231 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 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: September 11, 2001 was a wonderfully still, crisp and clear day. When I arose that morning, I walked outside of my hotel room and peered over the railing to view the Delaware River. The view was so calm and peaceful. A small patchy thin layer of fog was still visible on the water. I exhaled at the peaceful sight and was given such a lovely gift when I saw my breath for the first time since spring. Growing up in the southern United States, one relishes the first cool days of the approaching fall in only a way that a person growing up with extreme heat and humidity can appreciate. Inside my mind, I had a private celebration; then I leaned my roller bag over and began a happy stroll toward the lobby of the hotel. I had to fly on this wonderful day. As I was walking, I thought to myself, "Life is good". That day began like any other day. I arrived to the airport on time, had my cup of coffee and checked my paperwork. I was to be evaluated by one of my company's line check airman. Line check airmen annually check the performance and standardization of airline captains while in the performance of his or her duties. This was to be a routine flight from Philadelphia, PA to Cincinnati, OH returning on a revenue flight after a 40-minute layover in Cincinnati. My flight departed Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL) at 0800 EDT and arrived in Cincinnati, OH (KCVG) at 0957 EDT. During our trip, we were given no information about the events that had occurred. When we were twenty-five minutes from landing in Cincinnati, we heard our first hint that something was wrong in New York. A Delta Airlines flight had just departed from Cincinnati and was climbing to cruising altitude when Air Traffic Control (ATC) advised the crew that they would need to return to their departure airport or go to their designated alternate airport. No reason was given. The crew told ATC that they needed to talk with dispatch about it and they would get back with him shortly with a decision. ATC then advised the crew to make a decision as soon as possible because they were nearing New York's airspace and would be turned prior to entry into that airspace. When queried about what was going on in New York, the controller simply stated, "New York is having some difficulty today." The captain that was evaluating my performance raised an eyebrow, as did I. Together we hypothesized New York must have had a radar outage. In our minds, we figured we'd be stuck in Cincinnati for an additional four hours while the whole mess was straightened up. We landed in Cincinnati and as we exited the runway we saw a line-up of aircraft. This wasn't common for Cincinnati and after our check list procedures were complete and we were parked. We inquired about the delays going back to Philly. We were told that all air traffic had been suspended in the United States until 1700 local. We then asked what had happened. We were told, ?A plane hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon?. We were absolutely in disbelief. We didn?t believe what we had been told and were looking verify that story when the ramp agent meeting our flight hurriedly made his way to the flight deck and told us, ?You need to unload this airplane as quickly as you can, crew included, we're under an alert and the entire concourse needs to be cleared.? The passengers disembarked with no message from us what had happened because we were still sorting through all of this information. We shut the airplane down as if it were going to be remaining overnight and then evacuated the concourse with the rest of the occupants. I looked at my crew and said, "This could get ugly. We should get a hotel room as soon as possible". They agreed and we hurriedly walked over to our hotel that we normally spend the night and secured our rooms. The first voicemail I received was from my best friend and also an airline captain. He called from Newark, NJ to inform me that he was looking across the river and that the "Twin towers" were on fire. My cell phone then began to ring incessantly. I called my girlfriend, mother, ex-wife and other friends to inform them that my crew and I were safe and in Cincinnati. I was getting so many calls I finally changed my message on my cell phone to say "My crew and I are safe and in Cincinnati, OH, please leave a message or call me at the following number?. We spent the rest of the day surrounding the television in disbelief at the surreal experience. Feeling grief for those affected and lost. This hit us in the airline especially hard. To me, a former fire fighter and now pilot, I was personally affected on two fronts. We sat in front of the television still trying to learn anything new that we could find. Trying to sort out what had happened? Who had done this? Why had they done this? Curious as to what our response would be. Wondering what our special forces were doing and praying for their safety. My crew and I just sat, as America did, stunned and in disbelief. I ended up spending a few days in Cincinnati and I had not packed a bag nor had I brought my charger for my cell phone. I was only expecting a round trip flight totaling four hours, not four days. In the hotel, I frequently sat alone with my thoughts. In June of 2000, I was divorced. I had surrounded myself with my career and was working as often as possible. I was happy to be a pilot. When my wife and I had split up, I said to myself, ?At least I have my career?. Then, with the news reports flowing across the airwaves and the concern that the airlines had about the future, it became clear that I might not even have a career. I thought to myself, ?What do I have then?? Then the realization hit me; I had narrowly defined my life. I began to search for a greater truth and found it. I was one of the fortunate ones in this career field to still be employed but my heart goes out to those we lost in the industry that day and to those who lost their jobs. Friends, I send you my thoughts of peace and happiness. I ask you to define yourselves by the strength of your character and compassion of your actions. Realize that nothing is permanent. Furthermore, realize love and compassion are the greatest gifts of all. Love each other and embrace one another as if today is your last. Help everyone you can and listen to your loved ones each day with a focus like never before. Do this and I promise that each day will provide a warm and loving embrace to the present moment. We so often forget just how precious this moment is. We are often too distracted by the menial tasks at hand that we forget to smell the flowers, feel the wind and love each other. Take the time, give of yourself to your loved ones, your community and your charities. Make a difference and be a loving addition to this world. 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 story3628.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.86.2.120 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: After a wonderful two week visit to my sister's house in Beaverton, OR., we were just about to awaken my almost two year old daughter, Emma, to head for the Portland, OR. airport. Not fond of flying, I was not looking forward to the return trip since my home in Indiana is so far away and at eight months pregnant the airplane aisles suddenly seemed smaller than I remembered...My brother-in-law called with the terrible news around 6am. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do was board the plane home a week later. I couldn't help but think my daughter and the son I would meet November 1st had no choice but to board because their mother was taking them on the plane. And then, of course, I realized how fortunate I was to be alive making any decisions at all. If the terrorists had taken planes from out west that day we could have easily been among the missing or dead. Every time I look at Noah I think of all the people who never would have known him or even his gender. I still dislike flying but I'm proud to say that Emma, Noah, and I will be visiting my sister on September 28, 2002. Noah is proof that life really does go on and God is still working miracles in His own way. 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 story7262.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.126.152.68 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 remember that on Sept.11,2001 I was scheduled to be at school at 8am to take my pre-entrance exam for Registered Nursing School. I reported at the assigned time and had no clue was was unfolding everywhere as myself along with about 200 other students took the exam. After the first hour and a half they gave us a 10 minute break. As the break was ending the test administrator came in and told us that the Pentagon had just been bombed. The whole room fell silent thinking he was joking. He then restarted our examination. I remember my concentration going from 100% to 0%. It was awful, just sitting there trying to concentrate knowing that these test results would affect the rest of my life, but yet wondering what type of life that may be if the Pentagon had been bombed. After the test, I got in my car and began hearing the news reports. I felt so sad for everyone involved, but so proud of so many at the same time. I am glad to say that as of Sept. 11, 2002, I have finished 9 months of my 18 months for my Registered Nursing Degree, and I will never forget that so many lost their lives on that day or where I was while it all unfolded. K.Hamilton....future RN.... 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 story7557.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.174.149.99 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 was on my way to work down town Tampa. When I walked through the door, one of my co-workers said, did you hear the news, I said no, then she said go and look at the news on television. I could not believe what I saw and heard, that two planes flew into the twin towers.When I saw what happen and the Towers were collasping, I said O My God have mercy upon us. I burst out in tears, for I am a New Yorker and felt like someone pierced me through my heart. I turned to God and said, that is my home, I lived there for 16yrs. I could not stop crying, I felt lost and an empty feeling inside of me. I went to church immediately to pray, for my fellow Americans, whose lives, were lost innocently. I blamed the government,for they did not protect the American people.We do not need war, we need peace and harmony, one nation under God.I ask the Lord to take his world into his hands and let there be peace on earth. I am asking all Americans to wake up, for we have to take control of our country and not others. Concerned Citizen from Florida. Christine P. 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 story5632.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 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 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: SEPTEMBER 11Th On this tragic day I was in English class. I remember the teachers conversing about this big commotion about terrorist, planes, and the twin towers. The rest of our school day we watched this act in every class. One of the things I remember most about September 11th was it was like a broken slide show it kept showing the planes hit the towers over and over again. How it affected me was it was very depressing to see all these innocent people drown in metal and glass. It also affected me cause the fact that the towers are gone was very sad. Another thing I remember was coming home to see my family gathered around the television watching this event. It affected me cause it made me want to watch it more. And gain more knowledge on what was happening. One of the last things I remember is before going to bed I seen the video of how people where actually jumping out of the windows of the towers as there only escape out of the towers. It affected me to see them jumping out it made me excited and mad. It was hard to sleep that night. So in conclusion this event affected the way we live and everyone?s lives. It was the talk of the country for a year now. And we will see that it doesn?t happen again. 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 story2418.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.158.163.14 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 am up early every day - typically before 6:00 am. September 11, 2001 was typical. A pot of rich, dark roasted coffee is underway as I shuffle out to pick up the newspaper along with Taylor, our 8 year-old tri-color collie. After briefly scanning the paper and watching 10 or 15 minutes of local morning news on TV, I retreat to my home office. Normally, Good Morning America would be on in the background, but this day was immersed in a writing project. At about 8:55, our business partner, Dave, called and urged me to turn on ABC immediately because a plane had either hit or an explosion had taken place at the World Trade Center. He was motivated by our friendship, my interest in news and the fact that two of my three daughters live in New York City, one in the East Village and one in Brooklyn. Both of us focused on live TV coverage from Manhattan, one of the Twin Towers billowing smoke as if from a 1,000 foot chimney, we continued talking ... speculating if any plane could accidentally plow into a building on what looked to be one of those perfect September days in the City. With eyes trained on the television, the corner of my eye somehow caught the shadowy image of the second plane coming from the right and gasped, "Oh my God, Dave - what is THAT," at the very moment of impact. Now in full panic, I told him I'd call him back, hung up the phone and immediately dialed my youngest daughter's cell, to no avail. Frantically, I dialed the second daughter's cell and home number, again only to hear an immediate busy signal. Seconds, later - no more than a minute after the South Tower was struck, I called my wife - then in a meeting at her real estate office. She and her co-workers had not been aware of even the first incident - but turned on the television while I was on the phone with her. I pleaded with her to drop everything and come home - suggesting that I believed us to be under attack. The next 90 minutes is a complete blur - eyes trained on the television in total disbelief as reports of attacks in Washington, plane crashes in Pennsylvania and appeared on the screen. Curiously, the entire 90 minutes - and every report, seemed to be in slow motion and to this day, I still recall that feeling - as in some childhood nightmare as I ran from some unknown evil force, my legs so heavy every step felt like I was dragging an anchor. Announcers calmly discussing unfolding events in their best attempt to remain professional. Behind them, buildings clearly collapse as they slowly turn and report, "It's difficult to see what's happened to that tower behind that plume of smoke." "Geeeezus," I repeatedly exclaimed ... as shocked that those buildings would disintegrate before our very eyes in a matter of seconds. The moment of the first collapse, was the beginning of non-stop calls to home and cell phones for both daughters - completely panicked that somehow they had chosen to be in one of the Towers that morning. Then an incoming call from my sister in Maryland, sobbing uncontrollably as she reports that her son was meeting a client that morning at the WTC and that she couldn't raise him on the cell. The next five hours seemed to last five days - excruciatingly painful as call after call failed to reach either of our daughters - until finally, at 3:30pm, the youngest, Courtney, got through to report that she was safe, but her shaken voice could not hide the fear and worry she had about the safety of her FDNY boyfriend. Then the older, Pamela, called from atop the roof of her Brooklyn apartment, reeling in shock and screaming "What have they done to us, what have they done to my city?" She had worked the late shift until 5:30am that morning, taken a cab home and slept through the entire morning - awakening to the noise of people on the street below and her sister's frantic phone calls. The long days and nights continued until Friday, September 14th, our official National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. It was days later that we learned of our daughters' decision to join with friends on the roof of the younger's East Village apartment in a candle light vigil - the very same rooftop on which they had spent so many hours sharing life and love - the WTC towering above them like sparkling monoliths. Pamela had ventured out to purchase an American flag - but after two hours of searching, none were left. In desperation, she purchased three large tablecloths, one red, one white, one blue. Together, our daughters and their friends sat atop that now lonely roof and sewed together a beautiful American flag - one stitched of love and grief ... one made of the very fabric of this country - good and decent people who stand against evil-doers and stand for liberty and justice. We still remember the sorrow and shock of the events of September 11th. Our tears and heartfelt prayers to this day go out to the victims and their families. But the pride we hold for our two young flag makers will always remain a beacon of hope to us and all who hear their story. We must all be flag makers - together knitting the fabric that makes this nation strong enough to defend her borders and help set free all who seek to the shade and safety of this tree of liberty. 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 story10681.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. 2004-07-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.88.61.69 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 sat in my fourth grade class room and was wondering why everyone's parents were picking them up when my own dad came. I was wondering why, but, as a fourth grader, leaving school early was great. A year before I had gone to New York City. I went up to the world trait centers and it was, in my opinion, the best place I ever went. I was so high up. I could see every thing. It was on the World Trait Center that I developed my fear for hieghts. My brother was also with us and it was the first time I really met him before because he lived in Arizona. I remember the towers really well. When my dad picked me up and told me what happened, I was shocked. I wasn't sad, just shocked. I wondered how someone would feel knowing they are about to die. I imagined everyone one the plane, including the hijacker, knowing the end is near, and they are about to die, never see the planet again, never walk or talk or live enough, or to know the world WILL continue without you the way it did yesterday. I first didn't know who to blame for the attack. I thought the US must have done something horrible that someone would want revenge so badly, because I thought the people couldn't possibly just want to hurt someone because they just need to. I felt sorry for the people who were killed, beause it was uneccesary. I felt bad for the terrorists that they would actaully want something so much that they turned to the last possible resource. I was scared someone I knew was on the plane or around it when it crashed, but I was lucky. 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 story11475.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. 2005-06-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.158.3.10 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: It started out like any day. I was up with our son and my husband was in school at the time so he was getting ready to catch the bus. I had just finished feeding the baby and I turned on the T.V. I just turned it to the channel my favorite talk show was on. The minute I saw the first tower on fire I started yelling for my husband and he came running from the bedroom. As soon as he made it to the T.V. the second plane had just made it to tower 2. I immediatley started to cry as did my husband. I was very panicy because I didn't understand what was going on. My mind was racing so fast that my thoughts were a blur. I tried to call my mom who lived 150 miles from me but i couldn't get throught to her or anyone on my cell phone. It kept saying all circuits are busy please try again later. Or due to the recent tornado?all the lines are down. My husband never went to school that day. For the next 4 weeks I watched all the news about what was going on and just cried all day long. I still cry when I talk about it or when there is something on T.V. about our nations tragedy. I guess I just really want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all the families who have lost a loved one during this tragedy. Truley, my heart goes out to all of you and all of the policemen and firefighters who lost their life or put their lives on the line for our country. You are true heroes. God Bless America. 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 story7274.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.240.198.61 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 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: On the morning of September 11, 2001 in Sunnyside, New York (which is in New York City, in the borough of Queens), I was in my apartment on the sixth floor, getting ready for work. While I was sitting at the dressing table in my bedroom watching ?The Today Show?, suddenly an announcement was made: ?We are interrupting this program with a breaking story.? Not only was it verbal, but the words were also printed on the screen. Then a picture came on of one of the World Trade Center Towers on fire. I immediately turned and looked out my open window and saw the North Tower on fire. This was no longer an electronically transmitted picture on a television screen. I was now an actual eyewitness. I don?t recall trying to guess what had happened. I just remember focusing on the terrible fire in The Tower, and that people were in there. I immediately telephoned my daughter because her boyfriend works near the Twin Towers. I also called my boss, as her granddaughter works for the Mayor?s Office near there. My daughter accepted my horrific information and, said she would immediately call her boyfriend. But my boss said, ?Audrey calm down, sit down, relax?you are hallucinating?. She said she was listening to the jazz radio station that is connected to our office telephone system. I told her that the jazz radio station does not report breaking news and that she should turn on the television set in the executive suite before phoning her granddaughter. I hung up, went for my camera and began taking pictures. My bedroom windows face west and I look directly at the Empire State Building, which is only four miles in front of me across the East River, but I have an unobstructed view of much of Manhattan including the World Trade Center downtown. The skyline is a panorama in front of me. As I stared at the burning Tower, I saw a flying object coming into view, to the south of the site. I thought it was a news helicopter and that we might soon know what had happened. But then I realized it wasn?t a helicopter but a plane. ?Oh, no, it has two engines! It?s a commercial airliner, and it?s flying so low,? I said aloud to myself. As I watched in horror, the plane banked and rolled into the South Tower, followed by a horrific fire explosion. I heard no sound other than cries of ?Oh My God? from the reporters on television and myself. It was like watching a film of an old silent movie. I later asked a pilot-friend why I didn?t hear anything? ?Sound dissipates when it is that high up,? he said. I continued to watch in horror, with both Towers now burning. I probably surmised that a plane had also crashed into the first Tower. But it never occurred to me that America was being attacked. I was just a spectator taking photographs. Though I had no way of knowing, I would photograph a picture of the South Tower collapsing. For me there were more traumas to come. Before The Towers collapsed I saw a third commercial airliner flying overhead from the Brooklyn-Queens side of the East River, heading west on a diagonal towards the Empire State Building. All I could do was pray out loud, ?Please, God, don?t let this airliner crash into the Empire State Building?. I also tried to communicate with the pilot through mental telephony: ?Please don?t hit the Empire State Building. No, don?t try to fly between the Empire State and the Chrysler Buildings as there are only eight city blocks between them.? That is hardly enough room for a commercial jet to navigate through. ?Please fly to the south of the Empire State Building?. And it did, thank God. I was so intent on watching the nose of this airliner that I never noticed the identification marking on the tail. There were articles in The New York Times and Newsday that mentioned a Police Department helicopter saw what they thought was a kamikaze plane (their words) coming in toward The Towers and radioed to their command, who in turn relayed the message to the ground rescue forces and the Fire Commander inside The Towers. He ordered all firefighters to evacuate The Towers immediately. This turned out to be a hoax, which was a good thing as The Towers collapsed soon after. That was probably the plane I saw. I haven?t heard of anyone else who saw this plane, though the office workers in the Empire State Building (if they hadn?t been evacuated yet) must have been terrified to see a commercial airliner flying so low and so close. I have lived in my apartment for forty years and never saw a commercial jet fly from east to west across the East River. My pilot-friend, who also was a former neighbor, works for Flight Safety Patrol at LaGuardia Airport, said to me when I told him my story, ?Audrey, you know this is not an aviation flight path?. There was one other bit of information that I came a crossed in a book of photographs, titled Above Hallowed Ground. A photographic record of September 11, 2001. By photographers of The New York City Police Department. Shown is a centerfold photograph of The Towers Burning and above them an F-15 is doing a flyover. The caption on the page says: On the lookout for two remaining planes that were unaccounted for just before an F-15 roared past. Soon after I witnessed the jet flying toward the Empire State Building I saw an F-15 fly over. In closing, all I can say is, the pilot of that plane and I know he flew towards the Empire State Building and even I knew it was not an aviation flight path. 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 story1644.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.206 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: The first thing I saw was the news cast of the first plane hitting. I called my husband at work and he told me more about what was going on because he was listening to the news. I immediately wanted all of my children and my husband home. I wanted them near me and to be safe. I didn't really know what to do or what to expect next. It was the saddest thing that I have ever lived through. 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 story4560.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.81.21.33 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: The years pass, but time does not lessen what we have lost. Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the attacks, and like many who survived I have moved on and at the same time, I haven't. The building I escaped from shakes inside me forever. I now have two children: my son Jack was born last year and my daughter Kate will turn 4 this fall. I've bought a house on Staten Island and I still work for the Port Authority of NY & NJ. September 11th is no longer a day for me - it is a season. Starting in late August, when the morning sunshine starts to slant at a certain angle and you can feel the first hints of autumn in the air, I sense it creeping up on me; like a cold that you can feel coming, but try to ignore. Then the day itself arrives and what is there to say? I go to work to avoid the reading of the names, some familiar, some not, all of them precious to someone. I got up early yesterday and watched my children sleep. Little shallow breaths in the peaceful pre-dawn darkness. I stood there and thought of all the fathers who surely must've done the same thing and now never will again. All children are gifts, but I hold mine a little tighter because I came so close to never holding them at all. September 11th branded me and the scar runs the length of my life. But it does not own me. Each day that I awake, rise and go through my life; every time that I come home to my family; every act, every breath that I take is a rebuke to evil that occurred that day. I am wounded, but I am not dead. I have good days and bad, but on the especially bad days (like yesterday), I hold fast to the beautiful things of this earth and say to those who sought to take my life and would seek it still: these you cannot have; these sunsets, these soft breezes, this laughter, this music, these children, this wife, this love. Though I pass from this life tomorrow, these will be mine forever. 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 story20860.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. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.1.48.108 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: On September 6th, 2001, I made the 2 hour drive back home from Ithaca, NY, where I was attending school. I decided that the school I was going to, TC3, was not for me. That weekend my mother, brother, and cousin went back to TC3 with me to bring home the rest of my things. I originally wanted to go to school in Manhattan, but when the time came to apply to schools in my Senior Year of high school, I didn't. I knew I would probably be homesick. When September 11th came, I was glad I made the choice to be at home. I woke up that Tuesday morning, passed by my parents room and noticed that it was 11:43am. I went to the bathroom and then walked downstairs to get something to eat. After fumbling around in the kitchen and pouring a bowl of cereal, I sat down in the living room with my sister, who was watching tv. The clock on the television said that it was 11:53am. As I took a bite of my cereal, I saw the words "NEW YORK CITY" flashing across the screen. As this pertained to the city of my dreams, the "apple" of my eye, I was immediately drawn to the news. I quickly set my bowl aside and listened intently. There was a little girl crying in pain and someone holding her close as they looked up at the two very familiar buildings with smoke pouring from them. A moment later, a news broadcaster identified the buildings as the World Trade Center. What she said next put me in shock. Apparently two planes were hijacked and flown into each of the buildings. Holes penetrated each; smoke had crowded the streets of lower Manhattan. A second later, the news flipped to Washington, DC with more frightening news. Another plane, also hijacked, flew into the Pentagon, located just moments away from the White House. More shocking news came as I learned that a fourth plane, also hijacked, was found in Somerset County, Pennsylvania...in a field. It had also crashed. Many government officials speculated that the plane was possibly meant for Camp David or even the White House itself. But, at this time it was just speculation, not a known fact. As soon as I learned of these tragic incidences, my sister became bored and started to flip through the channels. In shock, I jolted up the stairs and logged onto America Online, knowing that they would have something about what had happened. I heard the usual "Welcome! You've got mail!" and I glanced down at the welcome screen. It was completely covered with information on this heinous act. The words "AMERICA UNDER ATTACK" caught my eye. I was in awe. I felt as if life had been taken from me. New York had been destroyed. The United States had been violated. Thousands of lives were lost. I was completely overwhelmed and undertaken with sadness. The rest of the day, like many Americans, I was glued to the television and radio to hear of any progressions that were being made, if any bodies were found, watching people cry in pain and in fear. I look back now and I realize that I am lucky to have stayed at home. That could have been me in the WTC, I could have died. That's very scary for me to deal with. I am grieving, though, for the people who DID lose their loved ones. My thoughts and prayers will always be with them. God Bless America! 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 story4815.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.0.99.233 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: My son was sick that day so I stayed home from work. We were watching TV when all the sudden the first plane hit. I thought it was pilot error until I saw with my own eyes the second plane hit and then I knew we were under attack. I watched this whole event live on natinal TV. I did not know one soul in that mass destruction but yet I have cried, prayed and followed this event closely over the past year. My heart aches terribly for all of the people involved. I wish I could have been at ground zero to give my love and support and to possibly help in some way. Unfortunately, I was never given that chance. I wish I could tell those people who lost love ones that this one person in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky loves them all very much and cries for them and prays for them to find some kind of peace and closure. That they have touched my heart tremendously and if there were anything I could do for any last one of them I would and be honored to do so! I'm so sorry for all your heartache and pain. You will forever be in my heart, thoughts, prayers and dreams. GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA Sincerely And with All My Love, Jacqueline K. Turner 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 story4076.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 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 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 guess during the earlier hours of 9/11, I think I could've been one of the leading candidates for the National Apathy Award.... My day started out as usual, waking up a bit late, groggy from another 5 hour sleeping spell, hurring to take a shower, get dressed, and speed down 495 and Braddock Lane to make a 9AM class at George Mason University. I probably left my house a little before 8:30 and was nearing the campus feeling good because I was making great time on the road. I live in Alexandria and it takes me at least 25 minutes(on a REAL GOOD day) to get to GMU. I thought I was actually going to make it to campus with time to spare to get to my class on TIME. Anyways, I had been listening to WTOP 1500 AM on my way to school that morning at a little before 8:45AM the radio announcer was just mentioning some news about how Iraqi military officials had claimed that they shot down an American fighter plane. I think it just turned out to be a drone/surveillance craft. The next thing I know, the announcer breaks routine and says something like "...this just in...a plane has a apprently crashed into the World Trade Center..." I was surprised but just wrote it off as a really freak piloting accident. I continue listening to the incoming reports and the news commentators discussing what could've happend. I arrived at parking lot K at around 9AM or so, when ever the time the second plane struck because the commentator mentioned that "...a second plane has struck the World Trade Center..." And AGAIN I writ it off as a freak plane accident. I honestly thought that maybe somehow, someway, the two planes almost hit each other and swerved away from each other, one hitting one tower and the other hitting the other tower. Of course now that I look back, I didn't take into account the time differential between the two crashes. Chalk it up to getting little sleep the night before and being in a rush to get to class(it was after 9AM now). I got out of my car and made a walked quickly to my class room which was in Robinson B(at least another 5 mins). To my surprise, when I got to the room no one was there. Then I rememberd on my syllabus that it said something about going to the library to learn about reasearch resources for our term paper. So I guessed that my class had gone over to Fenwick or possibly the Johnson Center. I saw one of my classsmates who was also late and she wondered where everyone was as well. Anyways, she decided to go home and sleep since it was already 9:15. I still wanted to see if I could find my class so I decided to take a look at Fenwick library to see if they were there. I made it too the library and did a quick search but didn't see them so I decided to give it up. Now I wasn't sure what I should've done as I had no other classes that day. It occurred to me that I was dead tired from lack of sleep during the night so I decided to go take a nap at one of the corners of the upper levels in the Johnson Center, they have couches there where people usually conk out. So on my way to the couches I pass by the News Center where they have T.V.'s and there were a bunch of people watching the news reports. I just brushed it off, thinking "oh I already know about that, that's totally weird those guys flew into the World Trade Center" and headed up to go to sleep. Luckily I found an area on the top floor with noone there. I lied down on the couch readying myself for a nice nap. The last thing I remember thinking as I lay my head down was noticing how beautifully blue the sky was outside as I peered out the large panes of glass surrounding this corner of the building. The exact time when I woke up is now cloudy to me but I'm guessing it was either 10AM or 10:30. I don't remember why I woke up, maybe I think I set my watch alarm, but I got up and I think I decided I was going to go home. I walked down the stair case and noticed that the crowd surrounding the televisions in the News Center had more than tripled! It really piqued my interest this time and I decided to go see what was going on. I got around the back of the crowd and peered at the televisions and saw the footage of two smoking towers, little did I know that it was only a replay. At that moment, one of the guys that used to work with me at the Patriot Center caught my attention. I walked over to him and was like "what's going on?" What he said next left me dumbfounded. "The World Trade Center towers have collapsed....the Pentagon just got hit, and there's one more plane that they just lost contact with" At this point I was just totally open eyed and replied with "What the hell!? what the hell is going on!? I just woke up! I just woke up from a nap!" I look at the television screens to catch the footage of tower two beginning to collapse and crumbling to the ground. It was quickly follwed up with footage of a smoldering Pentagon building. I just stood there with my former co-worker watching the tv's. Speculating on where the last plane was headed, I said "They're probably going to go for the Washington Monument.." My co-worker follwed up with an "oh yeah....or maybe the Capitol..." By this time the surreality of the situation was just mind numbing. One of the people sitting around me picked up that day's edition of the New York post and pointed to the picture of whom I think was a baseball player on the front page. He said something like "..and this was on the front page today..." Someone else replied with "...It won't look like that tomorrow..." He put that paper down, which I eventually took to save as a memento but I've lost it by now, and I surveyed the faces of the people around me. Mostly just blank stares, people on cell phones, the pay phone, some people crying. There was this one girl standing behind me wiping away her tears. I almost felt like crying when I saw her crying. I felt like going over and hugging her or something but I didn't. I just was kind of out of it, weirded out at what had just happend. I had just gone for a little thrity minute nap thinking everything was OK, but I wake up to what seems like a war zone. It was just totally dreamlike. Whatever the case, I eventually made my way back home to my house in Alexandria. My brother came home shortly home afterwards from GMU too. Then my youngest brother came home from high school later that day. And finally my mom came home from work at the Washington Hospital Center in the evening. My dad called from overseas to see if everything was ok. It was just a real strange day. It was such a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky, who would have thought that something horrific would have happend that day? Certainly not I. To this day, there is a certain way that I'm still in disbelief that the World Trade Center towers are gone, just totally destroyed. If you weren't able to visit the WTC before that September 11th morning, then you aren't going to be able to visit those same old towers again. It just amazes me how the enormity of NEVER weighs upon things. 'Never' is endless, indefinite. I think I learned my lesson not to brush things off that day.... 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 story281.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. 2002-03-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 138.88.65.18 Annotation Annotations to this item. Newspaper and Magazine Coverage Radio Coverage Rumors DC:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 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: As I sat in my Kitchen nook finishing my breakfast I was about to turn off Good Morning America on NBC.I was the Head Football Coach at Montour High School at the time and preparing them to play a very difficult game verse Hopewell High School,Tony Dorsetts Alma Mater. Suddenly the special report came on by Katie that a small plane had smashed into the World Trade Center North Building. I could not believe that a pilot was that poorly trained that he could make such a costly error. As they spoke on the incident I thought about how proper training is so important in every thing we prepare to do successfully. Have my Coaching Staff and myself prepared these young men to be at their very best this Friday eve so as to perform at their top potential. Then 9:06 the report of the second plane which I watched on TV fly into the South World Trade Building assaulting it and all of it's patrons held inside. I totally realized it now was a Cowardly Act by enemies of our great country and felt embarrassed that I had still been thinking of a High School football game. I instantly began to think of the families of those Americans on the planes and inside the buildings. I felt horrific pain for them and theirs and wandered what can be done to hepl them at this terrible time. I knew I could only do what was in my control so I prepared to instruct my team of the assault on our country and assure them America would do what it had to do to protect them as time marched on. I then had them take a vote if they wanted to play the game this week end or cancel it as I spoke of the great American Spirit.They chose to play that week end and I know every American lost that day would approve and back them 100%. The teams took the field that week end holding the American Flag and exchanging them at mid field as a tribute to those lost and a promise that our Freedom would go ondoubted and their lives avenged. 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 story3412.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 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 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: When I woke up on September 11,2001 and turned on the television, I saw the most horrific sight of my life- the United States was under attack. I was a mother to be and my husband, like so many others, was at work. He is a school teacher. I immediately called the school and they said they were not going to send anyone home: after all, this was Wall, SD. What could anyone gain by taking out such a small town? As I sat there in disbelief, the first tower collapsed. I started crying. I thought to myself, "What am I doing bringing a baby into such a violent and terrible world?". I continued to watch and saw families looking for their loved ones, people scattering eveywhere with ashes and blood covering their bodies. I called my mother to tell her I was alright and she said she was alright, too. We felt safe where we were. She was in another small town, Spearfish, SD. just 100 miles down the road. However, exactly half way between us is Ellsworth Airforce Base. Knowing that made us feel all the more safe and all the more threatened at the same time. What if these terrorists weren't done? What if they went after our military, too? I started to panic. About that time, my husband came home for lunch. We stood in the doorway hugging for ten minutes. Then, Tom Brokaw started telling the story of how stores were opening their doors to fleeing people and providing food and clothing and shelter at no charge. Strangers were holding hands in the street, praying for a miracle, that no one they knew was killed. It was then that I thought to myself "That's why I'm bringing a child into the world- to hold hands and pray with a stranger who needs comfort and to lend a helping hand in times of need." For this, I was proud to be "a mother to be". Knowing that my child may one day be a firefighter or a police officer or anyone like those heroes in the streets of New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC. made me smile in the midst of all this turmoil. And as I watched everyday, common citizens turning into Angels of Mercy amidst the darkest hour in history, it was then I realized how proud I am to be an American and what it really means to have true freedom. 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 story4928.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.240.159.91 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 was at home when the story broke on tv. it looked like a movie. i just broke down in tears when i saw the first and then second plane hit. it didnt seem real. the whole of cambridgeshire, england was shocked. nobody deserved to go through that and we as a nation didnt do anything wrong. the world is cruel. my heart goes out to every single family that was affected. 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 story7382.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 195.93.49.12 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 remember, I was in my Senior Philosophy class, with Mr. Graney. An interesting place to be when a disaster strikes close to where you live... It actually started the day before the attack. I can't remember what the topic was, but I distinctly remember Mr. Graney saying something about, "How weird would it be, if someone just destroyed something familiar? Something in this area...like the Washington Monument? Or Lady Liberty?" It was just something he had asked to make us think....we never knew something like that would really happen. At the beginning of third period on Sepetmber eleventh, Mr. Graney was about to put in "The Devil's Advocate" so he could explain something or other about morals and temptation and whether or not it was right or wrong. Once he turned on the TV, we heard Bryant Gumble announce that the first plane had hit the first tower in New York. Apparently he hadn't noticed, because we had to yell at Mr. Graney not to put in the tape, because this was definitely very big news. Once we had gotten the gist of what had happened, Mr. Graney went out across the hall to tell the other teachers in the area to turn on their TVs. We flipped the channel to several different news stations and settled on CNN, as all of the stations were covering the same thing. We heard the opinions of a few startled callers who had either witnessed the impact or had heard rumours of other targets. While Mr. Graney was still out, my entire class watched as the second plane hit the second tower. We started yelling for Mr. Graney to come back in and we explained what had happened. One of the security personell came up to talk with Mr. Graney. While the teacher was otherwise occupied, the rest of us started talking about how this may not really have been happening, that it may have just been a conspiracy. It was Philosophy class, so what are you gonna do? So, Mr. Coles, the security person wanted to talk to the class about the incident. We turned the TV off in order to listen to him. He had worked for the government at one time, and apparently this was affecting him strongly. He began to talk about some of his work, when all of a sudden this girl in the hall started screaming, "They got the pentagon! Oh my God they're coming for us! My Daddy!" We discovered that her father worked in the pentagon, and that another plane had actually struck it recently. So we turned the TV back on immediately. It just seemed so unreal. This couldn't have been happening to us... Class ended, and I went to lunch. There were rumours that another plane had hit a mall in LA, but those were untrue. I had also heard about the third plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, but I wasn't sure if I should believe that one either. I also noticed that some girl had brought a kitten to school, and it had a blue tuft of hair on its head. I just...walked, sort of in a daze. I ate my lunch, and watched as the towers collapsed on TV. I started to lose interest. I was sad, because many people had died, and more people had lost their jobs because the buildings had been ruined. I was sad, because firemen and policemen and other had lost their lives to rescue any survivors from ground zero. I was sad, because I am aenemic and therefore cannot donate blood. I was sad, because I had no money to donate to the cause. In the weeks that followed, I became angry with the people I knew. Many were becoming patriotic, and blaming the Taliban for their smallest problems. Such as, our coffee machine wasn't working, so my mother started ranting and raving about how the Taliban had infiltrated our coffee maker and did it just to get to her. She would talk to my aunt and ask if she was wearing her red white and blue. I am now sick of those colours... I'm glad that the level of the attitude of the American people has gone down. I'm glad that I don't see or hear the words "Nine-Eleven" wherever I go. I'm glad that I don't have to listen to anymore strange theories about why we were hit, and whether or not World War Three had started. I think it was a tragedy, but I also think that we've mourned long enough. Yes, we should remember it, but we needn't dwell on it forever. 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 story9563.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. 2003-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 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'm a disaster relief counselor for an international organization supporting families of terrorism victims. I was in the locker room at my YMCA, getting ready for a workout, when someone ran into the locker room with the news of what was happening. I got dressed and ran out to the lobby in time to watch the second plane hit the South Tower. Then I went home to wait for the phone call. For the next three weeks I did 12-hour shifts on the phones, fielding calls from family members desperate for information, or just wanting to tell their stories over and over again...as if in the retelling they might be able to get their hearts and minds around something so devastating. A month later, I went to Manhattan as a Red Cross volunteer, and the stories were harder to hear. The people of New York did not feel what the terrorists wanted them to feel. When people told their stories I saw the same expression in every face. It took me awhile to realize it was not terror or anger I was seeing, it was sorrow. It was an intense expression of empathy on behalf of those who did not survive. After they told their heartbreaking stories, inevitably, they would ask me if there was some way they could help someone else. I'll never forget that. 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 story10427.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. 2004-02-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.253.34 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 was at my desk from 8:15. At 8:45 I heard a banging and explosive sound like large containers falling. I receiveds many calls for our security. Some one from the office notifiesd that a plane went into world trade center. I looked out window and could see white,grey smoke and tickertape paper than I got my things together in case. I heard people in my office say another plane hit the other wtc. One lady saw the fire ball. I sat at my desk ready to go with purse around shooulder and jacket on and bags at my feet. Finally the quards came up to our floor and our director ssaid to evacuate. We walked down twenty stairs and some took elevator. We waited on trading floor and some brokers were not in yet, and some ran out. By this time i called home and met my best friend who stayed with me through the whole thing. We were told at one point not to flee because of smoke and debris. On the floor we waited till twelve thirty. Some came in frome outside dusted and at one point we went in sub basement 4 floors down. People washed dust off in the many sinks. Some were treated for asthma. Our security guards did such a good job taking care of us, directing people and distributing maskes and water and rags for the smoke. Also the cafeteria people took good care of us giving cookies and water and later on, sandwiches. I was so upset and only drank water. I prayed throgh the whole thing and even gathered a few people too pray. At 12:30, we werer fainally told to go home and I could see all that sticky gray duct with papers all over the streets that were so familiar on happier times. I was furtunate to get the ferry because before me and after me there was a halt. All the life jackets were out on ferry. When I got home, I was so thankful, and hugged everyone. To God be the glory. pray for this country. Angela Tirone 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 story8376.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.206