Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I got the news when my wife called. She said a plane had just hit the WTC buildings. She didn't know what kind of plane; she thought it was a small one. She was watching TV as we talked. From the silence I heard, " Oh dear Lord, another plane just hit the other tower." We scrambled at work to get a TV set up to see what was happening. As we did, I remembered the day the Challenger exploded. I was at home and my wife was at work. Our roles were reversed, but the feelings were the same. Outrage, shock. It was clear that day (9/11); as it is today that terrorism had struck at our country. Within what seemed to be only minutes, fighter jets from Ellington Air Force base broke the silence. At the time we didn't know where they were going, but we knew why. Jets fly from Ellington all the time. Usually for practice or carrying Astronauts from NASA. Not this time. As we found out later, they were heading to Air Force One. As I watched the planes, I remembered the day the war started in Iraq. I did not feel fear. I felt Pride. Our boys were going out to protect us...again. Driving home that night and in to work the next morning was very strange. Nothing commercial was flying in a crystal blue sky. I live north of Bush Intercontinental Airport and drive below the flight paths. Usually you cannot count the planes coming from and going to Bush. Jets from Ellington were still taking off and landing, flying C.A.P.'s over the Gulf. Protecting us. For those of you that didn't actually get to see the jets, I will tell you that it was very comforting seeing that. Whether you are a supporter of the Armed services or not (and I guess everyone was on 9/11), knowing they were ready to do their job if asked, was a great feeling. Looking back now, reflecting on the actions of the fire and police folks in New York make me wonder where these people get their courage. I was asked in a Bible study class once that if I came upon a building on fire and on going in I would lose my life but save 2 people, would I go into the fire. After thinking about it, I said no...Not for strangers. The fire/police folks that lost their lives have been called heroes for making the ultimate sacrifice. I submit that anyone that walked into those building, whether they came out alive or not, are heroes. They didn't stop to think about it. They didn't say, "Well this is my job." They didn't say, "I'm glad I am getting paid for this." They didn't check to see if anyone else was coming with them. They put on their coats and hats and they went to work. They were men, they were women. They were black, white, Asian, Hispanic... of Italian, German, Polish, Irish... decent. They were tall, short, thin, fat... blonde, brown, red head, bald. They were all that make America what it is...they were Americans. As we continue the fight against terrorism, the actions of these hero's should serve to warn those that would harm us. A year later, as the political backstabbing, maneuvering and bipartisan finger pointing continue, I know the average American stands united in their feelings toward the cowardly attackers and those who support them. To paraphrase Leonard Pitts Jr of the Miami Herald: "As Americans we have wept, as Americans we have mourned, and as Americans, we will continue to rise in defense of all that we cherish." Lets hope they get the message. 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 story1061.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. 2002-08-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.206.159.245 Annotation Annotations to this item. Firefighters Military Patriotism Police Officers Politics and politicians DOMESTIC