lc_story258.xml
Title
lc_story258.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-01-15
LC Story: Story
I was at work, as a 911 dispatcher in East Haven, CT., on 09/11/01. Watching the news and talking on the telephone to my best friend, I informed her that a plane just hit the WTC. At first I thought, as many others did, that this was a horrific accident. When the second plane hit, I knew that this was no accident. My first reaction was to locate my grown children. One daughter was at home recovering from a miscarriage, the other at work. My granddaughter was safe at daycare.
The fire department, which houses the 911 communications, went from a basic life support to a full fledged advanced life support system within an hour. Amazingly, it was a quiet day in town. The feeling that I had that day was of wanting to be with my family. A terrible feeling of doom came over me. The small inconveniences of life seemed more trivial. Family was the most important aspect of life. After my shift was over, I and the rest of my family gathered at my daughter's home where we continued to view the events that were unfolding. We lit candles and brought out the American flags and stood on her porch wondering what the future was going to hold for all of us. Later that night, on my way home, it was a feeling of being an American, seeing candles burning on front porches and American flags waving that warmed my heart. Proud to be an American enveloped me.
Members of the fire department descended on NYC and lent a helping hand in the days and weeks that followed. Seeing their faces and viewing the photos clearly brought the feeling of how close we were to NYC and to the disaster that had happened there.
Where I was on 09/11/01 and where I was on the day John F. Kennedy was killed are events that will stay in my memory forever.
The fire department, which houses the 911 communications, went from a basic life support to a full fledged advanced life support system within an hour. Amazingly, it was a quiet day in town. The feeling that I had that day was of wanting to be with my family. A terrible feeling of doom came over me. The small inconveniences of life seemed more trivial. Family was the most important aspect of life. After my shift was over, I and the rest of my family gathered at my daughter's home where we continued to view the events that were unfolding. We lit candles and brought out the American flags and stood on her porch wondering what the future was going to hold for all of us. Later that night, on my way home, it was a feeling of being an American, seeing candles burning on front porches and American flags waving that warmed my heart. Proud to be an American enveloped me.
Members of the fire department descended on NYC and lent a helping hand in the days and weeks that followed. Seeing their faces and viewing the photos clearly brought the feeling of how close we were to NYC and to the disaster that had happened there.
Where I was on 09/11/01 and where I was on the day John F. Kennedy was killed are events that will stay in my memory forever.
LC Story: Memory
I would have to say that the strongest memory of that day was the need to be with my family. Not knowing what was going to happened only cemented the feeling that I wanted to be with them.
LC Story: Affects
We are now in a situation of uneasiness with regards to terrorism. We are no longer untouched.
Collection
Citation
“lc_story258.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/355.