412 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had recently returned to my hometown, Washington DC, to attend graduate school at the George Washington University. I was on the Foggy Bottom campus, working in an administrative office, on September 11th. I started my day, much as those in the two towers must have, by responding to some e-mails and getting some coffee. I happened to open the New York Times.com to quickly check the days' headlines and watched, in utter disbelief, the now famous video of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center towers. When the first plane hit the building, I comprehended it as a terrible accident. When the second plane hit, it became clear that there were intentions involved. It was like watching a movie and I remember my horrible realization that there were people in those planes and in the towers. Quiet nervousness set into our office when we realized what was going on. One person's husband was flying on business that morning and she was upset that she couldn't locate him, though she kept trying to reason with herself that he was probably fine. Then, we received news that the Pentagon had been struck and we started to become more fearful. GW's campus is right downtown, blocks away from government and commerce buildings. What if the terrorists had wanted to attack a college campus, as well? At that point, no one knew the identity of the attackers or their motivations. What were later discovered to have been rumors started to spread about bombs exploding in the Capitol building, and a car bomb detonating in front of the State Department. The phone lines were dead and we couldn't communicate with anyone outside our office. I hoped my family was okay. Finally, most people in our office decided to try and go home. The streets were jammed with pedestrians, ambulances, and cars. Everyone had a grave, worried look upon their faces. I reached home, relieved because all members of my family were accounted for. I thought we were safe. Then we received a phone call from my mother's sister. One of our aunts (the wife of my mother's younger brother), Anna Williams Allison, was on the American Airlines flight out of Logan Airport. She had been flying to California on business. I cried. I had thought we were all safe. When I had watched the video of those two planes hitting the World Trade Center, I had unknowingly witnessed my wonderful aunt's final moment of life. I went back to work the next day, taking the Metro downtown. I will never forget the tone of the train operator's voice, as he announced each stop. It held so much sadness and despair. The other passengers in the car all had glazed, blank looks upon their faces. And there was an unusual stillness as people somberly walked about the stations on their way to work. 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 story217.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 128.164.170.4 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Personal connection to someone at site Rumors Struggle to get home DC:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: when I woke up on 9/11 and started my daily routine. I turned on the channel 11 news and started to hear of the terrible tragedy from the first plan crashing into to the world trade center. I called my 5 children in my room, as we all watched in disbelief that this is actually taking place before our very eyes in America. Isn't this the home of the free and the brave where we are suppose to be safe? I couldn't help but to cry and my children cried with me. As we were watching we actually seen the second plan hit the other building. That made my heart drop right in the middle of my stomach. I then had to explain my burst of tears to all my children. That day I did not want my children to go to school because I wanted them to be safe. It was then that I realized no matter where they are they are not safe. This could happen to any one any where. I sent them off to school that day but before saying good bye I looked them in the eye one by one and told them no matter what happened that I loved them and I would get to them no matter what happened. This made me realize what a blessing they are to me and that we are still a family today. God bless all those who have died may you rest in peace and God be with those who suffer from the loss of a loved one. The Segura Family 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 story3245.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. 199.174.66.214 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 think, not only american people where shocked on this day, by this terrible action in New York, Washingtion and Shanksville. Also for me first it was a very normal day, on September, 11. 2001. In the morning I did my work at a policestation near by, at a policeman like every day in the last years. In the afternoon, I was sitting at meal in the kitchen, my son came in at 8.55 a.m.(New York time,14.55 MEZ) and said, that the radiospaeker says, that a plane crashed in a building in New York. I said, that is unbelievable, that could not be. However, ..., at once I watched TV. And I saw the desaster in New York and then, a few minutes later, the second plane came in ...! We were shocked, sitting at the TV and not able to speak... all the people, firemen, policemen and so on... Next day, at policestation, nobody makes a joke or something like this, all men were calm and concentrated. Everybody knew what this desaster meaned, the world changed! We are with you in this days... Ansgar Berning, Nordhorn, Germany 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 story7143.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. 217.84.212.99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: (This is my story that I included in my Christmas card to family and friends - a friend suggested I submit it to this archive.) THREE BLOCKS FROM GROUND ZERO by Dawn Knipe Working only three blocks from Ground Zero, I am often asked if I was there on 9/11 and what happened. I have written my story for those who are interested. For those who have had their fill of 9/11 stories, I understand! Feel free to discard this insert and enjoy your holiday. For those who are curious, read on. To all, peace. My nephew, Dan, said it best. There are exactly eleven beautiful days in the Northeastern United States. And that's it. Otherwise it is either too hot or too cold. On those cold, windy days, Ernie often says the "Hawk" in the air. However, September 11th was one of the eleven. It was crisp, clear and made you feel good just being outside. If you've read any of the news reports, then you know Tuesday, September 11th began as an ordinary workday. I work at Pace University, and we had just finished our new student orientation and were prepped for the Fall semester events. I started the day as I usually do. I caught the 7:37 A.M. train to Hoboken, and then I took the commuter ferry across the Hudson River. I remember being in a very good mood when I arrived at my usual time, 8:35 A.M., at the World Trade Center. I walked the route I usually do on nice days -- toward the Winter Garden, crossed north to Vesey Street, and continued east to Broadway. As I approached 5 World Trade Center, a young woman asked me how to get to 1 World Trade Center. I stopped and showed her two different paths. I continued across Church Street and passed St. Paul's Chapel (the now famous little church that was miraculously kept out of harm's way. Not only did George Washington worship there, but also Ernie and I on several early Sunday mornings when we lived downtown.) I passed the chapel, crossed Broadway and had just started up Ann Street when I heard the unmistakable sound of a low flying jet followed by a horrible explosion. People on the street thought it was a bomb, but I was certain it was a plane. I knew that sound instinctively. I grew up living in military housing at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where the sounds of low flying planes were commonplace. There was no mistake. That sound was a plane flying much too low for New York City and it had just crashed. Some passerby's claimed it was at the World Trade Center, but we didn't have a view of it from Ann Street. We walked around Nassau Street to Fulton and saw the Tower in flames. The sky was filled with papers and black smoke. I remember looking at the Tower, and trying to figure out how many of the floors were on fire and thinking many people must have died in the impact. I kept staring at the damaged floors and wondered how they would repair the fa?ade. It seemed too high up to put scaffolding. The immensity of the tragedy had not yet hit me. A woman next to me was crying and another was panicked because her apartment was only a few blocks south of the Towers and her daughter and husband were still at home. "Do you think the building could topple over?" she asked us. "No, I don't think so," I said, "No way." I was around when the building was bombed in 1993. If it didn't topple over then when there was a bomb at its base, surely it couldn't from a simple accident at the top. Back in '93, many of the people who were evacuated walked over to Pace University to use our phones and bathrooms. I thought I should head over to the university's Security office to let them know what had happened so they could prepare for the crowds to come over. As I walked toward Pace, the panicky woman followed talking to me and wanting more reassurances that everything would be okay. From our conversation, I learned that she was an art professor at the university and was on her way to teach class. She didn't know if she should teach class or go home. I suggested that she call her family and see how they are. If she was still worried, I told her the school would understand if she wanted to cancel her class. By the time I got to the Security office, Rich, the director, was not there but already in the President's office briefing him. I gave the security officer on duty my telephone number and said I was available to help if they needed it. I headed for my office on Park Row but first stopped to get a cup of coffee. I thought I'd take another look at the Tower, so I walked over to City Hall Park to get the best view. Now, to my amazement, both Towers were engulfed in flames. I was shocked to see that the flames had spread to the second Tower! At that point, I realized just how scary the fire had become. I turned back to my office building and met the Dean for Students in the lobby. She told me that her staff and the Counselors were going to relocate to the front of the main building and that I could join them. I told her I was going to see how my staff was first, but that we would be over if they closed the Park Row building. On my way up the elevator, I met the art professor again. She was near hysterics. I told her to come with me and she could use the phone in my office. When I got to my office, the staff told me about the second plane hitting the tower and that it was some kind of attack. We put the radio on and listened to the news reports. There were seven of us in the office, and we decided to stay put rather than go to the main building where most of the university was congregating. We concluded that we had water, bathrooms, telephones, a radio and each other - we didn't want to leave unless we had to. Our offices are located on the eighth floor and face north, away from the towers. We could see the crowds gathering on the street and the masses of people evacuating north, but our only source of information of what was happening was the radio. I called my mother to tell her that if she was watching the news, not to worry about me - I was safe in my office. One of our student leaders, Susan, came on the floor with a woman who was crying uncontrollably. "She was on the street upset because her family is in there," Susan said, "I told her she could use our phones." The woman could not contain herself enough to dial. I asked her where her family worked. She said her aunt and her cousin worked on the 101st floor. I tried to comfort her by saying the plane probably didn't hit that high and that she shouldn't jump to any conclusions. Susan had to dial the phone for her because the woman was shaking so much. We could not get a call through. We did our best to calm the woman and keep her from assuming the worst. As we listened to the news, we learned about the Pentagon attack. Two students were visibly upset because they were on the street when they saw people jumping out of the Towers. Telephone communication was sporadic, and the radio reported that all public transportation had stopped. I was in the office next to mine, when my colleague, Hope, started screaming, "Oh, my God, oh, my God." I looked out her window and saw the people outside on the street running in a panic. Then we heard "rat-a-tat-tat" on the building, and we assumed that the people on the street were being shot at. I screamed, "Get on the floor, everybody get away from the windows! They're shooting outside!" Everyone hit the floor. Hope was the first to see the smoke rising outside the windows and warned that they may be bombing the buildings. We all agreed that being on the 8th floor was probably not the safest place to be if, in fact, they were attacking our building, and that we should probably walk down to a lower level so we could get out quickly. Everyone started down the stairs. I walked door to door telling everyone on the floor to vacate while Hope started evacuating the other floors. By the time I got to the fourth floor, a student from the education department, Navjot, told me that one of the Towers had collapsed. He also told me that if you looked out the window you couldn't see anything. I walked with him to one of the windows and saw that he was right. The windows were opaque white. When I got back into the stairwell, I could see the air was getting smoky, and I realized we had left the doors and windows open on our floor. Navjot and I ran up the stairs to the 8th floor. Our offices were filling with smoke. We closed all the office doors, shut the Activities Center gate, and ran back down the stairs. When we got to the first floor, the air was thick with dust, and I was genuinely fearful that we might suffocate. Someone in the crowd suggested that we get wet paper towels out of the bathroom to use as an air filter. We waited about ten minutes for the air outside to clear, and we all evacuated to the main building. The crowds were being directed to the gymnasium in the basement. I looked again for Rich from Security, but there were too many people. Our staff had gotten separated and no one seemed to know what we should do. I walked to the Student Union and was surprised to see the Book Exchange still in progress. The Book Exchange is a student-run program where students buy and sell used books. Remember that this was the first week of classes. There were about twenty students still in line to buy books. I told the students selling the books that they needed to close down. Qin and Annie, two of the leaders, asked me what they should do with the money? I asked all the "customers" to please leave and collected all the cash from the student workers. We put the money in a cash box, I took it and promised I would keep it safe for them. We then asked a security guard to lock the room, and I sent the students to the gym. When I got back to the gym, I found two of my co-workers. We decided we should try to regroup the staff and make a plan. Danny stayed put while Sumeira and I went looking for the others. Shortly thereafter, the second Tower fell, and the air in the basement was getting worse. We knew we wouldn't be able to leave the university until the air cleared outside, but we were getting claustrophobic in the gym. After gathering the staff, we decided to walk up to higher ground! We took the stairs to the third floor and camped out in one of the classrooms. The air was much clearer, very few people were on the floor, and we could look out the windows. It was strangely quiet as we watched people outside, covered in white soot, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. We took turns trying to call home on our two cell phones, but with limited success. We sat in the classroom thinking what to do. We had left the office in such a panic, that no one except me and Hope had thought to take so much as a pocketbook. We didn't know how long we could stay at the university nor how any of us would get home. Like most New Yorkers, we commute long distances to work by either subway or commuter rail - none of which was running. Hope suggested that we all walk to Houston Street (about two miles away) and go to her brother's apartment until public transportation was running again. We counted the money in the cash box that I had been schlepping and had a whopping $5,000 in cash. We decided to record how much was there and divide it among ourselves, both to protect us against looters and to make sure that if we got separated, we each had emergency cash for hotel, food, or whatever we might need. We wished we had a radio for information. About the time our plan was in place, a security officer came into the classroom and told us we had to go back to the gymnasium. As we were walking passed the first floor, I began hearing the rumors. Brooklyn's Borough Hall was supposedly bombed. Enemy planes were circling Manhattan. None were true but scary enough to paralyze many of the students. Oh, yes. One was true: a plane had crashed near Pittsburgh. There were police officers on the floor and they suggested that anyone who could leave the building, should, and walk uptown. I counted out each person's share of the cash and recorded his or her debt in my notebook. Hope was able to get her hands on a surgical mask and she handed it to me. "Here, you're the oldest! You need this more than we do!" We all laughed, and I stuck it in my purse. Being outside was surrealistic. Everything was coated in a layer of white dust, and we felt like we were walking through a sandstorm. The students held fresh paper towels to their faces, and I slipped on the surgical mask. When we walked north beyond Police Plaza, the air got much clearer. We stopped to look back at where the Towers once stood. Now there were just billows of smoke. I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie, Gone With the Wind when Rhett and Scarlett stop to watch Atlanta burning. Prophetically, Rhett tells Scarlett to take a good look because it marked the moment the world would change. We were among thousands walking uptown. People were standing on corners suggesting everyone stop at a local hospital and give blood. Others were handing out water to the walkers. Restaurants had hand written signs hung - "Rest Room Available." I had never before witnessed such an outpouring of people wanting to do something - anything -- to help. We finally reached Hope's brother's apartment. It was good to be someplace that felt safe. Her brother, another Dan, had bought lunchmeat and bread and all the fixings for sandwiches. As we nourished ourselves, we sat in the living room watching the news, and for the first time, we saw the devastation of the collapsing Towers - knowing we had been right there, a mere three blocks away. All the sudden my cell phone rang and it was Mrs. Resnick, the Vice-Principal from Ernie's school. She was practically in tears knowing that she could tell Ernie I was okay. By five o'clock, the news reported that ferries were running to New Jersey again, but at a temporary pier near Wall Street. I figured that was my best bet to get home. Ironically, it meant I had to walk south, back toward Ground Zero. Alone, I started the trek downtown. Nothing could prepare me for this eerie, disconcerting walk. New York had instantaneously turned into a war zone. Police were everywhere and National Guardsman began appearing. The streets were closed to all traffic except for emergency vehicles. A convoy of trucks miles long was bustling across Houston Street. I walked along an empty, quiet FDR drive interrupted occasionally by sirens. As I made my way past the Seaport, the road became littered with burned office paper. I picked up one sheet with singed edges filled with financial information. From what file did this come? From whose office? I got to the ferry about 5:45 and asked a worker which one went to Hoboken. "That one is going to Jersey City." "Is there one going to Hoboken?" "If you want to go to New Jersey, you'd better take it. It's the only one crossing the river." I hopped on the ferry figuring there must be a way to Hoboken once I get to Jersey City. Three students with bandanas protecting their faces yelled, "Dawn, Dawn." It was Rachel and Anna who work for me at the Information Desk along with one of their friends. When 7 World Trade Center fell, the university lost all power, so the students in the Residence Hall were sent home. These three were trying to get to Weehawken. As the ferry passed the site where the World Trade Center once stood, no one spoke. There were hundreds of us making our way across the Hudson River and not one sound. We all just watched the enormous bulbous of smoke. There was no real comprehension of the tragedy - just disbelief that those immense Towers were gone. At Jersey City, no one knew how to get to Hoboken or Weehawken, but there were dozens of volunteers helping travelers with water and food. A medical triage center was already set up and emergency workers were asking if anyone needed attention. Someone pointed the four of us to a bus stop and said volunteer vans were going by now and again. Maybe they would take us where we needed to go. We waited and a van did arrive and the driver said he'd take us as far as Journal Square. We crowded in the van and were pleased to see that the PATH trains were running when we got to the station. From there we took a train to Hoboken, and the three students decided they would take a commuter rail to Rachel's mother's house in Nutley. I was able to catch a train headed for Little Falls and got home by 8:30 that night. The scope of the event didn't hit me until two days later. I was obsessed with the news reports on TV and watched the collapsing Towers over and over again in stunned disbelief. Ernie had gone back to school, but I was stuck home for at least a week. I was watching a TV reporter interviewing a high school student from the Midwest who had written a memorial poem about the tragedy. As he read the poem, I broke down and cried and cried and cried. I am still obsessed with the news, but I try to limit how much I watch. Although I did not know anyone personally who died in the tragedy, our university lost four students and about 20 alumni. Also lost were the wife of a colleague, the brother of another, and the college roommate of a good friend. In the office, our talk often goes back to that chilling day. I was surprised to learn from my staff that when we were crawling on the floor, I was reciting the "Our Father." We weren't permitted back into our office building to collect our personal belongings until ten days later. Unfortunately, we had left our windows open, so we found everything coated in dust and debris, but I am happy to say that all $5,000 was accounted for upon our return and deposited to the Book Exchange. Now, as I get off the ferry and walk by Ground Zero during my daily commute, I often reflect on the magnitude of our country's loss. I wonder about the woman who I gave directions to that day. Could she have been on the elevator when the plane hit? Which floor did she go to? Did she get out okay? I think how foolish I was to proclaim to the art professor that there was "no way" the building would topple. And I think of how we tried to comfort the stranger in our office to not assume the worst. In retrospect, the chances are her family members were trapped and did not survive, but we never saw the stranger again to find out. But mostly I think of how important it is to live in the present with those you love. It may be a clich?, but the past is over and the future is uncertain. We just have today. May God Bless You, Dawn 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 story158.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.232.102.18 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Ground zero- at or about Personal connection to someone at site Religion Rumors Television Coverage WTC, attack NY:2 December, 2001 Feature Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: During the year of September 11. I attended Elementary School in the 3rd grade. I was then in Physical Education class. We were then watching a movie. and they suddenly turned the movie off and they turned the news off, every channel was fulfilled with news of the 9-11. The 9-11 really affected my country, it put my country in danger, and I believe it alerted some people in the country. I will never forget the 9-11. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20577.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at work and my boss's wife called to tell her husband "a plane crashed into the World Trade Center." He responded that it was probably a small private plane and went into a meeting for the morning. By the time he came out of his meeting at noon, the Towers were down and the world was in chaos. My husband came to meet me for lunch and we sat huddled together in each other's arms in the car, listening to the radio. Food was forgotten and we felt like children clinging to one another for comfort. But there was no comfort; only loss. A good friend who drove for the Port Authority had been lucky enough to have the day off on 9/11, and we still weep when we see the photos of us together at the Statue of Liberty, with the WTC in the background. There's a sense of blissful ignorance to those photos, not knowing that in a couple of years, everyone's lives would be totally different. I was lucky in that no one I knew was lost that day. But my heart still aches for those who did. 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 story10422.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-02-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.109.25.101 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, I was a junior in college. My roommate and I both had class at nine, so we were up getting dressed and watching t.v. well before that. We normally watched A Different World in the mornings, but that Tuesday morning we decided to turn on the Today show instead. At about 8 am (central time), as we were watching, they cut to a scene of the World Trade Center on fire. The news anchors still didn't know what was going on. It was just a rumor that a plane had crashed into it. My roommate and I were discussing how they would put a fire out that was that high up. As we were watching, the second plane smashed into the towers. We were completely silent. I remember crouching down to keep myself stable. We were so shocked and scared. I ran to my friend's dorm room down the hall and made her get up to watch. She refused and went back to sleep. Classes continued as normal that day, although I don't think that very many people went. I went to my first class in shock. My professor hadn't heard yet, and couln't understand the severity of what had happened. During that class, I found out that the pentagon had been attacked, that a plane crashed in Pennsylvania, and, eventually, that the towers collapsed. I didn't attend any more classes that day. A friend and I went to a park to talk and pray. It was all so unbelievable. The school granted amnesty for any student who missed work or tests that semester. So many people were impacted by this tragedy. Even those of us hundreds or thousands of miles away. It was such a scary time, but I never want to forget it. It became such a time of togetherness and unity. It brought out the best in people...somehow. 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 story11335.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-03-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.52.214.24 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: 9/11/01 Retold Back at C-j, I had gym third period. One of my friends came in and said ?Those damn Afghans are taking over the world.? Naturally thinking that he was joking the lockeroom filled with laughter. He kept going on and on about how they were trying to kill us. When we finally made it up to the gym, they gave an announcement that the World Trade Center had been attacked by kamikaze crazy guys and I was very very appaulled. I was scared for my life and wanted my mommy. I thought that they were coming to the base next. That made me realize that every problem, disagreement, any kind of conflict was not worth worrying about. When I saw the special edition newspaper that evening, the severity of the attack was brought to reality and I knew then, at that instant, that the lives of all would never be the same again........ever..........for anyone......ever......again. Brought to life by:Galen U?krany 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 story6415.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 156.63.21.14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I went to work at the fire station that morning as usual. Upon entering the station, I found that day was anything but usual. The off-going shift was watching the events on television. Several minutes after I arrived, we watched as the second airliner hit the WTC. The news of the plane hitting the Pentagon and Flight 93 crashing in Pa. was announced. The plane crashing in Pa caught my attention because I am a Pa. native. They kept narrowing down the location - in Pa. - in Somerset County, Pa. - near the Somerset County airport. I was raised within a mile and half of the airport. My brother is the Chief of the small volunteer Department in Friedens. I have family and friends there. Close to the airport. I knew they would be there. After about two hours of trying to phone family and friends, I finally found out where the crash was and knew it was sparsley populated in that area. I went home recently and visited the site. Memories of 9-11 came back to me all over again. God Bless all those who gave their lives in the name of freedom!!! 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 story472.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. 2002-04-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.66.143.233 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 in the kitchen when my 17 year old son yelled to me about an airplane crashing into the tower. I thought he was talking about a movie, or just joking around so I just ignored him. A few seconds later he screamed for me to come into the living room. When I saw the images on the television, I froze. I couldn't move. My son and I just sat there in disbelief. Then as if the horror we were watching wasn't bad enough, the announcement and live account of the second plane hitting came on. I think it was the first time in my life that fear really took hold of me. My thoughts were racing. I couldn't take my eyes off the television. I was shaking and crying and holding my son. I had moved to Holland just that past April from New York. I was born and raised in upstate N.Y., and now I was watching the most horrifying thing I had ever seen. I wanted to go home, but was afraid. I wanted to help, but didn't know the first thing to do, so I just sat in front of the television. Day and night, I watched as one life after another was taken so violently. I tried to phone my family, but the lines were all busy. I just needed to hear their voices. I knew they were O.K., but I still needed to talk with them for reassurance. I couldn't stop thinking about all those people, I still think about it almost everyday. My daughter was hit by a car on July twentieth, 2001, in the States. I flew there immediately. She was badly hurt, but time would heal, along with surgery and physical therapy. I made arrangements to fly back to Holland the last week of August. Two weeks later, I am watching thousands of people dying. My little girl is alive and doing well. I am so very sorry for all who have lost their loved ones. I cannot express how sad this has made me. I am not even sure that my letter is making much sense right now. There is so much to say, but I can't find the words. This has changed me. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8446.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.218.76.160 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: To tell you the truth I can't remember what day it was on 9-11 but I know it was either a Tuesday or Thursday, I presume it was a Tuesday. I only know this because these were the only two days that I woke up before 11 AM. My roommate and I both had the same class at 9:30 and woke up together at 8:50. Neither of us turn on the TV in the morning so we didn't hear anything till we got into Math 116. No one had heard about what had happend yet at this point because the class was so early, except for my friend Mahmoud who came in late... he had only heard about the first plane, and told us that he was pretty sure that the World Trade Center still stood. This was only whispered to me during class, it was hard to believe and without anyone else in the class talking about it I thought it might not be as bad as I had imagined a plane crashing into the World Trade Center would be. After class was when my roommate and I really saw what had just happend... we went into the JC here at GMU and the news corner was filled with people trying to watch what was happening. WE grabed something to eat and decided we'd go back to the dorm to see what happended rather than try to figure out with all these people about. It was the only day that we'd watched CNN here for more than 5 minutes... it stayed on all day. I knew my uncle worked in the Pentagon so I called home to see what was up and word had gotten through that he was okay, but since traffic was impossible he was walking back to my Grandparents house who live in Alexandria. My Aunt who also works in DC had to walk home. No one I know personaly was injured... I'm very lucky. But through friends I knew about 5 people who died, one who was in the first plane to hit. Another thing I remember was everyone of my friends online was talking about it. Some couldn't get word back home to see if everything was alright... so I had to make a few calls to friend's parents for them. I was never scared... for my family or myself... just shocked that anyone was stupid enough to do that to 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 story132.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.185.39 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Struggle to get home Television Coverage DC:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Chris Daningburg 911 5/31/02 September, 11,2001 Someday soon someone will ask you where you what you were and what you experienced on September 11, 2001. What will you tell them? I will tell them it was the most awful day in America's history. I will tell them it was the most devastating thing I had ever seen. I saw the first plane crash into the first building over and over again on replays on the television. Soon afterwards I saw the second airplane crash through the second building. On the television we were watching the CNN. Then network reports came of another plane suddenly hitting the Pentagon. On CNN, I witnessed both 110-story buildings crash to the ground. I saw people jumping to their death so they would not burn alive. We watched all of this unfold during school After school, when I got home my mom and dad called to make sure my brother and I were okay. Soon my parents were home. My mom gave us both a hug. When my dad got home we told him all about what happened. He only had a radio at work. All of it was on television We watched it over and over again. My dad saw it for the first time and was very surprised. President Bush came on the television telling us he would take action and find the people who did this. In my study hall we watched the news for a week. We saw many of the President's speeches. Our military soon prepared to fight for their country.They had one thing in mind and that was to find Osama bin Laden. The New Year came and we still have not found him but we haven't given up yet. We still do not know if he is dead or alive. The President had our military send in ground troops and bomb over all Afghanistan. They used a bomb called a bunker bomb that blew into the ground up to 100 feet. This bomb could kill any one living in the ground. We also did a series of bombing on the mountaintops to kill any one living up there. September 11th has greatly affected us in many ways. We still are not over the horrible thing that happened. It gets better every day though. The bombing still is going on in the Afghanistan but we still have not found bin Laden. Our country has suffered greatly because of this horrible tragedy. America is now aware of what terrorists are a capable of. This has impacted all Americans and not a single American will ever forget what happened. 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 story711.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in my English classroom, just going through my regular routine; little did I know that it wasn't going to be just a regular routine that day. A few upperclassmen come in and tell my teacher to quickly turn the television on. She told them she would later and that we were busy. But I saw it through the window of another classroom: the air attack on the Twin Towers in New York. It didn't seem real at all. It looked like some special graphics from a movie or something but it was real. And it hit a little too close to home for me. I am the type of person that hates to hear of people dying, whether I know them or not, but I usually never cry. But as I said; that day wasn't going to be just a regular routine. I usually don't pray for God's blessings upon the souls of those lost; but it was a different situation. I dealt with crying, praying, and patriotism for weeks and it was like an experience I've never felt before. I was scared and proud at the same time. Scared that it could happen again, proud of those brave souls who helped crash a plane so it couldn't make it to its Washington D.C. destination. I also prayed that I could be more like them if I ever had to be in such a situation. 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 story1791.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. 2002-09-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.24.182.95 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in class of my Senior year when the announcement came through the intercom. I was like "What just happened? This can't be right. Is someone pulling a prank?" We all went into the gymnasium and watched it on a big screen television. It tore me in half. I couldn't believe what I saw. It looked similar to a small fire in a forest, but then when you looked closer, you realized it is many floors high and many windows wide. It was heart breaking to even imagine what people down at "Ground Zero" were seeing, hearing, and thinking. Just when I started thinking about it and praying for the people involved, I heard the crash. The first building had collapsed. I thought "oh no, maybe everyone escaped by then" because the news anchor had given the word that people were being evacuated. When I sat there and listened, the second building started to fall to Earth. It was just the sadest thing to see and even today, it haunts me inside because you never really know what is going to happen next. It is good to know that we American's have bonded a little closer and I don't think anything like this will happen again. It is sad that it had to happen in the first place for this country to come this close together, but even at that, I feel we are all safe today, tomorrow, and our children will be just as safe, if not more safe than what we are now. I just hope the families that have lost loved ones can recooperate and get on with there lives healthy and safely. I know no one will completely heal inside, but it would be good to see us all go on strong and show those enmies we are victorious no matter what happens to us. Since last years September 11th, I myself have changed my life around. I have quit the habit of smoking cigarettes. I have put a smile on my face and thankful to be alive even on the days when you want to just sit there in bed and not put up with anything. Most importantly, I have enlisted with the Air Force and leave November 12th. I am so happy to be able to serve this great country that so many people have tried to destroy, but NEVER will! I will not back down, regardless of the circumstances I will face. No one will ever get me to disrespect America! That is my speech I guess, and I hope it got through to someone out there that doesn't realize how lucky it is to be alive and to live in this great country. Don't EVER take that for granted because you won't be here forever. Enjoy every day you have because it might be your last. Thank you for your time and I pray for all of you that have lost a loved one. They will NEVER be forgotten! Have a blessed 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 story5412.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: We were listen to the radio station Power 98.9. When the radio announcer stated a plane ran into the world trade center. Before the second Plane hit I was in my office and everyone web site were up on some type of news webpage where it shows, WTC smoking, all of our head mgt were in a meeting, we had to interupt the meeting by the time the plane hit the petangon. We maintain our cool and evacatuate the city. When I got home I was paralized at the tv. Could not beleive the devastion of everything. Sadden, Dismay, worry of our future. And even afraid for the first time in my life. It was trully an act of War. 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 story2769.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. 169.200.100.12 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 just couldn't believe what I had heard. I was at work and my husband was at home that day. I called him and told him he had better turn the TV to a news station. I had heard that the World Trade Center had just had a plane flown into it. I prayed to God many times during the course of this disaster. When I got home and saw the news clip of the plane actually hitting the Tower, chills ran through me. I just couldn't believe anything like this could happen and the hate that one would hold in against us after I had heard why it was done. I told my husband that it was a wake up call from God. He is trying to warn us. God was there that day in many ways: too many people were late for work that day, too many empty plane seats, the people who canceled their flights on those planes, the ones who actually got out of the buildings before they fell, the plane that went down in Pennsylvania that was meant to hit another building and kill even more. Yes, God was there that day in keeping thousands of others from NOT being there. I cried in my heart for all those people that were the victims and for their families. I have been grateful for all the rescue workers and the dogs that were used to find those left in the rubble. I thanked God for all those and I have also praised God for all the people in the stories that I read that got to safety and I also prayed for the families of the ones who didn't. We are one nation in unity and it was shown to the world that in a disaster, we can still pull together. The terrorist who did this have failed in part; this tragedy pulled us together instead of tearing us apart. We are Americans and we stick together. We have been blessed by God to live in a country that is so bountiful and has the freedom and opportunities that we have. I hope God will have mercy on the ones who did this and I pray very hard that something like this could not possibly happen again. Thank you, God, for the lessons learned and the people you saved from this disaster and most especially for hearing all our 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 story7700.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.210.224.228 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Our day is usually started in the break room near our dispatch center. As I entered the room for a cup of coffee I saw the first plane hit the World Trades Center. I first thought it was a re-enactment of some sort. As the story developed, the second plane hit. I told the dispatchers and essential crews to stand by for a heightened alert within our county. Minutes later, when the incident was claimed to be terroristic, we locked down dispatch and brought all off duty crew members in to a briefing. My job as Emergency Management Coordinator many times brings me to have to confront death and emotion. However, as people began jumping from the towers and as the first tower collasped, I realized I was watching the deaths of fellow firefighters, police officers and EMS Workers. Death is hard enough to deal with when you work with the public, but is very emotional when brothers in service pass before your eyes. May we never forget! With God's Grace, Bill Pippins, Jr. Dexter, Missouri 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 story4081.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. 207.230.47.70 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: There were a few unusual breaks to my normal routine. In retrospect that should have told me this day would be different. But I went about my business paying no mind. I was a Controller of a Tele Service company that employed over 1500 persons. I had only slept about three hours 1 - 4 AM due to insomnia. As sleep was impossible I started the day early and voted in the Primary elections prior to catching the train to work. Normally I vote after work. I joked with a Police Officer about it being too early to face this type of decision. By my estimations I should have been at my office in West Greenwich Village by 9:00 AM. I boarded the "L" train (Manhattan bound) at 8:15 AM and switched to my second train the "9" train (Staten Island Ferry bound) at 8:45 AM. I only had to travel one stop to the Christopher Street station - in all probability a three-minute ride. The train pulled out of the station and entered the tunnel. Almost immediately it stopped. After a few minutes the conductor announced that there was a problem with a train ahead and we were being held. After ten minutes the train started again and brought us to the Christopher Street station. I exited and began walking Southward on 7th Avenue South. Normally I walked Westward on Christopher and Southward on Hudson Street. As I took a few steps I looked up at the Twin Towers. I noticed there was a fire in the North Tower. A large flame ball in the top third of the building. I thought at first a transformer or HVAC apparatus had exploded. There were things flying out of the building. Since I was about twenty blocks North, I did not know it was people as well as inanimate objects. Everyone was staring at the tower. No traffic moved on the street. People were standing outside their cars. Lights changed, the Walk signals changed without a reaction. Drivers turned up the volume on their radios for everyone on the street to hear the announcements. It seemed something, maybe a plane had crashed into the tower. A few people commented that it was a terrible accident. How horrible. Etc. No one moved away. Suddenly something streaked across the sky and into the middle of the South Tower. A large section of the building burst into flames. I saw the entire top half of the tower move towards the West, away from the bottom half, and then sway back. I and others screamed that we were being bombed. And I thought about all those innocent people. People tried to telephone loved ones on their cellular phones. But they did not work. I knew I had to get to my office. To me it was the safest place for the time. When I reached my office I tried to call my mother (disabled with a heart condition and convalesing from hemmoraging and a subsequent surgery to save her life). I wanted her to hear what happened from me and that I was safe so she would not worry. The land lines did not function. After a few minutes my cellular phone worked and the call went through. Thankfully she had not heard anything yet. I said I wanted her to know I loved her and if anything happened to me to take care of herself and live the best life she could. (At this time we thought we were being attacked and had no idea if anything else would hit anywhere). I also promised that as long as nothing more happended as soon as I was able I would come home. I next tried to call my father at work in Manhasset (Nassau County) to let him know I was safe. I could not get through. I eventually called his house and asked his wife to relay the message. The city was in a state of Emergency, areas were in lockdown. All highways throughout the entire city and Nassau and Suffolk counties were closed to anyone except emergency personnel. Pedestrians were asked to stay off the streets. My office window looked out on the corner of Morton and Greenwich Streets. As Greenwich Street ends at the World Trade Center it was a clear conduit to Ground Zero. I watched as the hours passed that emergency vehicles from the entire area as well as nearby states were driving down that street coming to help us. As a native New Yorker I have always felt that most of the nation if not the world disliked us. To see all those communities sending their emergency personnel and emergency vehicles to help touched my heart. That is when I started to cry. Not from sadness but from gratitude. I stayed in the office for six hours until our section was given permission for non-residents to make our way home. I had to walk to 14th Street and 6th Avenue to take the "L" train since the "1,2,3, and 9" trains were not operating. I had to wait a half hour before I could board a train. The mass of people taking any train that was running just to get off the island of Manhattan and on their way towards home. No one speaking to anyone. All lost in their own thoughts and concerns. I stayed home for the next three days. We were not allowed back to work as Manhattan was still in a state of Emergency. My company did not fare well after that event. I was laid off due to economic cut backs in January 2002. I began working again last month for a lower salary and a lower position in a company that is not stable. Although what company is now? My new office is on Pearl Street. My office window looks out on the corner of Pearl and Wall Streets. It is six blocks from the World Trade Center. 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 story4992.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. 12.88.171.116 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 dropped off my children at their childcare center and was driving to my college campus when I started to hear about what was going in New York and Washington D.C. on the radio. First, I was listening to one of the local morning shows who reported that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. At first, I thought, "How horrible. Something must have been wrong with the plane or the pilot that he was not able to avoid crashing into such a tall building." I switched to NPR to get more information. Pretty soon they were transmitting a telephone call from someone at the Pentagon. It was on fire and he didn't know why. Also, a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. That's when I began to suspect something was happening. That it wasn't pilot error or mechanical difficulties that caused the crash. I arrived at school and people were talking about it. Classes continued and at the beginning of each class, we found out more about what was going on. We watched some of the news coverage on TV. I drove home with this eery sense of not knowing what to think about my life, the country, and the world. I talked to my sister in Oregon on the phone on my way home. She told me about the people who had jumped out of windows. When I got home my brother-in-law, who was visiting from Mexico and had been watching TV all day, was shocked and horrified and told me how sorry he felt for me, for my country. A friend of mine from Austria sent me an e-mail telling me how sorry she was for us, also, and that we were in her prayers. I was glued to the TV and the stories being told for about a week. After that, I had to stop watching. Yesterday, the anniversary of Sept. 11, I decided not to watch anything on TV. I couldn't handle it. I went to mass early in the morning to remember and pray for what happened and the people who had lost their lives, were injured, and had lost loved ones. The church bells rang at the different times that the planes hit in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. I wept at the first bell. It tears me up to think about the fear and pain that those people must have gone through before and during their deaths. I cry for them, for my chidren who are growing up during a time of war, for my country that is devistated in so many different ways. Still our lives are going on. My family and I went to Mexico on vacation this summer; my husband started a new business; we bought our first house; the fall semester at my college has started; and my four-year old daughter started preschool Sept. 10. I pray that we will all get through this with a better sense of who we are, what we stand for, and how we should lead our lives. 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 story6126.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. 129.19.160.95 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: In the morning on my way to school I had no idea as to what was happening. When I arrived in my first period agriculture class the TV was on. Clips of the plane crashing played over and over. I couldn't even comprehend what was happening. A girl in my class began to cry, and so did my teacher. He seemed to not believe how cruel the human heart could be as to do something like this. I sat there stunned, this is America? Aren't we safe? Nothing like this is supposed to happen in America, I have lived here my entire life. This is not the America I know. I later discovered that America hate groups existed. I was disgusted at seeing five year olds saying how they hated America. They didn't even know what they were talking about! They are like that because that is what their parents tell them to believe! Why do they think we should die? Is it because we believe in freedom and rights, something they have never known? I soon became inferiated, I kept thinking about those people who hated Americans. Don't they know what we stand for? "That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights"(Declaration of Independence). After a while I began to not care, if they don't believe in freedom and liberty for all then they are surely gullible. If so they can never dictate anything. They will certainly meet their consequences with God. If they think they are fullfilling God's will then someone should send them a Bible. Why should I worry about giving them a physical punishment? They will get what they deserve, I rest it in the hands of God. 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 story6792.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.221.242.127