245 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: The first thing I could remember about my day on September 11th was what I saw on T.V. I was walking to homeroom and the t.v.'s were on like usual. Except that day i saw the World Trade Center with a plane stuck in it the teachers didn't make much of a big deal of it. I didn't think much of it at the time. After the normal announcements I went to my first class which happened to be Physical Education. It was a very ugly rainy day outside and the power happened to go out for about 20 minutes. Kids were laughing and messing around, few were nervous or scared. After two hours of just sitting down waiting for directions on what to do they finally tell us to go to our 3rd period class. 3rd period I had english and she had on the news and it was informing us about the towers. After only a few minutes of watching "CNN" the dean comes around to all of the classes and tells the teachers to turn off the t.v.s. I guess the dean didnt want us to know what was going on because some students might start freaking out. After I went to lunch a teacher tells me to go to the office for check out. A lot of kids left early that day because of the situation of things. I can't remember much of the rest of the day except my father telling me.."well don't worry about football practice tommorow, that's for sure" 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 story9229.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. 2003-04-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.242.177.205 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 ssitting aroound watching t.v. and all of a sudden this special alert flashed across the t.v. I couldn't believe what had happen. My heart seemed to have stopped beating and it ached at the same time. It felt heavy and shattered. My eyes just started getting watery. All of a sudden my heart came back to life and I took a deep breath and felt all the pain that all those families felt when the news came out annoucing the tradegy of the twin towers. I imagined how they must of felt when they realized their loved ones were there. They were in danger. I don't know what I would of ddone. What could anybody really do? I prayed that everyone would be able to get out of there before anything else happen. Then the towers collapsed. I said "O noooo! That couldn't be happening. All those innocent people just disappeared like that The brave firemen that were still in there had no chance in escaping it. My prayers go out to all the families that lost their loved one in that tradegy. As the day was approaching, Sept 11th. I felt myself getting down. So very sad. It felt like it was just yesturday and not a year ago today. And my heart goes out to all them families. My prayers are with you all too. Today at work I lit a candle and took a moment to say a prayer. I send my love and God be with you all... I'll never forget Sept 11, 2001. Virginia 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 story5824.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. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 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 - I had taken at the time my 5 year old little girl to school and then I took my son who was 3 at the time with me to the Dollar General Store to buy some things as we were walking down one of the aisle the radio was on 95.1 WRNS and it came up that a plane had just went through the first WTC. I then took my son and went back to my vehicle and went home. As we got into our home I turned the television on channel WNCT-TV 9 and thats when the second plane went into the second WTC. I could not speak all that I could do was cry. Then the Pentagon was hit. I can not understand how anyone in their right minds could do such horrific things to others and take their lives like that and leave so many people behind to even try to understand. All I can say is that God is with each and every person and when the time comes those responsible for this horrific and total disaster will be punished. That time will come I am most assure of. Today September 11, 2002 is the first year anniversary of such total disaster and it was such a remembrance. What has come out of all of this is the fact that all Americans have band together as one. 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 story5872.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. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.119.33.167 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 know that my submission is a little late, but my story is still in the making. Here it is. I was in first block, like every other day. When I got to seconed block, my sister came to me crying. I thought someone had been picking on her again. She told me that terrist had attacked the WTC. I couldnt belive her. I turned on the TV and saw our buildings on fire. I saw firefighters racing toward the center of the attacks. Our class did nothing but watched CNN. I thought of my father who was a vol. firefighter. I thought of my-self, a firefighter to be. I watched the first tower collapse and burts into tears. I couldnt hold back. Those people where my brothers, my fellow Americans and my family. This was all i remeber till i got home. I walked into my home in my sisters arms and saw my Father on his knees crying. We cryed for almost 3 hours. Our fellow firefighters(friends) gave their lives because some coward dosnt like our country. I saw the President talk that night. I cryed one last time. My brother enlisted to the Army the next day, and joined the fire dept. one week later(6 months early). I refuse to sit on my butt and cry if anything like this ever happens again. I am now getting ready to graduate high school, and go full-time firefighter. Thank you for reading my story. 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 story9205.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. 2003-04-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.12.49.198 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 wife and I are from Anahuac, Texas. We were taking a driving vaction in September of 2001. After spending a few days with my mother-in-law in Olney, Illinois, we headed east toward Virginia. We were in a rental car and when Patricia (my wife) was changing music CD's in the radio we heard the horrible news. I stopped at the first gas station (a large truck stop) that we can to and called our parents to let them know we were safe - shaken but safe. It was about two hours after the first attacks on the Trade Center, but the horrible reality of the event came through to me in that truck stop. As I was calling my parents back in Texas to let them know we were safe, a truck driver on the phone next to me was sobbing and almost in hysterics. I found out that his father and brother worked in a building directly across from the trade center. I have no idea if they were found safe or if their names are on the list of dead and missing. Patricia and I had a difficult time deciding if we should continue our road trip or head on home. After praying for the families of the dead and reflecting on the situation, we elected to continue our vacation. Some say that was a cold hearted thing to do, but our reasoning was this. If we had gone home in panic with our tails tucked between our legs, the terrorists would have won. That was not an acceptable option. We wound up about 35 miles from the site of the plane crash in Philidelphia. We had planeed on going to DC, but we stayed out of that area. The last thing those folks needed was tourists in the way while they dealt with a national tragedy. We headed south. We visited a few Civil War battle sites and other historical landmarks. We saw where G. Washington defeated Cornwallis. But the thing I will never forget was our visit to Colonial Williamsburg. We were there the day President Bush asked the nation to spend some time in prayer at noon for our country and for those who had suffered such tragic loss. We gathered with two or three hundred other folks as Old Glory was brought out on the old courthouse steps between drummers and fifers. We listened to ministers of different faiths speak of love, perserverance and determination to do the right thing. As the last prayer was said, a beautiful thing happened. Men, women and children began to reach out to the person next to them and take them by the hand. No one prompted us to do so. As hands were being grasped, hundreds of voices began singing God Bless America. There was not a dry eye to be found. Where was I on September 11, 2001? I was visiting my country and learning how deeply in love I am with it. 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 story2190.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. 52.128.30.14 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: The morning of September 11, 2001, started off as most school days do for me. I am a teacher, and had arrived at school early to complete some paperwork. I have no radio or television in my classroom, so I am pretty much isolated from the outside world. It was only when a teacher who had arrived to school later had informed me that a plane had just struck the world trade center that I found out what had happened. At first I did not grasp the enormity of the situation. It seemed like a pretty horrific accident, but I had no idea of the political ramifications at the time. It wasn't until I heard about the second plane that I was thinking anyone could have possibly done this on purpose. As detailed become increasingly available I grew increasingly apprehensive. I teach 10 year olds, so I wasn't sure just what or anything to tell them. My peers and I discussed our fears with our principal. We even wondered if school would or should remain open. Ultimately it was decided that school would remain open, and that we should each explain to our children as much as we thought they were capable of understanding. It was very difficult, for even we, as adults, were not sure what had happened at this time. We did, however, do our best to try and not frighten the children. As I drove home that day after school I remember listening to the details on the radio. As I listened I remembered my feelings changing from sorrow to anger. How dare someone do this to the United States of America? How dare they kill all those innocent people to promote their "cause"? I thought of my own children. How were they feeling? Were they scared? What will I tell them? My own children are older, so I needed a different way of talking to them then to my students. I thought toward the future. What is going to happen to us? Will will now be at war? And if so, with whom? Overall, I guess the day was filled with a huge variety of feelings including anger, sorrow, concern, and confusion. 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 story826.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. 2002-06-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.105.64.92 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 sleeping in my tiny dorm room with my roommate in her bed when my mother called. I remember thinking to myself "who the hell is calling us this early in the morning I dont have class till 9:30!" When my roommate looked at me and said "Its your mom, something doesn't sound right." I answered the phone half asleep still laying in bed and when she said "We are being attacked, turn on the tv! NOW!" I sat bolt up right and hollard at my roommate to turn the tv on. Next, I asked my mom "What channel?" she told me "ANY! THEY ALL HAVE IT ON!" My roommate and I turned on the tv and began watching, we tuned in just in time to watch the plane hit the second tower. I was away at my first semester of college, and I had never been apart from any member of my family for an extended period of time. I hadn't gone home yet since the semester started and wasn't planning on going home any time soon. But, by the time the day was over I was in terrible need to be around family. The main thing I remember about that day is my teachers cancelling class and the entire school comming together as friends and mourner's for what had happened. My school has a large engineer program and many many middle easterner's attend for this and other programs. But, back to where I was going with this. I also remember driving the 105 miles to my parents house and the sugar cane feilds being the empty. I felt totally alone on the road, I didn't pass many cars, or see many people outside. It seemed that everyone was inside glued to their television. I listened to several different radio stations on the way home and just remember thinking back to being in New York and D.C. in June. I am fortunate enough to have a wonerful mother who is like a friend. She and I took off to D.C. for my senior trip to walk in the Race for the Cure, then hopped a train to NYC for a week. During my week in NYC I was able to walk out on the Brooklyn bridge and capture some wonderful images of the skyline and WTC. When I finally got to my parents house, my dad and brother had returned home from work and were sitting in the living room with my mom glued to the tv. When I walked in they all three got up and we had a family hug and then sat down to talk about the 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 story10549.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. 2004-04-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.1.76.173 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: Hi my name is Nicole I am 15 yrs. old and I live in Roundrock Tx. It is shocking on how many people we lost on Sep 11th. So many people lost their lives over cruel terrorism.I can recall that day that I found out about it. It started out as a normal day of getting ready for school. Once I got to school I found out about it when the teacher allowed us to watch it on t.v. it was the scariest thing I had ever seen. At first I was confused and didn't know what was going on until my teacher explained it to me. While she was tellin me this my first thought was "Who ? and why would anybody wanna do this?"That day I was really sad and mad. I didnt know why anybody would wanna hurt so many people. The whole day I thought about all those peope in New York and about my family. I couldnt wait to get home to see them. When I got home my parents explained more to me about what happened.It amazes me sooo much that at our deepest time of need America pulled together as a nation and supported New York. Sep. 11th has brought our nation closer and forever we will stay that way. Today i pay my respect to all those out there who had a family friend or a loved one in Sep. 11th. and out to anyone who had a help in supporting our nation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5467.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. 12.64.198.184 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: Hello, This is Mary Beth again and i would like to offer a follow-up to what i wrote yesturday on 9/13/02. First of all i would like to say that my heart go's out the families of the victim's of 9/11 with deep sorrow and love. About two or three days after the attack on 9/11/01 President Bush went on TV and expressed his sorrow & he vowed to track down terrorests everywhere and bring the people who are responsible for this terrible tragedy to justice. 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 story7344.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. 204.214.214.44 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 had just drove our children to school. After I dropped them off I began listening to the radio. The announcement was made that a plane had hit one of the Trade Center towers. By the time I drove back home and turned the T.V. on the second tower had been hit. I knew the United States has under attack. Shorty after that the Pentagon had been it also. I'm 38 years of age. This was the first time I ever had fear for my life living in the United States. I LOVE THE UNITED STATES and living in Alabama gives me great comfort. GOD has blessed us with the freedom to live in a great country. As an American I look at September 11th as a reminder to love family, friends and life one day at a time. I pray each day for our country to continue to be known as the land of the free. Thank God For America Rhonda A. Barksdale Red Bay, Alabama 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 story5265.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. 216.180.65.134 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 a New York City Firefighter. On Sept. 11, 2001 I, like all other able New York City Fireman, was at the World Trade Center. I was not present when the collapses occurred, but arrived shortly there after. To this day I still find it impossible to describe to others the complete and utter destruction that had taken place. Upon arriving at the site, two things stood out, the absolute quiet, and thickness of the air. It was as if you walked through a door and into a completely different dimension. There were no sirens, no horns, no screaming, no one talking, it really was a very thick quiet, that's the best way I can describe it. Amazingly, the first emotions that I felt were not of anger, that came later. My first emotions were of sadness, because I could see right away that there were going to be hundreds of people that had died. Our job is to save people, to help them, and I knew that we were to late. The rest of the day physically was exhausting, we searched and dug through the night, emotionally it was just as exhausting. When you saw someone you knew you'd shake their hand and give them a hug, just glad to know their alive. But on the other hand you knew of whole company's, places where other friends worked, were missing. I had to go to Cornell Medical center later that day to have my eyes flushed out. All the lye and dust from the glass and concrete had turned my eyes cherry red and they burned like hell. The following day, when I woke up, I went downstairs to see my kids, I started to cry like a baby, I just broke down. I remember my wife holding me like she holds our son when he cries. My wife has been my rock. Without her this whole past year would have been impossible to handle. In this past year I've come to realize how very much I love my family, and the men I work with. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to describe what I saw and how I felt on that day. 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 story7030.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. 24.189.33.113 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: hi - i hear you're collecting material for archives at cuny relating to 911. below is testimony i presented to a congressional panel in washington on the travails of stuyvesant high school where my son had been a student. since the testimony was for a citizens' forum on the epa ombudsman whom christy todd whitman had effectively fired when he criticized her conflict of interest in lower manhattan, the emphasis is on that office. however the testimony gives an overview of the experience of stuyvesant and residents downtown. Testimony of Jenna Orkin, Ground Zero Parent Ombudsman Panel, January 14, 2003 Stuyvesant High School, Toxic Site I am the mother of a 17-year-old boy who was a student at Stuyvesant High School four blocks north of Ground Zero on September 11. The experience of Stuyvesant may serve as a microcosm for that of Lower Manhattan as a whole. In a statement that will undoubtedly resonate for years to come, on September 13, Christy Todd Whitman declared the air downtown to be safe. Thus on October 9, four weeks after the WTC attack and after government agencies assured us the building had had a thorough cleanup, Stuyvesant reopened to cries of, "Get back to normal!" and, "Show the terrorists!" Wall Street was up and running again so all was right with the world. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the week that Stuyvesant returned to its building was the week that Dr. Thomas Cahill of U.C. Davis conducted studies a mile north of Ground Zero which revealed levels of very- and ultra-fine particulates that were higher than at the Kuwaiti oil fields. For the next eight months, Stuyvesant got a double whammy of toxic waste: Not only did they have the WTC site to the south, they also had it on their north doorstep where the waste transfer barge stayed while being loaded with the debris that was to be carted away to Staten Island. This placement was in violation of state and federal laws, but in the so-called "emergency" that prevailed for the eight months of the cleanup (and what sort of emergency was it, exactly, after the first few weeks when it was clear no one else would have survived? A real estate emergency? An economic emergency?) environmental laws were thrown to the four toxin-laden winds. The barge operation was host to diesel cranes and idling diesel trucks that worked 'round the clock seven days a week. Only now are the carcinogenic and toxic properties of diesel being more fully recognized. How was Stuyvesant equipped to handle this onslaught? The school's filtration system was about 10% effective until the end of January when, at the insistence of the 6000 member Parents' Association, it was upgraded to 40% effectiveness. Although we had been told the school's cleanup had included the ventilation system, we later learned that in fact the ventilation system had not been cleaned. For half the days until February, Particulate Matter 2.5 - dust that is small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and not come out again - was above EPA regulatory levels. Often it was higher at Stuyvesant than at Ground Zero. Because of its relatively large surface area to volume ratio, P.M. 2.5 also adsorbed onto its surface whatever toxic chemicals were in the debris. Isocyanates and tetrachloroethane also exceeded EPA limits when they were measured but, after the troubling results, they weren't measured again. High levels of lead were found in the gym where the lead could be inhaled deeply and in the cafeteria where it could settle on students' food. In response to these findings a representative from the Board of Education which, due to EPA's being missing in action, was in charge of cleaning up the schools wrote, "While lead can cause several adverse health effects, these are usually from prolonged exposure to the dust from the metal or when children consume lead-based paint." Apparently he didn't realize that lead sprinkled on pizza will be consumed. The synergistic effect of all these contaminants is only imperfectly understood. However Dr. Steven Levin of Mt. Sinai has pointed out that if you're an asbestos worker and a smoker, for instance, the effect is not simply twice as bad as being one or the other: it's eighty or ninety times as bad. To our knowledge, other synergies have not been so thoroughly studied. In spite of the fact that FEMA had allocated 20 million dollars to clean the Ground Zero schools, the Board of Education refused to clean the ventilation system of Stuyvesant or even to do wipe tests. Finally parents, using the pro bono services of attorney Richard Ben-Veniste of Watergate fame, threatened to sue. The BOE capitulated and performed the wipe tests but held onto the results for six weeks. We threatened to sue again. They released the results which showed thirty times the level of lead which one might expect to find on the floor. (There are no standards for lead in ventilation systems.) After more threats of lawsuits the BOE agreed to clean the ventilation system over the summer. During that cleanup they removed the auditorium carpet explaining they were doing so for 'aesthetic reasons.' A group of parents known as Concerned Stuyvesant Community had two segments of the carpet tested for asbestos using an EPA test known as ultrasonication. One of the samples came back with a reading of 2.4 million structures per sq cm. Several experts whom we have consulted believe this represents 250 times normal background levels. But all agree it is a level which calls for remediation. The carpet was replaced, the BOE still citing 'aesthetic reasons.' However the BOE, which had since renamed itself the Department of Education, refused to perform ultrasonication or another approved test, American Standard Testing and Methodology microvac, on the auditorium seats. They claimed that these two tests were controversial. Instead they performed a test of their own devising which involved beating the seats with sticks and testing the air. This test has not been subject to peer review much less received the imprimatur of a body such as EPA or ASTM. Nor was it performed under anyone's oversight. We don't know what air volume or flow was used, where the monitors were placed nor how hard the seats were beaten. It is ironic that the DOE rejected two established tests on the grounds that they're insufficiently understood, opting instead to perform a test which isn't understood at all. Not surprisingly, however, the seats came up with a clean bill of health. In an analogous situation in Brookfield, Connecticut where asbestos was also found, the school system was closed down until a level of 5000 structures of asbestos per sq. cm. (a relatively low level) was achieved. In at least one school the auditorium seats were replaced and ceiling tiles wet-wiped and hepa-vacuumed. This took place in EPA Region 2. We would like the same treatment in EPA Region 1. However, of the 20 million dollars which the DOE received from FEMA to clean the Ground Zero schools, at last count they had used only ten. While we wish they had used all twenty, we do not even know what they did with the ten million dollars they spent. Perhaps it is some of that money that was used to lure students at the High School for Leadership and Public Service back to school when they complained last year how upsetting it was to watch body parts being carried past their door. The school handed out fifty dollars worth of gift certificates to bookstores and Modell's Sporting Goods to students who achieved a certain level of attendance; one hundred dollars worth for perfect attendance. Resident Remove Tons Of Toxic Debris From Apartments Meanwhile Lower Manhattan residents were no better off. In the days immediately following 9/11, the EPA bequeathed responsibility for indoor air to city agencies. Rising to the challenge the NYC Department of Health recommended that to clean up the dust in their apartments, people use a wet rag. Ever willing to lend a helping hand, the Red Cross gave out buckets to assist in what was being portrayed as nothing more than a piece of heavy-duty housecleaning. Where the dust was really bad, the DOH recommended that residents wear long pants. Armed with this advice, residents such as Michael Cook threw out furniture and over 150 twenty gallon bags of contaminated debris. Not surprisingly, many residents soon suffered rashes and respiratory symptoms such as chronic and/or the newly coined "chemical" bronchitis. Those who could afford to moved out of New York. Others moved to hotels temporarily. A third group manifested a burgeoning distrust of government agencies by hiring independent contractors to test their apartments. Some of these tests revealed high levels of cadmium, lead and mercury in the ventilation system. One woman, Nina Lavin, who had shut off her ventilation system on September 11 in anticipation of environmental havoc, nonetheless had twelve times normal background levels of asbestos across the room from the window. She is now in limbo, living in a hotel. Illness Spreads At Stuyvesant also, a Health Hazard Evaluation performed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that 60% of the staff had had respiratory and other symptoms which they attributed to their exposure to the air at school. No such study was conducted among students. However parents reported that their children had been diagnosed with new-onset asthma that could last the rest of their lives; chronic sinusitis entailing heavy doses of steroids and antibiotics and chemical bronchitis. One girl had her first asthmatic episode in seven years - an attack that landed her in the Emergency Ward - after swimming in the Stuyvesant pool which had not been cleaned. The Deputy Chancellor of Schools complained that parents' reports of illnesses were "anecdotal." This is true. In the absence of a scientific study, all we had to go on was anecdotal reports. He also said, "we believe the events of September 11 and its emotional aftermath have contributed to a number of these incidents." In other words, the illnesses were at least partly psychosomatic. The Deputy Chancellor did not elaborate on whom he meant by "we." Ombudsman Arrives After several months of attending hearings and talking to scientists, by February, 2002, I had amassed enough evidence to convince my ex-husband that our son should not be in the Stuyvesant building. Crucial among the pieces of evidence I'd acquired was a letter from the EPA Ombudsman, Robert Martin, saying that the Stuyvesant building was not fit for habitation. This letter was unique in its status as an advisory from a governmental authority and critical in tipping the balance in my exhusband's thinking. Ombudsman Martin and his Chief Investigator Hugh Kaufman also held two hearings which provided a turning point in the struggle of Lower Manhattan. While the State Assembly and City Council had held several hearings each, these ultimately resulted in little discernible change. They seemed designed to do exactly what the term said: to hear. A roster of officials heard, shook their heads in wonder and pity but in the end, were unable to do anything. In some ways those hearings may even have done more harm than good. For the arrangements of the local hearings were always the same: Agency representatives spoke for the first three hours while the news media were in attendance. Invariably they presented a rosy picture of how hard they were working and the pleasing results. At noon, the media rushed out to edit their stories regardless of the fact that they'd only heard half. In the afternoon we, the hangers-on, the dregs of the hearing, got to say our piece to a room vacated by all but the most zealous advocates of our cause. By that time even most of the panel had fled leaving a token member who would nod sympathetically in between taking calls on his cellphone. The Ombudsman hearings were the opposite of this sorry picture. The first witness was Dr. Cahill of U.C. Davis who revealed for the first time the news about ultrafine particulates a mile from Ground Zero. Other representatives of our side of the story followed him, interspersed with Agency reps. Ombudsman Martin and Chief Investigator Kaufman asked knowledgeable questions, having done a great deal of legwork and homework. Agency reps didn't get off lightly. Nor did we. The hearings went on until 11 p.m. But there is no place we would rather have been. With the Ombudsman hearings we felt a change of direction; in every sense of the phrase, a breath of fresh air. EPA Agrees To Clean Apartments As a result of pressure from the Ombudsman and his Chief Investigator as well as Congressman Nadler and other elected officials, on May 8, 2002 the EPA announced it would clean apartments in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street or test them for asbestos. Not workplaces or schools; just apartments because, they said, they had to start somewhere. When asked if they would consider expanding their cleanup above the arbitrary boundary of Canal Street or into Brooklyn where NASA photographs show the plume went on September 11 itself when 95% of the airborne debris from the disaster fell, the EPA said they were looking into it. With this they opened a hotline and waited for the phone to ring. Over the next seven and a half months it rang about six thousand times, for approximately one out of five residences. The problem was EPA's outreach. They sent out only one flier that we know of and many residents didn't receive it. In addition, EPA's ads never mentioned cancer or the other ills that might ensue from living in contaminated apartments. Indeed, EPA said they did not expect serious long-term effects from the toxic substances that remained in people's apartments. Instead, they maintained that the cleanup was merely to 'assuage residents' concerns.' And since the EPA was telling them they had no reason to be concerned, most people didn't bother to call. Besides, about a quarter of the residents in Lower Manhattan are new to the area, having been lured by liberty bonds worth up to $14,000 and have no idea they could have moved into a toxic zone. Cleanup Plan Is A Farce The cleanup itself was also flawed although most people did not realize that. Common areas and ventilation systems were largely ignored. This meant that apartments which were cleaned might be recontaminated as soon as residents turned on the air conditioning or even opened the door. And because cleanup was voluntary, apartments could also be recontaminated by neighboring apartments that opted not to get cleaned. Finally, because small businesses were not included in the plan, they could recontaminate apartments that shared their buildings. Contrary to what certain government agencies have said, dust does not stay put. Although the cleanup plan did not include workplaces, EPA did perform a pilot test of a small business cleanup at a restaurant at 112 Liberty Street. The contractors removed half the ceiling and left the contaminated other half. They did not lock the restaurant when they left so that during the night it was robbed. They lost the owner's keys. Perhaps by not receiving an EPA cleanup, small businesses in fact got the better deal. While the response to the cleanup was lackadaisical, an even smaller number of people opted for the testing only option. Of those, about two percent were found to have apartments contaminated with asbestos. Extrapolating from this, City Councilman Alan Gerson has pointed out there may well be six hundred apartments downtown that are contaminated with asbestos, most of which have not been tested, let alone cleaned. And this does not take into account the hundreds of other contaminants that were released from the collapse of the towers and subsequent fires. EPA's testing plan omitted them all. The testing only option was troubling for other reasons as well. In its hunt for asbestos the EPA was performing only air tests. However, at the Toxicological Excellence in Risk Assessment conference in October several scientists agreed that testing of hard and porous surfaces should be investigated and used more extensively. And there were problems with the way the air tests were conducted. In its counting of asbestos fibers, EPA omitted fibers smaller than five microns on the theory that they would be handled by the body's immune system. However, scientists do not agree that this is so. At the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry conference which also took place in October there was discussion about the likelihood that length of fiber might not be so important as an aspect ratio of greater than 3:1. The Ombudsman Resigns In the mean time the Ombudsman had been relocated to the Inspector General's office and Robert Martin resigned in protest. We have read that the IG is now in charge of the World Trade Center case. This is news to us. We have not seen or spoken to her nor to anyone from her office. By contrast former Ombudsman Martin and Chief Investigator Kaufman continue to take an active interest in us and we hear from them regularly. They send us articles and give advice when we ask for it. On December 28, following a media spree in which the EPA released studies which supposedly supported the Good News that the air downtown was less toxic than everyone feared, the EPA hotline closed. The EPA had never said what levels of contamination they found after all the looking they did at data from above Canal Street or in Brooklyn but whatever those data were apparently did not call for cleaning. I question these results because I live in downtown Brooklyn and out of curiosity I had ultrasonication performed on my carpet. The reading came back 79,333 structures of asbestos per sq cm, a level of concern. I had an asbestos abatement which involved four contractors working twenty hours on a two-room apartment. The phase-contrast microscopy test that was subsequently performed showed that my apartment passed its Ahera test but still contained asbestos which might pose a one in three hundred cancer risk. This is much higher than the results EPA has reported for Lower Manhattan. This year the travails of Lower Manhattan continue. We hear of new-onset asthma in Chinatown as well as a case in a girl who has homeroom in the Stuyvesant auditorium; a girl developing pressure in her spinal fluid requiring a spinal tap, possibly, her doctors say, the first of many; a high number of flus and a particularly virulent stomach virus; the return of respiratory symptoms which had diminished over the summer; a teacher with pneumonia. When Christy Todd Whitman declared the air in Lower Manhattan to be safe to breathe she set in motion a chain of events that many of us believe will prove the undoing of thousands. Already Ground Zero workers are suing the city for their exposure to toxic substances during the recovery operation. Many rescue dogs are sick and at least one, "Bear," has died. We fear that their fate is a harbinger of that of residents, workers, our children and ourselves. Need For Ombudsman The foxes are in charge of the chicken coop. Having made initial mistakes they are in the position of having to defend those mistakes by compounding them. Clearly, there are not enough checks and balances in place. Not enough watchdogs to guard against the foxes nor enough penalties to make those in charge think twice about lying and compounding the lie. The penalties for compounding lies should increase exponentially over time to prevent the paramount ethic at work from being, "Cover your tracks at all costs." To correct this abysmal situation, the Ombudsman must be restored and given full independence. His office provided checks and balances. As a watchdog he was the people's best friend. It is surely suspicious that as soon as his investigation of the WTC case got going, he was moved to the IG's office, "for his own good." If the move was truly in response to his request for greater independence, why did EPA not honor his request to leave him where he was? The office of the Ombudsman must be reopened for business and on the Ombudsman's terms. 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 story9389.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. 2003-07-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.207.50 Annotation Annotations to this item. da 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 WOKEN BY A PHINE CALL FROM MY DAUDHTER WHOSE IS A LONGSHORE PERSON .SHE HAD JUST GOTTEN OF THE 3RD SHIFT AND HEARD WHAT HAD HAPPENED AROUND 7AM. SHE IS 23 YEARS OLD ON THE PHONE TELLING MOM TURN ON THE T.V. WHAT IS GOING ON. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS IT AN ACCIDENT OR WAS IS DONE ON PURPOSE. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO US? WHERE ARE MY SISTERS? IS EVERYONE GOING TO BE OK? ALL THESE QUESTIONS FROM MY DAUGHTER AND I HAD NO ANSWERS. FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A MOTHER I COULD NOT ANSWER HER QUESTIONS.MI FELT HELPLESS AND WORRIED FROM ALL THE PEOPLE I LOVED AND AROUND THE WORLD. IS THIS THE END OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT? IS THIS THE END OF OUR LIVES? WILL SOMEONE USE THE UNSPOKENABOUT NUCULER BOMB THE TALK ABOUT TO SOFTLY? ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS HOLD MY BABIES OF 26, 23, AND 20 AND MY HUSBAND, WELL I SEE MY MOM AGAIN? WHO LIVES IN SAN PEDRO ACROSS THE BRIDGE IN WHICH I TRAVEL EVERYDAY. AND NOW I AM SCARED TO DEATH TO TRAVEL ACROSS....WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOST MOM? CAN THEY FIND THEM? WILL THEY ALL DIE? WHAT ABOUT THEIR PARENTS AND CHILDREN? THE QUESTIONS THEY NEVER STOPPED FOR DAYS. ALL WE DID WAS SIT TOGETHER AND WATCH THE TV HOPING THEY WOULD FIND SOME PEOPLE ALIVE AS IF SOME WAS THERE THAT WAS APART OF OUR FAMILY. WE JUST COULD HELP BUT TO FEEL THESE ARE OUR FAMILY MEMBERS THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THE FAMILY OF AMERICA. AND SOMEONE FROME SOME PLACE TOKE THEM AWAY FROM OUR FAMILY. WHY? WHAT WILL WE DO NOW? WILL THEY DO IT AGAIN? QUESTIONS STILL I CAN'T ANSWER. THIS TO ME WAS A DAY WHEN I FELT TOTALLY HELPLESS EVEN TO MY OWN DAUGHTERS. A MOTHER WITH NO ANSWER FOR HER CHILDERN. CAN THAT BE? I FELT THAT THEY MADE SUCH CHANGES TO US EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL EVERYTIME TIME I SEE AND AIRPLANE FLYING LOW A HELICOPTER GOING IN CIRCLES MY INSIDES SHAKE, MY MIND STARTS ASKING ME QUESTIONS. AND I WONDER WILL I HAVE THE ANSWERS THIS TIME........TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES I WILL ALWAYS FEEL AS THOUGH THEY WERE APART OF MY FAMILY ALSO.AND THINK ABOUT HOW MANY QUESTIONS YOU HAD TO ANSWER FOR YOUR CHILDREN TOO. SO MANY I KNOW THAT YOU HAD NO ANSWERS TOO.....I LOVE YOU AND MAY PEACE ALWAYS BE WITH YOU..........LINDA PEDROZA LONG BEACH CA. 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 story2980.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: I was taking my children to school that fateful morning. I heard the announcement on the radio. I stayed glued to the television all day. I felt so sorry for the survivors and the famiies of September 11,2001. I wondered what would be attacked next. I wondered if my college class would be cancelled. I worried about my husband because he was at work. 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 story2653.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. 64.12.96.135 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: On the morning of September 11, 2001 at 8:46 I was looking out our window watching deer in our back yard and thinking what a beautiful world God has given us. Many may not believe this but suddenly the deer jumped and ran. They could not see me and I did not see anything moving that could have scared them. A few minutes later the phone rang and my husband said "you will not believe what I am looking at." "You won't believe the buck that was in our backyard," I said. "You better turn on the TV to CNN he told me." There it was, the carnage that wouldn't seem to stop from one crash report to another, finally to the towers falling. My children and I had spent 2 horrible years in Pakistan when my first husband had slipped them out of daycare while I was at work and taken them to his home country. I was allowed to be with them if I lived and acted as a muslim. After 2 years and my parents mortgaging their just paid for home (after 30 years of waiting), we came home in 1991. By 1:00 p.m. I couldn't stop shaking. I walked outside into that sunny autum sky and thought how can such beauty and such ugliness be under the same sky. I called my dad and thanked him for bringing us home. I was angry at what the terrorists had done but remembering the oppresion we had lived under, ironically I DID NOT FEEL TERRORIZED. Without a doubt I felt anger, but I remembered that my boys and I were living FREE. You see when you are in a fundamentalist country the people suffer terror regularly, but they are not free to act as we can. Americans are people from childhood who want to take action. We have blood drives, collect money, volunteer to clean up, comfort, ANYTHING, but we NEED to take action. Sitting still and suffering silently is NOT the American way. That is hard to understand by others who have lived oppressed all their lives, JUST as it is hard for us to understand their apparent complacency. I wept with my father. I wept with my children. I wept with God. Yes, I believe that His was the first heart to break. But He IS our help. Our country was built on the idea that GOD CREATED, NOT God destroyed. It is important to remember that He is NOT the destroyer but the Creater and our help is in Him. So with gratitude for all the men and women who have fought for our freedom and with incredible bravery, and with awe that that spirit has somehow lived in every American more than 200 years after that initial step toward freedom, I thank the Lord. And to our God, I bow my head in thanks and pray America will continue as it was envisioned by our founding fathers, strong, brave, and FREE. WE LOVE YOU AMERICA! The Daniel Schilling family. 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 story5056.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. 24.247.165.63 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 was early in the morning on the West Coast when the tragedies struck New York and Washington, DC. I was in the shower, when my husband Mike came in to tell me that planes had struck both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I threw on a robe, and sat tearfully transfixed as the horrors of that day unfolded on television. Our youngest son Mark, in the sixth grade, asked to stay home from school that morning because, he said, "This will be a time I will remember for the rest of my life." It was a day filled with heart-wringing tears, long hugs and loving calls--paired with fear, helplessness and enormous anger. The nightmarish visions of people jumping from burning buildings, of the gaping hole in the Pentagon, of the smoking twin towers and their horrific crumbling--and of the remnants of a heroic crash in the Pennsylvania countryside--haunt us all to this day. Today, I openly pray for the souls of those innocents and heroes killed September 11 and quietly pray that the angry souls still on this earth can find their way to peace. 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 story2548.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. 209.244.70.175 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 2001 was the fourth day of our holiday. We had been planning this trip for over two years and because it probably would be the last one of our family together (mother, father and two sons of 22 and 26 yrs old), we had great expectations. We planned to go to California and did not include Las Vegas in our three week trip. When upon arriving in San Diego, it was cold and slightly raining. Then we decided to spend some time in Las Vegas. And so we woke up in the morning of the 11th in a motel room next to Las Vegas Airport. Marion, my wife, was already awake and had turned on the television. We saw the twin towers on the screen and then we saw, that one of the towers was burning. The next moment we saw a plane crashing in to the towers. Feelings of disbelief, pain and fear arose. Both our sons awoke and we told them what we had seen. We watched the tragedy unfolding before our eyes in silence, not believing that people could intentionally destroy so many lives for whatever cause. We discussed among us what to do, our holiday feeling was gone completely. Being a policeman myself, I got the urge to do something, to help, to be able to stop this. We talked to several American people in the motel, on the street, in restaurants. Everybody told us not to be intimidated by these terrorists and their cowardly acts. And so we were assured by our American friends, to continue our vacation. By that time, all air traffic above America was stopped. At that moment my wife, our sons Patrick and Arjan, and myself were walking along the fence of Las Vegas Airport. It was very, very quiet. And then we heard a bird singing in a tree nearby. That was the moment, we realized, that whatever stupid acts people would do to hurt other people, a greater power decided, that life should go on. In the two weeks that followed, we visited many beautiful places in California. We attended memorial services, talked to volunteers on the streets who were raising funds for the victims and their family's and followed the news in every motel we stayed. We developed great respect for the way America reacted to this terrible tragedy and the response this great nation gave to the heroes of the 11th september and their family's. When we came back in our home town in the Netherlands and among our family, nobody asked us how our vacation had been. The only thing that was talked about, was september 11th. One thing is certain; we will never forget and our thoughts and prayers are with those who made the ultimate sacrifice and the family's that were left behind. Peter van Gent, Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands 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 story9410.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. 2003-08-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 80.61.42.29 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'd like to first say how proud I am of America. When I heard that it was a terrorist attack, I thought uh oh, whoever did this is in big trouble. They didn't demoralize us, they pulled this country together in a way that hasn't been felt since WWII. The resolve of the firefighters and police could be felt all the way to California. There is one group that was not mentioned in the tributes, that played a huge part in the search and rescue. A group of tireless and relentless searchers. They never asked for anything except just to work. I am talking about the dogs that climbed mounds of debris to find victims. One courgeous canine lost his life doing what he loved to do. They never gave up and all they asked for was the love of their handlers. I will never get over the sights and sounds of ground zero, the overturned and devastated fire trucks and police cars. The images of the planes hitting. The overall waste. The ordinary citizens of this great country that emerged that day as heroes. I will never forget. 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 story5088.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. 68.8.120.85 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 sitting at my desk when the information of the first attack. We sat around the television in our conference room. The event was very troubling, due to the fact that also had a brother-inlaw that was scheduled to have a meeting on that day at the World Trade Center. They decided to play go instead of attending a meeting that morning @ 9:00am. They postponed the meeting until that afternoon at 1pm. My sister called worried that he was in the building. Only to find out later that afternoon that he was okay. We as a family not only did a lot of praying for him, but for others that were in the Trade Center. After 10 years in the military, my love for this country and the freedom that it represents is very important. I feel that they not only tried to destroy the morale of the country, but of our homes as well. We as a nation should never feel that we are not durable to attacks, but should always be alert to the things that are happening around us. Cherish every minute that the Lord has given us, and love as many people as possible. For Love truly is the answer, and the way the nation pulled together was really enlightening. Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated sent employees home for the day. This is a place that take personal crisis very important on a national as well as personal issues. Let this open our eyes but do not close our hearts. 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 story2625.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. 208.254.219.2 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: I was pregnant with my first child, and a few weeks from my due date. My husband, who is a minister, had left to visit one of our church members in the hospital. I was sitting down to breakfast and turned on the Today show. The screen showed a giant, firey, gaping hole in the side of one of the towers, and Katie Couric was saying that there was a fire at the WTC. It quickly became apparent that something awful was happening. Another plane hit, and news reports came streaming in about the Pentagon and the plane in Pennsylvania. I called my husband, and he was watching the report from the hospital room he was visiting. I called my mother in Mississippi, and she had no idea that anything was happening. We were all shocked. Throughout the day, I listened to the reports on the radio at work. I don't know how the news anchors withstood the stress of reporting those terrible events for hours upon hours. I found myself being thankful that my daughter wasn't born yet, so that I didn't have to explain to her those events as they were unfolding. 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 story4090.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. 65.140.78.90