforded to Americans by the US Constitution. Its intent is honorable but the potential for exploitation and misuse is dangerous and "Orwellian" by nature. I used to pine for the future to the extent of almost wishing my life away...but now, I fear many aspects of the future. 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 lc_story262.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.26.132.101 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was working on an Army installation and a group of us were getting ready to leave to perform some charity work (painting a playground). I was getting ready to shut down my computer when an email from my supervisor came in saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At the momement we turned on our black and white portable TV, we saw the second plane hit. I believe that the person in charge of our "painting group" was in shock because she wanted to leave and board the bus like nothing happened. We had to switch buses because of a glitch and while waiting for the new bus I heard that the Pentagon had been hit. It took all of us to convince our team leader that we needed to go back to our offices and wait for some official word to come from our headquarters. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? My strongest memory of the day actually happened that evening. We had beautiful clear skies and I remember going outside (I live in a rural area) and seeing no aircraft in the skies. The stars were so beautiful and undisturbed, and here we were on the ground that September 11th evening still not knowing about survivors at the WTC, if another attack was pending, etc. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Sadly, most Americans will forget the lessons of September 11th. On that day and for weeks later, I heard all these comparisons to December 7, 1941. This past year, I've heard more about December 7th than 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 lc_story79.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. 2003-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 136.205.16.3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) My office is on the 10th floor of a building just a mile due south of the Pentagon. I was working in my office when my wife called to say a plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. I rushed next door to my partner's office, turned on his television, and saw the second plane fly into the other tower. The tower was obviously targeted and our country was under some form of terrorist attack. Like all Americans I was glued to the television not believing what I was seeing. As I was sitting in the office watching the horrific aftermath in New York, I saw a large fireball on the horizon north of our office building. Immediately I knew the terror had spread to Washington and we started to evacuate our employees from the building. I left the office around 11:00 am to work my way through the traffic to get home. Inroute, my wife called to tell me my best friend and best man in our wedding was the pilot of the American Airlines plane that went into the Tower in New York. She told me his wife Sheri was hysterical and needed me at her home right away. It was not until later that afternoon we found out that my dear friend Chic Burlingame was indeed one of the poor souls sacrificed that day. However, his plane was flown into the Pentagon, not the Tower in New York. It was his plane that created the fireball I had seen on the horizon that morning. His loss remains heavy on my heart, but his bravery that day will live forever. BWWhitman LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? 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 lc_story121.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. 2003-12-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.98.126.61 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was doing housework at afriends house. I was scheduled to got to the hospital with my fiance' that morning. My Baby was due 3 days before. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Being devistated by the news and how it hurt me as an american. My wife and I are police officers and we wanted our baby to be born On 911 because of that. My wife told me the news and I turned on the radio and cried.My fiance and I both lost alot of brothers (Police officers,and fireman) that day. The meaning of my baby being born took a whole new turn when the attacks happen. My Fiance' went into labor at10 A.M that morning.And All I can remember is being hurt and trying to be happy for the Joy I was to experience later that day. Im a U.S Marine veteran of operation deny flight in Bosnia and I was mad that someone invaded My Home turf. My Baby girl will always be a part of history and I cant imagine having lost a loved one that day, instead I gained my lifes most precious achievement. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I as a veteran have learned the true importance of my service as a Marine,and my service as a police officer. And I thank every veteran I see. The country has rebouned as our GREAT country always does. Im more proud than ever to be an American. 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 lc_story212.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.162.94.30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I'm not one to read the papers, watch the news or listen to radio so i found out by word of mouth, passin a person in the street who was talking about it. That's when i started paying attention. Everyone was so somber, tears welled in the eyes of those who had family and friends out there (i'm in UK), as i did myself. The more i read, the more panic welled inside of me. It was strange to see how this event was pulling everyone together, support flowed for all directions to those who aided the emergency services and how much support went to the families of those who had been injured or even killed. One event built the brotherhood of men stronger, yet tore it apart at the same time. One even is firmly imprinted in the memories of those left behind. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? My stongest memory is going on the internet trying to find my friends, hoping, praying that their lives be spared. I also tried calming the hysteria of other friends, all of them scared that it will happen again. Fearing death, fearing what life would be left, scared of eachother, fearing themselves. Many tears were cried that day, many prayers said. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? In the UK it brought us closer together, a family, everyone hurting, everyone supporting. The tears we shed that day are the tears of love for eachother; some cried because they lost those they loved, other cried in fear of losing those they loved, and others cried at seeing humanity fall apart. Still those tears are shed. 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 lc_story126.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. 2003-12-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 195.92.67.75 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) It was my birthday. I was driving home from a rewarding night at work. All of the nurses on the "midnight shift" had thrown me a surprise birthday party and I was in a very good mood. I prepared myself for bed as I normally do in the late morning hours. I attempted to set my alarm to wake me after only a few hours because I had classes that day. Because I had a clock radio and I use the radio instead of the annoying alternative buzz alarm, for a split second, I mashed the "sleep" button to check the volume of the radio to ensure it was loud enough to wake me for my class, followed by the "snooze" button to shut off the radio. I thought for a moment that the news brief being broadcasted during that split second sounded like something important. I decided to put my sleep off for a few minutes, or so I expected, only to be horrified at what was before me. I was enlisted in the Army's IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve). I can remember running around my room rushing to organize everything. I was sure that we were instantly sucked into WWIII or something similar to that degree. I drove to my grandparents house. My grandfather is a WWII vet and I respect his opinion tremendously. I busted in the house and I could see into the living room. They were watching the events unfold and I shouted, "What do you think about that Grandpa?!" He yelled back, "I think you better get your boots on!" The confidence in his voice confirmed my questions about what my immediate future entailed. I voluntarily re-entered the active Reserve until I fulfilled my eight year enlistment with the Army. I am currently in the Air Force and I have yet to be deployed. I would gladly serve anywhere my country needs me to go. There is no question about that. At the same time, there is no question, my birthday is permanently etched in history and the future. I always thought my birth-date was a cool day. Not just because it was my birthday. I always felt it was more than that. But I never could put my finger on it. A future-minded sixth sense? Who knows. All I know is, I am forever divided. Should I be proud? Should I be sad? Should I feel special? At least, no one has an excuse to forget my birthday. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Going to my grandparent's house to share in the shock. Now I can say that I can relate to their feelings of shock on December 7th, 1941. I'm glad I was there with them. It was a terrible memory, but I know that after they are gone, that day will forever remain as one with which I was privileged to share with my grandparents. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I don't feel as if it will ever be the same again. In the back of our minds, we will always wonder when it will happen again. The world of September 10th, 2001 is gone. At least until all generations who have witnessed the events of September 11th have passed away. 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 lc_story238.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.26.123.37 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I had slept in that day, I remember things were quiet, quieter than usual, you see, my apartment was on 180th street. Usually the street was bustling with sound when I woke up, that time it wasn't. I logged onto the internet with my computer like I usually do, then a friend IMed me asking me if I had turned on the television. I looked out the window before turning on the TV, it was kinda dusty outside. When I saw what was going on, it was shock. I thought my friend had been joking, but it was no joke. I don't remember how long it took for reality to set in, or how long I had been staring blankly at the television that day before I sat down and cried, but it was awhile. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? I remember staring at the horizon from on top of my apartment complex, occasionally looking down at the street below which had become filled with people and watch as they would freeze whenever a jet would pass over us. There was also an indescribable scent in the air that would burn the inside of your nose. Some moments the scent alone would bring tears to your eyes, not because of the burning sensation, but the realization of what it was. You know, I went to the site, 2 weeks later, even took pictures that for some reason I haven't developed. There were places where the dust had gathered so high you could swear there had just been a huge snowstorm. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Personally? Days after I decided I was going to join the Military. I cannot speak for everyone, but most people are more wary about daily events, locally, nationally and Internationally. We have learned that the current state of other Nations might have either a weak or strong backlash here in the US. 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 lc_story253.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.78.226.224 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I'm from Alexandria, Virginia but I was in my hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania for my cousin's funeral. I got bits and pieces about what had happened before the funeral service, but it wasn't until after the funeral when I went to my paren't home that I full understood what had happened. In an instant the safety and security of my hometown and new home were shattered. I immediatly called my coworkers back in DC to find out how things were there, by then I already knew the chaos in my small town where wall-to-wall news coverage is un hear of. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Watching the video footage of the planes crashing into the towers. Also, hearing the stories on the news about the kindness, generosity, and courage of people. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I think the events made us all come together. Personally, it has made me even more proud to be an American and even more appreciative of our military. 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 lc_story176.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. 2003-12-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.100.47.105 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was at work in London, sitting at my desk overlooking the Eurostar tracks at Waterloo station. I was an expat from DC and had been in London for about a year and a half at that point. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? My strongest memory of September 11 was the total confusion and disbelief I felt. I tried calling family and friends in the States to see if the reports I was hearing had any element of truth to them. My internet connection was jammed, the phone lines were busy. I had no idea what was going on. I remember telling someone that "those buildings were made to withstand an impact from an airplane." About 10 minutes later everything I had been taught, or at least thought, was proved wrong. I felt speechless for most of the day. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I think the biggest change to society that resulted from the events of Spetember 11 are the rise of anxiety and the fall of trust. Think about how you feel the next time you board and airplane and decide for youeself whether you agree with this. 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 lc_story216.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 212.17.39.2 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was walking home from class at my university on the morning of September 11, 2001. I was taking advantage of one of Americans' greatest privlages, the opportunity of education. After learning of the events that had occured, I was numb, dazed and fearful. I called my mother, friends, everyone I loved. I attended the reast of my classes that day but spent every other second following the news and talking with others. I cried, I counted my blessings and I prayed. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? There was a different feeling in the air, different looks on the faces of my fellow students walking past me. I remember the awkwardness between everyone. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I feel America has suffered as a nation but also has healed and grew stronger as a nation. It has affected myself in several ways. I count my blessings everyday for the opportunities I have as an American. 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 lc_story256.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. anonymously Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.233.11.172 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I remember coming out of class and heading to work in the Student Union at college and hearing people saying that we were being attacked. I thought someone was playing a prank and I shrugged it off. As I walked into work the big screen TV was on and student were surrounding it in disbelief. The first image I saw was the second tower being hit. I was shocked. The college I went to was twenty minutes away from Shanksville, Pa and the attack caused a state of panic on campus because we all had a sense of security about being safe in the haven of the Appalacian Mountains untouched by dangerous city life. But terror can strike anywhere, at any time. You can never prepare yourself for such tragedy and heartache. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? When we all came together in the evening for a time of prayer around our main symbol of freedom, our flag. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? We all were able to move on because we could come together and support each other. A lot of students soon enlisted and have since served in Iraq along with my brother. Its moving to see so many patriots rise up in the mist of such a tragedy. Unfortunately, it took something so horrific to realize that everyday we, as Americans, take our freedom for granted. We are truly blessed as a nation, even in the mists 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 lc_story117.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. 2003-12-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.24.199.130 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) At a Walgreens buying some soda. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? The scenes on tv of the jets hitting the WTC. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? Shortly after 9/11, after reading of the heroic efforts of the firemen and others, I wrote these song lyrics to honor them and all other American heroes. The song can be heard on my web-site at http://orbit-zero.com. What the Flag Means This song is dedicated to Queens fireman Captain Patrick Brown and all the other heroes of 9/11. Rob and John were brothers in war. They charged the beach at Normandy. Robert fell at Omaha And Johnny died near Isigny. Youll find their graves on that faraway shore They fought to save from tyranny. And every dawn at reveille Their banners raised in victory. See what freedom costs in each marble cross And what the flag means to the free. Henry came from a small river town. He left his home for Vietnam. Drawn to the flag of a high ideal, He fought the war nobody won. One day he forded a wild jungle stream And there a sniper shot him down And his lifeblood joined that sacred will Our fathers forged on Bunker Hill. Read it in the names on these granite walls: What the flag means when youre called. Michael ran like the wind on the tide. He knew the race went to the bold. He gained more speed with every stride Until his shoes turned into gold. And when he watched on that gold medal day Old Glory rise, the Anthem play, The tears came streaming down his face When he felt that force beyond the grave. Every freemans life sings their sacrifice- What the flag means to the brave. Patrick Brown was a Queens fireman. He captained ladder number three. He knew the look of the frightened face That sought the light of liberty. That day his crew climbed the North Tower stairs And all our hopes came crashing down, There he saw that shining face Hed spent his whole life trying to save. You know your job is done when your rescue comes And your life shines like the sun. Tonight a storm veils a poor widowed world. Her lonely tears just fall like rain. A young man wakes from a troubled dream And hears a hero call his name. And as he makes that fateful vow He knows his life is not his own. And a new hope lights the starry sea High above the Land of Liberty. See the million flights of the Stars and Stripes- What the flag means to the free. 2002 Mark Heffron 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 lc_story170.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. 2003-12-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.73.177.211 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) My story of 9/11/2001 This day started off as the average day for me. I got up extra early, drove to Gordons Corner Deli to purchase my Academy Bus tickets then drove to the parking lot and proceeded to catch the 4:40am bus. I arrived to my destination (WTC) about 5:40am. I bought my breakfast at the corner vender and then proceeded up the escalator to 7 WTC. I got to my desk, dropped off my bag and then went to the gym, which was located on the 47th floor. I always arrived at 6:00am and worked out to about 7:00am. As I stood on the treadmill, I watched the beautiful sunrise, which I have done on a daily basis. After the workout, I took my shower then went down to my desk on the 33rd floor. My Best buddy Tom came in early that day and asked if I wanted to run down to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. I told him I would be a few minutes; I had some things to do. This was a little bit before 8:30, however before heading downstairs, I grabbed my green card holder, which had money and the bus tickets I bought that day. When we got to the cafeteria, we ordered breakfast, all of a sudden, this woman I knew ran and hid by her cash register hysterically crying, pointing to the window. The expression on her face was something I will never forget. When Tom and I ran to the window, we saw a plane wing falling from the sky, debree hitting the ground, pieces of the building falling from the sky. I remember saying to Tom, what kind of a fucking idiot would fly his plane so low knowing there is tall buildings in NYC. Then the TVs in the cafeteria went on, we saw a picture of the one tower on fire. I tried to calm people down, I tried to hold them and insure them that everything would be ok. I had absolutely no idea if that were true. I felt people, at that time, needed to hear that everything was going to be ok. As Tom and I were making our way back up stairs, there was a HUGE explosion, the whole building shook, glass started to partially shatter. The screaming went right through you, the lights were flickering and no one knew what the fuck was going on. No one was telling us anything. We all thought at that moment we were going to die. There was so much panic that set in and we had no where to go. All the doors were locked and no one was letting us out of the building. There were explosions every 10 seconds; our building did not stop shaking. I remember at that moment life was at a stand still, no one could move fast enough, I heard my friend call my name, he sounded a distance away and I could not turn around fast enough. I did not know where to go. All I knew at that moment I was going to die that day and I was never going to get a chance to see my kids again. Tom grabbed my hand and pulled me to run up the escalator back to the cafeteria. I remember running like a mad person to find a phone to try and get through to my kids. It was chaos everywhere, people running and no where to go. I remember being stopped by one of the cafeteria workers, telling me to go the other way and get out, the building is about to collapse. My life was in slow motion; I did not know where to go. I was so confused. Every time I picked up a phone, it was dead. There was no way to reach out to someone to get to my kids. I caught the cafeteria TV, the most unforgettable, horrible picture I saw was the other tower got hit and they were now both on fire. It did not seem real, my feet were like concrete blocks, I could not move. Tom got my attention, we ran down to the main floor where there were hundreds on people and no where to go. All the doors were locked, the building was shaking, there was no way out!!!!!! Tom and I found an emergency phone and we were told we could not use them. I grabbed the person behind the desk and told her, I needed to hear my kids voice, even for a second, I know I will never see them again. The phones were unable to connect out of the 5 Boroughs. I called my daughters father, Anthony Cavalieri, who lives on Staten Island and works for Rescue 5. I left him a message Anthony, its Debbie, I am in 7 WTC. The towers have been hit by fucking planes; we are locked in the lobby. I dont know if I am getting out, I am going to die, please take care of the kids and tell them I love them. The phones went dead. The explosions outside were over bearing, the sound of these huge pieces of concrete hitting the ground right in front of you were 100 times the sound of an M80 going off. I remember praying so much, it hurt, my whole body hurt. The explosions, the screaming, crying all around me. The looks of death in each and every face, I will never forget that. As Tom and I ran back to the cafeteria, we turned around and at the window, we saw a huge piece of the building come crashing to the ground, like dynamite. The glass shattered all around us and we had no where to run. After a while when tom and I came back down from the cafeteria, the main floor was completely empty except for a few security guards. They asked, what the hell are you still doing here? They told us to go down below and exit out on Vessey Street. You have to understand Vessey Street was where all the debree was falling. Once outside, we had to duck from the falling debree, we ran so fast, we turned the corner ran a little further. I stopped dead in my tracks; I turned around, which was the worse thing I could have done. There was a huge hole in one of the towers on fire, thick black smoke everywhere, what I thought was debree, was actually human bodies hitting the ground with an uncontrollable force. I could not move, Tom kept pulling me to go with him, I told him I needed to go back. I needed to go back and everyone was out of the building (7WTC). It was my job as the Firemans Deputy to make sure that everyone was out of the building. He turned to me, shook me and assured me that everyone was out. I did not believe him, I told him I needed to get to the towers to help out. I needed to save people. I needed to go back there, these people need help. Tom kept pulling me, I could not move. I finally went with him; I do not know where we were running. I could not help but keep looking back. I could not believe what I was looking at. It did not feel real. I asked Tom where we were running to, he said the nearest subway to get the hell out. I told him I cannot leave, I need to go back and help out. I felt so helpless knowing there were people dying and I was going to survive. I saw human figures in the air soaring like a bird that lost their will to fly and I could not do a goddamn thing. I felt helpless, so helpless. I gave into Tom, I went with him. I cried the whole way, I remember getting off the train. We were going to Toms apartment in midtown (I think). I was crying uncontrollably. I remember seeing many people walking from down town. While we were on the train, the 1st tower collapsed. We found this out when we got to his apartment. The news stations showed it over and over again. I was so angry with Tom for not letting me stay to help, but I was forever grateful to him for saving my life. Tom and I went up to his roof that is when we saw the 2nd Tower collapse. I fell to my knees; every bit of life I had in my body was drained from me completely. My life went down with those buildings and all the souls in them. My life was shattered beyond recognition. The only thing I thought of was Why did I survive? Why did I survive? My second home was there, that is the place I spent my whole day, chatting with my friends while meeting new ones, shopping or just sitting with my friend(s) and eating ice cream. Most of those people that died on this day I must have passed a million times not knowing they will never be seen or heard from again. After a couple of hours, the news reported that 7 WTC had just collapsed. Tom and I looked at each other with so much sadness, sorrow, heartache; we grabbed each other and held on for hours. No words could ever explain how we felt at that moment. Tom lived right across from the NY Hospital, I remember watching all the doctors, nurses and staff waiting for the injured to come, however, there were not enough, very few. Tom and I watched the whole night into the morning; I can count on 2 hands how many arrived. We both knew at that moment many lives were lost that day. I remember trying to get through to my kids, 12 hours from the time we made it back to Toms apartment that had passed and I was still unable to talk to my kids. At about 2-3am the next morning, Toms friend got a message to my sister Linda to inform her that I was ok. I found out that the 33rd Street Path train was up and running. I told Tom I needed to get onto the train and get home. At about 5:00 that night, Tom took me to the Path train and I was then on my way home to see my kids. I called my other Best Friend Peter, who was my other boss that lived in Matawan NJ. I talked to his wife Pat and asked her to have Peter meet me at the Matawan Train station in a couple of hours. After getting off the train and seeing my friend Peter, he was the beginning of my rainbow. He got the heartbeat going for me again. I would not let go of him; my arms held him so tight. He drove me home and there awaited my kids with open arms, seeing them completed my rainbow. I honestly thought I would never see them again. I said goodbye to Peter as he watched me go into the house with the kids. They were so happy to see me, we were so very happy to see each that tears rolled from their eyes, as I have never seen that before in the way they shed them. I missed them so very much; my kids complete my life as I do their lives. Without each other, we are lost. The last thing I remember, they put me to bed. I spoke with my sister Linda the next day, which was Friday afternoon; she had informed me that Patrick, her husband was in the WTC for a breakfast meeting that morning. There has not been any word on his whereabouts. Many days have passed and we found out that Patrick was at Windows of the World that morning and never made it out. He was also with his brother-in-law who was also lost. My sister Linda at the time was 6 months pregnant with her son. Her and Patrick knew they were having a boy and they already named him Patrick Joseph Dickinson. Their daughter Erin was 8 years old at the time and just thought her daddy was on a business trip. My sister is a very spiritual person and has even become more spiritual since this tragedy has happened, as did most of us who were affected. My sister gave birth to Patrick on his daddys birthday, December 4, 2001. I was there with my sister when Patrick was born. I cried with both so much joy but yet so much sadness. Patrick at that moment was the fallen angel from God. My sister had a tough time with handling everything. I was there for her each and every day. Every time I held Patrick, I know his daddy was right there with him. I felt him; his presence was there. There were so many things, little things that would happen in the house when no one was in that particular place at that time. For example, a toy would go on, the phone would chirp, the light would flicker. I would look at baby Patrick and tell him Your daddy is here. The nightmares continued, I dreamt of Patrick many times. Each and every time I went back to my sister and spoke about the dreams, she said how did you know that? I told her that Patrick came to visit me and told me things only you would know. She cried so much, I cried so much. This has been very emotional. Patrick is now 19 months old on the 4th. Every time I look at him, I love him more each and every day. I always call him my Fallen Angel from God. The amazing thing about Patrick, he always looks up and says dada. When Patrick sees his dads picture, he points and says dada. My life since this tragedy, hit me very hard financially, emotionally and all around very tough on a daily basis. Making ends meet has been a struggle. I have always been the sole financial provider for my family and I am not that person anymore. I am terrified to go back into the city. I am sending out resumes on a daily basis and being turned down each and every time. I literally do not have any energy left in my body. I am tired all the time, even thought I try to keep myself busy. I use to get on the 4:40am bus every morning and be at the gym in the city at 6:00am every single day for the last 3 years, never missing a day. I went to therapy for a while after September 11th, I feel I jumped from counselor to counselor until I found the right one who would understand me. I did, her name was Barbara, CPC Behavioral in Freehold NJ. She was wonderful, she understood me, she never questioned me nor did she interrupt me. She let me speak, cry, scream what ever I needed to do, she let me. She broke the news to me that she was leaving. I was very upset, but happy on the other hand. She introduced me to my new counselor, I went to her a couple of times, but it was never the same after that. She was completely different and I did not feel comfortable with her. I stopped going. I have not been back since. It has been a few months now. I know I need to get back, however, being back with my support group is the best thing that happened to me. They are my family, the family that will always be there no matter what. They are the only ones that will understand when you are having a bad day. They put a smile on my face and I feel that that is therapy enough for me. I know I need to go back on medication again, however, it only makes me feel better for a little while and then the depression comes back. You need to understand the person I really am. I have 2 teenagers who need my attention all the time. I am not an extravagant person, I have never asked for a lot out of life. Everything I have, I worked very hard for. I have worked since I was 13 years old and never had to ask anyone for help, until now. Thank you for taking the time to read my life in one day. Debra Baron LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? Every single thing that happened that day and many days after that is vivid in my mind (as clear as day). Not a day goes by that I don't think about what happened. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I don't go a day without calling my family and telling them where I am or where I am going - or just to tell them how much I love them. I now work odd jobs just to stay close to home, just in case something were to happen, I would only be a car ride away. I live life to the fullest every day, however with caution. 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 lc_story80.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. 2003-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.208.38 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 Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) I was riding in an elevator with a co-worker. When I asked how she was doing, she responded by saying that her son was safe. I must have looked puzzled, so Jeanette began explaining that the towers in New York City had been attacked, as well as the Pentagon in VA. Three months later, Jeanette passed away. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? My strongest memory is walking outside my office building in San Francisco, CA and seeing how empty the streets were. Many of the sandwich shops & restaurants were closing, and the drugstores were empty. Quite a few of my colleagues did not come into work at all that day. Those of us who arrived, were given the choice of remaining or leaving. Staying at work in a nearly empty building was too uncomfortable. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? I think the initial shock has worn off for most people living outside of New York City, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, unless they experienced some type of loss at the various attack sites. I see fewer American flags flying from cars and homes here in Northern CA than immediately after the attacks on the United States. Fewer people are wearing flag pins. 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 lc_story99.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. 2003-12-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 167.176.6.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Library of Congress Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of more than 200 user-submitted stories gathered from the Library of Congress's "Witness and Response" exhibition staged in 2002. LC Story LC Story: Story Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? (Please share your experience of learning of the events and what you did afterwards.) When I heard the new of September 11th, I was taking a French exam. My class sat quietly working when we suddenly heard shouts from the another classroom. It was our British Literature teacher, he was yelling muffled shouts. We all thought he was acting out a play but we were all too wrong. He came into our telling the us what had happened. We did not even believe, not for a second. He walked over to the televison in the corner of the classroom and turned it on. We were all flooded with images more disturbing that I have yet to see again. LC Story: Memory What is your strongest memory of that day? I attended an all girls academy of the Sacred Heart, in Omaha, NE. When the news had flooded all around the school, the administration called us to the chapel. Nearly everyone was crying, I could not cry. I felt as though I should be, but I could not make the tears come. My heart was with the people all around the country, but my body was in a state of shock. After prayer they let us out early. I sat in the student center for a little while before I left. As I was walking out side I heard a crashing noise in the sky. I looked up and fighter jets, and inbetween was Air Force One. It was a sight that will stay with me forever. LC Story: Affects How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001 have affected this country and/or you personally? This event made me much more aware of the outside. I was a 14 years old, and I had never known war, nor horrible death, nor devastion. 9-11 opened my eyes to the world. I was lost but now I'm found, t'was blind but now I see. 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 lc_story72.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. 2003-12-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.13.160.208