256 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: Five years have passed since the tragic day known as 9/11. To many Americans, this day was more horrifying than Pearl Harbor. I guess for many who have expressed that opinion, they were too young to have experienced Pearl Harbor. As I am as well. My story is a bit different than most people's I have heard. But the main thing we have in common, is the effect 9/11 had on all of us. 9/11/2001 - 12:30 PM: I was 24 years old, living with my uncle, and unemployed. At the time I was more interested in partying, drinking, and other wasteful activities, than a career. The rule in my household was, I had to be awake on the week days, at 10am, and no later. I wasn't working, but my uncle thought I was. I told him I was working at a local K-Mart, down the street from us, just to avoid being kicked out. I never got to sleep until 7:30 am that morning. I had a bad sleeping schedule back then. On the day of September 11th, 2001, I woke up at 12:30 PM, hearing the television sound, blasting loud. My bedroom door was wide open, and the first thing I saw was my uncle, and two of our neighbors, talking outside, while the front door was wide open. I thought nothing of it at the time, because I knew I was late getting up, and was afraid of getting yelled at by my uncle. So I quickly ran to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put on clothes. When I was finished with that, I came into the living room, hearing racket, and what sounded like news reports off CNN. Again I had no idea what had happened. I walked outside, and saw a worried look on both my neighbors and my uncles' face. So I asked my uncle, "Unc what in the hell is going on here? Why is the TV on so loud, and the front door wide open?". He turned to me, and said in a stern and unapologetic tone, "Go watch the TV and you will find out". He looked extremely unsettled, even for a guy who is normally strict and disciplined for his years in the Navy. So I went back into the house, and looked at the TV. I saw something I had dreamt of for many years. My nightmare had come true. The planes crashing into the huge towering skyscrapers. People crying, in horror, everything. I stood there motionless. Speechless. My fears consumed me. And I didn't want to believe those images of the planes crashing into the towers. I was hoping this was another one of my nightmares. But it wasn't. I was awake and it was real. I ran out of the house and cried "Unc tell me this isn't happening. Tell me this isn't real". He replied, "This is real Charlie. We're under attack.". Those words brought me down trembling in horror, because I thought it was a military attack. I thought some unknown country was attacking the United States. Like in my nightmares. My uncle was not good at calming me down really. He just told me not to worry and to head to work. Amazing to me, he went right back to work after that. As if nothing had happened. I stayed inside for hours, watching CNN, gathering as much information as possible. I called everyone I knew, because I was alone, and I didn't want to be alone. I even called up my buddy Steven and cried on his answering machine. Later that evening, my friends gathered everyone we knew, and went to a Denny's. There we all sat, drinking coffee, smoking, and trying to make sense out of this disaster. We all came together to aid one another. Some were more distressed than others. In my head, I just kept remembering my nightmares, and comparing what really happened. It felt like the end of the world for me. I was angry though. I wanted revenge for this. And so I attempted to sign up for the army. Little 5'4" 100 LB me, in the army. Because I felt the people who did this needed to suffer and I wanted to be apart of that. Luckily my friends talked some sense into me, making me realize that even if I did go to sign up, odds are I'd be rejected for my size. 9/11 changed my life, as it did others. I ended up moving into a friends apartment, picking up a job to become independent. 9/11 was my rude awakening. And I woke up big time. Someone got my attention, and made me see the errors of my old ways. The nightmares I had, they are gone now. Sometimes I feel that maybe I had those nightmares for a reason. Like a hint from God. Then again I'm probably not the only 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 story11350.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. 2005-03-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.249.10.188 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 we sat around the table enjoying the beautiful September morning in Bloomington, we heard on the news what we believed to be a terrible accident. A large plane had just hit the World Trade Tower. We talked about of the horror that had to be going through the people in the Tower and on the plane. Little did we know what was coming next! Who would have believed that anyone,let alone a group of people, could be filled with so much hate that they would perpetrate such an act on so many innocent people? As we watched, memsmerized by the terrible fire, we were suddenly confronted by the second plane hitting the second Tower. Now we knew! It wasn't an accident! We were seeing scenes that we couldn't leave. We had to watch! Yet we were fervently wishing that it would just go away and that it would not be true. A bit later we saw the Pennsylvania crash and learned of the valor and heroism of the passengers on that plane. They were truly heros. Let us all resolve that all these people will not have died in vain and that we as a nation will be stronger and more unified. May God bless all those whose lives were so tragically shortened on September 11 and also their families who even now are coping with this unbelieveable situation. WE 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 story3038.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. 216.114.105.117 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 11, 2001 I was in school working in art class. Mr. Stephens my art teacher, had turned on the television and then the class heard that the World Trade Center had been hit by two planes. Many of my classmates were astonished. We watched the tragedy on television for several minutes. At 10:00 a.m. the television showed the Pentagon in Washington being struck by a plane also. The sights that my eyes saw on September 11 will be remembered greatly. The thought is that this massacre happened and only because we are hated for being wealthier and more powerful than one country. Many of the people along with myself were shocked by what happened. The World Trade Center was destroyed and the Pentagon experienced unbelievable destruction. The people killed in the destruction of the buildings were a great number. Tragically more than two thousand people, including emergency personnel loss their lives. My life will be changed by this event in many ways. I now know that many of the people now fear that something else will happen. I myself know now that we can be attacked in many ways. People now live in fear every second, minute, and hour thinking that another attack will happen. The people in the United States have been put through a crisis. We could get through if we stick together to make a strong spirited state. 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 story618.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. 2002-05-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.37 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 teaching a reading lesson when Janelle ( the teacher who teaches across the hall from me) came to the door and said that she needed me to come to the door right away. It scared me because she sounded so urgent about it. When I came over she told me that someone had crashed into the World Trade Center and that they thought it might be a terrorist attack. She didn't have a serious look on her face though, so I asked her if she was serious and she assured me that she was. She told me that Ms. Simon (another teacher) had just come and told her,and that she had been crying. Well, Janelle and I both said that we were going to try to get on the Internet and see what we could find out. We each have a computer in our classrooms so that was the best way that we could find out anything. My students wanted to know what was going on. I explained to them that I wasn't sure, but when I knew something for sure, I would tell them. The Internet was flooded with people trying to do the same thing as us, so at first we had no luck. Then I was able to log on to News2Houston.com, a local news station's website. They had pictures of the World Trade Center's on fire, by then the second tower had been hit. At this point I knew it was a terrorist attack because I knew that there was no way that two different planes had accidentally crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. At this point I told my students what I knew and I let them gather around the computer to look at the pictures. It was very hard, but I continued to teach. I did the introductory part of the day's language lesson and started the students on their independent seat work. By this time they had put a TV set in the hallway for the teachers to look at whenever we could sneak away for a minute or two to keep up with what was happening. Then another teacher came to my door and informed me that the World Trade Center had collapsed. She said that it looked just like when they purposely implode a building to build a new one. I came to watch the TV, but they didn't have anything on except News anchors talking. They turned the TV off when it was lunch time to keep the students from seeing what was going on. I was one of only two teachers in the building that told their students what was happening. All of the other teachers thought that the parents should be the ones to tell them. I believe that the students had a right to know what was happening. I know that I wouldn't like it if people were keeping the truth from me. It was the hardest day of teaching in my life. I didn't get to listen to or look at news again until after I got off of work. I so wanted to go home and be with my family and to be able to listen to the news. I have never realized before how important the news is to me. It was awful to be at work knowing that some kind of terrorist attack was going on, but not knowing what else might have been happening. I went to donate blood after work, but they were closed due to an overload of blood donations. That was depressing because I really wanted to feel like I could do something, anything, to help. I also have a son in the Navy and he was getting ready to come home on his first leave in about a year. I wondered how this attack was going to effect him. He was only 18 years old and I worried about him. I cried for all of the victims and their families. It is and was a horrible thing. All of the people that never get to see their parents, husbands, wives, etc. ever again. The children that I have seen on News Specials that would call their parents cell phones just to be able to hear their voices really touched my heart and soul. It has made me cry so many times. I've bought all of the commemorative magazines, the newspaper from the day of the bombing. I admire the way that the friends and families of the victims have handled their grief. I hope that they find a way to memorialize the victims that is beautiful and meaningful. I don't know whether or not they should rebuild the World Trade Center Buildings because I don't know if I would be willing to work in them myself. I'm not opposed to rebuilding them. I want to say to the victim's families: "I am so sorry for your loss and thank you to all of the people who so bravely fought and gave up their lives for someone else. There is NO GREATER LOVE that a person can have. I pray for peace and healing in your families. I pray for your children and want them to know that I love them even though I don't know them. Don't give up! Realize that there are millions more good people than there are bad people and that many of us pray for you" 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 story848.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. 2002-07-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.24.134.121 Annotation Annotations to this item. Rebuilding Students/Teachers Television Coverage Victims DOMESTIC 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: *How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. My parents called me from New York after the first plane hit. They told me to turn on the T.V. beacuse they could see it from their kitchen window. I turned it on in time to see the second plane hit. I was very worried about my family, many of whom live in New York. Especially my sister who lives only a mile away from the World Trade Center. I found out all my family was safe but I did know two women who were killed. *Has your life changed because of September 11th, 2001? If so, tell us how. I would say that I am more thankful to be an American and more appreciative of my family and friends. However, it has made me more anxious about the possibility of further terrorist attacks. *What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think we need to remember the innocent people who were killed, especially the brave firemen and police officers who walked intho the danger trying to help everyone get out. Their sacrifice has special meaning to me since my father is a retired FDNY Captain and knew guite a few of the men who were killed. *Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feeling about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, I did and my feelings have changed somewhat. I never was the flag-waving type but after September 11th it made me realize how much being an American means to me. 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 story8843.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. 2002-12-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 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 home and turned the t.v. on and saw this disaster being shown over and over again and I could not stand to watch anymore. Could not beleive what had happened and probably never will. I have not had the opportunity to ever visit New York but...it is definitely next on my list. I Would love to talk with New York residents and just try to comfort them and tell them that this tragedy has only made them stronger than ever. I Want to say to the friends and faimilies of love ones who lost their lives...Don't forget the special times you've shared and the love you still share,keep them close to your heart always and go on living your life and I promise each and everyone of you,that you will meet again in a place called "Heaven" and there you will never leave each others side and will always be forever close! Deepest Sympathy !GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!! Lana (CANADA) 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 story1761.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. 2002-09-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.222.211.228 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 the most devistating thing ever because almost everybody lost a family memeber or friend and people were hurt and that plane that carshed had people in it and they died to while knocking doe the twin towers and now i think they should be very aware of te city and keep all terroist out of the newyork tristate area and as for my advice they should not build the twintowers over again beacause thatcan be another target for them to attack.they should make that a memorial for everybody who died during 9/11 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 story8674.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. 2002-11-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 165.155.128.134 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 come into school not knowing what happened to the towers. but then my friends start talking about the incident and I ask what they were talking about and they say "a plane crashed into the twin towers." And I was startled because I was there a few months before. But then the teacher turned on the TV, and I figured out that two other planes had crashed. But my techer had to call his perents to know what was going on. Because they live in NY. And he told us that the towers were about to collapse. Then the every class thoughout the day had there TV on and had been watching and talking about the incident. And I saw it on every news channel there was. then I here that all the planes were grounded in less than 2 hours. And I was glad that my dad wasn't on a flight because he travels every week. 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 story2662.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. 166.113.5.5 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 off of work that day. I was actually still snoozing, recovering from a stomach flu. My roomate came to my door and said-"Shelly, get up, a plane just hit the World Trade Center!" I scrambled to my feet-unsure as to what was really going on. I was still groggy, but I came into the living room and we were crowded around the tv watching CNN like kids on the Cartoon network. We saw it coming, I think we all screamed "Look Out" as if they could hear us. As if we were watching some suspense movie and our cries would give us resolve. The second plane hit. I was frozen-terrified of what would happen next. Redstone Arsenal is less than a mile away from our apartment and I just knew we were going to be next. The news was blaring loud in my ears and right before my eyes I watched in disbelief as the towers collapsed. I was crying. I didn't personally know those people, but they were American-like me. They had gone to work that day like any other, but tonight they wouldn't be going home to thier children, their parents, their loved ones, or their pets. News started coming in about the rescue workers that had lost their lives in the collapsing. The third plane at The Pentagon, the fourth that avoided any landmarks, but crashed in Pennsylvania. What was going on? Why was this happening. Our nation under God was being ravaged by the devil himself. I was in shock for most of the day. I went to lunch with a couple friends and all we could do was talk about the tragedy. What loss the people were suffering. A part of me felt like it had been in that Trade Center. The part of me that lived my life under the guise of safety in our wonderful country. The part of me that trusted other countries to be fair in battle. The part of me that lived freely and went as I pleased, not only because I could, but because I had no fear. I had fear now. I had fear, anguish, mourning, and hate. I felt what true hate was that day. I hated the people responsible for this. I cried for Justice. I begged for retribution. Revenge was a forthought and I couldn't stop wondering how this could go without some sort of pentence. Thank God my hate never turned into prejudice! I managed to tame it before it was misdirected. I wrote my thoughts out the next day in the form of a letter. I called it a Letter To Terrorism. It read as follows............ Yesterday's events have baffled my sense of well-being. It is not that I am not accustomed to the violence that happens around me. I have grown up in a world in constant turmoil. Children killing children, adults killing children and each other, and people generally losing whatever faith they had in the world itself. The biggest problem I have with the goings on of yesterday is the unsettling truth that we were not prepared for this type of devastation. We can never be prepared for this. How many of those innocent people that perished had children? Now what of them? Will they learn to hate all those that even resemble the ones that took their parents away? Acts like this lead to more hate and I think that is what the terrorists want. They want hatred and destruction. They want to see the suffering and the life-long scars that won't heal. The scars that children, parents, loved ones of all races, ages, and nationalities will hold in their hearts from this day forward. We must put an end to this. We must teach our children love, respect, honor. We must teach them values and morals, things that they can use to help them cope. They will never understand this monstrous crime. Neither will I. But I can use my faith, in God and country to try to rise from it and become a better person. I want to spread the word of love and generosity. I want the future to know that we stand united and even a blow to our midsection will leave us unfaltering. You can destroy our buildings, waste the lives of the innocent, and cause chaos, but can you love? Can you make us stop loving? Can you make us stop caring and turn us into the cruel and heartless wretches that you are? I think not. We are in pain, but we will survive. We are in mourning, but soon those tears of sadness will turn into the water that will wash away our grief and supply us with a renewed zest for life. You can sacrifice your people for your cause, but you will not win the war in the end. We will stand tall, taller than both of those towers. We will be proud, to be American, to be free, and to be alive in the greatest country on Earth. What can you be proud of? Death and destruction does not make you a leader, it makes you a coward. Fight face to face. Come one on one-I'm sure our best will gladly meet you on the field. They too are standing ready for the battle. Their belief in God above will carry them through your toughest traps. The people that were killed yesterday-I'm sure are resting now in the arms of Our Father. He is rocking them gently and showing them their homes. Homes that will never be bombed, burned, or terrorized. Their loved ones miss them, but they know-now they are safe. Rest assured that this is far from over. I know that I would love for the killing to stop. I would love for the hate to end, but that is unlikely and impossible as long as there are people in this world naive enough to do the dirty work of the sinister. More lives will be spent, more fires burned and more destruction will follow. But I know the end will justify the means. At least on our soil. These heinous crimes shall not be ignored, the dead shall have their revenge, as shall those left behind. But we must do it right. There has to be an order to things and we shall map that out and complete the task before us. We are a strong force-though we usually choose not to show it. You may think we have gotten soft around the middle, but I'm afraid you are terribly wrong. The United States Armed Forces are a well tuned machine. Be warned. My only regret will be not to be there to see the look on your face in the end. Not to look into your eyes and see the terror you will be feeling. I know that is a morbid thought, but alas, maybe some of your debauchery has affected me in all this time. It will truly be a Kodak moment for our government. The destruction of all that is evil. I'm not sure if Satan will be there waiting to drag you into Hell, but I'm sure you're pretty high on his guest list. May God grant the men and women that will be responsible for your demise the strength, cunning, and faith they need to get the job done. May God bless those who lost yesterday, be it their lives, or loved ones. God be with we the people during this time of despair, lead us forward into the next days with our eyes open and our hearts uplifted to your Grace. Amen Shelley Kronk 9-12-01 I know that tomorrow is not promised to us, so we must live each day as if it were our last. We must love each human being as if they were our family! This country is still the greatest place on Earth! Our pride has risen to a new level and for that I am thankful. In the years to come I pray that peace will befall the survivors of this travesty. And that is every living, breathing American today!!! 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 story7332.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. 68.62.178.118 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 off like any other day on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. But little did we know soon everything would change. At 8:46 the whole world started suffering from what yet was not close to being over. The World Trade Center had been attacked by terrorists. Something that people in America thought would never happen to us did. I was in school when all this horrifing stuff had accured. At first i didnt get what was gonig on. But then when i figured it out my stomach felt soo empty. Thinking of all the people losing love ones. It sad to no there are people in this world that are that evil to take so many lives. The only thing good that came out of this i think is that America is much stonger now. I have a totaly different aspect of life i try to live it as if there were no tomorrow. 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 story6438.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. 156.63.116.141 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 will never forget the day that America was under attack. I was sitting at my desk, listening to the radio and a special broadcast came over and said that the Towers had been hit. I immediately went to the internet to see it for myself, I started crying. Even though I don't know anyone in New York, my heart broke for them. Even now three years after that dreadful day, it still brings a tear to my eye. My thoughts, prayers, and love goes out to all who lost someone 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 story10937.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. 2004-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.215.110.98 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: Early on the morning of September 11, on was on a rare visit home from Germany, where I have been living for the past couple of years, visiting my family with my fiance. My plan had been to go downtown into Washington, DC that morning, but my fiance had been so tired, I decided to let him sleep until afternoon. Therefore I was working that morning. I had a job working as a reporter and community manager for an Internet site, where users could read and contribute summaries of breaking news stories. I was in the chat room, talking with a coworker, when a user came into the chat room quite excited. "Have you guys heard yet? A plane hit the World Trade Center," he said. My first thought was, 'OK, another newbie wanting help writing an article. What is he telling us for, just post the summary.' A couple of minutes later, another user came into the chat and said, "Another plane hit the WTC. Bush is saying it's terrorism!" My coworker, who is rather cynical about governments, responded: "Yeah, Bush would say something like that!" My coworker and I tried to verify the story, but for some reason, none of the news websites would load. About that time, the phone rang, and it was my sister, whose house I was staying at, calling from her car phone. "Have you heard?" she asked. "Yeah, about the WTC?" I said casually. "No," she responded, "about the Pentagon." She was on a bridge in Washington, DC and could see the Pentagon burning. It was at that moment that it hit me, something big and terrible was going on. I went absolutely cold. "Come home," I said. "Come home NOW." It was those words which woke my finace, and he went and turned on the television. I tried to work for a while longer, but people came pouring into the chat room with one rumor after the next. The Capitol was hit, the White House was gone, a car bomb hit the State House. After a few minutes I couldn't stand it any more, and took the rest of the day off. I went downstairs to watch the news break on television. The newscaster said, "There's so much smoke, it looks like the tower is no longer there." Then a few minutes later, "Oh, my God, the tower IS no longer there!" Then the lingering fear. The television announcers said there were two planes still unaccounted for. One of them eventually crashed in Pennsylvania, the other must have been a mistake. But for a long time, we had no idea where the planes would crash next, what would still be taken from us, if they would land on us or a loved one. For days, there was absolutely nothing I wanted to do, other than watch television - a new experience for me. But I, like everyone else, wanted to know: who did this? Why? For what purpose? It was inexplicable, incomprehensible. When we finally took our delayed trip into Washington a few days later, it was profound. I had never realized how much I took for granted the sounds of airplanes flying overhead. There was a lot to be proud of, too, in those days following September 11. Nearly all of the buildings were decked with American flags. On the steps of the Capitol building stood one lone man, in the heat and sun, holding a huge flag. There was a bomb threat which prevented us from entering the Capitol, but the man didn't leave his spot. It was absolutely inspiring. Also, the attitude of the people made me proud to be an American. There was no call for blood, war, or vengeance. People wanted answers, and they wanted to know how to help. In these days, I saw living proof of the phrase "One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all". And for all the fear and horror of those first hours, there is nowhere in the world I would have chosen to be, except home, with my family, in the suburbs of the Nation's Capitol. 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 story1100.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 217.235.80.156 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Patriotism Rumors Television Coverage 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: This may sound strange, but the morning of September 11, 2001, I woke up to the humming of airplane engines getting closer and closer. I shot out of bed, my heart pounding through my chest, bracing myself for the crash and then an explosion, but I heard nothing. The world outside my apartment was so absolutely silent and still that you most likely could hear a pin drop. I live in Oak Park, IL - a town 15 minutes West of Chicago. There was absolutely no way I could have heard anything happening. And I did not know that anything had happened. I hopped into the shower and went about my normal routine. I was almost finished getting ready when my roommates boyfriend was pounding on my door telling me to come and watch what was on television. He explained that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. All I could think of was that this was what I had heard in the morning. He literally had to shake me to explain that he was talking about the World Trade Center. All I kept thinking in my head was Sears Tower - Sears Tower. I was certain that this had happened in Illinois and I was even more positive that I had heard this that very morning around 7:00 a.m. But this was not the case. The first plane did not even hit until after that! After I finally calmed down and realized what was happening, I ran to the television just in time to see the second plane crash. The rest of the morning was a blur. I remember being at work and getting nothing accomplished. I remember our boss sending some of us home. I remember sitting on the couch the entire day watching T.V. and stuffing our faces in fear that this would be our last meal. I remember hugging my fiance like I have never hugged him for hours that night. I remember desperately trying to get in touch with all of my loved ones (friends, family). I was eventually successful (very late in the evening), and lucky for me, no one that I knew had been harmed or killed. But the day was ruined for me, and it took a while for time to heal. Not only was I completely sick to my stomach over what had happened, but a bit disturbed by my moment of clairvoyance. No one that I tell ever believes me (unless it is someone I know really well - because I have had similar experiences before), so I won't be offended if there are any incredulous readers out there. But this DID happen. I wish to God that it didn't, and I wish that if I were given this "talent" that would be something I could have done about it, but what could I have done? Would you have listened to me? 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 story2861.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. 147.126.107.130 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 began like any other day for me, as it did for most Americans. I woke early and got ready for class which I had to walk 10 blocks to get to. On the way there I always walked by ABC studios on Columbus Avenue and on that day I noticed one of the news anchors and a camera man running out of the building and into a car. This was about the time the first plane hit, although at the time I was unaware of this fact. I continued to class and when I arrived two of my friends said that they saw a low flying plane heading over the Biography building. At the time none of us thought anything of it but would learn later that it was in fact the second plane to crash into the towers. We started class just on time proceeded as we normally do. At 10:30 a.m. class was let out, our usual dismissal time, and that is when we found out about the tragedies of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Our next class was cancelled and we all ran back to our dorm rooms. Since we did not know if any attacks were going to occur again we were particularly cautious when passing Lincoln Center on West 66th Street. Once back at the dorms most students were frantically trying to contact family and friends to let them know that they were safe. For me it took more than an hour to contact my mother in Maryland and when I finally was able to get through I could hear the relief in her voice. Many students who had already gotten ahold of their family had gathered in our lounge which had one of the only cable televisions in the building. Most students were crying and in disbelief of the events that had occured. I specifically remember one of my friends, who is of Muslim decent, being angered that the country he once associated himself with could be blamed for these events. Since that day I had the opportunity to see how New York was changed. I saw the smoke and debris from 14th Street that evening when no one except authorized persons were allowed to go past that point. I saw all of the flags hung all over Times Square in the weeks to come. And I saw the gaping hole the day before the closing ceremony. Yes, September 11th did start like any other normal day for me and many other Americans. Little did anyone know that from the moment the first plane hit our lives would be forever changed. 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 story8140.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. 2002-09-26 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: I came in to the city as usually on the Staten Island ferry. Usually on nice days I would walk to the office on the 30th floor at 1WTC but that day I decided to take the train, a decision that may have saved my life. I went up to the cafeteria and was just about ready to head back to the elevators when I heard, and felt, a loud explosion. I would never have guessed that the building could sway as must as it did. My first instinct was to head to the elevators but thought better of it and headed right to the stairwell. When I opened the door, the stairwell was already full of people. After going down a few floors, I called my wife. I told her that something hit the building and that she should watch the news. She called back some minutes later and said that a plane had hit the tower. It was some time later, around the ninth floor, that I called her again to say I was almost out. I didn't talk to her again until I got home. That fact that no one exactly knew what was going on saved thousands of additional lives because of the lack of panic at that time. When we got out of the stairwell, we were told to go over the walkway to the Winter Garden. I found most of the people I worked with by the marina. After getting my boss, we headed up to City Hall because my brother worked on Broadway and I was worried about him. On the way to City Hall, I saw the damage on the second tower and found out that this was a terrorist attack. After leaving my boss, I headed down to the ferry terminal. While walking down to the terminal, I found out about the attack on the Pentagon. It was while I was there that the towers fell. I was able to get onto a boat going to Staten Island. It was while I was on the boat that I was finally able to get someone, my sister-in-law, on my cell phone. When I got home, I saw my wife and daughter, spoke to my parents and found out my brother was OK. That night it hit me, what had happened, when I heard the number of fireman who had died. The night of the candle-light vigil, I lost it totally. I will never forget the explosion when the plane hit the tower, I will never forget the fireman I saw walking up the stairs while I was getting out of Tower 1, I will never forget the bodies I saw falling when I was out by the marina, I will never forget the sound I heard when the buildings feel, I will never forget the people on the ferry all wearing life jackets, I will never forget the man who gave me a tissue to cover my face from the falling debris, I will never forget my mother crying on the phone when I spoke to her after I got home, I will never forget the five co-worker I lost that day. I hope that we never forget what happened that day because if we do, it will surely 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 story1719.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. 2002-09-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.5.154.160 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 thought it was a joke, a sick joke, but nonetheless, something that couldn't really happen. I happened to be in Algebra II, working on some problem or another, and someone came in the room and told my teacher to turn the TV on. All i saw was some plane hitting a tower, and thought it was funny-as if maybe it was a movie trailer. Then someone said, "NO, that's really happening." I couldn't believe it. I didn't even know what the World Trade Center was at that time, although I had seen them numerous times in movies and on postcards. Finally someone explained and i was just like, "Oh my God." Then the second tower was hit, and I started feeling sick to my stomach. I watched them both crumble to the ground, and it almost didn't even seem real. I knew though that it couldn't be an accident, not if two planes had crashed. I kept watching, and then I learned that the Pentagon had been hit. I started crying right then and there. My mom is in the Navy and she sometimes goes to the Pentagon for meetings. I didn't know which days she went, all I could think of was that she might be hurt. I love my mom with all of my heart. I did not want to lose her. Luckily, my algebra teacher noticed that something was wrong with me, and after I explained, told me I could use her cell phone to call my dad. He said that my mom had called himand told him that she was okay. I was still a little shaken up, and at my locker after class, one of my guy friends came and gave me a really long hug, which made everything better. I got to go home early, and finally at around 9:45 PM my mom came home, and I gave her the longest hug I've ever given her in my life. 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 story7505.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. 152.163.188.195 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 the first plane hit the north tower my husband was just leaving for work I looked at the clock at exactly 8:45 am and I told him your express bus for manhattan is leaving at 8:50 hurry and go catch it. If my husband would have waited fiveminutes he would have gotten the phone call from his mother saying " a plane just hit the world trade center". I was leaving the house to drop my son off at my mother's so I could go downtown to 1 Centre st to go and order antoher copy of our marriage certificate which I could not find it at home. My original plan was to go with my than 5 month old son. But, my mother told me bring over here to my house and you go on your own. I probably would have just getting off the train if i would have left much earlier. My mother-in-law was leaving the message on te answering machine when I was about to leave. When she said those words "one of the towes has been hit by a plane". I answered my phone and said" hello, hello" that is when i looked out my window and saw one of the building with smoke. I live on the 23rd floor in coop-city in the bronx and my view is the new york city sky line. the towers stood proud and tall and we would always see the beauty of these towers. I immediately thought of my husband being on that bus not knowing what is going on. I called my brother who my husband workedwith and told him" when kevin comes in tell him one of the towers was hit by a plane." My brothe thought I was joking I told him I was serious. He as I did thought a helicopter, are a private small plane hit the building, definitly not a boeing 747. I contiued to call my mother and told her to watch the news, then I said I will see you in little while, not taking the situation not so serious. When i finally called my mother-in-law back we both watching from our homes she also lives in coop city. We looked at the television and sawthe second explosion. But, I never noticed in the view in with the camera's view imaged it was a second plane. I left and heard people on the bus saying it was a terroist attack. The pentagon was hit, I thought people where making up stories. Until I got to my mother's and she said to me that one of the tower's collapsed. I was horrified. I called my brother to see if my husband arrived he said he called and is heading back home. He saw the whole thing from the highwaym people on his bus had walkman's and give a account of what was happening to his. My brother was rushing out with his finace who was with him to go back to the bronx as soon as possible. He was in shock when he heard one tower came down. As my motherand I was attending to my son I turned as soon as the second tower came down. my heart fell to te ground I yelling out oh my god my mother looked at the television and we both got shiversup our backs. we thought the world was ending. In five minutes at being in my mothers I learned terrorist hijacked the planes, it was a boeing 747, one building just collaped, the pentagon was hit, and more planes have been hijacked. That was the one the most scarest days life. All I wanted is for my family to be safe. I stayed with y mother and father, my husband was with his mother, and my brother and fiance had to walk home. I pray for the families of the lost in this very important day in our american history. 'The day the world changed'. 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 story5849.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. 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: Before I tell my story I want to make it known that this tragedy has not left me to this day. I still have frequent nightmares that wake me to a cold sweat. Just last night I had a dream that I looked out of my parents' house front window to see planes landing and crashing on their quiet street in central Virginia. Anytime I see footage from that dark day, I tear up and think back to how horrifying and life-altering that event was for me. It was about 8:15 AM on September 11th and I was making some calls at work to prospective customers. I closed myself in the conference room where I could concentrate and remove myself from the noise of the office. At just after 8:30 a colleague burst into the room and urged me to follow her. I was very annoyed because I was right in the middle of a telephone call at the moment. As soon as the call was over I hung up and left the room to see what all of the fuss was about. I entered her office and, on her 6 inch mini-television, I saw one of the World Trade Center towers burning. She told me that an airplane had hit the tower. I took a moment and thought to myself, "what a stupid pilot." As we watched for a couple more minutes I witnessed the second plane come in and hit the second tower. I was in disbelief. It was at that moment that I thought "terrorists." We continued watching the television in horror as the towers burned. It was disheartening to hear Katie Couric obviously trying to hold back her tears. It all felt so surreal yet so close. A few moments later my office building shook. I thought "oh my God, what was that?" Moments later NBC reported that the Pentagon had been hit by a commercial aircraft. At this point I was near hysterics. I was barely able to grasp onto whatever sense of reality I still had and keep myself somewhat in control. There were rumors that a bomb had gone off at the State Department. I feared for my life -- I could not fathom what was going to happen next. Instants later, another blast shook my building. The lights went out for a few seconds and then came back on. I thought I had died. I could feel my heart beating uncontrollably in my chest as I thought of what to do. The only thinkg I could think of was the safety of my friends and family. In a momentary loss of control, I turned to the president of my company and yelled, "I'm getting the f@#$ out of here" without any comprehehnsion of what I had just said to him. I stormed out of the office, to my car, and onto the backroads to my apartment in the City of Alexandria. The drive home was scary. At one point a police car coming the opposite direction on a two-lane road passed the car in front of it, nearly hitting me head on. I was driving 50 mph on a 35 mph road and people were flying past me. Once I got to my apartment I could see the smoke on the horizon floating up from the Pentagon. The tears started flowing. I rushed inside, picked up the phone and tried calling every person I know. It was extremely difficult to get through -- the circuits were busy on almost every call I tried to make. After I found that my loved ones were safe, I tuned to CNN and wathed the horror unfold even further as the twin towers fell right in front of my eyes. I could not fathom what was happening. I could see it plain as day, but my brain refused to believe it. To this day I cannot hear a plain flying low overhead and not cringe. I have a scar from that day that will haunt me for the rest of my life. 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 story71.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. 2002-02-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.160.60.39 Annotation Annotations to this item. Rumors Struggle to get home Television Coverage 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: On this beautiful clear fall day, I was working at the offices of Arthur Andersen Office of Government Services in downtown DC, when I heard that, an airplane had flown into the first tower in New York City. It was unbelievable -- everyone rushed to the wide screen in our conference room which was used for videoconferencing -- the news was on and broadcasting the attacks as they occurred. As I looked at the screen, it did not seem real, almost like a movie and just unbelievable. When I heard that the second airplane hit the tower and that the Pentagon was also hit, I really thought we were being invaded and there was no where to go. I tried to stay calm and take things moment by moment. I commute to DC from Woodbridge, VA in a van pool and we decided to wait until later inthe day to leave the city,since the city traffic was in gridlock and there was no where to really go. We made it home safely, however, I still cannot believe this happened. I cried on this day because, America will never be the same because of these terrible attacks by terrorists! It is very sad that this happened to America and our people. 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 story1481.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.208.209.38 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 met my future wife the night before while out with friends while on leave. I was awakened by a phone call from my step-mother saying something is wrong in NY and to turn on the news. As I turned it on, at 9:02 am, I saw the 2nd plane hit the South Tower of the WTC. I found out about a half hour later that a plane slammed into the Pentagon. I have many collegues who work there, so I was concerned. Thinking we were now undewr full scale attack, I called to my command to see what I could do, and if they wanted me to check in immediately off of leave. Instead, they told me to spend the time with my family, and to come back in a few days, in case something happened in Norfolk, VA, which honestly in my mind was a big target for the terrorists. I know I will never forget anything about that day, including the anger, the sadness, the misunderstanding, the confusion, and the hurt, and the love that day brought. My wife and I have been together now for 2 years and even though we were married on Jun 14th 2003, we celebrate 9/11/2001 as our anniversary. God bless evryone affected by this tragedy and 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 story9666.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. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.26.132.99