371 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: ON SEPTEMBER 11TH 2001 I SAT IN MY LIVING ROOM.I WAS ABOUT TO CONTINUE PLACING THE WOOD TILE DOWN ON THE FLOOR. I GET A CALL FROM MY WIFE TELLING ME TO TURN ON THE NEWS. I TURN TO CNN AND SEE THAT ONE OF THE TWIN TOWERS HAS A LARGE HOLE IN IT. FOR A MINUTE I ASSUME THAT IT IS A SMALL PLANE THAT LOST CONTROL AND FLEW INTO THE BUILDING. I ATTMPTED TO CONTACT MY BROTHER. I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD BE WORKING UNIL 8:00 PM THAT NIGHT AND WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM HIM AFTER I RETURNED HOME FROM WORK. AS I CONTINUED TO WATCH THE NEWS COVERAGE I COULD SEE THAT THE HOLE IN THE BUILDING WAS LARGER THAN I THOUGHT. I CONITUED PLACING THE TILE ON THE FLOOR. A FEW MINUTES LATER I SEE ANOTHER PLANE HEADED TOWARDS THE SOUTH TOWER. MY HEART DROPPED. I CONTACTED MY SISTER IN LAW WHO ADVISED ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE. I WATCHED IN HORROR AS TWO BUILDINGS THAT I GREW UP KNOWING AS THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK CITY,FELL TO PIECES. TIME WENT ON. I COULD FELT LIKE A PIECE OF MY HEART HAD STOPPED. THROUGH ALL OF THIS I EXPECTED TO HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS BACK IN FLORIDA. THE HOURS AND DAYS WENT BY AND STILL I WOULD GET THE SAME RESPONSE, " I'M STILL WAITING TO HEAR SOMETHING MYSELF". THANKSGIVING DAY I WATCH AS THE RESCUE WORKERS PLACE ANOTHER BODY ON A STRETCHER WITH AN AMAERICAN FLAG OVER IT. THE NEXT DAY I RECEIVE THE CALL FROM LILY. ALL SHE SAYS IS " COME HOME, THEY FOUND YOUR BROTHER. I ASKED IF HE WAS OKAY, SHE SAYS, NO". WE DEPARTED FOR NEW YORK THAT SUNDAY MORINING. WE ARRIVED AT 7PM. I HUGGED LILLY AND THEN WE ALL DROVE TO HER HOUSE TO MOURN. THE NEXT DAY WE ALL DRIVE TO THE ORTIZ FUNERAL HOME AND THERE WE SEE A BLACK AND GOLD BOX CONTAINING MY BROTHER'S REMAINS. DAVID WAS LAID TO REST THE NEXT DAY. I WAS VERY PROUD TO TELL THE WORLD THAT MY BROTHER DAVID ORTIZ DIED FOR HIS COUNTRY. HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE THE NORTH TOWER. INSTEAD HE ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO THE TOWER TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GET OUT. DAVID DIED ON THE STREET BY THE NORTH TOWER. HE NEVER MADE IT BACK INTO THE TOWER. MY REASON FOR WRITING THIS TODAY IS BECAUSE ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 I SAW MY BROTHER DAVID ON CNN NEWS NEXT TO AN EMT WORKER. IT LASTED FOR A AT LEAST 3 TO 5 SECONDS. I HAVE ATTMEPTED TO CONTACT CNN AND WAS ADVISED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY A $300.00 CHARGE FOR THE FOOTAGE AND THAT THEY DO NOT GURARANTEE ANYTHING. THEY ALSO ADVISED ME THAT THE FOOTAGE MAY HAVE COME FROM MSNBC. I ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT THEM AS WELL AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY DO NOT SELL THERE FOOTAGE. I HOPE THATONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT FOOTAGE THAT I WATCHED ON CNN OF MY BROTHER DOING WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND THAT THING WAS, TO HELP HIS FELLOW MAN. GOD BLESS YOU DAVID, YOU WERE THE BEST AND IN MY HEART, YOU STILL ARE,MARTIN. 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 story8625.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. 2002-11-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.77.205.219 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at Abilene Regional Hospital having some X-Ray tests done. Because they were doing tests which used radioactivity, the technician would have to come in and tell me to lay in a certain position and then he would go back into a separate room to take the x-rays. After he had gone back and forth a couple of times, he came back in and said that a plane had hit one of the World Tower buildings in New York City. I remember that all of the Dr.s and Nurses were all trying to decided whether it was a mistake, or if it was just an accident, and it really had been hit, and then he went out and came back in to tell me that the second building had been hit. I felt like I was almost in shock-we all were-none of us had ever imagined anything like this could have ever happened. After I left the hospital, I began to discuss what had happened with the woman who had come with me. I remember that we were flipping through all of the radio stations, and all we found was news-nothing but the story was on...As we were driving home, they announced that the Pentagon had also been hit. After that, there was nothing to say. We sat there together, and then we prayed, but it was so far away, and so unattached to our lives that it was tragic, but it didn't really touch our lives. I think that I was not truly affected by it until I learned that a co-worker had someone in the Pentagon. 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 story363.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. 2002-04-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.216.57.67 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site 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: I wake up every day to the radio on my alarm clock. I usually hit the snooze a few times before waking. The alarm went off, the radio came on, and before I could hit the button I heard the DJ say that a light plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I was immediately awake and turned on the TV to see a live shot of the towers on fire. It had already been an hour since the first plane hit, it was 6:45am Pacific time. My first thought was of the movie Towering Inferno and I then, "How are they going to get those fires out? How will they rebuild those floors?" As I watched for the next fifteen minutes or so, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was alone and just kept repeting to myself, "I can't believe this." I was watching NBC and their man at the Pentagon, Jim M. then came on to say that he didnt want to alarm anyone but there was a loud explosion at the Pentagon. Then came the tower collapsing. The shot from the camera made it look at first like an explosion had occurred on a lower floor, but then there was so much smoke and dirt, it was obvious what had happened. I remember one of the announcers saying, it was an act of war on the U.S. Somehow I managed to take a shower. I had recently been promoted and for some reason felt obligated to still go to work, although I didnt want to leave my TV for anything. Next thing I heard was that there was another plane missing and they presumed it had been hijacked, and then that it had crashed in PA. The TV was showing all of the firefighters and police officers going into the remaining tower. The announcer saying something about their bravery, going in and not knowing what was going to happen to that tower. At the time I was dating a police officer and so I was/am very sensitive to what happens to the men and women who protect us. I was scared for all of them. I decided to call my mom who was just arriving at work I guessed, and I didn't know what she would know. I was still in my towel, wet from the shower. When she answered the phone I asked her, "Do you know what is happening?" All she knew was that the towers had been hit. As I started to explain what had been reported, I started crying. Just saying it out loud made it real and totally scary and unbelievable. Just then the second tower collapsed. She later told me that I was hysterical, screaming into the phone, "It's falling, it's falling! The tower is falling on them." How I made it to my car, drove to Ballard and actually managed to do some work inbetween listening to the radio for news, I don't know. People I came in contact with were numb, you could read it in their face. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel it all over again. How those innocent people were taken from us all. I try not to think about it so much though. I don't want anyone to ever forget, however I do hope to move on, and so, tomorrow I am going to New York city for the first time. Although I have been told that you really can't see much of anything at Ground Zero, it will be the first place I go. 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 story7961.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. 2002-09-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.230.236.31 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 will never forget the day. My classmates and I learned over the intercom from our principal that our nation had been attacked. There was so much going through my mind, so many questions, many left unanswered. As the day progressed and we got more and more details it became unbearable to imagine, the damage and loss of precious lives. As I looked into the face of a friend who had an uncle on the 66th floor of Tower 2, I saw what the pain and feelings that must have been in so many families eyes. As days went by and so many stories were being told I couldn't and still can't believe all that happened that day. The endless amounts of children and other family members and friends who lost someone they loved just is too hard to handle. As much as a cliche as it is I know that this is a day my grandchildren will ask me about, just like I ask mine about John F. Kennedy, and I hope that I can do my best to make sure that for generations to come the names and faces of the people lost 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 story4264.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My husband Rick and I had just recently moved from Kansas to Florida after he was discharged from the Military. We were driving from Jacksonville, Florida to Rotonda, Florida so my husband's parents could see their grandson for the second time, he had just turned a year old. We were listening to a morning show and all the sudden the hosts broke in with a report that a plane had hhit one of the Twin Towers. We were in shock. We honestly thought it was a joke...a bad one. We stopped at a Wendys to grab some lunch, and when we went in there was no one at the register or cooking food. All the employees were gathered around a 13 in TV in the Manager's office watching coverage of the attack. I was devistated. My husband was not totally seperated from the Army, he was still technically in for another sixty days. Was he going to be recalled? Was I going to be called. As a former Military Police Officer I still had five years in the Inactive Reserves. My heart dropped. When we arrived at my in-law's home, the coverage of the attack was immense. And then we started to get really nervous...Florida seemed to be on the news an awful lot. Eventually we settled into our visit. We went to the local Wal-Mart to buy an American Flag to put on out car, but they were sold out. THe only thing that was left was a pack of two flags that were pretty little. We bought them anyway. While in line to pay there was a middle eastern man and his caucasian wife in line behind us. He remarked that they had looked everywhere for a flag but weren't able to find any. I gave him one of ours. I figured he needed it more than we did. Neither I nor my husband were recalled, but my husband did rejoin the Army. Serving our country is what we do best. He is protecting all of our freedoms, and I am helping by supporting and loving him. Each day brings a new hope and a new sadness into our lives. A hope that things can get better and a sadness that they had to change. How bittersweet are our memories. How precious the new ones will be. Melissa L. Dwinnell 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 story4573.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. 217.1.79.37 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was like any other day. I woke up and sent my kid off to school and was sharing time with my youngest son when I decided to turn the television on and to my own disbelief I seen it all unravel before my eyes.I remember thinking what has happened and the fear of what else was in store for our nation. If this tragedy didn't put the fear of God on We THE PEOPLE, I don't know what will. God bless America, Land that I love and bless all those families still mourning for their loved ones! 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 story4140.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: I was driving my cat to the vet when I heard about the plane crashing into the first tower and I heard about the second plane hitting the second tower at my Vett's office. When I got home I watched TV and talked to my son for a long time. He didn't go to work on that day. I cried a lot in disbelief as to what had happened. I prayed for all the lost souls and for the loved ones they left behind. America was changed forever. We will never forget. 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 story4876.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. 199.183.107.109 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was my third week of college, as I was a freshman enrolled at the University of Iowa. On Tuesdays, I only have one class, that being my Issues in European Society and Politics, taught by a Mr. Paul Custer, that started at 1:05 in the afternoon. However, for my Elementary German I class, we had a computer program for each chapter that had to be at least completed 50% by the day of the test. Since you could not get the program for your own computer, I had to go to one of the ITC?s (Information Technology Centers, I believe it stands for) to do this. I always went to the Foreign Languages Media Center in Phillips Hall, where my German class met, to do this program. Being I had nothing going on that morning, I went and had breakfast about 7:00 am and them left around 8:00 to go do this, since usually the computers were empty at this time of day. This was how I did this for the rest of the semester. The program took about an hour to complete, so I left Phillips Hall around 9:00 am. When I got back to Rienow Hall, the dorm I was living in, I had to wait for an elevator, since I lived on the 11th Floor. When the door opened, Erin, a girl I went to high school with, came out and asked my if I was listening to the radio (I was listening to Jimmy Buffet on my CD Walkman). I replied ?NO?, and Erin then asked ?Have you heard the news??? ?No, what happened? I asked. ?We?re all going to die, Andy. The World Trade Center, the Pentagon, they?re all gone, We?re all going to die!!? she replied in this hysterical tone. Some of her friends that were with her said ?Erin, calm down!? While I stood there listening to her, the elevator had closed, and I remarked ?Oh thanks, now I missed my elevator!!? I had seen Erin this way before, and it usually seemed it was little things that caused it, or else she was making it up, so I didn?t think much of it. Anyways, the only thing I could think of was that only a nuclear blast could have done what she just said, but dismissed that since I was sure I would have heard something already. Pretty soon another elevator came down and this other guy and I got on. I remarked to him, ?I?ll have to turn on the T.V. when I get to my room, just to make sure.? The guy replied, ?Yeah, it seems a little unbelievable.? When I got up to my room, Brett, my roommate, had the T.V. on. I looked at it, and they were showing a map with the World Trade Center marked with red blocks on this map. When I first saw this, my heart almost skipped a beat. It was like on all the 'day after' movies, with the maps on the screen showing the viewers what was no more. All I could think was, ?Oh God, who nuked us?. As I was thinking this, I said in a medium soft tone, ?Ok, I guess she was telling the truth.? Brett informed me that two jetliners had crashed into the buildings, and both had collapsed. Even when he said this, I made some sort of remark that ?Naw, it would have to be missles launched by someone.? Even when they turned to footage of the towers burning, I still thought it was a missle attack. The idea of hijacked airliners being used in that sort of manner didn?t seem possible. Then they showed footage of the second plane going into the tower. It was just like off of a movie, and the image still sticks out in my mind every time I think about it. I stayed by the T.V. the rest of the morning, with my eyes glued to the scenes of the attacks. It was an awfull lot to take in. I don?t really remember anyone talking about who could have done this sort of thing until later that night. All during the day the news stations were covering what was happening, new orders from the city and government about roads and air traffic being shut down, and so on and so forth. Along the bottom of the screen of the local station we were watching was a list of places closing for the day and prayer meetings for that night. In Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the schools were allowing parents to pick up their children if they wanted to. Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids closed, along with other public areas. I was trying to figure out why they were doing this in Iowa, but then I remembered Palo, a town near Cedar Rapids, which housed a Nuclear Power plant. (a few days later there was a rumor, I never heard it confirmed or denied, that on a list of targets found in one of the accused hijacker?s car, Palo was listed as number 8) Brett?s friend Jordan spent a good part of the day in our room watching coverage with us. Brandon, a guy who was then living in temp housing, came by fairly often. Brandon was from Chicago, and said that his mom worked at the Sears Tower, but couldn?t get in contact with her. He also pointed out that his dad was in the Marines and specializes with disasters like this, so that he would be going out there. I didn?t eat lunch that day, I wanted to stay by the T.V. and watch continuing coverage for as long as I could before I had to go. I left around 12:30 and headed off towards my class. When I got to Schaffer Hall, room 150 there was a sign on the door that read ?Paul Custer?s Issues in European Society and Politics Class will not meet today due to the recent happenings.? I walked as fast as I could back to my dorm room to watch coverage. I tried to call mom on the walk back on the cell phone, but she wasn?t home. When I got back to the room, Brett had downloaded a Boys-to-Men version of the Star Spangled Banner, and had to play it every time causality figures, video of one of the planes crashing into the buildings, and other footage like that was shown. It was either that or Taps. It got really annoying, and finally both Jordan and I told him to knock it off and that we wanted to listen to the television. I went to supper that night, but wolfed the food down and came right back. Mom called me that night, and it was nice to talk to her. SHe and Dad had just gotten back from a prayer service our church for the victims. She had a doctor's appointment that day up in Fort Dodge, a 20 minute drive from Dayton. They had heard a plane had crashed into the Trade Center, but wasn't until they got up to the doctors office they found out about everything else. I was chatting with Steve, a high school friend who was a year behind me, when missile strikes were reported in Afghanastan, but no one could get any confirmation on whether they were US missiles or missiles from the Northern Alliance. Steve commented that he had just registered for selective service, and from what I had read of his posts, seemed concerned about what was going to happen later on. The missiles were later reported to be Northern Alliance ones. At one point that evening Brett turned the station to something else that wasn?t showing coverage, saying silently as he did so ?eh, I don?t want to watch this anymore.? I could see where he was coming from and certainly understood, but I really wasn?t too happy about it. So when he left to go over to Jordan?s I changed the channel to CNN. I stayed up till about 10:30 or so that night, since I had to wake up for a 7:30 Algebra II class the next morning. In the Algebra class we went ahead as if nothing happened. There was a weird feeling there, like things weren?t the same like the last time we met, and no one was really talking. In my German class, we took about a quarter of the time period to talk about it. At first we weren?t really going to, like no one really wanted to start the conversation. We went to start learning German, and one of the guys said, ?I know someone that was lucky, I had a friend that had a meeting scheduled in the World Trade Center yesterday afternoon.? That broke the ice and we spent the next fifteen minutes or so discussing the happenings of the day before. Some of the conversation focused around who may have done this. One guy made a remark about Osama Bin Laden not being capable of pulling something like this off, that the only thing he could do was a car bomb. I wanted to make a comment that if history has taught us anything, it is to never say never, however the conversation had moved on before I could make it. There was discussion on how much money it could take to pull something off like this. The consensus that it could cost a lot, where the hijackers would have to be trained, or be relatively cheap by using already trained pilots. Then talk switched to the weekend?s professional sports events, and even the Iowa-Iowa State game, that was scheduled for that weekend. Everyone, for the most part, thought it was stupid to postpone all of those games. When the discussion quieted down, our instructor, Jim Rion suggested that maybe it was time to work on some German and get our minds off of New York for a while. We all opened up our books, seemingly voluntary as a sign of agreement. I rushed back to the dorm after the class to catch up on new happenings. When I got back, and saw that only a few bodies had been recovered, I realized that the need for blood that everyone was giving would not be needed, since they were finding very few survivors (but at least, I thought, they could use all this blood for other people needing transfusions. I was going to give blood, but since I had my second Measles vaccine a week before, I wasn?t able to. I however did give money to the Red Cross and different organizations.) While I didn?t watch the T.V. as close this day, I did stay on CNN and kept watch. On Thursday I had my Issues Class. Mr. Custer gave the whole period to discussing the terrorist attacks. He seemed really devastated by it. He told us that he had been in contact with his friends in England that he met when doing research for his dissertation. When the news first hit there, these guys were let off of work, and went to the local pub to watch coverage. Most of the people in the pub were in tears over what was happening in New York and Washington. Mr. Custer kept making the comment about this event is showing us just how much Britain and the US are friends. He also commented on teachers who didn't give the time of day to the attacks in their classes. He said that the people he talked to about it replied, ?Well, it had nothing to do with our class.? That response really pissed him off, and I don?t blame him, I felt the same way about one of my classes. It was a very involved discussion, and everyone shared their feelings about it. By that you could tell that most of the students in the class hadn?t had the opportunity to talk about it with others like we were then. At the end of the class Mr. Custer told us that he was going to give a twelve-pack of beer to the local fire station as a thanks for the sacrifices they were willing to make for us. That comment, and the class that day, really inspired me, and I went home and typed up a letter to the editor of the Dayton Review, my hometown paper, and how everyone should give the local volunteer firefighters a big thank you. Even though we didn?t get UPN on cable in the dorms, I was wishing we had, especially on this date. Thursday nights, UPN shows WWF Smackdown. This was the first WWF event since the attacks, and, from what I read, was the first major event and gathering of people at a non-9/11 related event also. WWF.com had a lot of videos from that show. The two videos that sticks out most in my mind was, amid ?U-S-A? chants, all of the WWF and WCW Superstars coming onto the stage, with Vince MacMahon at the head, when Lillian Garcia sang the national anthem. I swear that I saw Stone Cold Steve Austin?s eyes starting to water towards the end. The other was Kurt Angle?s comments. He stated that when he won his gold metals at the Atlanta Olympic Games, he was considered a hero. But in the face of what happened on 9/11, the idea of a hero has suddenly changed. That weekend was the Civil War reenactment at Usher?s Ferry in Cedar Rapids. There was questions on whether it should be held or not, but it was decided to hold the event, and not to let the terrorist win. Dave, one of my best friends and fellow unit member, bought yellow ribbon and black cotton. The yellow ribbon was for tying around trees and for pinning to our shirts, and the black cotton to wear on our jackets. It was really good for me to be around them that weekend. There was a lot of talk about the happenings. One of our friends in another unit said that we should do to these guys what the Marines did at Tripoli I think it was way back in the 1800?s; wrap them in wet pig skin and let it dry around them. It was a surreal feeling being there in all aspects. One group of guys left Saturday night because of that. One of them made a comment about the battle that ?there was nothing there, we were just going through the motions.? Both Friday and Saturday night we had a candle lighting around the flag. The Friday candle lighting was for President Bush?s request to the whole country, and that just consisted of seven other people and myself. It was a heart touching moment. The one on Saturday was for other reenactors. One guy was in tears after saying some remarks. This ceremony will stand out in my mind for the rest of my life. Four Hardcore reenactors (guys who try to look, eat, and breathe the part) came by with beeswax candles and lit them, then passed around a pipe. It was like the soldiers of old paying their respects to the victims of this attack. A few people came at a time to pay their respects. The ceremony ended with everyone singing ?God Bless America?. That was my expierences of the week of September 11. On Monday, I noticed things started getting back to normal, a little bit at a time. The nation, and the University of Iowa, started to heal. 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 story1449.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. 2002-08-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 128.255.198.234 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: MARK VLAHOS? WTC EXPERIENCE Today is the first day of the rest of my life... my name is Mark Vlahos and this is my WTC experience. It was Tuesday morning and the date was 9/11 (pretty ironic - 911 = EMERGENCY). I usually get to work between 8 am and 9 am and Tuesday morning was no different or so I thought. I arrived at my desk at 8:26am and was about to eat my pop tarts for breakfast. After a few minutes of setting up my workload something very horrific was taking place. All my fears of coming to this building (1 WTC) and working on the 47th floor had just become reality. The building shook so violently for about eight seconds that it turned my stomach almost instantly. It was as if it teetered back and forth like a seesaw and when it's movement ceased, fear had overcome the 45 people who worked for First Union. My mind had immediately conjured the worst thoughts as possible. I said to myself "I can't believe I am going to die here and like this!" I turned around looking at my co-workers with fear all over their faces and their complexions as white as the clouds. We were all scared and for a short time everyone had frozen their movements and just sat there in a state of shock. People had trouble breathing; some were clutching their chests while others had tears rolling down their cheeks looking for some sort of response. The phones rang simultaneously and pandemonium was about to take place. My friend David had screamed out "It's okay guys, a helicopter has just crashed and we are going to be alright, just calm down!" Hard words to swallow when you are up so many floors up and knowing that if the building goes.... so do you. My mind quickly raced back to the WTC bombing back in 92' and I assumed that they had come back to finish the job. When I went to the window to look up at the smoke, I felt somewhat relieved seeing debris on the ground and for a while actually believed David's concept of what had just happened. The only thing I could then think of was what it would feel like when we dropped. Would it hurt for a second or would my death be quick and painless? That was when I looked up at the pictures of my wife Lisa and daughter Caitlin and said, "I don't want to die yet!!!" I went to the back where everyone was gathered and just said "JESUS!" aloud asking others to pray for our safety. Since then about 10 minutes had passed and still we sat there clueless waiting for some sort of instructions. At first we headed to the stairways but the smoke and dust were too much to bear. My supervisors then asked us to put the stock in the vault not knowing what kind of aftermath awaited us. I did so immediately and people were already out the door heading for the staircases. The last five people were myself, John Serra, Mike Pizzuto, Raymond Stephen and Joe Salgado. I made sure no one was left in the vault and also in the office thinking back to DTC (my last job) where someone was locked in the vault and perished. The last thing I did was go back to my desk, kiss a picture of my wife and daughter and grabbed a holy card of St. Mark that my friend John had given me a while back. As soon as we entered the hallway Mike and Joe immediately rushed towards the staircases by the elevators. My mind being at ease somewhat thought that the road less traveled was the better one so I yelled out at them "No! Not that one, this one here!! We waited for them and our journey to see daylight again had just begun. The first thing we saw were fellow employees from other companies in single file order all calm, cool and collectively aware of the situation. Reality had suddenly hit me, someone with an active cell phone had just informed us that it was not an accident and that another building (WTC 2) had been hit and more severely. It was an act of terrorism and we were all terrified. My friend John handed us torn garments that he had soaked in water to help us breathe because there were many fumes and a lot of dust enveloping the air in the stairwells. People were coughing, crying and talking to one another knowing that disaster could take place at any moment. I had a pocket bible with me and as always began to pray feverishly and begged Jesus to get us all out safely and unscathed .We heard voices telling us to move to the side and let the victims from the higher floors get through. Curious onlookers witnessed in horror the sight of flesh burnt off these people's arms and faces by the layers. It was as if they had laid in the sun for days and had just woken up. I was in shock that I was a part of such a tragedy and I often wondered if the faces I was looking at would be my last. Firemen were now working their way up with sweat on their brows and exhaustion on their faces. Picture carrying hundreds of pounds of equipment in the heat climbing flight after flight looking into the eyes of a fearful people. For me, the shoe was on the other foot. I looked at them and said to myself "Look at these brave men, heading towards the unexpected. Are they afraid? Look how young some of them are. Is this the last time anyone will look at their faces and see the concern in their eyes?" I was afraid for them and I prayed that GOD was with them all. About 20 minutes had now past and we were only on the 37th floor. Talk about nerves of steel! Not everyone could stay level minded. My supervisor Joe had become faint and seemed very ill. He handed me his bag and asked me to hold on to it. My friend Mike was dry heaving and looked as if he was ready to pass out any moment-his eyes watery and his face drawn. They were soon escorted out with the other emergency victims and as Mike said goodbye to me I wondered if I would ever see him again. Raymond and I were the last two guys from our company left on the stairwell each encouraging one another that we would make it out safely. The firefighters asked us to help them carry some of their equipment up a few floors for they had exhausted themselves. Raymond did so and as I looked down I saw a firefighter with his head slumped down and a look of disdain on his face. I asked him if I could help him and offered him my bottled water to refresh himself, he declined and proceeded to head upwards. Other firefighters were handing out water bottles and juices from the machines they had shattered with their axes. It was amazing how everyone was looking out for one another and how love and care was being expressed from every stranger. One man even tore the shirt off his back and passed out the garments to those who had nothing to cover their noses and mouths. We moved on and eventually landed on the 20th floor with about 40 minutes of time already elapsing since the first initial hit. Concern that time was of the essence was evident. People began to get antsy and inpatient. There was a moment where we just sat there for 10 minutes without movement and that's when I began questioning my faith. Was it still as strong as before? I am not going to lie to anyone reading this but I did not really worry until I actually got out into the open streets. We were now on the 5th floor and they asked us to wait for further instructions. With not a chance of that happening anytime soon, I looked at Ray and said, "Let's go!!" The only problem being the sprinklers had gone off and there was about a foot of water to tread through. People were slipping and falling everywhere but when your life is on the line and time is short-whatever it takes...whatever it takes! The street was near and people ran for their lives. We were directed through the ground level shopping plaza and there was darkness and broken glass everywhere. Ray was slipping everywhere because his shoes were not meant for watery grounds so I helped him all the way out. One we saw daylight we headed up North and mayhem was everywhere. People were bleeding, screaming, crying and clutching one another. I lost Ray but saw a familiar face in the crowd. My friend Rodney stood there in awe staring at the Twin Towers. I hugged him and all he kept saying was "Look at it Mark, can you believe it? Just look at it!!" Suddenly, we heard a roar. A roar louder than 100 thunderstorms combined and all we heard was ?RRRUUNNNN!!!? The second tower was collapsing and people ran like they never ran before in their lives. It was before I reached about 200 feet when I was engulfed in smoke and dust almost instantly. The thought that I was once free turned to the thought of being suffocated from the poisonous air. I had to think fast or I would have passed out. I jumped into the nearest building and there had already been maybe 50 people cluttering the tiny lobby. I felt uneasy, very afraid that this was it and the tremor I had felt in the building paled in comparison to what I was now feeling. The group of people in there was very confused and very negative. Ashes had covered everyone and they all thoughts of just giving up and they sat on the floor just crying and screaming one after the other. I had to get out of there because they were really starting to affect my state of my mind. I asked for the way out and one guy scolded me saying "What's wrong with you man? Look at it out there!! Can't you see what's going on? Use your common sense, you can't even see 2 feet in front of you!!" I just looked at him and said "You're right man but I'm not going to sit here and die either!!" I handed my wet cloth to a woman to clean her face, which was covered in mass amounts of chalky dust and made my way out. I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt and once again I searched for safety. The streets looked as if a massive snowstorm had hit but there was no beauty in this. The smell of fear was in the air and life was very gloomy for some time to come. I heard cars had hit people and others were walking into poles and walls because visibility was so poor. People were jumping from the burning towers seeking relief in a quick death rather than being burned alive. Could you imagine having to make that decision? Here I am looking at blood and guts on the street thinking about all the people who had just perished with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart. This was a tragedy and the worst thing was that we were unprepared and unaware that something like this would ever happen. By now I had made it to City Hall and was looking for a phone to call my family to let them know I was OK. There was a woman there with her two daughters trying to use their cell phones to contact perhaps other family members. I looked at them in a way that I didn?t even have to ask them to use their phones, they knew what my intentions were and asked me if I wanted to try and contact my family. I tried 3 or 4 times to no avail so I thanked them and wished them luck as I went on my way. I had asked the police officer where it would be safe to reside and he told everyone to just stay put and relax. How could anyone relax when there is no control over anything you do? There were no correct answers and instinct and prayers were all you had. Everyone was heading North towards midtown for the moment and my gut instinct told me to follow, City Hall may have been another prime target and I wasn?t about to sit there and wait to find out. Once again terror had turned its ugly face towards us and the loud rumbling began again only to sound more and more terrifying than its predecessor. The screaming continued, the fear continued and the worst thoughts the mind could possibly conjure started to arise again. I thought that the other plane that was earlier reported missing had come back to do more damage. So I ran and ran and ran this time not even turning back to look for fear I would be swallowed by debris and ashes again. What about the heroes who were risking their lives in my building to guide us out to safety? Did they deserve this fate? What about the firemen whose eyes I glared into as each one passed me by in the stairwells? Did they or their families deserve this fate? What about my co-workers? Did they all make it out alive or was this day a fateful one for thousands of hardworking men and women who had no clue that when they awoke this morning it would be for the last time. Every morning when I awake I walk over to my picture of JESUS (the sacred heart) and kiss him and tell him thanks for another day and before I leave I ask him to keep my family and friends safe throughout the day. That morning I had kissed my wife and daughter goodbye as always with the thought of never seeing them again ever entering my mind. This would all change from this experience and I would be lying to you if I said that this wouldn?t affect me for the rest of my life. Back to the streets, I continued to head North looking for a payphone to let everyone know I was alive but the lines were enormous and I had to make change. I walked into a magazine shop and asked the woman for change for the phone and she looked at me hesitantly as if she were going to say she didn?t have it. I already conjured my thoughts to verbally explode on her if she denied my request but she didn?t. I felt anger and my adrenaline was on high voltage from then on. I didn?t want to be afraid anymore and I wanted to be the aggressor. I wanted to tell people I was in the first building that was attacked and I did. They all listened in awe and hugged me saying get home safe. What a great country we live in that everyone shares the emotions and the pain of what had taken place and try to comfort you as best they can. That wasn?t the case for everyone. People still shopped and still looked unconcerned as if they were blind to what had just happened. Every store had the news on and some cars in the street had their radios blasting so that everyone could hear what was going on. I too sat there and listened for a while and then reminded myself to make that call. Finally I found a small Chinese video store with a phone and tried to call my wife. I couldn?t get through so I immediately called my mother to let her know I was ok. She had just recently gotten out of the hospital for chest pains and underwent a variety of tests to make sure her heart was in check. I was concerned that if she didn?t hear from me soon she may have had a heart attack. It turns out that she answered the phone and when she heard my voice she screamed for joy and thanked Jesus about 100 times. I told her I loved her and that I wanted to talk to my dad. For the first time in my life I heard my father crying but they were tears of joy. He lost it completely and told me that if I had not called sooner my mother would have died of a heart attack. The drama continues... I told him I love him and then tried my wife again. She answered and the sweetness of her voice made me breakdown in tears all over again. She could barely get her words out but I heard her telling me she saw my building drop and thought I was dead. I told her I loved her and she did the same passing the phone to my mother in law who also broke down hysterically. As soon as she found out I was okay she told me she loved me and passed the phone to my brother in law Chris. He out of everyone pumped my adrenaline the most. His words were "I knew you would make it Mikey! I kept saying you were alive and that if anyone could make it, it would be you!" I told him I loved him and told my father in law the same. I also said to make sure there was some beer at the house because I wanted to get plastered and relax some of my nerves that were already shot. On the road again.... I just want to go home was the only thought my mind was relaying to me over and over again. Was this the end of trauma for the time being? I walked for a little while and from the advice of my mother in law Pauline, I headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge. I was still carrying my supervisor's bag which had now become a security blanket which I clutched to my side along with my pocket Bible still in hand. On the way I heard two guys and a girl conversating about something aloud and what I did hear maybe I shouldn?t have. She said "Yeah, let's head to the bridge so that other plane could come and kill the rest of us!" I responded "Oh that's very encouraging as I head over there myself!!" We just laughed about it and continued our journey. Suddenly a black man taps me on the shoulder and says to me "GOD is good boy!" I said "yes He is" and when I looked up he was gone. Was he an angel or did Jesus send him to give me some encouragement and restore my faith that had just started to get stronger about two weeks beforehand? All I knew was that I wanted out of New York City in the worst way even if I had to swim all the way back to Staten Island. I met another guy named Rich who was also a believer and we talked about everything on the way to the bridge and over it as well. The crowd was moving a little to slow for me and we then decided to climb a wall about 8 feet high where there was more space to move and in a quicker pace. I looked over to where the Towers once were and saw nothing but black smoke filling the sky like an evil cloud. I still could not believe the whole situation. People were screaming ?USA! USA! USA!? and war was on their minds. They were over the fear and wanted revenge and they wanted it as soon as possible. I on the other hand still roamed the skies for other aircraft but there was none in sight for miles. Why weren?t our planes looking for them? Why was it so silent that the quietness was killing me softly? Finally we crossed over and I lost sight of Rich when I asked a police officer the way to Staten Island. Let me tell you how great America becomes in crisis situations, people were greeting us with bottled water and potato chips and offering us folding chairs to sit down and rest for a bit. I drank the water, ate the chips and just continued to walk towards Bay Ridge-my old hometown where i grew up. After walking a few miles I hitched a ride with these guys who with their friends had formed a sort of car service for the victims taking them in groups of ten at a time or until there was no room left to sit or stand. I then met this guy Bruce, a computer tech and father of 5, and we talked for a while with the other riders and after 20 blocks we had to stop because the roads were closed. I thanked the drivers and Bruce and I walked on. He called his wife and told me that she would pick us up and bring me to the Staten Island bus stop. Things were getting brighter and brighter and the sun was shining in full form. I actually think my bald head got a little sunburn from all the water I kept pouring over it to cool off. One guy on the street even commented while he camcorded us crossing the bridge "What a way to use the water, did you see what that guy just did?" I was like whatever man, I'm alive and I'm going home. Before Bruce dropped me off he informed me that his wife told him she was expecting again and I said to myself-we will go on, even though many a life was lost, we will continue to live and continue to bring life into this world. I thanked them warmly and ended up on 86th street and 4th Avenue, a place where I had visited perhaps 5,000 times as a child. I asked the officer standing there if the busses were running yet and he said no, just hang around and get yourself something to eat. I then met an old man who turned 92 today and when I informed him where I came from he shook my hand and said, "You have some intestinal fortitude young man, not a bad grip for an old man huh?" I then offered to buy him a beer for his Birthday but he declined saying he just wanted to get home-my thought exactly! I grabbed a pay phone and called my mother and wife again telling them I was half way home and they were relieved I had made it out of the city. I passed by so many familiar childhood hangouts and even saw a familiar face in Larry Bud Melman (aka Calvert Deforest) from the Letterman show. He was the only celebrity I had known as a child and he waved a warm hello to me as he satin a barber's chair that was already closed for the day. I then saw Mr. Lee, a Korean candy store owner whose video games possessed a year or two of my life and possibly $2,000 in quarters-ha ha hah! I told him my story and showed him a picture of my daughter. He smiled, gave me a Gatorade and change for the bus as another woman hugged me after hearing my story and thanked GOD I was alive. I got aboard the first bus to Staten Island and told everyone on the bus my experience and they all had tears in their eyes but at the same time they were possessing great attitudes that uplifted my spirit. We crossed the bridge and two busses later I was walking home finally coming up my block which I pretty much disliked because of the area but today I loved every centimeter of it and always will. I eagerly anticipated seeing my wife and daughter greeting me with warm hugs and kisses. As soon as I rang the bell my wife Lisa grabbed me so tightly and my daughter hung around my neck as if she knew something had been wrong earlier in the day. My cat Simba even followed me around the house like he was grateful to see me again and I was very moved. My entire family had come over and as I hugged them all and told them I loved them my whole body was repaired from the damage that those evildoers had caused for the time being. I told the story one more time and then received a phone call from my friend Brian Andrews. He informed me that 4 of our co-workers were not heard from (to this day as well) and I was deeply saddened thinking that our whole crew had made it out alive. My first thought was about their families and I prayed for them all hoping that there might be a chance that they may turn up later on. To this day, watching everyone pull together, other nations offering us aid, millions of people volunteering to help one another all makes me feel stronger and stronger as each day passes and with my family, my friends and my faith I know we will all get through this and go on. Although I still watch the television in horror seeing the whole scenario being replayed over and over I know that the past can never be changed and the future is what you make it. I still walk the streets and look over my shoulder and up in the sky when I hear planes or helicopters and I probably always will but I love life and I love everyone. God is good and this will be a wake up call for many. If this doesn?t put any form of religion in your life than nothing ever will. My faith saved me and now I will continue to teach others to the same-only one name saves and that name is JESUS- GOD bless everyone and please pass this on to anyone you like. For those who perished, they are in a better place now and I know we will all see them again one 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 story9046.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. 2003-02-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 169.200.215.34 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,like everyone else,going about My normal daily routine. I am employed at a 16 bed group home,where i am the Food Service Supervisor. I remember that all of the residents had left for Day Training & I was busy prepping the Meal for that nights Dinner. My boss came rushing into the building and said "Turn the Tv on,i just heard on the radio that the WTC has been hit by a plane!" There were 3 staff on duty & We sat glued to the tv..still unsure what was going on & not even daring to think it could be terrorists. Then the 2nd plane hit and We didn't need to be told what was happening to Our wonderful country and it's innocent citizens. I remember feeling numb watching the events unfold on Tv..i remember crying alot and praying alot. It was hard to do any work that day,all I wanted to do was go get My 11 year old daughter from school & let Her know how much I loved Her. When I got home from work,I immediately turned the Tv on & then got online to talk w/ My friends. Everyone was feeling the same emotions..Anger,Fear,Sorrow all at once. A good friend of Mine who Served in Desert Storm,explained so much to Me that i didn't understand and gave Me links to lots of informative sites so i could read more on Bin Laden and Alcheida. He admitted He was as frightened as anyone else. When My daughter got home from school,she could tell i had been crying and asked what was going on...The Teachers were crying and whispering at school. Her school had decided it was best to let the children have a stress free day & let their families explain it to them the best they knew how. So i did My best at telling Her and she cried so hard...We watched Tv for the longest time and she had alot of questions that I didn't have answers for. I clearly remember Her saying the one thought on My mind all day.."Those poor kids who had Mom's and Dad's when They woke up this morning,and Now they are gone forever". We cried alot & We prayed together. Later I had to turn the Tv off..It was becoming too much & We both needed a break from it. I sent her outside to play,and I remember her being fearful of even being outside. I reassured Her that she Would be ok..and to play w/ Her friends and have a good time. A Year has passed now and I am in awe of the families who appear so strong on Tv..talking about their loved ones who perished on 9/11. I admire their courage & try to remember to say a prayer for them. Although Our Country still has a lot of predjudice & hate..I feel that We have come together through the hardest time America has ever seen. God Bless America & May Freedom Always Ring. 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 story2873.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.160.148.80 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 had been in Quito attending the Universidad de San Francisco for about 2 weeks. I arrived on Aug. 26th, 2001 as part of a group of 3 students from Michigan State University (all Spanish language majors) participating in the semester long study abroad program. 9/11 - That morning I had been in the process of getting ready for class, which didn't start until 10 am, when I knew it wasn't an ordinary day. Around 8:30 am my host mother yelled for me to come to her room, where she happened to be watching CNN Espanol while she was getting ready. At this time, only the first plane had hit. I thought it was a terrible airline accident, nothing more. I went about my routine and made my way to class with that image burned in my mind, not knowing that it was about to get much worse. At 10 am in my lit. class, no literature was discussed. Hearing "Pentagon," "Washington, DC," "dos aviones," "Torres Gemelas" intermingled with several words spoken in rapid Ecuadorean Spanish (it was only my second week there) assured me that something horrendous had happened. I didn't understand the full extent of what happened until I ate lunch around 12:30 pm. Everyone at the cafe was glued to CNN Espanol, not knowing what to expect. Later that day, in more classes, we just discussed what was going on in the US, though there were several conflicting reports. It gave me goosebumps to discuss all of this in my US, Latin American Relations course. One image that sticks out from that long afternoon at USFQ was the mass of students, Ecuadorean and American alike, glued to the large screen TV in the main lobby of the university. I believe Ecuador lost 30 some people in the attacks. Most striking, however, was the scene in the hall infront of the international programs office (most foreign students at USFQ are American, in all roughly 10% of the student population). Unlike me, most of the American exchange students were from small, private colleges/universities on the East Coast. It seemed as though everyone know someone in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. Anyway, in the hallway outside the international programs office, there was a large group of American students crying, waiting to hear something about their loved ones whom might have been in either the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. That image has stayed with me. Finally, I go back to my host parents' home in Quito. I glue myself to CNN Espanol while my host mother informs me that she heard reports that as many as 8 planes were still missing. Thank God that wasn't true! That evening, I called home, basically to have my parents's reassurance. Luckily, most of my family lives in Michigan and I knew no one who would have been in New York or DC at the time. A sad commentary on the state of the world - during this conversation with my family, my little brother, 10 at the time, proceeded to assure me that no one would ever attack our small Michigan town, there wasn't anything there. All I could think of was that my little brother shouldn't have to even think about that possibility. That Fall - Anyway, being so far away from the US at the time made the entire incident seem like a nightmare. It didn't seem fully real until yesterday - 9/11/02. I'll admit, I thought about who I'd call if a plane I was traveling on was hijacked and I knew we were going down. The was foremost in my mind as I returned from Ecuador, which is quite a story in itself (I flew home on Dec. 22, 2001 - the same day as the shoe bomber incident. Luckily I knew nothing about it until I was safely home.) Beyond - On 9/11 I believed that I was going to have to change my plans for studying abroad the following spring in Caceres, Spain. As an act of defiance, small as it seems, I didn't. After a harrowing experience returing home from Ecuador for the holidays, I turned around and got back on a plane Jan. 4th. 9/11 put a unique perspective on a year spent studying abroad. I am only now, one year later, realizing the profound impact it had on my personal experiences. 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 story6757.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.135.235.188 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Hallo my name is Daniel, Icome from Germany, on this day call my best friend to my, that Terorist fly with Plane in the World Trade center and i think my friend make a joke and I say too him he is ill, and he say no it's really so.Than I come home and I watch TV and see that bad picture and I think oh no we can any people can do!And I see all the people!Any was Die!Any are cry!And I hope that people live under the world trade center!And the firefighter are Heros! 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 story8663.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. 2002-11-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 217.83.204.193 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 ironic that on *THAT* particular day, as I was driving my daughter to school, radio off because I wanted to talk with her about the upcoming day, I decided that it was THAT day I was going to make a concerted effort to NOT get on the computer and read the news and surf on current events. I was going to do some real time work and indulge in some writing. So what made me turn on the radio after I dropped her off? I think it was my thought to at least listen for any news on the drive home before I decided to shut the world out for the next few hours. How mistaken I was! When I first heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, all sorts of thoughts went through my mind. My God, what a horrible tragedy...what could possibly have gone wrong? I tried to visualize the buildings, but nothing prepared me for the sight of the tower burning on TV. By the time I had returned home and turned on the news, the second plane had hit...and it was that horrible crystalizing moment that I...WE...knew. My prayers and thoughts go out to all who were directly affected by this attack. I spent the rest of the day transfixed in front of the television, afraid to go outside. And when I went outside, it was as if the very air throughout America had changed. As it was pointed out not too long after that, we were all New Yorkers on 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 story1314.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. 2002-08-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.218.202.109 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I never thought I would live to see the day that the whole world would stop in its tracks. It was a beautifully sunny day here in the capital city of NZ. I remember waking up late morning and jumping online to check emails. A friend who lived in Texas was online, he was talking about planes crashing into buildings, war, terror. He begged me to turn on my TV. I thought it was crazy because I was on the other side of the world. What could possibly be bad enough to be broadcast worldwide? What I saw made my heart stop. My knees gave way and i sank to the ground. I watched in horror as that second plane went into the second tower. At first I thought it was a movie but quickly realised that it was real. The next image was of people falling, people running, buildings collapsing, people dying, people dead. I spent the whole day trying to call friends in the US and watching the news. When my mother came home 5 hours later, I was still watching the news. We both watched the scenes in horror, over and over. We prayed that night for the families of the victims, we prayed that they would find more survivors. The enormous out pouring of grief all over the world was amazing. the next day when I drove through peak hour traffic to work, everyone was stunned and in shock. Everything seemed so insignificant. usually at that hour of the morning, you get more than your fair share of impatient drivers and road rage, but this particular morning people drove to work in an orderly fashion. It was as if we felt we needed to be more aware of those around us. More aware of our actions and how they affect others. My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives in those attacks as well as their families. Forever in my prayers. 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 story1798.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. 2002-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.148.246.134 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We were having our 1st coffee break in the DISAM (Defense Institute for Security Assistance Management) lounge watching CNN on TV showing the flames & smoke from the 1st plane crash when we saw the 2nd plane crash - this was a live show. We did not know if they were accidents or terrorism until 30 minutes later when the class was cancelled and we were instructed to return to our secure VOQ (Visitor Officer Quarters) where we were "stranded" for 3 days before we were allowed to leave the base and go home. If interested, I can provide more details of that terrible week. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2535.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 204.34.199.252 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 a nanny that year. Having just moved from Omaha, NE to NY three months earlier, the family and I were settling into our school-year routine. My charge woke up not feeling well.I made him breakfast and tucked him back into bed, watching cartoons. As I headed downstairs to clean up the breakfast dishes, how mundane, the Poland Springs man rang the door bell. At the same moment my boss yelled, screamed almost, "Oh my GOD!" His wife worked down with a building adjoining the towers. The two things I remember more than anything else from that morning was how crystal blue clear the sky was, and the sound of the door bell ringing. We weren't able to contact my other boss until well into late evening and she wasn't able to get home until very, very late that night because of the trains not running. By then the whole world had transformed itself into a strange alien environment and I was glad that their family was able to be together that night. 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 story11793.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-09-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.56.12.222 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: During breakfast, my friend, Robert told me of some sort of bombing in New York. Later, I was in 10th grade chorus class at Concord High, and we had television sets in every room. Over the intercom, we hear our principal come on, and tell us to turn our tvs on and see the news. The news was horrifying, and before our eyes, we saw as the second plane came down and impacted the second Trade Center tower, and I couldn't believe it was real life. I remembered some movies I had seen with people running away from falling buildings, and it didn't seem real, but I finally realized that I was in reality, and people were crying, I was crying, and I was one of the two people who had to leave the room having been overwhelmed with the possibility of such a tragety. The next day, we had a memorial service, and we, all the students of Concord High, listened to a local band from the school play a song that expressed the way they felt, and the special choir sang "America the Beautiful" and I was in tears again, but it horrified me to see how many people really didn't care and weren't effected by this horrible tragety of epic proportions. I am still apalled at the number of people who don't care at all about the lives that were lost. 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 story1423.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. 2002-08-23 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.228.195.201 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 story is not unique, but maybe recounting the tale will not only help me to heal, but relay the hope it conveys. A higher being was guiding many of us that day. I had been working for AIG in lower Manhattan for 5 years. My morning commute was pretty much business as usual except for the fact that only a few days prior, I discovered that I was 5 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. My husband, who normally works on Long Island, had a meeting in mid-town that day & we decided we?d meet each other in Penn Station & ride home together at the end of the day. I arrived at my desk at 8:15 as usual. I went to the cafeteria of 175 Water to get my breakfast. When I returned to my desk, I heard through word of mouth that an aircraft has hit the World Trade Center. I ran to the South side of the floor & looked out the window & watched the plume of smoke rising. While many of my fellow floor-mates and I watched the Tower burn, there was a second explosion. We all thought that it was a blast related to the first collision, but one of the on-lookers was listening to the radio & he announced that it was a second plane. At that very moment, we all knew in our hearts that the first collision wasn?t an accident. I walked calmly back to my desk & called my brother who works for Marsh in mid-town. He had a direct view of the Towers from his desk & watched the second plane hit. While I was on the phone with him, the emergency alarms sounded & they began to evacuate our building. Outside the building, it was snowing papers & ash. Hoards of people were running towards us from the west side of the island. Emergency sirens were blaring from all directions. When our Fire Safety Director declared our building closed, I high-tailed it to the nearest subway station & fled lower Manhattan. My main goal was to find my husband in mid-town & get home. When I arrived in Penn Station, Long Island Rail Road trains were still running, however, for some reason, I was waiting for a train to my specific destination instead of just getting on the first train out. Penn Station closed before my train came in. While I was waiting I caught word from a passer-by that the South Tower collapsed. I then heard that a plane hit the Pentagon as well. All I kept thinking was that we?re in the middle of a war & I?m stuck in a hole in the ground. When the authorities evacuated Penn Station, I was back out on the street not knowing when & where the next attack will come. I walked to where my husband?s meeting was supposed to take place only to find a sign on the door & everyone gone. I had no way of contacting my family or friends & felt very alone. I felt a strong need to protect myself & my unborn child & the only thing I could do was walk back to Penn Station & wait for it to re-open. I was among tens thousands of people wandering around mid town, totally lost in thought, grief & shock. My trance was suddenly broken when I heard my name called out & there was my husband, also among the thousands. I have fought with the idea of ?God? for many years of my adult life, but I now believe that that moment could not have occurred if some Supreme Being wasn?t leading us to each other. In May 2002, I had a healthy baby boy. Someday I will tell him this story so he knows he was part of this day in history as well. To all of those who were not led to your loved ones that day, my heart truly goes out to you. There are no words to express the grief & shock I still experience. I knew many people who perished. I still follow planes with my eyes and I still feel uncomfortable when I hear sirens or loud ?explosive? noises. Although I have tried to maintain a ?normal? life in the wake of 9/11, my life will ever be as it was on 9/10. 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 story7116.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 167.230.38.7 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 a freshman in high school. I was on my way to school when around 0630 hours i turned on my little pocket radio and heard he news. At first I thought that it was just a sick joke that the radio dj's were playing. As I listened longer, I realized that it was no joke, the World Trade Center Buildings had just been struck by two hi-jacked aircrafts. Later, it was reported that another plane had crashed into the pentagon and one more was headed for Camp David in Pennsylvania. I was devistated. the whole day I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I could not believe that my country, the greatest country in the world was attacked by a "faceless coward". I was beyond mad; I was downright LIVID. I cried all day and night; I went for a whole week of no sleep, just watching tv all day and night, falling asleep in school because of no rest. My mother finally made me go to bed and knocked me out with some heavy sleeping pills just to get me to sleep. September 11th was a tragic day that I will never forget. Over 3,000 people died, not including the hi-jackers. That is not something that anyone one could ever forget. I know that when I learned about the attack of Pearl Harbor, I was in awe, but I never could quite get the whole effect enless I lived through it;needless to say, I did live through it. I know that future generations wont get the whole effect of it either, just like i didn't, but for my generation and my mother's generation, and my grandmother's generation will never forget it until the day we die. After we are deciesed it will be the same..."September 11th was a bad day". But i know for a fact, it was more than just a bad 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 story6917.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. 67.218.242.120 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 that morning at General Mitchell International Airport located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My job title is (Aircraft Fueler) and on that day I was responsible for serving 14 flights for my daily task. I ended up only servicing 3 of the 14 flights and I will tell you why. I (Mike) was going into the Midwest Express Operations room to get a fuel release for my next flight. As I entered the room I saw 5 people watching cnn on tv with live coverage. I did'nt pay no attention to it, so I left the room with my fuel release and got back into my fuel truck. My co-worker (Jeff) asked me (Mike) if there were any more fuel loads up I said no, and told him to go inside and find out where the rest of our fuel loads were. That is when all hell was broke loose. Jeff came back out and said Mike there is about 20 people in here watching this cnn coverage come lets both go in and see what is happening. We soon find out that planes are being used as weapons to fly into buildings. No sooner after seeing the coverage on tv our dispatcher (Linda) calls us back to the office, she says come now County Ops is locking all gates. Linda had also told us that all flights were grounded by the FAA. By the time we made it back to our office, flights from Chicago's O'Hare were being diverted to Milwaukee. We had 727's,MD-80's,757's and DC-9's just piled up on the ramp. All of are employees were back at the office watching the tv, and calling home to families. The rest of the day we sat and watched the sad coverage on the tv of the twin towers falling to the ground, and people just terrified. That day will stay in my mind forever and my co-workers too. I work in the Aviation field so my heart and prayers go out to the pilots and flight stewards on the flights that crashed that day. They died doing something they loved and cherished, flying and serving the people. That is something the terrorist will never take from them, there love and passion for flight. Again my heart and prayers go out to the Aviation families they are wonderful people. 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 story10219.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. 2003-11-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.233.141.117