328 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 at home when i turned on the t.v, and was devestated to hear about the twin towers. Terrorists had used two large planes with lots of passangers on board to bomb them. Thousands of people were killed, and trapped under the two 110 story buildings, some people were jumping out of the top story windows in hopes that they may survive. Others were already trapped in the buildings and couldnt get out. The reason i am doing this is because i have two small little girls one 4 and one 1yr old. When they are old enough to read and understand this it will have been made history, and dont want it to ever be forgotten.It was a great tradgety for the US, and will never be forgotten. 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 story8050.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. 2002-09-22 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: The morning of September 11 I got up early to get ready to go to work. For me, It was just another day -- same routine -- go to the hospital and then go to the university in the evening. But that morning I was bored, trying to decide what to wear on such magnificent day. Finally, I decided to wear a red and white dress, very appropriate for such a beautiful day. It was about 8:55 a.m. when I was getting off the train at the World Trade Center. As I walked up the stairs, I heard other people talking behind me saying that a plane hit one of the towers of the WTC. I thought ... how can a plane hit the towers? ... these people must be crazy, and so I kept walking up to the street level. Then, I saw it, the World Trade Center was on fire. For a moment I was disoriented and thought it was not real. Maybe my eyes were deceiving me. But I kept looking up at the towers, thinking that perhaps, the tower "looked" like it was on fire because it was just a filming of a movie. The morning was so beautiful and the sky was so blue, the reflection of the sunlight above the towers and against the brightness of the fire, was magnificent. Still, I kept walking, trying to get to work, and at the same time, trying to make sense of what I saw. As I turned around to cross Church Street, I looked up and noticed people falling or jumping from the windows of the World Trade Center. That's when it hit me. Something bad was happening. I got scared and tried to rush my way but could not stop thinking about the people falling from the windows. By the time I realized what was going on around me, it was already too late. The streets were getting crowded with firefighters, police officers, army officers and the FBI. I looked up at the towers again, and started to cry. At the same time, I heard a loud sound, so horrible. I thought I felt the street moved under my feet and started to panic. People were running and screaming. Hundreds of people were in front of me, and in a split second, there was no one. I was really scared and did not know what to do. There was no one to help me. I realized that I was alone on Church Street. I looked up again and saw the WTC collapsed right after the loud awful noise. What should I do, where should I go? Then I saw him. A man appeared out of nowhere walking really fast. I could not see his face because he was all covered with dust. He grabbed me, and said "don't worry, I got you, I got you." I looked up and saw a ball of fire and smoke coming straight at us. Since we were covered with dust, it was impossible to see anything. Then, all of a sudden everything turned black, for what it seemed to be a life time. I kept on holding on to him, he helped me walk up Church Street and Broadway. As we walked together, holding on to each other, we could not breath and kept gasping for air. I heard someone called him ... he had one of those big black radios or walkie talkies, I do not know exactly what it was, but he kept saying that he was OK. At this point, the cloud of smoke and dust was very intense. In the meantime, I covered my face with my dress and tried desperately not to swallow the dust and the smoke without any success. At that moment, I thought that my life was over. I remember thinking about my family back in Texas, I have not seeing them in ten years. We kept up walking and the man took me inside a building on Broadway and Church Street, where people were sitting on the floor crying. He said to just go in, and handed me a bottle of water. That was the last time I saw him. I never got his name but as he turned around, I thought I saw an F on the back of his shirt. Everything else was covered with dust from the blast. I sat on the floor for a few minutes and cried. Someone gave me tissues and water to wash my eyes because I could not see. All of a sudden, the police walked inside the building and said that the other tower was going to collapse as well, and that we needed to evacuate the building. Needless to say, I refused to get up and leave the building. But at the end, I was forced to get up from the floor and walk outside, that's when the other tower started to collapse. At this point, all I remember is running and crying. With the help of another man, I was able to keep running. I remember him running next to me, telling me don't look back, just run. Finally, I can say that we walked together from the World Trade Center all the way to 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. I remember walking and crying all the way. I also remember walking by other hospitals in our way and I could not stop crying at the sight of victims, police, blood, wheelchairs, nurses and doctors waiting for the victims in front of the hospitals. The sight really broke my heart. I think I was in a daze because all I could see in my mind were the people falling from the windows of the WTC. I also remember when this other man asked me what my name was, and I could not respond to him. He just looked at me and said it was OK. At that moment, I can truly say that I remembered my name - in my mind only - but I just could not say it, words would not come out of my mouth. It was a weird feeling. Now, after six months I am still thinking about that man, the first one, who covered my body with his body during the World Trade Center attack. Who was he? I pray for him everyday. Sometimes I cry because I do not know if he is alive or not. I hope in my heart he is, I owe him 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 story290.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 128.122.2.2 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Firefighters Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers Struggle to get home WTC, attack NY:1 Feature Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001, I remember the day perfectly. It started out just like every other day; but little did I know this would be one of the most remembered days in the history of the United States. I woke up early in the morning and got ready for a boring day of school. My mom was waiting in the car to take me to school, and when I got in the car she was listening to the news. Now, this early in the morning I need music to get me up and going, so I requested that the radio station be changed. My mom told me that something huge had happened at the world trade center, and that she was listening to the news to find out what had actually occurred. I got all whiny and changed the station to my music anyway. We got into an argument about what we were gonna listen to and we just kept changing the station back and forth to what each of us wanted to listen too. Eventually my selfishness got the radio turned off all together. When we arrived at school I got out of the car furious at my mom and I didn?t even say goodbye, or I love you to her. I went through my day and didn?t really hear very many specifics about incident until I got to my 4th period class, U.S. History. When I arrived a few students were there watching the news, and that was the first time that I realized the extent of what had transpired. Someone had hijacked airplanes, crashed them into the world trade center and left all of New York City in a cloud of confusion and alarm. When I thought about all that had gone on that morning I felt so incredibly selfish that I just wanted to listen to music when thousands of people had just died a horrible death. And what felt even worse was that there were thousands more that had lost their loved ones, and I hadn?t even said goodbye or I love you to my mother that morning because she wouldn?t let my listen to the radio. Right then and there I felt so incredibly lucky not to have known someone that was in one of those airplanes or the world trade center that morning, that I went and called my mom on the pay phone to tell her I was sorry and that I loved her. You never realize what you have until you see someone else lose it, or it?s taken and gone forever from your life. Everyday I am so incredibly thankful that I didn?t have to lose someone that I love to realize that, but it is really sad that so many others did. I know that I am not the only one who was enlightened by this horrible tragedy. As citizens of the United States it took having our freedoms taken away, for us to realize how many we actually had. 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 story8294.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.165 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 also was one of the many who witnessed the events unfold on national television from our office in Montgomery, New York. Over the next couple of days I remember viewing the many investigators bent over manually sorting through the debris. I immediately thought that I knew of a better way to process the material. Now years later, I feel that I really made a tremendous contribution. I was that person who brought the first conveyor belt system onto the Freshkills Landfill to mechanize the sorting effort. My experience lies completely in sorting and processing construction and demolition debris, and knew I could help. My family and I, own and operate a solid waste processing facility here in New York State. Looking back, it was quite a crazy chain of events that led us to assisting the 34 different Federal, State and local agencies in sorting over 600,000 Ton of the World Trade Center debris. First and foremost, it was the most honorable project I have ever been apart of. Secondly, there are still mental scars that I am sure will never leave my mind. Everything considered I would do it all over again and again. My stories could fill many pages, more than I am willing to write all in one sitting- good bye for now. Hans Taylor 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 story10312.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. 2004-01-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.253.100 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 it was second period...my class and I were getting ready to hear the day's announcements when a student tells me that a plane flew into a the WTC and the Pentagon. I thought this student had misinformation -- it sounded so ridiculous. I just thought it was a high school joke. However, my fears were confirmed when another student came crying to my classroom to talk to her sister -- she told me that America was attacked. Soon, an another announcement told the school the grim news. My students were hysterical, scared, and flooded me with so many questions I couldn't answer -- I tried to calm them down. They thought that Wichita would be the next place that would be bombed. Finally, my class made it to the library to watch the news...we saw the second tower fall on live television. It was terrifying! I have never seen a room full of high school students so quiet. We cancelled our inservice for that day and I went home. I was glued to the television the rest of the evening including our local news. The attacks shut down our airport, our air base was on alert, and people were filling up thier cars in case gas went sky high. There were services at every church in the Wichita, Kansas area. Many just stayed at home. No one felt safe...not even in America's heartland far from 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 story712.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.30.21.41 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My daughter called me up and asked me to drive her to work that morning. We were talking the whole way to her job down town,so the radio in the car was off. After I dropped her off,I turned on the radio. The report was that a small plane had hit one of the WT towers. I thought this was sad and that some people had been hurt or injured and all will be ok in time. I was trying to remember ten years ago when I visited the WTC and the beauty of the buildings, the size of the buildings,our time visitng the Center. We came in from Brooklyn via the subway. It was so unreal there compared to where I live in Nebraska. I rushed home to watch TV. I was watching the smoke billow out of the side of the tower.My first thought was, this was NOT a small plane at all that hit. Then in slow motion, listening to the anchorpeople on the news talk, this other jetliner went right into the other tower. I saw this, heard the news people gasp,at the same time I did. My stomach turned over and I blacked out. I came too, trying to get my bearings and I listened carefully..yes it was true what I saw. Then fear ,thousands of screams in my heart, my mind...OH DEAR G-D...it was voices of those thinking of their loved ones, telling them how much they loved them, wishing they could just hold them tightly one more time......then silenced by the falling building, again silenced by the 2nd falling building. How could it be? These were giants, taken down..but how? The people with their trusting that all will be ok..by human standards, But they were taken care of by G-d's standards. They will be ok..my prayers had to go to those left behind..that they will find peace and comfort. Prayers for those who kept up the search and rescue. In time, we will understand this. What will be born of this has yet to be understood by us. May G-d continue to bless us all! 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 story6339.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. 207.94.178.126 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The morning of 9-11, I was in my bed sleeping. I had just came back from a 6 month working period in N.J. and was missing the north terribly! My brother woke me up and told me that something terrible was going on and that I had to see it for myself. As I turned on the T.v. I could remember holding my chest and wondering what was going on. My brothers were just eating breakfast nonchalantly because they were not able to grasp what was going on; Not in detail. I remember thinking what would I do if I were there, probably run like hell down the flight of stairs not giving a damn about anyone or anything else. Than I felt guilty about thinking like that. I felt confused because that would be the coward thing to do, wouldn't it? As my brother went to get dressed he joked about me missing that area. It was than that I sat him down to explain to him, that this could've happen anywhere to anybody. As he sat there just letting my words breeze through, I decided to get a bit more detail. I explain to him that there were 1,000's of people trapped inside a building made of steel. One of the tallest building's in New York, I also explain to him that the planes that hit the buildings were filled with Jet Fluid. I asked him if he could understand why people would jumped to there death to avoid getting burned alive. It's not something you take for a joke or likely. It's something you pray about and hold on to your love ones and thank God that you have them. Those people didn't deserve to die, they were doing there job at work, making money to take care of their love ones. Nobody deserve to die like that, Nobody! 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 story20814.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. 67.142.129.10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11th, 2001... I know other people were in more disasterous places. I was at school. My sophomore year in high school. I woke up that morning with a bad feeling. I just knew something bad was going to happen that day. But by the time I'd actually gotten to school I'd forgotten all about it. I'd just left my second period class and was headed to third. It was about 10:46. As I passed the door, one of my classmates was talking to my teacher, Mr. Canty. "Did you hear about the WTC and the Pentagon?" I heard him ask. I kept walking thinking it was a joke or riddle. I sat down in my seat and pulled out my phsical science book. As I was putting my bookbag on the floor beside my chair, a girl walked behind me saying "yeah! A plane crashed steaight into it! It was on the news...." I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. My best friend, Jennifer, walked in and sat down beside me. "Have you heard anything about the WTC in New York or the Pentagon?" I asked. She shook her head and said "no". Nothing else was mmentioned in third period. I walked into fourth period at about 12:57, three minutes before the late bell rang. I was later than usual because I'd stopped so many people on the way to ask if they knew anything about New York or Washington D.C. No one could answer me. As I walked toward my American government teacher, Mr. Wright, I knew he would have the answer. I said "hey" to him like I always do and he said "Hey, Kristin" like he always does. Then I asked, "have you heard about the WTC or the Pentagon? I keep hearing people talking about it but I don't know what's happened!" He didn't say anything. He frowned, hung his head, and pointed to his TV. It was on CNN and an anchorwoman was talking. I turned back to Mr. Wright with an arched eyebrow and he said "keep watching". About a minute later the shot went to New York City. The World Trade Center. Both towers were engulfed in smoke and flames. Suddenly, one of them began to fall (the South Tower). I could hardly process all of that confusion at once. But it just got worse as the second tower fell (the North Tower). I couldn't believe what was happening. It was almost like a scene from a movie. I hadn't even put my bookbag down yet and was still standing in the same spot when my friends Theresa, Brandon, and Jennifer walked in. They hardly even paid attention to the TV. We had a free day in fourth and the whole time I watched the news in amazement. Over and over the towers fell. Over and over the sound erupted in my ears. Over and over people ran through the streets. But I still didn't understand. Who did this and why? Are we going into war? Is it going to turn into World War 3? I was still trying to figure things out on the bus. My bus driver, Mrs. Murphy, was giving a little speech about what was going on. That we'd been attacked and we needed to start loving each other. She was crying her eyes out. Unfortunately, while she was talking, many people were giggling ang making fun of her. I mustt've yelled "shut up!!!!" about four times before it finally got quiet. I stayed confused until I got home. Both my parents were there when usually they get home after me. When I walked through the front door I realized the rather large TV in my living room was turned on to CNN just as at school. The volume was up louder too. And I was closer to this TV. Once again the towers were in flames and I noticed the time at the bottom of the screen: 9:33 am. It had all been happening during my second period class and I didn't know a thing about it. Then, after a quick time lapse, the South Tower began falling again. I could see every piece of the tower bend and break as it fell and was terrified to see it. I finally saw the Pentagon also. One whole section, gone. More lives destroyed. I couldn't watch anymore. I ran to my room and didn't come out the rest of the night. For the past year I've been making my own tributes to the trageties of 9/11. Including a seven verse poem that I wrote last year and read this year three times in two different churches. I've found myself thinking more about my friends and family and less about smaller things. I still talk about it with my friends and it earned me the nickname "Lil' Patriot" which I am actually very proud of. Only about one of my friends cares about the tragedy and that's my best friend (Jennifer in third period). My other friends get tired of me talking about it. But I will always talk about and remember Tuesday September 11th, 2001. The day all of America came together. The day we found glory at a horrific cost. The day we were finally able to stand united. 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 story8637.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. 2002-11-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.92.204.133 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 started out just like any other day. I had been to work that morning and then to class later that afternoon. I had stopped off at my apartment after work to prepare for class. I was in such a rush that I did not have time to turn the television on or talk to anyone. So it was not until I got to school that I overheard my classmates discussing what had happened. I asked one of my classmates what was going on. She said, "Where have you been, Mars?" She said we have been attacked. My class that night was almost cancelled, but we stayed for a while and talked about what was going on. It was really scary for me living in Texas City because there are a lot of power plants located in that area. I also heard that Houston was a possible target. I never really imagined something like that could have hit so close to home and me not even know what was going on. I also feel that the people behind it all are cowards and they should be punished. And I feel so sorry for the families that have lost their loved ones. They will never be forgotten. 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 story5764.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. 209.34.43.54 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My name is Amber, when the events of September 11 happened I was in school at the time. I remember every small detail of that day. I woke up at 6:30 like it was any other day, and my mother and sister were already downstairs getting ready for the day. My sister was getting her and her son ready, her for work, and him for school. My mom was making lunches and getting the day rolling. When I came downstairs cartoons were one like they always where. I never paid attention to them until that morning. I thought it was odd that the cartoon was about the revolution. It was the one where the guy rides around on his horse screaming ?The British are coming!? Now that I think about it, that was like an eerie warning about the events that were going to transpire that day. I was finally ready, I kissed my nephew goodbye and headed to the car to go to school. The day seemed to drag on as does for any high school student. Fourth period came, and it was time for US American History I. Now our teacher for this class is a jokester, you really have to listen to him to hear if hes telling the truth or not. Well, our class first got the news from him. He told us that a plane has crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Not taking him serious we brushed it off because he simply went on with his lesson. At most I first thought a private charter plane if anything. Never did I think of the situation as it was. Class went on, then the bell rang, and it was off to French. When we walked in the classroom, our French teacher was watching CNN. She quickly turned off the TV when she saw us. When she turned around she had tears in her eyes. By this time, the second plane had hit the South Tower. Our principal had come into our class to come and talk to us, and he filled us in on what was going on so far and said we shouldn?t worry we were safe. Next period I had lunch, and many of the seniors I remember walked out and just went home, I still wasn?t taking it completely serious, I guess I just didn?t want to believe what was going on, I was in shock so much so that I was in denial for the time being. At this time so many students names were being called there were only about 40 kids left in the cafeteria. When my name was called I didn?t know what to expect when I walked into the office. That?s when I saw my mother standing there crying, and all she told me was ?Get Donovan!? He is my 5 year old nephew at that time and his school was only a block away from my highschool so I ran, and I went to his class room, and I said I want him now, I never grabbed his backpack or his jacket I just took him and left. As we were leaving, we passed the lounge where they had a big screen TV and it was on CNN. I remember seeing the horrific scenes for the first time. I just couldn?t believe it I was frozen, until I felt my nephew tug at me for me to pick him up. When I did he looked me in the eyes and said ?Amber do we have to watch this movie, I don?t like it that much, too many people are hurt and upset, lets change it.? I remember breaking down at that moment and just running with him in my arms back to the high school. When we got home, I went in my house and watched the coverage for I think about five minutes then I left the house. I live by the water and down the street from my house you get a clear view of the NYC skyline, I had to go see for myself what it looked like. I just remember siting down there on what is dubbed ?the wall? and looking at NYC, and crying, not just for the lives that were lost, but for the nation because its not only the people in NYC we lost, we lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sons, and daughter from all over. Innocent people that didn?t do anything were killed or lives were forever altered. The brave firemen and police officers that risked their lives to save those of strangers. Then now the brave soldiers that are fighting to keep this country the land of the free. Its for them that I weep, they make this country worth fighting for, and make me feel proud to call myself an American. The events of September 11 have forever impacted my life, and I will never forget that day, and the number of American lives that were lost. I may not have known people personally, but as an American, as a person, I lost then as well. 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 story10295.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. 2004-01-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: MY 9/11/01 EPIPHANY written 9/13/01 and sent out on email to family and friends Dear Family and Friends, Like all of you, I've been struggling to make sense of the events of the last three days. I want to share my epiphany on Tuesday evening as I wound my way home on country roads from the fourth day on my new job at the hospital here in Oxford, Ohio: In the last three days, I truly think God has given us beauty in ways we don't understand to help us endure our national tragedy. Here in southwest Ohio, we've experienced three of the most gorgeous fall days ever to remind us that the whole world is not ugly and full of horror, and that terror will not prevail. When I sadly started home to Middletown (about a half hour drive) early Tuesday evening from Oxford, I was appalled by the stories coming from NPR on the car radio. I drove through the peaceful Miami University campus where happy, attractive college kids were riding bikes, running, playing Frisbee and glorying in the spectacular weather on their way home from classes. As I continued through peaceful, winding country roads to get home, I passed cows and sheep safely grazing, and pretty, white farm houses and barns, with the rolling landscape bathed in deep summer green and the gold of the lowering sun. The beauty of what I was truly seeing for the first time was like a balm against the horrible news spewing from NPR. The more I heard on the radio, the harder it was not to burst into tears, yet the landscape seemed to become more beautiful and safer with every mile I drove toward home. I drove through Jacksonburg (pop.52) and finally cried like a baby when I saw that this tiniest of Ohio's villages had already hung American flags everywhere on telephone poles, fences, homes, and the general store. Folks were sitting or standing on their front porches and talking to neighbors. It made me cry and rejoice at the same time. All the way home, the NPR stories of heroism and sacrifice and just plain decency were like sharp rays of sunshine through the black horror of the rest of the coverage. But I was struggling with the terrible juxtaposition of such beauty with such awfulness. Like all of us, I kept thinking "Why, why, why?" Then it began to dawn on me that there is beauty in the midst of tragedy and there is hope in the middle of despair, and that all we have to do is look for it and give it. The beauty is our love for each other, and it will heal us all. I love you all very much, never more than now! Julie Nickell Development Director McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital 5151 Morning Sun Rd., Suite C Oxford, Ohio 45056 513-664-3850 MY 9/11/02 ONE YEAR REFLECTION FOR OXFORD ROTARY written 9/11/02 by Julie Nickell Like many of you, I spent last Sept. 11 trying to understand WHY it happened. I kept asking, what kind of person, group or culture or religion could breed such hate and loathing? What possibly could America have done that was so awful to warrant such hate? How could our nation and culture be so blind to such hate? I still don?t have the answers, as I don?t believe they are easy or simplistic ones, but I do know this much: Then only way to combat hate is to return it with love and forbearance. We must not be defined by the horror of 9/11, but should take this event and redefine it by our good deeds, our efforts to learn about people and cultures and religions different than ours, by reaching out to those who are so foreign to us. We must not be complacent, we must meet hate with tolerance, forgiveness and love. Each of us has the responsibility to take the first steps. As I was driving over here to Rotary today, it dawned on me that Rotary is a wonderful forum to help combat the ignorance and intolerance that spawned the hate of 9/11. I?m very grateful for the opportunity to belong to an organization that has and will continue to serve its fellow man with love around the world. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4529.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. 216.68.58.65 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: That morrining i wokr up thinking it would be like any other borring day @ school. when i got there no one knew nothing( at least i didnt) i went about to me 1st period class and switched to my 3rd period when we got there everone was calm like nothin was different then out of no where a teacher came on the intercom saying that school was the safest place to be and that everything was under control everyone looked @ one another like okay what was that for she advised teahcers to turn on their tv set rite when my teacher turned the tv on the image of the second plane hitting the WTC was shown i was in shock the call went silent and just listened to the new and what was going on at first no one really understood why someone would do this but as we listened on we got it. cassmates of mine started crying and middle estern children started to whisper no one knew why this was happening when i heard that a 3rd plane had crashed into the pentagon i ran out the class to call my dad thet bell rung and everything went crazy kid running around crying like i had never seen before i ran to the ofice and it only got worse all the phones were tied up i need to call my dad he worked in dc and there were saying how another plane might hit dc so i started to cry as i waited in line to use the phone i thought about how many moms and das were in those buildings and on those planes and how horrible those children must feel to see there parents dying and not be able to do anyting then i thought about what would happen if somthing were to happen to my dad and i lost him just like i lost my mom i cried even more my turn came and i called my fathers cell phone no conection i called my grandma crying thinking something happend to him she assured me that he was okay he had called her hes on his way i felt relif on my part but just seeing eveyone run out crying made me feel bad again i went about my day as normal as posible my dad picked me up eraly and i gave him the biggest hug soo happy to see him when we got home all we did was pray and pray that that was the last of it and we coudl move on and focus on punnishing all those who hellped these horrible things happen. i cant say i didnt feel anger anger twards the taliban people and twards the us i still to this day dont understand how such a powerful country not have prevented this so manny lives gone. my heart goes out to everyone who was personaly affected by the attacks . this is how i will always remeber september 11, 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 story8131.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. 2002-09-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.100.118.213 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: Mid August I quit my job (very stressful) and was in and out of the house job hunting.The first two weeks of Sept. I was suppose to hear back from Companies I applied at. On Sept 11th I was waitting for my phone to ring about a new job. Every morning I watch CNN news from 7:00 am till 9:00 am. When this tragic story broke through, first, I called my family who were all working and knew nothing about what was going on. Then I said a prayer all by myself for THE WHOLE WORLD! I cried on and off the whole day. I felt so incrediably helpless to all that needed help so far away from me. On Sept 10th all that mattered to me was finding a new job, but on the 11th that thought never entered my head. All I thought about was how could this happen? How could ANYONE be so EVIL? Who could do such a thing? I live close to Wisconsin where an airport is located and in the mid afternoon on the 11th 2 jet fighters flew over my house and broke the sound barrier on their way to Chicago. I thought life for us was OVER.I HAD NEVER HEARD SUCH A SOUND LIKE THAT. I am 50 years old and had never heard or felt so threaten. All I wanted was for my family to return home safe and we all stay together. I NEVER LEFT THE TELEVISION FOR 1 WEEK! I cried for all the people and their losses. I CRIED BUCKETS FULL. I was unemployed and broke but I went and bought an American Flag and holder and put it up on the 12th. I believe I always knew I was an American BUT NOW being an AMERICAN ment so much more to me. NOW I am an AMERICAN MORE THAN A WIFE, MORE THAN A MOTHER, MORE THAN A WOMEN, MORE THAN A FRIEND. Now I am an American FIRST, followed by all those other titles. Now 1 yr. later my husband is unemployed,my son is unemployed and so am I still.My 401K is gone,my stocks are cashed in (60%loss)and Tuesday I went out and bought a new AMERICAN FLAG reguardless of my money situation. I WILL NEVER FOGET THIS PAST YEAR AND I WILL NEVER FORGET AGAIN HOW PROUD I AM TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!! Terri from Round Lake Beach 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 story6040.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: Dear LoveOnes, I was in a group of people crying for the people who died in the trade center. I felt sorry about the people's family members who lost there love on that very day the world trade center broke down. I still have good memories and I will wish that everyone that died that day, have cherish their life with other wonderful people! Till this day on, I will honor the people who died on September 11, 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 story8480.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.193.53.125 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at a sales managers meeting when the attacks occurred and said a prayer as I did today at 8:46 AM. I thought about how that day would affect my family and a year later it has. Our youngest son finished college and joined the Navy. He is now in the SEAL Training Program (BUDS). He said he wanted to make a difference. Our oldest son gave up a IT Consulting Business and is now training to be a police officer. He also wanted to make a difference. I know the world will be a better place because of these two young men. 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 story2593.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. 192.28.2.17 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, I was at work listening to the Howard Stern show when the announcement was made about one of the Trade center towers being hit by an aircraft. At first I thought it was an accident, but when the second tower was hit, i knew right then and there was it was an attack. I moved down to Orlando from Queens, New York on May of last year, and in the first week of May, one week before I moved, I passed through the World Trade Center and I never thought anything would ever happen to this place again after the 1993 attempt. I grew up with the Towers and I am deeply dissapointed that they are gone. All I can say is that our freedom will never crumble and I salute all of our heroes from 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 story6070.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. 208.21.36.130 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: Like everyone in the world we were shocked at what happened. The part that really got to me was that after we made it home to New Jersey, my son called me and said, dad, you need to come to our house and see your 3 yr. old grandson He has not been sleeping well because unfortunately he saw the plane hit the tower on TV. He wanted to know where his grandfather was, since we had been gone on vacation. I had given him a ride in a Cessna airplane, just a while before, so anytime he saw plane after that he tought of me. Well when I went to see as soon as I possibly could, he gave me the biggest hug, you have ever seen. Believe me it brought tears to my eyes to think that a 3 year old would be affected that much. As it turned out , he slept real good that night after being reassured that I was OK. Im hoping that this the last nightmare he will ever witness again. God Bless America. Joe Arsenault(psteelman@aol.com) 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 story5670.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at my home on Marco Island having a light breakfast with my wife Nancy watching "Imus in the Morning" when the first plane hit the WTC. We thought it to be a small plane. The Imus show is one of the ways we keep in contact to find out what is happening in NY. Both my wife and I are originally from NY. She from Queens and me from Brooklyn. We also have a home in Breezy Point Queens NY where we spend the summers. When we saw the second plane hit the second tower we knew something was terribly wrong. For a few minutes we were in shock and really did not understand what was happening. After about 5 minute3 I started to try and contact my sons Michael and Ryan by telephone. They are both NYC Firefighters. I was unable to reach them. I was finally able to get through to my Mother who lives in Breezy Point. When she answered the phone she was on the portable phone standing in the middle street looking straight down the street at the WTC engulfed in a huge cloud of smoke. She told me it was a beautiful clear day and you could almost see forever. She said my Brother Dan, a retired disabled NYC Firefighter (Line of Duty Injury), had just left heading for the WTC. She said she was OK and I hung up. I then tried to reach out for my sons again. No luck. I called Jim Corcoran,good friend and Retired NYPD Detective. He was seating on his front deck overlooking Jamacia Bay in Breezy Point looking directly at the WTC. Jim was in early recovery from a heart attack. He said all of the off duty and retired cops and firemen in Breezy Point had left and were heading to the WTC. I asked him to keep me informed about what was happening and if he heard anything about my sons to call me. I then started to call retired NYPD and NYFD guys I knew around Marco Island knowing that they would all want to do something. ( I am a retired NYC Detective} I suggested that for know we could start a Blood drive because I knew they would need blood. Different guys were designated to do different tasks to setup the blood drive. (We were informed latter in the day that lines to give blood had started to form by 10 AM throughout Collier County and no one was able to handle any more donors.I also found out later that they really didn,t need blood in NY because they were very few injured and most were dead) At about 1030 AM I was able to get through to my son Ryan's Firehouse L166/Eng318 and was informad that Ryan was with the Ladder. They left quarters just before the first tower came down. The fireman I spoke to told me he was with a group of off duty firemen who went to the firehouse to get their equiptment and were ordered to stand by a cover a large area of south Brooklyn until Fire Departments from Long Island and NJ came to replace them. Around noon I got a phone call for my son Ryan. he was with his company at the Towers. He was safe but it was bad. His cellphone was working off and on. I asked if he knew anything about his brother Mike. He said no. But was looking out for him. Around 1pm I spoke with my Daughter in law Tina. The kids were all home from school and safe. She said Mike was home when the first plane hit the towers. He left soon after with another firefighter headind to the towers. She did not know where he was but just knew he was safe. We hung up and promised to keep in touch if we heard anything from Mike. Mike had just graduated from the Fire Academy on Firday and was due in for his first day of work as a Firefighter on Sept 11 at 6pm at a firehouse Brooklyn. Mike had been a NYCPD Police Officer for 6 1/2 years before he entered the Fire Academy. Awhile later I recieved a phone call from Mike. He said he was with a Capt. and 4 other firefighters in an office in one of the building next to where the towers were. They were taking a breather after spend hours in the pile searching. His small group had found no one alive. Just pieces of bodies. He said the air in the pile was terrible but he was ok. He said that when he left home after the first tower got hit he went to thee nearest Firehouse in Rockaway. Being a brand new firefighter and never having work a day in a firehouse he had all his fire equiptment with him. When he got to the firehouse he was one of only a few who had their equiptment. All the other off duty firefighter's equiptment was at their assigned firehouses. Mike was immediately ordered with three other firefighters to take a private car to a park closer into Mahattan to get bus into the WTC. When they arrived at the park they were immediately put on a bus and left for the WTC.The bus was filled with firefighters and they were the first bus heading in. Communications were terrible and no one new what to expect. On the bus there also was a priest. He stood up and they all prayered together and he gave them absolution ( Catholic like confession, forgiveness for there sins.) Just as they were approaching downtown the saw the second tower come down. He abruptly said he had to go.I quickly told him Ryan was there somewhere and I was praying for them. I found out later that when he was talking to me they had just got a communication that building #7 was coming down. They weren't sure where they were but had a hand drawn map of the WTC area. They realized that they were very close to Bldg #7. The Capt ordered then all out of the building they were in, to head north and meet by the Woolworth Building. They headed out across the pile. He ended up with one other firefighter leaning against a building catching there breath when another firefighter ran by saying that was building #7. They took off. They were about a block away they stopped a an ambulance looking for a solution to clean out there eyes. They were having a hard time seeing. By coincidence the Ambulance was from the Breezy Point Volunteer Dept. One of only two Volunteer Fire Departments in NYC. As they were there Bldg#7 started to come down. (55 stories) Debris start to strike the ambulance and they took off running. The wind from the building coming down pushed them along as they were running. He said they did not stop running until they got to the Brooklyn Bridge. Later that evening Nancy and I when to a quickly organized community wide Pray Service at a Marco Island Church. THe crowd at the church was overflowing outside to the parking lot. Many of th people on Marco knew that I had two sons that were NYC Firefighters.They all said a special pray for my son and prayer for evaryone else effected by terrorist act. I also remember someone in church saying that one of the stewardess on one the flights had a condo on Marco. That night we had a very hard time getting to sleep. 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 story10608.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. 2004-05-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.41.5.19 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: Sept. 11 When I herd about the WTC I was downstairs getting ready for school as usual when my dad turned on the news. I could not believe what I saw. I saw smoke coming from the north tower. My dad thought that a bomb was planted in the tower and exploded. Then when I arrived at school I heard about a plane went into the north and south towers. I could not believe it. I felt angry and sad at the same time. I will not let terrorists take over my life. I will never ever forget 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 story2920.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. 163.150.15.187 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: I went in to work that morning as always in my building in Tysons Corner, VA. My routine had always been log into the computer, check the news, then get to work. I clicked on msnbc.com and saw the picture of the WTC with a big explosion against it like some sort of movie still. "Breaking news. World Trade Center hit by plane." No story, just the picture. I gave the news to those in my office, and no one believed me, until they went to their computers as well. Of course by this time, it was hard to log into the internet and pages weren't loading. I called my housemate and asked her to turn on the news. So on speakerphone, she gave the news as it happened, and the horror in her voice when she said a plane went into the other building. Shock. Realization that this could no longer be some bizarre accident caused by a confused pilot. Then we got the news that the Pentagon had been hit. We ran to the back window and saw the smoke curling into the sky. Confusion. Fear. What's next? Tysons is a big place for defense contract firms. Are we targets? Are the schools targets? Go home, get your kids. Traffic was intense. Well, it's always bad in Tysons but it seemed especially bad that day. One eye on the road, one eye on the sky, all the way home. No planes. I live 10 minutes from the airport. There's ALWAYS planes. No planes. I got home and found out that one of those planes had taken off from Dulles. I had been at Dulles that morning before going in to work. Scary to think how close I was to messengers of death and evil. The rest of the day was spent glued to the news and the phone. Calling family in New York, making sure they're okay. Getting calls from old friends around the country to make sure I hadn't been on any of those flights or been at the Pentagon. I was torn between letting my children see the news with us and trying to protect them from it. I chose protecting them, but now a year later, they're confused by all the hubbub about 9/11. Except for my daughter. She watched the reports last night. And now she's afraid. So I'm glad I protected them then. I wish I could do so still. And I still occasionally keep one eye on the sky. 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 story6305.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. 206.102.124.200