We will all remember 9/11. What were you doing when you heard about it and how did you feel at that moment?

Question

I was getting ready for my college teaching day and my oldest son came up stairs and told me that NYC was being attacked and the WTC was burning. I didn't believe him. So I went to the kitchen where he was watching TV and saw the news coverage for one minute before the second plane slammed into tower two. I was totally shocked, sick and numb....

Answer 1

My situation was probably like everyone else's - shock, disbelief, sadness. My mom, however, had an entirely different reaction.



My mom broke down in sobs immediately. Later she told me she had a completely flashback to Dec 7th, 1941, when she was 13. She said it was uncontrollable and almost unconscious - she just felt like she was 13 all over again, reliving the news of Pearl Harbor and the fear of an unseen sneak attack, and the sadness of so many dead. She actually had a flashback of all the horror and sadness of WWII, all over again in a moment (she was in the US, but she had relatives in the war).



Strange.

Answer 2

The day of 9/11 I was driving to work and two the right of the highway was the metro train tracks when out of no where I hear a scary screechy noise coming from the train as it was passing by it made a sudden stop at the moment that the first plane hit tower 1 although at that point I had no idea what was going on I had the feeling something wasn't right and all I can remember saying was I hope everyone is okay. Once I arrived to work my boss got a call from his wife he pulled out the tv and we just watched amazed I remember thinking this has to be a freak accident when the second place crashed into tower 2 OH MY GOD WE'RE BEING ATTACKED was the first thing that came out of my mouth. There was so much confussion and so many tv station reporting different things. At one point there was a report indicating that another plane was heading towards JFK Airport, I felt so helpless and scared to know that my father was working there and I had no way of finding out where he was. The good thing was that the airport was evacuated the minute the 2nd plane crashed and my father made it home safely. Days after 9/11 were so different, scary, just an empty feeling and not hearing a sound in the skies for a little over a week. Its a time I could never forget. The place I called home where I never had to worry about leaving my house and not feeling secured was over and no matter how much time has passed by I can't help getting worried when I see a plane flying low. My prayers got out to all those families that lost a loved one on this day and may God Rest Their Souls. Although this was a tragic event I can't help but to question whether or not this WAR IS THE RIGHT THING??????

Answer 3

i was on the bus going into town when the driver had the news come through on his radio but it was very brief about a possible attack on the US. No one assumed that it was anything bad, as it was very sketchy and only said that there had been a plane crash and there was possible terriorists behind it and that was all we heard. I thought it was just an accident. I went to town as normal and did my shopping and called at a friends on the way home and it was only then we saw how bad it was on the news. I felt very nervy cos everyone was under the impression that the USA would never be attacked like it was and as the day unfolded and more came through the news, it was very scary to learn that these people could do that on that scale and not be detected. I could not believe my eyes when i saw the twin towers and the Pentagon. I felt so sorry for the victims and we just felt so helpless to watch on tv what was unfolding, and then a few minutes later some more breaking news and then some more and everyone was like "oh my god when will it stop"

The news seemed to cover it for days with more updates, and i just could not believe what had happened. My family had 2 family members admitted to hospital that week and it was just horrible time when everyone was scared, angry and very bewildered at what was happening at home and in America.

Answer 4

Hello,



I had been up working until 3 am and dozzed off on a couch forgetting to turn off the TV. About 7 am mountain time, I rolled around and woke up for a second hearing the word terrorist attacks on the US but rolled over again thinking it was some late movie with Chuck Norris or someone running on. At 9 am I woke up and saw the smouldering buildings and News flashes to the Pentagon on the TV screen and realized what was happening. I spent the rest of the day with my wife watching the events unfold.



I felt the same sort of anxious anticipation like we would have if an alien civilization just landed from the stars and were waiting to see what would transpire as we waited for the creatures to emerge.



Regards

Michael

Answer 5

I was visiting my daughter's family and had gotten up early to change my 9 month old grand-daughter and give her a bottle so her parents could sleep a while longer. I turned on the tv hoping for cartoons and instead saw the first tower smoking. My daughter came out about then, saw what was happening and woke my son-in-law. He set up a smaller tv with the video recorder so the kids could watch their regular cartoons while we stayed glued to the tv in the other room. When the announcement came on that planes were being grounded, I wondered how I was going get home, but the airports opened again on the morning I was due to fly. Everyone on that plane was extremely nervous.

Answer 6

i remember it well.i live in new jersey,i was watching a show on cable and received a phone call from someone taking a survey out of Washington d.c.normally i don't answer the phone if i dont recognize the number,but this time i did.as we started talking the first thing she said was did you see the plane accident in new york?i had no clue,so i turned on the news and at that exact moment the second plane crashed into the towers.my first thoughts were terrorists.after talking with this stranger for about 10 minutes about the events unfolding,i decided i better call my wife's job to let her know.that took about 15 minutes because all lines were tied up.while talking to her the towers collapsed.it was so surreal.



later on that day,i witnessed the commuters that made it home from new york that day and they all looked like they were in shock.the fire department were hosing people off at the train station,for fear of contamination or asbestos.



that week as my area lost 100's of people who worked in the towers,there was a makeshift memorial set up downtown at a park with 100's of pictures,letters,flowers and candles.it was amazing.

Answer 7

I arrived home from school at about 4pm British time and there was not the usual noise of my little sisters arguing or playing. I walked into the lounge and the whole family were sitting on the sofas watching the news with disbelief across their faces. The first image I saw was a replay of the first plane hitting the building and hearing the people on the streets screaming made me burst into tears. I was horrified that these terrorists would do such an devastating thing.

Answer 8

i live in the UK

its was about 2pm when the NYC attack happen (UK time i know in the us it was about 9 am)

somebody said a plane had just hit the wtc

i replied f@@@ the pilot must have got sick or something and carried on working. it wasn't until i finished work and i saw the evening newspaper full of lurid accounts of the attack then when i got home watching reports on the telly did i realise it was a terrorist attack

i thought well its in the USA so in Britain we'll be safe a selfish reaction yes but hearing about those people who leaped from the twin towers rather than burn to death is after all this time still a haunting image.

was i pro invading Afghanistan you bet but Iraq? nope that had nothing to do with 9/11 those Taliban militant Muslims hated Saddam for running a secular government.

I'm still waiting to hear about those WMDs

Answer 9

I was listening to some music I had taped,when

my son-in-law rang me from the states to ask if

I had seen the T.V. news. I told him no,but would turn it on right then. As the picture emerged,I saw a plane hitting one of the towers

I said to him is this a joke,not wanting to believe

what I was seeing. Then in the background I

heard my daughter crying,and the whole thing

became an awful reality.



We stayed on the phone for nearly an hour,

perhaps longer, I was getting the news faster than they were on their T.V.

I told him the Pentagon had been hit, and there

were rumours that another plane had been

hi-jacked. We cried together, and prayed together. That day will live with me forever.

The senseless waste of life.

Answer 10

I was in Argos,i remember a big group of people gathering around the tv,s they have on in there for sale,i went to see what they where looking at and the first plane had hit the first tower.I like all the others just watched in sheer shock.Then when the 2nd plane hit people around me started crying,it was shocking to see but we all stood and watched for ages.I think i cried when i got home and it was all over the news and the fireman covered in dust and people where crying.It was the worst thing i,ve seen.

Answer 11

I had just left work and a colleague was just arriving. She told me what had happened but I couldn't really understand the full extent until I saw the news when I got home. It was surreal - I thought world war three was going to break out, it was so frightening. The worst part of the whole thing was actually watching the terrorist supporters celebrating the attack and loss of life, cheering as they burned the American flag - just shows the sort of scum we are dealing with both here in the UK and America.

God bless all the people who lost their lives and their families.

Answer 12

I was at work, I went into the kitchen to get a coffee and the radio was on, I heard only part of it then, but it caught my attention. I turned up the radio, called all my coworkers into the kitchen, and we all stood around listening, in shock and disbelief. Then we all were trying to get on CNN's website for more info but I bet that day was the biggest ever for hits on CNN's site, you couldnt even access it, the rest of the world was too... My brother called me, said he'd just heard it on Howard Stern and thought it was a joke, until he got back to his office and found out it was for real.

What gets me is that Bin Laden's family was allowed to leave the US the next day, no problems... The Bush and Bin Laden families go way back, so it wouldnt surprise me one bit to find out that Bush had known about this ahead of time... Cant wait to see him out of office!!





PS Jackie F, you are one sick ****, and not funny in the least. Too bad YOU werent in the twin towers that day, the world would be just that much better without people like you in it.

Answer 13

I was helping my daughter move into her new home, we were having a coffee in her kitchen and she switched on her portable TV. The footage being shown was of a plane crashing into one of the twin towers. Every time I entered her kitchen since that day I could still see it and think of those poor souls. I really can't describe how I felt at that moment, just horrified and sick that human beings could be so cruel.

Answer 14

I was returning from Bristol on the train, when I reached Newcastle the taxi driver told me a plane had crashed into the trade centre. I though it was a tragic accident. When I got home and switched on the telly I could not believe what I was seeing. It was like watching a movie. I was devastated and entranced at the same time.

Answer 15

I remember I was at work. My wife called me after the first plane hit and I thought it was some sort of weird accident. She called me back about 20 minutes later and said a second plane hit the other tower. As soon as she said that I said to her that I think it was a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, my speculation was correct.

Answer 16

My aunts and uncles were over at my house and I was playing outside with my cousins (I was 10 years old back then). My remote control car then just suddenly stopped working so I took it back inside the house when I saw every single adult transfixed to the TV so I watched along with them to see what was so interesting then I started to worry a bit because coincidentally, my mum got on a plane the very same morning.



I then found out they weren't the plane my mum was on so I let out a sigh of relief and went back to playing with my cousins (Just like normal children, not a care in the world).

Answer 17

I was at college, getting ready to go to my first class, and hanging out in the common area with some friends. I don't remember what program they were watching, but it was interrupted by a special report about the first plane. At that moment, the whole campus seemed to go into a panic. We live in New York State, three hours from the city, but at the capital of NY, so many of the students were worried when we learned that the attacks were spread, and unsure of whether our area could be next. Our campus was immediately dismissed, and the school evacuated. At the moment when all of the students were leaving their classrooms, and out in the school's courtyard, USAF jets were seen flying overhead.



I was nervous that we (the United States) were under attack, and I have a lot of family who lives in the city, including some who worked at the WTC site in various buildings. I was afraid for our country, I was afraid for my family, and I was afraid for the lives of those involved in the attacks. The most impotant thing to me at that moment was to find out where everyone that I knew and loved was, and that they were all okay. And most of all, I wanted to be close to them. I think those are common emotions in times like those.



At the end of the day, my heart went out to the families of all of those who were so tragically killed, and who could not be located, and to all of the families who knew them. My thoughts immediately went to our God, and in the inhumanity of it all, about the salvation of those who perished that day. Truly, it was a day that will live in infamy.

Answer 18

I was in Berlin,had the t.v on and caught the news,just as the 2nd plane slammed into the tower.

To be honest,i,like many others,thought it was an accident,as we hadn't seen the 1st plane hit and our first reaction was horror,especially after realising it was the 2nd and it was no accident,i could hear people on the ground screaming in the background,as it was filmed live.

Answer 19

Was playing PC and me folks were watching the TV then a case of WTF!!!



Sad that this all ended up being a Bush ploy to regain his votes and justify his invasions. That now has cost lives, US nearly all of its allies and resulted in the most unpopular president of ALL TIME!



America's greatness continues to fall like the Towers themselves did. Not because of the Taliban however... But because of your own Administration!

Answer 20

I was breastfeeding my young baby he is now 6 and I cried and cried.Then I heard london was under threat especially canary warf my bestfriend was there for a job interview I rang her and told her to come home her interview was cancelled and the company started to send people home.My heart goes out to everyone effected and especially the firemen my brother is a fireman and I always think of him whenever I hear sirens 9/11 was terrible and I pray it is never repeated

Answer 21

It got REALLY scary when they announced that something happenned at the Pentagon at about the same moment they announced Flight 93 crashing in Pa. All I could keep thinking was "please stay away from our nuclear power plant at Limerick!"

I was driving to work but stopped at a mini-mart first...that was where the guy behind the counter told me about TWO planes hitting the WTC...that was around 9:10 am ET. When I got back in the car, I flipped the radio from my usual rock station to the news station...then when I got to work a few minutes later, word came about the Pentagon and Flt. 93. I walked in and informed everyone what I heard while at the same time, our manager was on the phone with her husband who was supposed to be on a plane that morning flying out of NEWARK, NJ. He never made it to his plane before all flights got grounded...then while sitting on a train to take him back home here in SE Pa., he watched the first tower collapse.

I had no idea it was JETS until I saw it happen on TV at work!



I think a lot of people have already forgotten about it and decided to fear "global warming" instead.

Answer 22

there was a rumour at school but no one believed it. the teachers wouldn't say what was going on. when i got home it was on like every channel if the tv. they kept showing the plane go into the side of the tower. i was shocked and disgusted that people could do such a thing

Answer 23

I just finished my shift on P&O Stena Line in Dover, ironically i took a training course several weeks before and the instructor said "we normally do drills in event of terrorist attacks, but because its not going to happen in the near fute".



But as i said i just finished that shift and i saw the two plains hit and i was really overwhelmed with emotion. I honestly could'nt believe what was happening! It was pure chaos watching it from here. Very strange feeling of grief, because you know so many people died as soon as it went down.

Answer 24

I was working but the tv was on ... I thought that it was a movie. It just didn't sink in! So horrific... I immediately thought of my friend who used to work there. He still had many friends working there. I was thinking of him wondering how dreadful he must feel. I later went out to shop and heard people complaining about the trains running late. I was stunned.. maybe they didn't know what had happened earlier.

God bless all those poor innocent people, just doing a day's work...... and what can you say about the poor friends and families left behind?.....

Answer 25

I was on break from my room in the surgical suite and saw the second plane fly into the tower - the few of us in there were stunned to silence - incredibly unusual for a group of OR people who spend most of their time quietly working in surgical suites.



I went back to my room and reported what I saw on TV - our surgeon (an incredibly professional man, I was to learn that day) kept doing his operation, finished the surgery, and broke down in tears. It turns out his daughter was in NYC and worked near the towers.



Later, during our second case of the day, our doctor's wife was patched into our room to let him know that she had heard from their daughter and she was ok. He stepped away from the table, I wiped the tears from his face and he went on working. Not a single other person in the room had dry eyes...

Answer 26

when the planes hit the towers i was getting on my school bus in queens ( ny, i used 2 live there) and about 2 hours at school parents were getting thier children. home land security raised the threat level - no duh. and it was f***king scary cause there was like nobody at school and everey body was going all crazy and crying. when i got home i found out what happened and they called all the fire brigades from the NYC broughs. My school was colsed for a week because some kids at school lost their parents. i found out my friedns dad died ( he wuz a fireman )

and thats all i have 2 say. when they found out it was terrorists i was bullied becasue i wuz muslim, im glad im livin in the uk ( not much raciiscim).

A day of hell in the usa.

Answer 27

I thought I was watching at a film like the one many years ago where a sky scraper was on fire with Steve MacQuinn ( was it La tour infernal?). as fireman/.it's only when i heard on the CNN about that disaster I came to my senses and called my kids to see what is happening in USA (that great land where intelligence overflows its rims so often)later my grand child asked me- Do they not see star wars and could have prevented it?

My wife intervened .This world is becoming like a star wars you never know which to believe-let trust apart!

Answer 28

I was doing a double shift at work for 16 hours and didn't realise the full extent till i got home at 10pm and turned on the news on the tv

Answer 29

It was around 1400hrs. BST, on 11 September, and, I was, actually, trying to find a news report, on a "TRIVIAL" matter, at the time, (it was SO TRIVIAL, that I cannot, even REMEMBER what it WAS), - when all "NEWS"-based channels, were "SWITCHED"! I was MESMERISED, - and, watched in absolute HORROR, - unable to do ANYTHING, but SOB, for the poor souls IN the buildings, - AND, for the HUNDREDS of INNOCENT passengers, AND the FLIGHT CREWS, on ALL of those aeroplanes!



I just COULD not, - and still CANNOT, - believe that ONE creed, can DO such a BARBAROUS thing, to ANOTHER, - in the "NAME" of so-called "RELIGION"!



If THAT act of BARBARITY, is ANYTHING to DO with ANY form of "RELIGION", that is KNOWN, to humanity, - you can KEEP IT!

Answer 30

We had been out shopping for the pub we ran. I felt, shocked, sorry for all the people involved and real scared as I knew that would be the start of something big. Now all these years later it's still going on and it all still scares and upsets me today!!

Answer 31

i was decorating the house not listening to news not tv, and my son came in and said have you heard about america, as we have family over there i turned on the tv, thinking what he was telling me sounded like a plot out of a movie when I saw it myself I was heart broken, still cant watch it with out tears rolling down my face, those poor souls,

Answer 32

I was just about to board a plane to fly out to greece and nearly crapped my pants!



Yahoo Sucks 4, grow up you immature piece of garbage, your answers are becoming even more rude and tiresome, if your so clever at answering, why dont you ask a decent question, you brain cell!

Answer 33

yeah, it was terrible. But how many of you think about the tsunami at New Year? or the ongoing crisis in Darfur? Don't let the media make you overly nostalgic about great disasters, and don't forget the ones going on as we speak, that we can help to stop.

Answer 34

Walked into the room and thought ABC was showing a clip from a new Bruce Willis movie or something. I actually chuckled.

Regret it now.

Answer 35

I was at home, my daughter called I watched in horror and thought who ever is responsible for this will reap the wrath of God. And then I became furious, how dare they come on our soil to kill our people, who in the ---- do they think they are?

Answer 36

I was doing housework when my Husband came in and told me and I found it absolutely devastating,what a terrible waste of Lives,those poor people what they must have gone through we can only imagine.

Answer 37

I was watching CNBC at work thinking it was a terrorist instead of a small plane. Shortly thereafter, the 2nd plane hit.

Answer 38

I caught it on TV.....I had just switched it on after coming home in the evening.......I was so anxious about my relatives in the US.....My husband's cousin ( who lives in NY) got stranded somewhere and could not come home that night.....we were so worried about him....I remember the phone lines being jammed for three days.....

Answer 39

i was only 8 at the time i think...so i cant remember fully. i just remember coming home from school my mum & dad were watching breaking news and I saw the 2nd plane crashing into the building live. i was scared

Answer 40

I remember exactly where I was.



I was watching the news on TV - when they broke with the story.

Stunned, shocked, numb etc......

Answer 41

i was getting my daughter ready to go to play group . i had just coem back from putting my son on the bus for school. i could nto believe what i was s eeing

Answer 42

i was in school.

in the 3rd graded and i saw it about for 5 seconds

un til the teacher came and told us to get away

from the window.

then we went home early.

Answer 43

I'd just got up off nights and put the TV on. I couldn't believe what I was seeing... it was so surreal.

Answer 44

i was in school at lunch and when we went back in we said a prayer for all of the people but we didn't know the full extent of the trauma at that stage

Answer 45

It was 2:15pm UK time when my Hubby phoned and told me to put the TV news on, I was re-upholstering my settee at the time and I was completely overcome, that day will never leave me.........

Answer 46

I was having my hair highlighted and it was on the TV...I felt like I was watching a movie...it seemed so surreal....

Answer 47

Was in my car when it came on the radio.....couldn't believe what I heard.

Answer 48

I got out my guns and cleaned them.

Answer 49

I was at work heard it on the radio,Frightening stuff.

Answer 50

I was having sex with my Puerto Rican poolboy. I was pretty happy, since my husband worked in the World Trade Center, and I had a huge life insurance policy on him. Happiness turned to sorrow, though, when I heard he made it out alive.

Answer 51

I was working.



I felt like people were using ridiculous expressions like "the world has changed forever" when clearly it has not.