259 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: I was volunteering at my children's elementary school. I was in the book closet getting books organized to pass out to the classrooms. Someone (I can't remember who) came in and told me that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center, at first I thought they meant the one in Boston and I was concerned for a fellow Ups driver that I new had deliveries for that building out of Boston's Logan Airport. soon after I realized it was New York. After the second plane had hit I thought this is war, we are going to war. Teachers and Faculty were all buzzing trying to decide what if anything to tell the children. The older kids were told a brief account of the events, but nothing that would cause them concern. I remember the building was secured and they asked me if I would answer the door and make sure all visitors went to the office. Tv's and radios were turned on in small coners of the building making sure no children could see of hear them. The phones started ringing off the walls, calls were coming in mostly from concerned parents. Parents started coming in to pick up their children. I thought it would be best to keep my children in school and felt they were safe because I was in the building, had I been anywhere else I'm sure I would have dropped what I was doing and headed for the school to be near them. I knew if I took them home they would have been hearing the news and I was getting very emotional, being at the school kept me calm for some reason. I must have said over and over I can't beleive this, this can't be real. Eventually the school day was over and as I was walking to my car with my children they started asking questions. What happened in New York? Why did so many parents come to school to get their children out early? Who would do such a thing? Are we safe? My children were 11 and 8 at the time so I was able to give them some information and discuss it with them and assure them that we were safe. I told them that our President would protect us and that we needed to pray for ourselves, our country and the victims and their families. Since I worked for UPS out of Boston's Logan Airport I was unable return to work for several days, when we did return to work security was heightened, the National Guard was there. I always wondered what it was like in countries where the army walked around the neighborhood with there guns and now I felt like I was actually living it. As time went on we adjusted to the "new way" of life. Still to this day, one year later I cry when I read an article or hear a story related to the terrorist attacks. I still have times when I just can't beleive this happened in our country and then I say yeah it did. 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 story6205.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: Five Years ago i was at my house watching television.It was very sad when i heard about what happened to all of those people. Then when i actually saw how it happened on the t.v i started to cry.The people were held hostage on the plane and were little babies and children on the plane. They had to call their family member to to tell them they loved them.It was very sad because they were crying and they knew they were going to die.Then thats when the plane crashed and i started to cry. 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 story20449.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 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 about 7:50 AM CST. I was sitting on my sofa breastfeeding my infant daughter. My 9 year old son was sitting adjacent to me on the recliner. We were watching the local news station until it was time for my son to walk to school. When my son saw the first tower he thought it was cool. I then explained to him that many people were in that building and that some of them wouldn't make it out alive. My son was quiet and somber. Suddenly another plane flew into the camera shot and directly into the other tower. At first I was confused and thought that a computer reenactment had been done to show us the original crash. Then I realized that it was another plane. I looked at my son and realized that he didn't understand what had happened. I let him leave and walk to school thinking that one bad thing had happened far away in New York City. I didn't want him to have to comprehend that our country was undoubtedly being attacked. I watched my son walk the length of our street until he turned into his school walkway. Then I cried. I held my baby to my chest and cried. I called my office, where no one listens to radios during work hours, and told them to get to a television. They didn't know what had happened. I then called my husband, a policeman in the next town, at work. He confirmed my thoughts that this was at terrorist attack. He told me to go about my daily routine and stay calm. That's what I did that day. I drove to my chiropractor appointment. I saw a construction worker getting into his truck and asked him if he'd heard the news. He hadn't. I told him to turn on his radio. Any station. I saw a mail carrier. Same thing. In the chiropractor's office they had a CD with easy listening music playing. I asked them to turn on a news station. I stated that we all needed to understand that our lives would never be the same again. During the next couple of weeks, my family talked a lot, went to memorial services and prayed a lot and cried frequently. Our lives, our country, our world...will never be the same. 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 story9449.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. 2003-09-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.207.185.61 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Im a Marine, a new one to be exact. September 11th began as usual, waking up at 3:45am to work in the mess hall. I was in boot camp at the time. I rember the first time I heard, it was just after it happened, a friend of mine had just seen it on the TV as he was cleaning the tables.. He told a group of us and wee all just dismissed it immediately in disbelief. About a hour later a formation was called and we were briefed on the situation and were allowed to watch the news briefly. I rember the atmosphere distinctly. The whole room full of recruits waiting to be Marines was silent. The peaceful world we came into the Marine Corps under was shattered. People grew very scared. In boot camp it is supposto be a very cut off from the world enviorment, no news, no TV, no clue. No clue what is going on in the world around us. All we could do was speculate, and that lead to fear. Rumors began to go around about war, and defending this country against these new enemies with our lives. Noone there was prepared for that sacrifice. We all came into the Marines for diffrent reasons but honestly getting killed was never in our minds untill that day. People literally cried at night in fear that we were going to end up in some far off place cold, scared and fending for our lives. As mail began to come in people hoarded around the recipeints hoping to further thier knoweledge of the situation. As the truths began to surface and the speculations diminished the enviorment grew less tense. But I will never forget that week, it was one of the most terrifying experiances of my life. Ignorance causes the mind to fear for the worst. And that was exactely what happened. PFC Justin Talbert 3FSSG Okinawa Japan. 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 story613.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. 2002-05-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 192.156.13.35 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 my birthday, I have an early morning job in Home health care. We live near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and the jet fighter planes started flying over,as I was on my way home. I was thinking of what my husband might have planned to celebrate my birthday. I turned the television on and they were talking about a plane hitting one of the towers. Then another, and I knew it was no accident and I wondered, as I'm sure many did if Tinker would get hit. It brought back memories of the day Oklahoma City Murrah building was bombed. We live 15 miles away and we heard the bomb that morning. As the day unfolded, I was again in awe of our people. My husband works at the local police station as a computer technician and he went into work to help with all the phone calls. He served in the Air Force and we are a retired military family, so I knew how strong our nation is, both in spirit and militarily. When the plane crashed in Pennsylvania, and we found out why, the world saw our people would go down fighting and would sacrifice their life for this country as our forefathers did if it was necessary. The world saw this great nation as a United Nation with helping, caring, loving people. We go about our jobs and live and let live until something happens, then we bind together and make a formidable enemy. We are a strong nation of individuals, with many many cultures intertwined. This country has come along way since our forefathers first settled in Virginia in the early 1600's. We have problems in this nation that seem unsolvable at times but for so many different cultures to live together as we do, We do pretty good. The European nations are older, but not necessarily wiser. We are a young growing nation, rising out of our ancestors sweat and tears. People from those European countries coming to America for freedom, religious freedom, at first, now it is freedom to live as they wish. The older countries resent our power and our freedom to say and speak our minds and worship as we wish. Many want to keep their people living in the Old Testament times. Change in a world is progress and they see it as a danger to their way of life, and it is. I, as so many other Americans am deeply proud of this nation and will support any effort to bring freedom to all nations. Patriotism comes from within each individual. We all have varied feelings about our country. My birthday has become one of the most remembered days of the year. my 56th one, no less, and if you are a number person, 5+6=11. Many of such things started popping up on the internet. The E-mail was full of cartoons of Bin Laden and prayers and many many photos of the twin towers. This is how people cope with something they cannot do anything about or help. They helped us express our views and anger and anxiety through those cartoons and photos. Many of us on the internet wrote poems or stories to help ourselves express our views and vent our anger. Many website tributes to 9-11-2001 are on the internet. I am a christian woman and saw many many people turn to God on this occasion and at the same time many asked Why??? A few days afterward, they found steel beams in the shape of a cross in the rubble and that calmed me. this is my contribution: A Sign of Life I hoped and prayed for many days, the rescue workers would find a sign of life, a sign of strength and hope in the carnage of the world trade center. After all the days of suffering and strife it looked bleak and forlorn. A sign of stength and hope is what I prayed so we could heal and cope with our country's great loss of so many precious and dear lives. Instead they found a cross. a cross?? in the middle of pain, in the middle of ruin, in the middle of hate, in the middle of destruction, in the middle of death, a cross?? is what they found. As if they didn't have enough to do, they made a base for the cross to stand upright and tall on this great land a reflection of mans will to see in the midst of the worst of time we havent lost it all, we wont cease to be. They found a cross. A cross of steel all mangled and torn. A cross of steel for the world to see. A cross of steel, a sign of hope. A cross of steel, a sign of strength. A cross of steel, THE sign of life. by: Gayl Wells November: 2001 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 story5141.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.81.17.56 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 vividly remember my girlfriend telling me to turn on the television, saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I thought it might be an accident, since a B-25 bomber had struck the Empire State Building in the 1940s. However, I watched with horror as a second plane hit the tower, and then I knew it was a terrorist act. I stayed at home, getting to work late, watching the confusion and chaos of that day. I told the department chief that in spite of the attack, we needed to continue maintaining the level of services our department provided. (I worked then, and still work, for the State of California.) Over the years it has become more and more apparent that this will be a long struggle against the militant Islam faction which holds sway in many parts of the world, not just the Middle East. I visited New York in 2005, and walked to the World Trade Center site. Even with the debris gone, and work on some facilities started, it was still a somber, moving place. I never saw the World Trade Center towers from the ground, but I certainly did see them from the air as I flew into NYC several times over the years. They were majestic, and I miss them. Such a loss to the families of September 11, the cities of New York and Washington D.C., and to the country. We should never forget the depth of hatred of these terrorists have of the United States, and of our democracy. 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 story20578.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 169.3.221.241 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: During the morning of the September 11, I was in Centreville in VA, and I was in my trigonometry class in. Suddenly, Mrs. Platt made an announcement on the PA about a plane just crashed into the Pentagon. The people in my class were really afraid because we didn't know what had happened. We thought it was just an accident. However, a few minutes later, Mrs. Platt made an announcement again. This time, she said two planes just hit the World Trade Center in New York. The class dismissed after the announcement. I went to the cafeteria. People were discussing about the situations, some were crying because their love ones worked in Pentagon, and they didn't know whether the ones they love were safe or not. After lunch, I went to my US History class. When I came in, I still remember that I saw the second plane hit the second tower, and it began to collapse. At first, I didn't believe what just happened because I used to live in New York, and I'd been there once or twice. I couldn't believe that two strong buildings cold be collapsed. I just couldn't believe it. We didn't have school on the next day. I stayed home and watched TV. I saw people were crying for help during the two towers were about to collapse. I saw a person jumped out of the window and hoped that he/she could survive. I was very depressed for a few weeks because it happened in a place where I used to live. 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 story10362.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. 2004-01-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 171.75.33.154 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 10th 2001 I flew from my home in Detroit to San Francisco for business. I usually don?t like to travel for business without a friendly face from work, but for the first time ever I went alone. I came in late that night, checked in, had some dinner and went to bed. Preparing for a long day at a photo shoot all over the San Francisco area. Do you know that haze you experience when you wake up slowly?that state somewhere between dreaming and being awake. Where real things can slip into your subconscious. The morning of the 11th my alarm clock radio woke me up saying things I couldn?t believe. I had used the snooze button several times, and each time the radio was filling my head with things I couldn?t believe. They slipped into my subconscious. I think I dreamt some of the things I would later see while awake. Finally the reality of what they were talking about sunk in and I turned my TV. I watched as we all did. You know this part. I tried to estimate how many people could get out, of the total that worked there within the hour or more. I had heard 50,000 people worked there, I estimated that since it was before 9, many would still be en route, I knew that people above the impact points were not escaping. I came to the conclusion that 10,000 people could have died (it was a small victory to hear the estimates dwindle through the week). I honestly hid under my covers. I decided I needed to try and go and do the work I was here for. I have no idea why?I just got ready. I got myself together, in the shower, filling with a murderous rage at whoever had done this. I met the car to head to the photo shoot for the day. I got into the car with complete strangers when most people were huddling with their loved ones. I hated these people?mainly for not being my family. We made our way across the bridge into Oakland with both the bridge and the sky empty. It was a beautiful day really, and I kept my sunglasses on tight, so no one could see what I was thinking. People who lived there were speechless. Although details were sketchy and chaos ruled the news, the radio reported a fourth plane on its way to the White House and that F14s were on their way in intercept it. All I could think of was the pilot that would have to pull the trigger on a commercial airliner filled with civilians. He would do his duty, but never live it down. I later found out that the pilots that were intercepting had no weapons onboard and would have used their aircraft as the weapon. I wandered away from the photo shoot in Oakland and finally got a hold of my best friend on my cell phone. I needed to talk to her and needed her help. I don?t remember much about what was said, but I told her I loved her and wished I was at home. Throughout the day, several friends called because they were foggy on when I was taking off and from where, and that maybe it was New York to the west coast. It was the greatest pleasure to hear from these friends, and they saved my sanity that day. I was trapped and alone in San Francisco to deal with this. But all I could think of is how I couldn?t feel scared or have pity for myself when so many people had died that morning. When families had no mother or father. How people had decided that day that jumping 100 or more stories to the concrete was a viable option. So I did the work I was there to do and took the abuse that was handed to me. People on the street yelled at me for working on such a tragic day. The first night an F14 Tomcat screamed down the street of my hotel. I would return to my hotel every night and listen as details trickled in throughout the week. I knew no one had survived such a horrible collapse, but I watched people give blood on the news. I think the people that gave so much blood knew there would be no one who would need this blood. They needed to give, they needed to bleed. There were of course bad things I remember. Being so horrified and hurt by the footage of the Trade Centers, for a very long time I didn?t want to look at any large building, and wondered if it would ever not hurt to look up at a big building again. I remember hearing that a Manhattan Starbucks coffee shop was trying to charge rescue workers for water for survivors. There were good things I remember. While eating lunch outside of San Francisco on the 14th, we came out of the restaurant to see the very first cleared commercial airliner fly out of San Francisco airport, still very close to the ground. It flew directly over our head on a beautiful sunny day?like a shining bird. It seemed even more massive than it truly was. Everyone standing in the parking lot cheered the plane off into the sky. I watched it until I couldn?t see it anymore. Later that day I got onto my plane and headed home. The first plane by my airline cleared to fly. People were scared, but they didn?t talk about it much. People looked at the others getting on this flight with new scrutiny. We all knew it was our duty to get on that plane, whatever may happen, and continue on. A man I met waiting for the same plane said what I was only thinking. They can kill us too, but there will be someone right behind me to take my place. Quite honestly I almost secretly hoped something would happen so we could show that we were ready to die just like the Pennsylvania flight passengers. I was ready. That was an odd new sense?like we had all been deputized into the Army, and I felt it, and I feel it now. The conflicts that have been waged since I?ve been alive have been murky at best. Odd little skirmishes in remote areas that only hardcore politicos truly understand?the utter shame of Viet Nam, the oil war in Iraq. None of these conflicts ever filled me with anything but mistrust and hope that the young men and women who hadn?t picked this fight, wouldn?t die for it. But for the first time ever, after September 11th, I knew what it meant to love your motherland. To feel ready to die for it, to die for your brothers and sisters?and to know they now understand also and are ready to die for you. Words that had been said a million times finally had meaning. We touched down in Detroit Metro Airport at 5am on the 15th, and everyone on the plane cheered. I slept in my own bed that night and it had never seen more like home. Early in 2002 I took my first trip to NYC to see the city and be at the trade center site before the cleaning work was completed, before the light tribute was turned off. We went there and we watched, and we cried and we stared. We read memorials left by wives with no husbands. I saw a pile of the debris laid out for people to see. I looked at the surviving buildings and imagined the biggest one being twice it?s size, and thought about the concept of it coming down. It was unimaginable. As a student, you study history, and it seems like an abstract thing. The difference between real history and the literature and fiction you study can seem vague. History isn?t about you, you can?t truly imagine redcoats and colonists fighting in a field. But it?s an odd thing to learn as you get older, that history happens around you whether you want it to or not. That for a little while, you will actually pass through history. You will witness true history. May the victims not suffer and go with grace, may the survivors find peace in their lifetimes, may the guilty be punished tenfold, and may we all continue to remember that we are all Americans, brothers and sisters, and when the call comes again, our true benevolent and caring nature will emerge from it?s sleep. Andy Tanguay, September 11th, 2002 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 story6841.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. 68.41.186.57 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember getting dressed for work the morning of September 11th. I was staying at my sister?s apartment for a short period of time. My sister was listening to the radio as she was showering. I knocked on the bathroom door to say goodbye. My sister said, ?They just said over the radio that a plane hit the World Trade Center.? ?That?s strange," I thought. We listened for a few minutes. The first reports indicated that it was a small plane, so we just figured it was some freak accident. ?I?m going to turn on the TV,? I told my sister. I turned on the TV and watched as the second plane hit. That moment is forever frozen in my consciousness. ?Oh my God,? I yelled to my sister. ?Another plane just hit.? I didn?t know what was happening and I didn?t know what to do. I remember the vague background noise of Katie Couric?s voice on the television. I said to my sister, ?I?m going to go in to the office.? I logged on to the Internet as soon as I got to my desk. Reports were flying all over. One of my good friends came up to the desk, stared at me, and said, ?What is going on???? We rushed down to a conference room and where a group of our colleagues where gathered around a TV. We all sat in silence and watched what was happening. As soon as the buildings started collapsing, people started crying. People were hysterical over concern for loved ones in New York. We realized some people from our company were in D.C. on business. The president of our company told everyone to go home. My friend and I waited for the el by our office. It was 10:30 am, and normally at the time on a workday, the el has very few people on it. Instead, this day we had to wait for five packed trains to go by before we could even get on one. The city was literally clearing out. I met my sister at her apartment and we sat numb, in front of the TV, for eight hours. Our hearts were breaking, along with everyone else?s. The devastating loss was unimaginable and overwhelming. We couldn?t eat anything and I couldn?t sleep that night. All I kept thinking was, ?Is this over? What are we going to wake up to tomorrow morning?? In the days and weeks that followed, I was overwhelmed again ? this time, by the limitless generosity of the human spirit. I walked around in a daze, deeply appreciative of my own life and those of my family and friends. 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 story952.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. 2002-07-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.125.152.143 Annotation Annotations to this item. Struggle to get home 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: I turned on the TV, as I often do when getting ready for work,and I remember sitting down on the couch and wondering if what I was seeing was real or some sort of sick practical joke. It seemed surreal. When it hit me that it was actually occuring I could not hardly move from my couch. I remember thinking that all I wanted was to have my daughter, who was at middle school already, home with me where I thought she would be safe. Realistically, I knew that I had to make it to work and wondered if they were aware of what was happening. We have television sets in our office due to the fact that we are a college. When I arrived I everyone was sitting and just watching in silence. When the second tower was hit we watched again in disbelief and horror. As the towers began to fall we all screamed and began to cry. Each of us were not even aware what the others around us were doing. It was devistation beyond our belief. As the news began coming in about the Pentagon attack and the plane crash in Pennsylvania a deep feeling of helplessness overwhelmed me. I wanted my daughter with me so badly that I hurt inside but the schools were strongly advising us not to come and pick them up as not to alarm them any further. It felt as if all of this were happening right here in Edgewood, a very small Northern Kentucky town, not in New York. It hit home in Edgewood though when the town realized that we had lost a life long resident in the attack. A co-worker also had close ties with the Priest that lost his life. She had grow up in New Jersey and Father Michael had baptized her and performed her first communion. Thomas More College held a prayer service for all of the students, who looked like they were in shock. You could read the uncertainty on their faces and disbelief as they cried. We canceled evening classes for our adult students, who just wanted to be able to go home and be with their families. In the aftermath, I have never felt such a strong feeling of loyalty and pride to be an AMERICAN. I only wish I could have been a part of the rescue efforts in someway, besides continued prayer. I truly feel that it will always continue to be the day America watched and cried together and realized that as a nation we will never be the same again. 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 story2691.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. 204.17.16.253 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 driving to work and I was thinking how blue the sky was and what a beautiful day it was. I was listening to Howard Stern on the radio and in the middle of the conversation he interrupted saying he had breaking news ... that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At first I thought it may be one of his jokes, so when I got to work I decided to check the internet and see if there was any news posted. I started to worry when I couldn't get on the internet. All of a sudden, one of my co-workers burst into the office yelling that a plane had hit the Twin Towers. Just then, someone yelled out "the other tower has been hit." That's when I new it was for real and I was certain it was terrorism. Living in New York - just one hour away from Manhattan - I am so grateful that no one I love was in those towers, but I ache for each and every person who lost someone. And although I did not know the victims, each and every one of them has touched my life forever. May they all rest in peace. 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 story6758.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. 24.186.177.109 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 working in our literature room, making some copies, when I couldn't believe what I heard on the radio. I walked out, made sure other people had heard the same, and we spent most of the day with our ears turned to the radio, waiting for more word. More importantly than work that day was a doctor's appointment that I had. It was the day that my doctor told me that my husband and I were pregnant; finally, after over a year of trying and various fertility attempts. On a day of such tragedy for my country was the most joyous news that we could have received. A day a rejoicing, as well as mourning. For each of these reasons, it will be a day I never forget. As I look at my daughter, now nearly five months old, I have a new appreciation and understanding of life, both because of her, and all the lives changed by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. God Bless. 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 story4498.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. 68.115.117.46 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 alarm clock went off at 6 a.m. local time, and I lay in bed, not quite awake, listening for the familiar music. There was a man speaking in a somber tone, and I didn't really pay attention until I heard something about the twin towers and a plane. My eyes opened, and I heard him say a plane had struck the tower. I remember thinking I had mistaken what he said, or that per usual some idiot here in Phoenix got the story wrong. I turned on the TV, and tuned in CNN. To my horror I realized the guy on the radio was not misinformed, it was real. I sat frozen in the bed, staring at the black plume rising from the tower. I am from the New York area, having been raised in northern NJ and visiting the city as a child about once a month. On July 4, 1986, I was atop the twin towers, an excited 17 year old girl waiting to see the fantastic fireworks as the Lady turned 100. I watched the smoke, remembering that day in 1986, and couldn't believe what I was seeing. What idiot had flown into the tower? How could you not see it? Why not crash land into the river? These thoughts raced through my mind, and I was pondering the fate of the pilot and airline responsible when the second plane hit. My mind stopped immediately. Absolutely no thoughts came. The world stopped. I swear the air in the room froze, as if every atom in the universe had suddenly ceased to move, if only for that one second. I couldn't breathe. I wanted to scream and throw up all at once. "Oh My God!" filled my mind. Several other words sprang in too, but I will not mention them as children may some day read this. I knew this was no freak accident. We were being attacked. I grabbed the phone and called my father's house in Boston. Somewhere in the chatter I had heard the plane was from Boston, and my father travels extensively. My stepmother answered the phone, and I blurted "Where's Dad?". Nice. No hello, no how are you, just where's Dad? "At work" she said, and a bit of the panic released me. "Is he on the ground?" I asked, and she said "Yeah, why?" I was stunned that she didn't know. I was 3000 miles away, and I knew. But I guess I wasn't working at the time. I told her to turn on CNN and that 2 planes had flown into the Twin Towers, and one was from Boston. We hung up shortly afterward, I honestly don't remember what else we said. I just knew my Dad was on the ground. I couldn't take my eyes from the images on the TV screen, not even to leave the bedroom and go to the widescreen in the living room. I watched in horror as people jumped, I think I would have thrown up right then had I not been so stuck, so utterly paralyzed by the events playing out before me. I remember wanting to get my kids and bring them into the bed with me, to hold them tightly to me and never let go, but not wanting them to see this. My daughter had turned 5 the day before, and with the sadness only a mother can know I realized her world was forever changed. I knew mine was too, but for my children; 5 and 4, it was the worst wisdom I never dreamed I would know. Somehow, it was about 8 a.m., and I was to have her to kindergarten at 8:15. Having already decided to keep my 4 year old son home from preschool, I was torn about sending her. Preschool is really no big deal educationally, but kindergarten is the real deal. I wanted nothing more than to hold them both close, but an anger rose in me. By now the Pentagon had been struck, and the plane in Pennsylvania had also gone down. I was furious. How dare these bastards attack civilians, using the innocent for their cause! If you have a beef with the U.S., fine, attack a military target. I know it sounds awful, but that to me was fair game. Military people are trained for such events, well sort of, I don't think anyone was really trained for such an attack. But still, they are the arm of the U.S., the fighters. I could actually deal with the Pentagon better than the WTC. The Pentagon casualties, by the way, have been somewhat overlooked in my opinion, perhaps because it was a military target and as such a little less horrifying for the public, but not so for the families of those servicepeople. I finally decided to send my daughter to school. Somehow, through it all, I felt that if I was too afraid to send her to kindergarten, that they had already won. It may seem to some that I was playing favorites; keeping my son home but sending her off to school, but I wasn't really. By the time I was sending her to school, he only had 30 minutes left of his preschool session. So it really was more of a "why bother" with him. When the first tower fell, the tears welled in my eyes. I remember them streaming down my face, and my son asking what was wrong. They had never seen me cry. I searched for the way to tell him...after all he is 4 and this was a complicated and terrible thing I had to tell him. I simply said that some bad men crashed planes into some buildings and a lot of people died. What else do you tell a 4 and 5 year old? After the first one went down, there was the waiting game...would the second go to? As we all know, the sad answer was yes. My aunt lives in Manhattan, and I thought of her. I knew she was far enough away that she wasn't involved, but I thought about how terrified she must be, how alone she must feel. I wanted to call, but was sure the phone lines were jammed, and I didn't want to tie up a line the rescuers might need. I waited until the evening, by then my mother had heard from her and relayed the information to the rest of us. She was scared but unhurt, almost deafened by the sirens that raced past her window all day. I have often wondered if she has written anything about that day, I would love to read it, but I feel that is her stuff, and if she wanted us to know anything about her experiences, she will tell us if and when she is ready. Where I grew up in NJ(I am actually a New Yorker, my birth certificate says Bronx, NY although we moved before I was one)there is a road called Skyline Drive. It goes over a mountain, and on clear days, the skyline of NYC was quite visible. I remember 15 years of going over that mountain, always looking for it, because New York was where it all happened. How many dreams I had of the city, of my future there. How many adventures I had in the shadow of the WTC, skipping school with my friends and hopping the bus into the city, exploring the streets and drinking underage. Now, it lay in ruin; the black smoke replaced by the gray veil of dust. My heart broke, the pain and sorrow matched by my rage. Surprisingly, I did not fear anything happening here, even though Phoenix is a large city, we are in a state that has no real target other than a nuclear power plant and the Hoover Dam. I could see the reasons for the targets, they were symbols to the country. Arizona has no major symbols, and crashing a plane into the Grand Canyon really wouldn't do much; it's already a big hole in the ground. There are certain images in my memory I don't think even Alzheimer's can remove. People jumping from the towers, the flames at the Pentagon, the masses of people running away while the firefighters and cops and whoever else ran in. The loneliness of the medical personnel waiting for the casualties that never arrived. That was the scariest I think, there were no injured really. Only the dead. The ironworkers running to the site to help with the rescue effort, through the gray cloud that had decended on the streets. The way everything looked in that haze...like the moon had dropped a ton of it's surface on lower Manhattan. The flag raised by the firefighters. The look on President Bush's face, a mix of horror and fury. His eyes were amazing, the pain in them, the compassion, but underlying the coldness of a man determined to find justice. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Britian, simply but powerfully stating that whatever we needed, we had from his country. I watched all day, and the next weeks to follow. I remember feeling a bit numb, shell-shocked if you will. I think we all did. I never did give blood. There was no need. The injured were minimal, it was the dead that was overwhelming. I recall the gestures from the nations of the world, the good gestures. The American national anthem being played at the gates of Buckingham Palace. The tons of flowers placed at our embassies in Germany, Russia and countless other countries. I also remember that bad...the celebrations in the streets in some Arab countries. The bin Laden home video of his jubilation at the success of the attacks. The smug look on Saddam Hussein's face, though he wisely said nothing inflamatory at the time. I think we'd have bombed him into oblivion if he had. America is an incredible country. As we delved into a type of warfare no one had ever seen before, it was amazing to see how we reacted. We screamed for vengence against our enemy, now identified as al Qaeda, and we cried for the starving children of Afghanistan. We bombed the mountains, and dropped food to the people. Our children raised millions to feed their children, our women protested the treatment of their women, and we came together in a way not seen since WWII. Flags were impossible to find, red, white and blue was everywhere, and people said hello to their neighbors, some for the first time. My children stopped asking me about what happened. I guess they understood as much as they could, on the terms they could understand. Until July, 2002. Every year, I return to Boston in July, to visit family and escape the desert heat for a few weeks. My "mission" on these trips is usually centered around fishing, and although I did fish this past trip, that was not my number one agenda. I had to go to Ground Zero as it is now called. It was not a question, I simply had to go. It was the third week of July when I got to New York, visiting family in NJ. I made the trip with my son. My daughter decided not to go in to see "the big hole where the buildings once stood" as I explained it to them, but my 4 year old wanted to go with me. We drove in across the George Washington Bridge from interstate 80. When I first glimpsed the skyline through the trees, and saw the empty area where the towers had once proudly stood, my eyes filled. It was real. It had happened. They were gone. I blinked the tears away and continued across the bridge, driving down the Hudson to what I knew was going to be awful. We rounded the curve and I saw the netting on the buildings still standing but damaged. The netting was to prevent debris from falling out onto the street. Every building had it. It looked like funeral veils. The emptiness of what had been the plaza was enormous. As if someone had removed the nose from a face and left it empty; it was that pronounced. There was no doubt that a central feature was missing. I started to cry, right there in the highway. My son asked if I was crying, to which I sniffed, " A little". A man in a car next to me was looking at me. New Yorkers have the reputation of being hard, callus people. Not this driver. His eyes were full of compassion, and he nodded ever so slightly, as if to express understanding of my feelings. He knew. He knew too well what I was feeling. We parked a block away and walked to the site. My son's little hand held tightly to mine, and although he was excited to be in such a big city, with large intersections and tall buildings, he seemed to sense that this was a solemn time. Maybe he picked up the vibes from me, or maybe he just knew. He's a sensitive little boy. We followed the people. It wasn't a mad crowd, just a steady stream of pedestrians all headed in one direction. The city was quiet. Having been here many times, I was surprised at how subdued the noise seemed. Hardly any horns blaring like they always used to. It seems the city knows this is a sad place too. We walked up the street, passing the vendors with the FDNY T-shirts and other things. When we turned the corner to where the towers should have been, my body stopped. My heart stopped. My lungs stopped. The only thing still working were my tear ducts. I picked my son up and held him to me, and we finished the last 100 feet in silence. When you step out to the viewing area, the openness is what strikes you. It's not supposed to be. It should be jammed with people and buildings, just like the rest of the city. But it's just open air. There is nothing there. Nothing. We approached the edge, where the crater is. All I could say was "oh my God" over and over again. I must have sounded like a babbling idiot, but those were the only words I could find. I had seen the CNN updates for 9 months now, I knew what the hole looked like, but I was not prepared. The vastness of it. How empty it was. I held tight to my boy and sobbed into his shoulder. He simply hugged my neck and lightly patted my shoulder with his fingers. I thank God he was there. I cried hard for several minutes, looking into that empty ground. I couldn't speak, my voice had left me. All I had was my grief. First it filled me, then it flooded out in my tears. When at last I had regained myself, we walked down a bit further. My son asked me where the big hole was. At first, I didn't understand, but he asked me again, and then asked if it was down by the trucks. Then I understood. He was looking for a hole, like he would dig in the back yard. I told him that the trucks and cranes were IN the hole, that's how big it was. He looked at the hole again with new understanding, and quietly said "Oh." I think that's when he got it; how massive this area was. I think he was surprised, and although he is only 4, I think he really did understand. Then he asked me why all the grown ups were crying. I told him it was a sad place where a lot of people died. He asked about the bad men and the planes, and if they were all dead. I told him the ones in the planes were all dead. Then he asked me if there were any more bad men. I choked back the tears and said "Yes." It broke my heart to tell him that. It killed me that I had to tell my 4 year old that the world was not a safe place anymore. It hurt to say it. And then I got angry. I looked out to the river, and realized that's where they came in from. It was a fury in me: I wanted heads on a platter. I wanted to rip the heads from the bodies they perched upon. I wanted their blood, and I would accept it on my hands. I wanted vengence. After a moment, I looked back down into the hole. The sadness returned, replacing the hot rage with the loss. So many gone. Needless victims of some madmen with a cause. The tragedy washed over me, soothing my wounds with a peace. It sounds strange, but that's what I felt. Peace. As if every one of those 3,000 people were standing with me, understanding my hurt and anger and fear and frustration. My guilt and horror. My helplessness. And it was OK. I could feel all that at once. It was OK to feel all of it. When we left, I felt lighter somehow. I remember how clean the bottom of the hole was, as if the workers there had swept it, understanding that this was hallowed ground. And it is. It is the grave of almost 3,000 men, women and children. It needs to remain sacred to us. I know something else will be built there, but there must be a place for them. I remember the cross, it's still there. The one from the I-beams, formed when the towers fell. It still has the black swag over it, though now somewhat faded to a charcoal gray. It's still there, and I think it should stay. So, where does that leave me? Wiser than before, sadder than before. I think the price of wisdom is some sadness, for the knowledge we gain is hardly ever without cost to either ourselves or others. But I am more hopeful as well. I see my children, all children. They have lost the "safety" we once knew in this country. But they have gained some things as well. Knowledge of this nation's unity in our diversity. That is what makes us so strong. We are the mutts of the world, a mix of everything, and mutts are the most durable animals. We have a long road ahead of us, this war will take us to places we have never imagined, and we will see horrible things. But we will also do so much good. Think back to the children feeding the children. When that much compassion is present, how can the world really be such a bad place? The children will teach us the most, if we only stop to listen. They are the ones faced with this future. Let's help them make it a good one. Compassion, love, caring about others. Let's take these lessons from the horrors of September 11th. It's easy to hold the anger and hatred. Let's take the harder road of hope. 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 story1071.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. 12.83.67.16 Annotation Annotations to this item. Ground zero- at or about Memorials/Vigils (location or person) Politics and politicians Television Coverage Victims U.S. retribution 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: It was close to 9 AM in the morning and I was sitting at my cube at our Dulles campus and I was creating a PO, when my co-worker across from me said that a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. I knedw immediately it was terriots! I told him if they are hitting there, than they are coming our way. We work fairly close to the airport and the planes fly overhead all day long. I remember calling my husband who was at home with our baby daughter and asking him if he was seeing what was happening in NY on the TV. He didn't even know about it because he was watching the History channel. He turned the channel just as the second plane was flying into the second WTC building. It was horrifying what he was seeing happening right before his eyes. I wasn't seeing anything in real time because I was at my desk, so I would see it on the various sites that I could get onto. The internet was locking up and the phone lines were so busy you couldn't get through after a while.Everyone was frantic and wondering what was going on and what should we do. I wanted to leave and be home with my family more than ever in my life. Then, the Pentagon was hit and that was when everyone decided it was time to get out of here and go home. It was a nightmare getting out of the office, people were so frantic that it became a traffic jam in the parking garages. But, at this time, no one knew where it would end, if we were next. I finally got through to my husband on the cell phone, when he told me about the plane in PA crashing into the ground. He said they thought it was heading for DC. I then was frantic like everyone else. I didn't know if the person in the car beside me or in front of me was involved. What if they starting having cars blow up. It was horrible and seem like forever for me to get home and hug my daughter and husband. My son was stil at school and I fought with the decision to go get him out of school or not frighten him and leave him there. I knew he was safe for the most part, but it bothered me not having him with us. I really cherish my family each and every day. I think about Sept. 11 all of the time and it makes me so sad. I cry, I cry for the babies who lost one or both of their parents, I cry for the parents who lost their child or children, and so on. It is so devastating and for what? What did this prove? These people never did anything to deserve this. GOD BLESS THE VICTIMS AND THE HEROES OF 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 story3058.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 will never forget.......getting ready for work that morning, going to the kitchen to refill my morning coffee....as I passed through the living room I caught the first news flash......live pictures of the first tower ablaze ...... as I watched in horror..... another plane hit the second tower..........I can not explain the overwhelming rush of feelings that engulfed me......in minutes there was more bad news.....the pentagon....a plane down in Pennsylvania......terror.....destruction......a feeling of vulnerability that I, as a proud American Citizen have never before experienced. A deep knowing that life as I knew it was forever changed. I remember the days and weeks that followed.....the newly awakened compassion and patriotism that was evidenced in the behavior of each and every American.......everyone took the time to be kind, to smile at a stranger, to be a considerate driver, all were able and willing to lend a helping hand without being asked.... My prayer is that we will all remember and honor the memory of those who were lost with our continued compassion, patriotism and our dedication to the preservation of freedom..... May God Bless each and every one of you..............and may 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 story4331.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. 68.7.239.227 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 teaching 6th grade in an inner-city Lansing school. After first period I had two free periods for "teacher planning". I received a phone call at 9am from a fellow teacher telling me to turn on my t.v. immediately. I turned on my t.v. to see that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. My first thought was, "what a horrible accident." And that's when it happened, the second plane was coming in fast, and seemed to be aiming for tower two. I watched in horror as the second plane hit and more smoke rose from the two towers. I kept thinking, "the people are ok, they'll get out, the police and firemen are there." I kept telling myself this because I had friends in New York. But then even more horror came as both towers fell one at a time. I do not remember how I taught the rest of the day, I just knew I had to get through the day so I could go home and find out my friend's fate. I was unable to get through to New York all day, so was frantic to call their parents in my hometown. When I made my first phone call I learned my girlfriend was safe, she was home at the time of the attacks, and a huge sigh of relief escaped my body. But then I learned that my second friend, Bradley Hoorn, never escaped the 93rd floor of Tower One. The entire company that Bradley worked for (Fred Alger Management) had suffered devasting losses. Everyday I think of Bradley, and wish I had had the chance to say good-bye. He was such a wonderful young man, only 22, and had so much promise. It angers me still to know he was taken away so soon. Now I wear a bracelet with Bradley's name so that he is with me everyday. I only wish I had had the chance to say good-bye and tell him I love him. 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 story4158.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. 168.184.78.4 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: Soon after 9/11/01, I contributed my story to the 9/11 Digital Archive. At that time, I wrote that "someone had written a message in the concrete dust on a burned-out car at ground zero: 'THIS WON'T STOP NY'". Five years later, I'm glad to see that the attacks didn't stop New York. It's true that reconstruction at ground zero is not where many would like it to be, but there are bright spots: The 7 WTC building has been rebuilt, mass transit is running, and New York City's economy is booming. On a personal note, my family has moved from Brooklyn, N.Y. to the New Jersey suburbs. My wife continues to work near ground zero, while my firm has moved uptown near Grand Central. We still feel very much in the crosshairs of terrorists. I am saddened by the partisan bickering regarding the war on Islamofascism. After witnessing the attacks, not only did I know instantly that Osama bin Laden was responsible and that we would have to invade Afghanistan, but I very soon realized that in a post-9/11 world, there was no way that the status quo with Iraq could be allowed to continue. I recall talking with others who felt the same way. Predictably, both the sense of unity felt within the country and the "goodwill" from other countries was short-lived. They would have evaporated regardless of the actions taken by the executive branch because, unfortunately, that is the nature of unity and goodwill in these circumstances. I am also saddened that so many appear to have allowed 9/11 to disappear from their consciousness. It is not healthy to dwell on past trauma, but it is beneficial to take heed of history and be vigilant. It does a disservice to the memory of those murdered if we shirk our responsibility to remain on the offensive. A civilization that is ambivalent about its own survival will not survive long in the face of an existential threat. Perhaps the hundreds of thousands who were present in downtown Manhattan that day have an "advantage", if you can call it that. Being an eyewitness to an atrocity sears your memory in a way that television and other mass media cannot. For better or worse, I will never forget, and my anger has not waned in five yearsI expect it never will. When I hear stories of young men and women who were spurred to join the armed forces because of the attacks, I utterly understand that impulse, and I often wish I were a younger man. I feel my only direct, non-monetary contributionone day of carting water and other supplies to recovery workers in September 2001was insufficient. In our new hometown there is a memorial at the train station, engraved with the names of local residents who lost their lives in the attack. I have seen similar ones in surrounding towns. They remind me of the many similar markers one sees across the country, commemorating those fallen at the Somme, Normandy, Chosin, and Khe Sanh. There is, of course, one important difference: Those lost on 9/11 were not soldiers on a battlefield. They were defenseless. They never expected, when they said goodbye to their loved ones that morning, that they would be slaughtered in the first battle of a long war. Terrorists are not noble. They are not justified. And they are not freedom fighters. They are depraved, immoral, and inhuman. During the marking of the fifth anniversary, there was much talk of "hope". It is my hope that the civilized world maintains the will to eradicate the Islamofascists' threat to humanity. Appeasement, an attractive but dangerous illusion, will only lead to tragedy. 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 story20859.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 71.250.160.38 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: It was a clear, beautiful, sunny Central Florida day. I remember clearing breakfast dishes and making lists of important errands to get done. My husband, who was retired and home, was watching his usual "Fox and Friends" morning show when the news broke. We sat there watching the TV as the second plane approached the second tower in disbelief. I immediately screamed, "No! This can't be happening." My immediate thoughts were of the thousands of people that normally would be working in the building. After all, up North, doesn't everybody go to work at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning? They sure did when I lived there 31 years ago. Needless to say, I never got my errands done that day. As a matter of fact, I didn't leave the house for 4 days. We ate whatever was in the house. We were litterally glued to the TV. Today I pray that those people who have lost their lives shall not have died in vain and that justice will be served. 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 story6602.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: On September 11th I had got that morning and sat in silence, reading a book, until I went to work that afternoon. So I had no idea what had happened earlier in the day, on the way to work I listened to cd's so I didn't hear the news stories on the radio. I remember when I was driving into Enid noticing all the cars lined up at the gas station's and wondering "What's going on? Did I miss something?" When I got to the convenience store I work at the cars were just starting to line up at the pumps. A friend of mine was in line waiting to get gas and she called me over and asked me if gas was really going up to five dollars a gallon. I told her no not that I was aware of and asked her if something had happened that I didn't know about. She said her mom called her and told her to buy gas it was going to go up because of something that had happened, but she didn't know for sure what. I finally found out from my boss and the other customers what had happened. I remember thinging "They're joking right?" and "How can this happen?" I just couldn't believe it. And we had people lined up 3 or 4 blocks down the street waiting to get gas. And I just stood there in awe at the sight of all these cars lined up and my boss in the parking lot directing traffic so there would be no fights. All night I kept thinking "This is a nightmare". Some of our competition did raise their gas prices and we didn't, so our lines got a little longer for the first 3 hours of my shift all I sold was gas and customers tried to keep my updated on the new information coming out of New York. I hope to never see anything like Sept. 11 happen again. And I'm proud to work for a company who in a time of crises didn't take advantage of people and I am Proud TO BE AN AMERICAN! God Bless the families and friends of the people lost. 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 story5817.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. 64.250.206.187 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 hardest part of September 11, 2001 for me was trying to explain to my 5 year old son what had happened. He did not understand why people would willingly fly airplanes into buildings. The only thing I could think to say to him was that the terrorists hated our country so bad, that it did not matter to them if they died in the process of killing Americans.I wanted to be as honest with him as possible, but at the same time I did not want to petrify him too bad.I saw an interview with Lisa Beamer not long after the attacks where she said how she told her sons that their father was killed in an airplane crash.She told them that many airplanes fly everyday, and that a crash is a very uncommen thing to occur.I explained this to my son as well, just so if we would have to fly on a plane in the future, he would not be to scared. The courage of Lisa Beamer and the thousands of victim's family members like her, gave me more strength in helping my son cope with the attacks. 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 story6393.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. 65.173.148.50