366 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 getting up and had turned on the tv to CNN. I got to see that the first tower had been hit by a large plane. As I was watching, I saw the second plane hit the second tower. At that point I told my wife, that is a terrorist attack. Then I saw the towers collapsing at about 10:30am. It was the sadest day of my life. I was angry, sad, concerned. I could not believe that something of that magnitude could happen to us. I just prayed hard and long. Joseph Alphonso. 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 story1873.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. 2002-09-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.244.178.172 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 witness history on September 11, 2001. I was in school in the mroning. The teacher found out when we were at specials. The teachersdid not whar to tell the students because there werem 4th grades in the school, and the teacher thought they were to little too know. Then I went home and someone on my street said the Twins Towers were hit by a plane. I was very shocked. I didn't know what to do. I went straight home and turned on the news. I could not believe what I saw. I wondered what had gone wrong. How did this happen? I was worried because I had a lot of family in New York. I was afraid someone in my family was there. I found out that everyone in my family was ok. I had to talk to a friend who was having a lot of problems in his life. His favorite aunt was in one of the Towers, and she was dead. I felt so bad because his father did not see him. The next day I went to school. They teacher talked a little about it, but not a lot. I went up to my sixth grade teacher classroom who was Mr. Santos. He was talking about it to me. He was telling me how it changed our lives. He had shown me a T-shirt that someone had given him, and I thinkit said "God Bless America". He was honored to have this shirt. September 11th changed my life. September 11 has helpled me become closer to my family. It helped me understand how good we have it living in the United States, we have freedom. It had changed my life so much. I respect people more. I have been kinder to people. On Spetember 25th, my favorite teacher passed away. His name was Mr. Santos. He was my sixth grade teacher. I wanted to die from all the pain of September 11th and now one of my old teachers had died. It was such a shock. How could have happened? I keep thinking these thoughts and question to my self. Almost 6,000 people are dead because of September 11. Then teacher you respect that taught you how much fun Social Studies could be also dies. The day before he died, I saw him and he was fine. So I was so sad about everything that happened that month. Planes were hitting people, and so meany people diying. i thought to my self, "This is bad." Mr. Santos is the one helping me through this, and then he died. I was so sad that all this happened. I think it helped me understand all at this. I think that all the people who died on September 11 should be remebered. All the people who gave thier life to help us should be remeber. People who went into to the building to find people and died should be remembered. Those who died serving their country should be rembered. We should rembered that this did not destroy America, but brought us all closer in many ways. I think that everyone who helped in any ways at Ground Zero or the Pentago should be remebered. Those who brought water or anything to the building for the firmen or volunteers shoulde be remembered. I think this is what people should remember on September 11th. 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 story8555.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. 2002-10-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 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 beautiful day. No matter how many times you visited the World Trade Center or how long you worked there, you never got over the beauty of the place. The towers were bold strokes against the sky, signifying to the world that we were the biggest and the best. The view from inside was even grander. In 1997 I began working for the Port Authority Law Department. My office faced the East River from the 62nd Floor of tower one. I will always remember the view I had each morning when I looked out the three eighteen inch windows I was allowed. On a sunny morning I could see the East River bridges reaching across to pull the boroughs closer to Manhattan - pulling their inhabitants, their money, their dreams into the bosom of the city. All of them crossing a river of gold. On days when the storms would roll across the Hudson I would be lost in the clouds where, as anyone could tell you, it snows up instead of down. It was a beautiful day. I was newly married and that morning I kissed my wife goodbye and told her that I loved her. She said, "be careful.", but I was already down the stairs and gone. At 8:46 a.m. I was standing in my cubicle and contemplating whether I should go for a cigarette when the floor started to sway beneath me. I heard no sound - no crash, no explosion, no screams, but I felt that fortress of steel and glass wobble back and forth like it was a cheap card table, nearly knocking me off my feet. It felt for a moment as if the entire building would go toppling over onto Church Street. I turned to see black chunks falling outside my window and a cacade of papers floating in the air. What a surreal sight, I thought. My friend yelled, "Lets get the fuck out of here!", and I wasn't about to argue. There were eight of us in the office that morning and we filed out into the hallway where someone was screaming "Hit the deck!" I got down on my knees for a second and then I realized the absurdity of that position - being several hundered feet in the air and without much cover. One of our secretaries, a survivor of the 1993 bombing said, "I'm not going down 62 flights in my heels again." My boss and I went back into the office with her to get her sneakers while the rest of our colleagues began the long descent down the stairwell. My boss made one last check of the office while we were there and found his secretary under her desk. We pulled her out and left our office for the last time. As we entered the stairwell we were greeted by a throng of people from the upper floors who were calmly making their way out. We slipped into the line and heard almost immediately that a plane had hit the building. It was generally agreed that it must be a small Cessna that got lost or lost control and struck one of the upper floors. I don't know if this was a logical conclusion or a reassuring one, but I know it calmed me down. I thought, "This will be a nice extended vacation while they repair the building." I didn't think twice about the people who might have died in the crash and I certainly didn't think about what those black chunks outside my window might have been. Once I was in the stairwell I smelled that awful smell - burning jet fuel and God knows what else. It was that same horrible smell that lingered over Manhattan in the weeks and months to come. We progressed slowly down the stairwells, stopping every couple of minutes or so and then on again. Gradually we lost sight of the other people from our office. My boss said, "stick close to me, I may need your help." "I live to serve", was my standard reply. I thought I was going to get home early, but c'est la vie. About 9:15 a.m. or so, we started to get updates on our pagers that confirmed that we had been struck by an airplane and that tower two had been struck as well. I didn't process what this meant until much later. I figured maybe some debris from tower one had struck tower two - that was all. Shortly after that we stopped altogether to let some firemen up. They were packed with what seemed like an obscene amount of equipment - their faces grimy and uncertain. They kept looking up inbetween the railings, I guess to see when the line of people would end, but the lines didn't end. Those guys were so tired, but they wouldn't stop until they found somebody who needed their help. I don't know what end they came to, but I will never forget those grimy New York faces passing me on the way up as I was going down. Now the hard part. We had to stop more often. My wife kept paging me, but there was no way I could call her back to tell her I was OK and that's all I wanted to do at that moment. Of course, I had no idea what she was seeing on TV - what the world was seeing on TV. At this point people were jumping out of the buildings in groups and crushing themselves on the ground they so desperately wanted to reach. I had no idea. We were blocked off from the world. The last few floors were flooded form a sprinkler system that had gone off so I pulled my pant legs up and trudged down the last few stairs. I remeber people were laughing they were so happy to be out and breathe fresh air again. I finally reahced the bottom about 9:30 a.m. Unexpectedly for me, we came out on the mezzanine of the lobby facing West Street and not the ground floor. We made our way around to the east side facing the plaza. There my boss saw one of the executive officers of the Port Authority who was directing people out of the building and asked where the rest of the PA leadership was meeting. He didn't know. As he spoke to him my eyes wandered out onto the plaza that had been transformed into some place I did not recognize. We have all heard a thousand times that people who jumped form the towers were pulverized when they hit the ground. They were not. They were broken. They were burned. They were twisted into unnatural and horrible poses. I felt my jaw loosen in its sockets and begin to drop and my stomach begin to churn. I have since learned that this is a normal reaction to such a scene. My boss grabbed me and we descended the escalators to the ground floor and passed through the revolving doors to the shopping mall under the plaza. The mall was flooded from the sprinklers and some of the marble was coming off the walls. I recognized a Port Authority police sergeant that I knew and asked him if he knew where the PA leadership was meeting. He said we could try the police desk in WTC 5. My boss and I headed east through the mall and then up the stairs to the police desk. We introduced ourselves and made our way to the back of the command center. There was a TV there, but it was only getting sound and very fuzzy pictures. It was there I first learned that the Pentagon had been attacked as well and that there were reports of multiple planes that had been hijacked and were unaccounted for. The information slowly sunk in. This was not random, not an accident, not a solitary madman in search of glory. This was war and whether I ever saw my wife and family again was completely up in the air. Just then my pager went off again for the umpteenth time. It was my wife. I asked one of the officers if I could use a phone he said there was one I could use in the offices around the corner. I sat down at a desk and began to dial my number, but a thousand feet above me tower two had begun to come apart and the line went dead, the lights went out and the building began to rumble like it was sitting inside a thunder cloud. I tried to make my way back to the room where my boss was, but kept losing my footing as tower two came down on top of us. I found him and we started running through the dark to the front of the command center. There we were greeted by a phalanx of firefighters, police and FBI who were running towards us. We turned aorund and began to follow them out a door that led to the concouse, but all we found was fire and debris. We shut the door and started to run back towards the entrance, but the building was shaking so violently now that we braced ourselves in doorways for what was surely the end. What a strange way to die, I thought. And at that moment the most beautiful calm came over me and I knew that I was ready for death. But it never came. The rumbling stopped and we carefully stood up and surveyed our surroundings. The emergency ligths were on, but it was difficult to see through all the dust. We gathered around a water cooler and put water on our handkerchefs or ties to cover our mouths with and decided to try and go out the front. When we opened the door we found pitch blackness and dust. The cops turned on their flashlights and then we saw the ghosts. People covered in dust - dazed, bleeding, crying. We grabbed as many as we could and stepped over the ones who were beyoned help. I looked at my boss and without a word we clasped hands and followed the police and fire personnel, not knowing where we were going. They found the door to Border's bookstore and smashed it open. We walked through the store and out into the open. We were free, but not home. There were horrors still to be seen and realities to be faced, but none very different than the expereince of many New Yorkers that day. I walked more than a hundred blocks to come home to my wife that night and I wept uncontrollably when I got home and finally relaized what had happened that day and how many we had lost. I will never be whole again. That day has stripped me of so much. There is a sadness that intrudes even the happiest moments of my life now. A silent persistent presence in every moment that may be pushed to the background, but can never be pushed out of the room. For a long time, I did not know why I lived and why so many valiant others perished. I'm not sure I even know now. Why? Why? Why? I have decided that I will make my own reason and that the reason I survived is to meet my daughter. She is that much more beautiful to me for all the terrible things I saw that day. She is the reason I survived. She is the reason I can endure this day every year. I am so grateful. So sad. So very sad. But I am alive. 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 story9928.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.196.3.108 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was walking through the door from jogging and my phone rang and it was my mother telling me to sit down and turn on the T.V. I couldn't believe my eyes all I could think about was I was there nine months ago and also getting ahold of my best friend that lives in Manhattan. You could not get through the lines so I rushed to my moms and searched for another number and I finally got ahold of him, he was o.k. I sat in front of the T.V. until 2 or 3 the next morning just crying and in a state of shock that this was really happening. I think it was a couple of nights after the WTC I was on the phone with my best friend and all of the sudden he said we are being evacuated from the apartment building becuase of some threat towards The Empire State Building, I was just terrified because you could hear people trying to rush out the door. For the next week or so my eyes were glued to the T.V. and I would talk to my best friend everynight to make sure that he was o.k. because he was there right in the middle of it, he even had to keep his windows closed because of the dust and smog in the air. I refused to ever fly again after that,but three weeks ago I flew to California. I refuse to let them get the best of me. Today as I sat in my car with a moment of silience tears streamed down my face. I can't even imgaine what the people in New York,Washington and PA are going through. My heart goes out to each and everyone of the Victim's families & friends. Also to the heros you are what makes us who we are today. Alicia Dallas, TX 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 story4157.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.66.241.225 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 is the day after September 11th, 2002, and still I cry at the stories and the images I see. It was shortly after 8:00 a.m. Central Time, a year ago, when the phone rang and mom was asking if I had the TV on. I said yes, I am watching something I had taped the day before. She told me to turn on the regular channels because 2 planes had hit the World Trade Towers in NYC. Never having been to NY, I knew of the Towers but was not really familiar with all they stood for. That of course changed that infamous day a year ago. My life has also changed and how I think about certain things. Even though I think we all knew in our hearts it was terrorism, it wasn't until after the Pentagon was hit that I was certain. I was on the phone with a good friend and we were saying, oh my God (literally crying out to Him), what is next? What is going to be struck next? When I heard about the plane crash in Pennsylvania, I immediately knew it was a hijacking that had been thwarted. I stayed glued to the TV for 3 days and in shock for weeks. I don't even remember sleeping or remember the few weeks after the 11th of last year. It is a blur except for what I saw. I don't believe this is something we will get over in just a year. I haven't. I still shake my head in wonder at what occurred. I still cry thinking about what those people must have gone through. I pray for all those that have lost someone, all those that survived the horror and live with it everyday. I pray for peace, but I pray also our country prevails and is safe from anything ever happening like this again. I have always been a proud American, but never more proud than I am right at this moment. I say this with all my heart, God bless the USA and all those that stand beside her and with her. 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 story6842.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. 67.234.4.173 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: my son,who was waiting to leave for salt lake city to go to the mission training center in provo,woke me up and said "mom, i don,t think your soaps will be on today because the world trade center and pentagon have been attacked." even though i was a conservative,i was not terribly patrotic. that day changed me. i realize what a wonderful country that i live in. i do not want to lose the values that our nation stands for. i support president bush and pray that sept. 11,2001 is a day that will remain in the minds of the citizens of the usa. 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 story20363.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. 2006-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.161.32.28 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 IN MY CAR GOING TO WORK,I TURNED ON THE RADIO AN LISTENED TO HOWARD STERNS SHOW, THINKING HE WAS JUST KIDDING( YOU KNOW HOWARD) I THOUGHT THIS CANNOT BE REAL UNTIL I SPOKE TO MY UNCLE IN NY THAT DAY. SEE MY UNCLE NICKY WAS THE MANAGER FOR THE WORLD TRADE FROM THE BEGINING WHEN THEY WERE BUILT. WHEN HE RETIRED HIS SON TOOK OVER. TILL I HEARD A 80 YR OLD MAN CRY AN WEEP LIKE HE DID THAT WAS WHEN I KNEW IT WAS REAL. I GREW UP IN NY AN NEVER THOUGHT THIS COULD HAPPEN EVER. I JUST HOPE THE AMERICANS BORN HERE REALIZE WHAT WE HAVE AN TO NEVER EVER LET OUR FREEDOM BE TAKEN LIKE THAT EVER BY PEOPLE THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN ALLOWED IN THIS COUNTRY IN THE FIRST PLACE. SIGNED, MICHELLE DEPALMA (A BORN NOT TRANSPLANTED) UNITED STATES AMERICAN CITIZEN 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 story8062.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. 204.203.140.172 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 driving to my job as a 5th grade teacher in school district 131 in Aurora, IL. On the way to work I heard of the first plane crashing into the WTC, however, at the point, it was being reported as maybe a small private craft, and an accident. Later in the morning while my students were in pe, I heard of the second crash, and it was on film, it was then obvious that this was a deliberate attack by someone. All through the day it was sheer torture.. I have never felt such fear as an American.. I was afraid.. I wanted to be home with my husband and with my children.. At lunch time all the teachers went out for lunch to a place with a television so we could get all the information. It was decided that we should not mention the situation to our students until almost dismissal time. We have many children who go home to an empty house at the end of the day.. so we were told to tell them to not be afraid.. That was the most difficult task I have ever been given,, I was afraid very afraid, and I could hardly hold back tears when trying to assure my students... I do not know anyone that died in September 11, however the people that did are the people of us all.. I feel the loss of them everyday,, I remember , and I will never forget Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9332.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. 2003-06-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was late to work and as I was settling in a co-worker walked in late as well, announcing a plane had hit the WTC. Details were sketchy at that point, until we got a call that another one had hit the other building. Then I heard the Pentagon was on fire. At that point I became scared, as I am from DC, my family still lives there. I realized my cousin's husband was recently transferred to the Pentagon with the Air Force & called his wife at home to see if she'd heard from him. She did not sound alarmed when I called & had women coming over for a morning prayer group - Pentagon wives. I asked if Mike was okay & she told me he was in England. "Thank God!" I said. As it turned out she hadn't heard about the Pentagon yet, so she relayed the information to the women there. Then I let her go so they could find out whatever they needed to. I said a prayer for all the women there. Then I called my sister-in-law who works for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She told me from her office she could see the smoke. I felt sick and vulnerable at that thought. She said they would most likely be going home shortly. I felt better, but not until all were home safe & sound. She mentioned her brother who just took a leave of absence from the Marines for a one-year intern job on Wall Street, was safe and going home and that her brother-in-law was on the street in NY talking on the phone to her mother as the second plane hit. He had been saying he was okay and tell all not to worry, when he said "oh my God, there's another plan!" He was safe, but had soot & debris covering him as he tried to move away from the area. My other sister-in-law works for the National Institute of Health & when called, she said they were going home, too. I felt better that they at least would be away from governmental buildings. Later I called when all were home and talked with my nieces who were telling me the planes flying overhead were frightening. I felt better having talked to them, they were still kids at heart in this matter, trying to have fun, but talking about it going on around them. I just wanted to put my arms around them and around my brothers. I recalled thinking about fears of Washington as a target during the Cold War years that were part of my youth, but that fear had gone away with the end of the Cold War. And now, here I live some 900 miles away, safe, but so vulnerable. I wanted to be there. I didn't want to be a sole survivor in a worst case scenario. However, it was comforting that I could offer a safe haven if my family needed a place to go. Family has always been important to me and today it's even moreso. 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 story1212.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. 208.21.43.221 Annotation Annotations to this item. Religion 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: At the time I was teaching Profoundly Handicapped Teenagers, and we were just finishing up our morning group time. My assistant, Crystal Foster, came into the room saying a plane had hit one of the towers. We were horrified at the terrible "accident". I asked her to go back to the classroom and see if there was any additional information such as if the pilot was ill, had they radioed in a mechanical malfunction. She returned visibly shaken and telling us a second plane had hit the other tower and the news was saying they were hijacked planes. We couldn't believe it! My class went to music and I went to the room with the television, in shock and hoping, somehow, there was a mistake! As I entered the room, the news was replaying the image of the second tower being struck by a speeding silver arrow - the second plane. I watched a few moments, in horror, then went to the music room to tell the music teacher what was happening. When we received news of the Pentagon being struck by a third plane, that is when the reality of this un-reality set in and we started to cry. Hearing about the bravery of the passengers on the fourth plane, and that tragic end, started the growth of fear and sickness within me. I felt the world as I knew it had spun out of control and no corner was safe enough for me to be in with my children. Were we about to fight a war on our soil? I was mesmerized by the news accounts that evening, trying to see if South Carolina was hopefully safe, or not. I still cannot completely believe that we were attacked and so many thousands of innocent lives were destroyed! Amid accounts of the long lines to blood donations, I can still see the images of idle hospital workers, frustrated at the lack of people to treat. The quote from one doctor saying they were ready to help but not many injured people (compared to the thousands that work in the Trade Center) were being brought to them, breaks my heart. It is still so incredible to me that literally only a few survivors were found after the collapses. I cannot wrap my brain around the reasons why. To attack a beacon of hope - America - was an attack on all of civilization. I can still cry when I think about the services held around the world for us. The other enduring image that floats before my mind's eye is the political cartoon on the 12th. The Statue of Liberty in a crumpled posture, weeping, torch held down and the other hand covering her face. 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 story4791.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. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11 was three days before my 18th birthday. I felt like I had the whole world in front of me. I woke up that morning to get ready for class when I got a call from my boyfriend. I was very proud I had gotten up all on my own because I was about to be dropped from my classes in college. He told me I didn't have to worry about getting ready for school and too turn on the TV. The second I turned it on I was in complete shock. There was one of the WTC buildings with a plane sticking out of it. I was in awe of the sight and not even a minute later I watched as the second plane hit the other tower. The realization of what was happening hit me America was being attacked. Although it was on the other side of the country I had to call my family to make sure they were okay. For weeks I lived in fear that the city I lived in would be next. San Antonio is a huge military town and it is known here that it is not unlikely for us too be attacked. Four months later I decided to take my safety into my own hands and I enlisted in the Army. I did it so that I would know I am making a difference in protecting my family. I spent four years in the military and did one tour in Iraq and I am extremely proud of every minute of it. My husband is now on his second tour and words can not describe how proud of him I am. September 11, 2001 was a defining moment in my life. It not only helped unite America but it brought me to a turning point in my life. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20799.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. 71.51.43.133 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: I had been sleeping because I had stayed home from school. My aunt called me and she said "a plane just flew into the World Trade Center". To tell you the truth I wasn't quite sure what the World Trade Center was. Needless to say I would never again not know what the World Trade Center was. I got off the phone and immediatly turned on the TV. I went straight to CNN. In reailty I did not need to go to CNN because there was coverage on almost every single channel. I was amazed. I actully got up just in time to see the second plane smash into the second tower. At first, and I think many Americans felt this way, i didnt really think that it was real. America as a whoe usually viewed itself as invincible at the time. And now all the sudden there were these planes smashing into our buildings. I started trying to remeber if I knew anyone that lived in New York... I didnt. I was in awe staring at the screen and the constant replays of the events. People knew it was terroroist but not everyone was sure whether it was foreign or coming from our own people. Then I started getting scared because no one was sure at ths point whether there was going to be anymore attacks. We have Davis Monthan Air Force Base here in Tucson and so immediatly we start thinking about whether or not that would be a target and if so, how much danger would be involved for surrounding areas.ANd then I started thinking about my family, you know what if this turns into a big war and what if it is on a AMerican soil and on and on, so many things going through my head. I was starting to realise how important this was, the scale of this tradgedy and how no Americans lives would be the same. Eventally news came out the Osama Bin Laden was the main suspect and that we were going to go to war and I was deeply saddened. More innicent lived were going to be lost. More Americans, more people in other countries that have nothing to do with anything. And still to day we are at war an to no avail because we still have not getten the man weve been looking for for so long and so many people have died that shouldnt have. Hopefully, one day, we can all live in peace, every nation every nationality every sex, every denomination. In reality there is only one race, and that is human. 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 story1477.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.229.179.121 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 Seminar on Accepting Change in the Business world. When we took a group break from the seminar we all went out in the hallway to find several hotel guests and employees glued to a TV set watching the first plane go into the tower. Everyone was shocked and continues to watch TV with people passing by asking what everyone was watching. The tradgedy continued to unfold as we all started watching and mourning in the shock. We went back to class the rest of the day was very different. The speakers had to continue on but using the event as accepting change and going on. It was difficult to focus and once the day ended we all went home to our families. 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 story5777.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. 24.220.230.229 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of Sept,11 I was arriving at school with the child that was placed in my care.I work with the severely handicap.We arrived a little late so I placed my belongings down on my desk,and I had to rush him down to the cafeteria to have his picture taken;it was picture day.I remember walking back into the classroom and looking up at the t.v. at this time the first plane had hit one of the TWC buildings.I stood there glued to the t.v. trying to figure out what happened;at that time the other plane slammed into the building.That's when I realized that what had just happened was not an accident.I held on to the little boy who was in my care and I cried a lot that day.I saw people jumping out of the burning buildings and I prayed with everything I had in me.As the morning continued on the broadcasters announced that the Pentagon had been hit also.I immediately called my husband to see if he had heard from his brother who works at the Pentagon.I could tell by the sound of his voice that he hadn't been able to contact him at that time.I can't remember actually doing my job that day,but I know I did all of the kids were taken care somehow because our class that day was held in a crip of total disbelief.My brother-in-law had not contacted anyone and we found out that his new office was right where the plane had hit.After two hours of praying and crying he called to say he was o.k.I still did my husband later told me that although his office was on that side of the building he wasn't in it.He was suppose to be in a meeting,but he ran an errand to the other side where his old office was located.It's truly a miracle that he was on the opposite side when it happened.I felt releived to hear he was o.k.,but I kept thinking about the ones who wasn't going to walk away from that;who's loved ones would have deal to with the lost of their mothers,fathers,sisters,brothers,friend,and family members who wouldn't call to say I'm o.k. Today marks a year since this tragedy took place and I still hurt.I Know I live in a little town in Texas but,I felt like I was there with them.I felt the confusion,disbelief,anger and the sense of lost.We did lose a lot that day but we gained so much more in terms of compassion towards our neighbors regardless of their backgrounds because this is something we all shared it was a common feeling across the board.I would like the people of New York,The Pentagon and especially the people on the plane that crashed in Shankstown to know that they are my heros even if I never get to meet any of them their'll always be in my prayers.I pray to God for their healing. 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 story6404.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. 12.238.173.179 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 cousin, Elaine Duch, was on the 88th floor of the World Trade Center, Tower One. She saw the explosion in front of her and would have been blown to bits if she had been standing a few feet forward. Instead, she was burned, more than likely, by the heat from the explosion. 77% of her body was burned, but she was able to get down from the 88th floor and out of the building. At the Cornell Burn Center, she was given a 10% chance of surviving. Now, almost 8 months later, she is a September 11 survivor. Elaine was the next to the last person to leave the burn center after being unconscious for 3 months. CNN did a story on her recovery which you can see at http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/01/29/wtc.burn.victim/index.html Currently, Elaine is at a rehabilitation center, and she is still unable to walk. She is facing this tragedy with courage, hope, and faith. Her strong spirit has been an inspiration to me; her experience has caused me to question the call that is made that determines one's destiny, the judgement that is made which, on the one hand saves a person from being in an explosion, but on the other hand allows the person to be burned by the heat from the explosion. What is it that makes us stand in one place and not in another. Being concerned with the forces that determine one's fate, I decided to create a multimedia DVD with an animation and an original brain wave music composition which I am dedicating to Elaine. The DVD is designed to provide healing energy for Elaine, as well as other victims of misfortune. "PeaceStreams" is the name of the DVD, which is scheduled to premiere at the Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage on August 1st at 6pm, in conjunction with Sonic Circuits, an international experimental, electronic music and arts festival. My wish is that Elaine will be there and that, after the DVD is premiered, I will be able to introduce her to the audience. The concert is free, and I hope all of you will be there to cheer Elaine on to walk again. Paras Kaul neural artist and researcher http://www.paraswest.com http://www.soniccircuits.com coordinator, electronic publications George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu 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 story505.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. 2002-05-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.32.152 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in my office working when one of my coworkers came running down the hall saying that two planes had collided in mid air. I thought, Oh how horrible. But being as this type of accident had occurred in the past, I could accept that it happened, even though it was still very startling to hear that news. A few moments later my phone rang and my older sister who was home, was crying and told me "Peg, a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in N.Y. I was horrified to know that, but at that time, it still was not realized by America that it was an intentional act of terror. We stayed on the phone and everything just started to go totally haywire with special news reports coming across T.V. and radio. We were both very scared and crying and when we heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon, we really freaked out. I remember Bryant Gumbel, saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God", it is being reported that a plane has just crashed into the Pentagon. At that point we were both crying hysterically and my older sisters words, were, We are at war. We both were so scared, we just did not know what to do. No doubt the rest of that day at work was very unproductive and resulted in many, many tears falling for all the lost lives and just seeing the reports on t.v. showing the planes hitting the buildings and then watching those beautiful towers crashing to the ground. It was too much to bear. So I cannot even imagine the horror of witnessing it in person. The people who did have to see it will be scarred for life with those horrible memories. I know our lives will never be the same in America ever again. A lot of innocence and trust was lost that day, and many hearts were broken 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 story6310.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. 68.11.100.204 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: Living so near the pentagon I'm sure there are kids in my area that lost family memebers. Luckly I didn't lose anyone. I think it's great how much support and donations have gone out to relatives to those who lost their lives. I don't think their was much we could have done to prevent these attacks sense they were so unexpected. When I first heard that the planes were flying from DC to Chicago I was worried cause my father flew out that morning from a plan Chicago bound. Luckily he wasn't. Now that this has happened there is no need to worry about it because we can not change the past but what we can do is help prevent it in the future. George W. Bush has already shown that he isn't planning on stopping till terrism is gone. 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 story7610.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. 2002-09-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.100.250.178 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 started as an ordinary day. My husband drives me to work most mornings on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn, down to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and into lower Manhattan. I worked in the World Financial Center South Tower in Merrill Lynch. This was directly across from the South Tower of the World Trade Center. That morning as we made our way down the Gowanus and into the EZ Pass lanes, we were suddenly delayed in our lane when the EZ Pass equipment didn?t work for the car in front of us. The policeman had to take the license plate number and tag number of that car, and from us, before we could proceed. As we waited for clearance, I noted it was 8:40 a.m. I became restless because I had wanted to be at work well before 9:00 a.m. We finally proceeded into the tunnel about five minutes later. Halfway through the tunnel, half the tunnel lights went out and when we reached the Manhattan side, we were suddenly facing a burning WTC North Tower. We thought something terrible must have happened inside. It must have been a bomb. My husband left me off in front of the tunnel across from Battery Park City, realizing he could not get through on West Street. I didn?t realize it until later, but the five minute delay at the EZ Pass could have saved us from injury or death as we would have been very near the towers if we went through the tunnel on time. As I crossed West Street, the horror of the situation started to dawn on me. All I could think of was the people inside the Tower and how would they escape. Then I started to notice debris and hysteria along West Street, on the sidewalk and on the highway itself. I asked a few people if I could help them, but they just shook their heads no as they cried. I ran to the World Financial Center South Tower where my office was. People stood stunned and crying. When I entered the building, I ran to a phone to call my mother-in-law to tell her I was fine and Ed (my husband) was on his way back to Brooklyn. She then told me a plane had hit the tower and wondered why I was continuing into the building. I said that I would try to get to my office, but would follow directions if I was turned away. I went through the turnstiles of the South Tower, and I seemed to be the only person going in when everyone else seemed to be leaving. I went up to the 14th floor, to see more people leaving, but when I reached my department my manager and division director seemed to be trying to get information and make and answer calls. When I reached my office, I called my husband on the cell phone, telling him I was there and OK. At that point, he was in front of the Brooklyn Battery tunnel, heading back towards Brooklyn, and said he thought another plane was coming. I didn?t understand what he was talking about. (Later on I learned that the second plane passed right over the entrance to the tunnel, and my husband saw it crash into the second tower. He was stuck in traffic in front of the tunnel until just a few minutes before that tower fell.) The next thing I knew, we were told we had to evacuate. A group of us gathered and we were told it appeared we were under an attack. We made our way down the stairs and exited in front of the Winter Garden, near the North Cove. There were hundreds of people there, and suddenly we would hear shouts and I suddenly realized the people were shouting as people were jumping from the Towers. I looked once, saw one person fall, and then turned my back to the Towers. It was too horrible to look at. The smoke was so black, and the towers just completely obliterated by the smoke. I couldn?t believe what was happening. I had the feeling we should get out of Manhattan altogether; that we were at terrible risk. Initially I stood by the Ferry dock, but then our management told us to begin heading home or to safety. I then had a decision to make. Policemen were telling us to go North. However, one of our managers, who had recently relocated from London back to New York, had the use of a Corporate Apartment in Battery Park City until he moved into his permanent residence in Brooklyn. Knowing I lived in Brooklyn, as well as another one of our Associates, he offered us the opportunity to come there and make calls, and then perhaps head later on for the Brooklyn Bridge or Staten Island Ferry. I agreed to go. We walked the few blocks south to the apartment and went up to the 14th floor. We weren?t in the apartment more than a minute when we suddenly heard what appeared to be a low flying jet plane. We thought we were under attack again. Not knowing where to run, we got away from the windows and headed towards the hallway, when it became evident, it was the sound of the South Tower falling. We heard screams of people in the street, and saw the dark cloud of debris fill everywhere outside. The apartment started to fill with smoke. We headed towards the basement, only to be told to go back up. The basement was filling with smoke. Then, we began to hear on CNN, that the Pentagon was hit, and maybe more buildings, like the Sears Tower. Suddenly, I felt like I must be dreaming. I wanted to wake up, but realized I was awake, and that this was the worst nightmare one could imagine, and that I just might not live through this. I said some silent prayers. Then, the second tower fell. This time it became as black as night. It was truly black. Then slowly, some light started to show through, but the electricity was now out. No lights, or TV, or air in the apartment. Now, I wanted to leave when the dust settled. We sat for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then came a knock at the door that we had to evacuate. There was the danger of gas explosions. We made our way down the stairs, in total darkness, feeling our way with the help of one of the apartment tenants who came out on the stairs in the floor below. Before we left the apartment, we wet towels to put over our nose and mouth when we got outside. Outside was nuclear winter. Debris was still falling like snow flurries. We didn?t know where to go first, but then heard the sound of a policeman directing people toward the South Cove. We ran in that direction and found several police boats. I got into a boat, and thought the others did also, but they actually began to walk North towards the Brooklyn Bridge. I was so relieved to be on the boat and heading to Jersey. As a true Brooklynite and city person, New Jersey never looked so good. The boat took us to Liberty State Park, and I wandered around there among hundreds of people waiting for announcements. There was a large triage center there with dozens of emergency workers and dozens of ambulances. Most of us just wandered and waited. I was finally able to get through to my husband on the cell phone and tell him where I was. I finally looked at my watch. It was near 1:00 p.m. I had no sense of time. Finally, it was announced that buses would take us, women with children first, to an old Army Reserve Center in Jersey City called Caven Point. Several buses arrived and we were driven with police escort to that location. Army men took our names at the center so that people could find us. There were several hundred people at the center and when some food arrived near 3:00 p.m., it was all gone before most of us could get to it. There were, however, cases of water and soft drinks. Then after about an hour, we were told that some of us might want to go to the Marine Ocean terminal, a former naval base, where there would be better chances for transportation home. After calling my husband about this change, he thought I should go; that it would bring me closer to home. On my way to the bus, I finally met a Merrill colleague who had just transferred to a new department a few weeks before. I was never so happy to see someone I knew. I told him where I was going and he thought he should go there as well. He later recounted how he could have lost his life when the first tower went down. His youngest child was at the WTC child care center and he was attempting to get her after the towers were hit, but he was sent away and out of danger. Thankfully, his child was already out of the center and was fine. We were then taken to Marine Ocean Terminal in Bayonne. We were put in a large gymnasium. There were men, women, babies, children, and many dogs. The Mayor of Bayonne was wonderful. He kept us informed and tried to make us feel comfortable, but there wasn?t a lot of good news about getting home. Our only options for that night were to walk over the Bayonne Bridge to Staten Island, or to go to Newark Penn station to points south, north or west. Some people did take advantage of those options which brought our numbers down somewhat in the gymnasium. In the end, there were probably 150+ people there. The Mayor of Bayonne, the local police, firemen and EMTs and other citizens did their best to help us through that stay. We had two priests among us offering grief counseling. We had a full course dinner donated by a local Italian eatery, cookies and milk at 10:00 p.m., and non-stop coffee, tea, sodas and water. They had put a large radio in the gymnasium that was on constantly through the night. Local boyscouts brought us mats to sleep on, sheets and pillow cases, and tee shirts from a local sanitation company. We received toothbrushes and toothpaste, paper towels and soap, and mouthwash. They got prescription drugs for those of us who needed them, since we didn?t know what time we would get home the next day. Later on into the night we received heavier blankets because it became quite cool. They had the doors open all night. They put four phones in the gymnasium where we could make phone calls. Even into the night, there were lines to the phones. We would go outside and look across the water and see the fires burning under a clear night sky. At 4:00 a.m., I couldn?t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the burning towers. I got up from my mat, and there was every type of breakfast item you could imagine. There were many of us wandering around at 4:00 a.m. The policemen stood by the doors and asked if they could help us in any way. Did we want to talk? Shortly before dawn, newspapers were delivered to the gymnasium. We all gathered around to see the papers, and suddenly I realized what I had escaped. Finally, at 8:00 a.m., we had a briefing. We were told that buses would arrive at 9:00 a.m. to take us to Staten Island. So, those of us living in Brooklyn and Staten Island prepared to go to the buses. Bayonne officials and one of the priests came on the bus and wished us well. The priest gave us his blessing. Once again we were escorted, all the way to the Staten Island Mall. I had called my husband and he met me at the bus and then we returned to Brooklyn. It was September 12, and our 25th Wedding Anniversary. I am so grateful to my management who led us out of our building that day, the manager who led us to his apartment and thereby sheltered us from the worst of the debris, the Mayor and citizens of Bayonne, and last, but certainly not least, I thank you God for guiding me to all the right places. 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 story670.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. 2002-05-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.192.75.31 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 with another volunteer in a community food pantry. We had just opened the doors when I received a call from my mother telling us a plane had hit the first tower. Calls continued to come but we didn't realize the full impact of what was going on. We heard it was a small plane, or a jet fighter, or a bomb had gone off. It was a couple of hours later before we understood the magnitude of what was happening in our country. Both of us had sons away at college across the country in Nashville, TN, Cleveland, TN and Denver CO. Our first desire was to talk to our children. We knew they were away from the danger but there is just that need to hear their voices. As we finished working at the pantry and were able to return to our homes, like the rest of the nation, I was glued to my television. My church organized a prayer vigil for that night. Our minister of music had downloaded pictures from the internet that we were able to show that night as we prayed. We had people from different occupations from our congregation lead us in prayer for different groups; police chiefs, firefighters, mothers, students, teachers, the armed forces...for that one night we were all one family. We all hurt and this was the only thing we could do that would make a difference. May we continue to call on the Lord and bring our country back to the Christian nation it once was. 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 story2739.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.209.148.211 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: There was never a more chilling sight than the tragedy of September 11 of 2001. I was 21, only a year ago, but it opened my eyes to a world that I have yet to discover the words to explain. I watch horror movies all the time but there was a reality to what I was witnessing on television. I lost my breath and I cried for those people as they jumped from the NYC TradeTowers to save their lives. I wanted God to come at that moment and save them all but the entire Trade Center went crashing down. I didn't want to believe in God after seeing that but I know that God didn't want those people to perrish but their are some 'ass holes' living in this world who don't have appreciation for the entire team and one love. I saw people I hadn't seen in years after the tragedy and the pain from the past seemed like a joke. May this event shape the globe into the heart that it is and for everyone who reads this may your heart pour out a love that will touch everyone around you and maybe (just maybe) terrorist attacks will be a thing of the past. 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 story8429.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. 2002-10-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 137.148.229.235