470 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 the day of the terrorist attacks on September eleventh, I was only in the sixth grade. Thus, throughout the school day, my peers and I remained in the dark about the events which took place. We understood that something was going on, because the school principle, Mrs. Woodley made an announcement over the intercom about safety precautions. Yet, she mentioned no specifics. I remember my classmates and I questioning and talking about what might have happened. The only thing we could think of was that maybe there was a burglar or other criminal on the loose. Obviously, we were completely wrong, and we did not discover the actual truth about what took place until after school let out. When the bell rang, ending the school day, I noticed that there were more parents coming to pick up their children then usual, and I found that quite peculiar. Then, my attention was diverted away from those thoughts when I saw my two good friends, Carey and Tad. Tad's mom was standing next to him and she explained to us that certain buildings had been attacked by plains. However, I do not believe that either of us completely understood the magnitude of what took place until we made it home and turned on the television. As soon as the television turned on, all we saw on the screen was a barrage of firey images and screaming people. The images we were witnessing were surreal to us, we could not wrap our minds around what was happening. It was as if in that instance, our childish innocence was ripped away from us forever. We no longer carried the belief that the world was a happy, joyful place. Instead, the prevalence of the evils of our world became apparent in our eyes. Although, it is during these difficult times that the true strenght of a nation and its people shines through. When our neighborhood learned of a family that lost their loving husband and father, we all came together the help the family out in any way we could. Everybody baked meals for them, offered emotional support, and a shoulder to cry on. Incredibly, after 9/11, people all over the nation provided help for family and friends the same way. It was heart-warming to see that during a difficult time, all people, reguardless of petty differences, were there for eachother when it really mattered. 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 story20507.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. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home going about my usual chores. I received a phone call from a fellow employee to turn on the television. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. I felt such a sickening feeling as I listented to the anchormen report on the terrorism. My first thought was, how could we not expect something like this not to happen? How, as a country, are we to feel safe when the government is allowing all of the beliefs and trusts that we have in our lives to be removed? They have taken away the prayers in our schools, our pledge to the flag and any other sayings that includes God in our language. Why? Because of the people that don't want to believe in Him? We are letting the unbelievers, such as the terrorists, destroy our world as we know it. Just to satisfy them? We want to hold our flag high and be proud but how can we be proud of a government that allows this kind of stuff to happen? I went to work that day and there was a person there that I had had trouble with for such a long time. Her son was in the service and I saw the fright on her face. All of the ill feelings and thoughts I had for her disappeared as I watched her sit and pray to our God to keep him safe. Think about it. We need God in our lives to help us feel secure in a world where there is nothing but tragedy and pain. Maybe, by this happening on 9/11 He is trying to tell us that we do in fact, need Him. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2638.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.162.97.81 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The day of 9-11-01 I was at school outside playing flag football. When we went in to the lockerroom we were listing to the news and heard the the north tower was hit by a airplane. At first I dident know what was going on till they said the the WTC was under attack. Being a furture marine, I new this was the time for me to realy look out for my self and my friends. Now I'm a sgt.with the army. this was the day I saw what i wanted to do with my life because i wanted to protect my country from this ever happing again 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 story11368.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. 2005-04-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.210.243.158 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was getting ready for the innaguration of our 14th President here at Hardin Simmons University, on the morning of September 11th. I had just gotten out of the shower, and was listening to my radio, because I did not have a television. My friend from down the hall called me to tell me that she was watching THe Today Show, and that the World Trade Center was on fire, but no one knew why. I was really suprised and very curious about what was going on. I had been to New York City that past summer with my mother and grandmother, and we had gone to the top of the tower. I quickly called my parents. THey were both still at home in Canyon, Texas. They both are usually gone by eight, and I was shocked that they were still home. THey told me they were just blown away and didn't know what to think. I was still unsure of what was happening. THey told me how a plane had hit one tower, and how they saw the second plane hit the second tower. They let me go, and then I just continued to get ready for the ceremony. The radio station I was listening to began news coverage of the events, so I had a way to hear more. I heard that something terrible was beginning to happen, so I ran to my friends room to see it on the tv. The first building was emploding. We shreiked, and cried, but still we had no way to grasp what was occuring. By that time we were almost late for the ceremony, and quickly left. As we came upon the chapel, where the innaguration was being held, I began to hear everyone discussing the news of NYC. I would try to grab any new bits or pieces to tell to others. I was so frustrated that I was having to be at this, when there was something huge going on in New York. I look back on it now, and I was so mad at the school for continuing the ceremony in the midst of the crisis. But at the time, I had no clue of the hugeness of what was really going on. At the time I did not even know who had done this. I had heard somethign about terrorist, but I did not understand the big picture. I remember being so scared. It was the first semester of my second semester in college. I was close to five hours away from my parents, and I was in a town with an air force base, which I just knew was goign to be attacked at any minute. As the day went on I learned more and more details of the deepness of the tragedy that had just occured. I heard story after story from people that knew someone, or knew someone that knew someone that either lived in New York City or even worse was supposed to be at the Towers that day. After lunch I made my way back to my dorm by myself. When I walked in, I saw both TVs turned on with news coverage of NYC. A lot of people had begun to gather to watch. Suddenly we all got in a large circle and began praying for our nation. At that moment we alljust lifted our fears and confusion to our Heavenly Father. I tried my hardest to not question Him or feel angry with God for allowing this to happen. I was continually reminded of how He does have everything under His control and that He will get us through this as He does with everything else. On September 11th, my eyes were opened to the evil that exist in the world. I have never felt fear like I did that day. THe days following, I had my eyes opened and prepared for the worst. I reached a new level of trust in my good Lord in the weeks to follow. I am thankful that He calls me His and that I have His word and love everyday. Without that I do not know where I would be today. 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 story355.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. 2002-04-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.216.57.67 Annotation Annotations to this item. Military Religion Rumors Students/Teachers WTC, pre-911 DOMESTIC 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: I was on the roof of the Foundation Building of the Cooper Union at 9am about to convene a faculty meeting...the first of the year... when a faculty member came in to say that the WTC was on fire. We asked the custodian to take us up to the roof, and we all saw both towers fall. It was a moment we will all never forget. The loft where I live is visible under the Evian sign in the lower left of the images, so the experience of seeing all this unfold from where I work just a mile behind where I live was overwhelming. 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 story553.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 165.247.37.168 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 worked at the Atlanta Marrioptt Marquis then,It was an unbelieveable site to see the 2nd airplain crashing into the World Trade Center. I remember my wife calling me from home saying that an airplain has crashed into the World Trade Center.Afew months prior to September my wife and I were supposed to move to N.Y for work reasons,She was supposed to work in the Center and so was I.Because working Marriott I was looking to transfer to the World Trade Center Marriott and she was supposed to work for City Bank. I remember her crying because she did'nt get the job and me saying to her that there is always a reason why things do not always workout as we plan, I guess that it was just not our calling. Need less to say I feel sorry for the people that lost their loved ones and we should enjoy life one day at a time,be thankfull for the people that we have to share it with and love them also. Cassius Fevriere. 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 story3546.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. 207.2.99.52 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: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. "The morning of September 11th I stayed home fro0m work and I was watching the "Today Show". I was watching it, and all of a sudden they broke in with a special report that the first plane had hit the tower. I continued to watch the television, changing channels to see if there was more news. I began to realize that this was probably a delibrate act. All morning I watched the television I could not leave it, and I began to worry about the area we lived in because of the military presence here." Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. "My daily life has not really changed, I still fly in airplanes, but I am more suspicious of people and circumstances. I worry more now about things I have no control over." What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? "The extraordinary of people that were directly involved and their efforts to help in any way they could. We should also remember the long-term effects that these attacks will have on everyone." Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? "Yes, I did fly an American flag. My feelings have not changed about the flag. I have always felt that our flag is a symbol of respect for our country. I am happy to see the flag displayed so much as long as it is done properly." 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 story8811.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. 2002-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: SEPT 11, 2001 On this day of Sept 11th 41 yrs of age I started my day as usual, up at 6am got washed, dressed, kissed my wife good-bye, and was out the door at 6:30 to catch the 6:44 train to New York. My job was located in the World Trade Center 1 on the 81st floor, employed by Banc Of America Securities. I was in my office at 8:00 as always, getting a jump-start of my day. I was talking to an associate of mine Grace Gullo when I happen to see I had a message on my voice mail. When I log into my phone the message was from my wife stating to call here on her cell phone. When I called her she didn?t answer so I left her a message. As I hung up the phone I stood up to see my associate to finish the conversation we were having and then walk out to take the elevator down to the main lobby to buy a cup of coffee. At the point when I told Grace I?ll be back the whole building swung back and fourth, litterly throwing me off balance. When it stopped I notice parts of the ceiling was falling down, fire alarm sounded off, everyone started yelling and running for the exit doors. I took a glance from my window and saw black smoke from the above floors and a lot of paper flying around with what I thought was to be a body, but wasn?t so sure. I turned away from the window and noticed my side of the floor was almost empty, that?s when I told Janice another co-worker who sat next to me to start running where everyone else was headed. I got about 100ft from my desk when I realized I didn?t have my briefcase with me. I stopped turned around to go back towards my desk when I happen to see some of my co-workers running in a different direction. I went to my desk got my briefcase, saw a co-worker of mine Julia from the Dividend Dept. and asked are you OK. She replied NO. I told her everything would be all right, stay with me. Julia and I started out in the direction where I happen to see the other co-workers exit. When I exited the same door they went out, I was out in a smokey hallway next to a door. I entered the room with Julia and I took a look around the room. I noticed I was in like a maintance room with about 5 co-workers and two Siemen employees, who were telling me to close the door behind me. One of the Siemen employees stated, everyone to be COM, we are safe, grab some towels and shove them under the door to keep the smoke out. The firemen will be here soon. I took one look at him and went into a daze saying to myself, is this guy crazy! We?re 81 stories high! I looked at him and said are you nuts. I looked at my co-workers (John Rothrock, Chris Thompson, Julia) and said, I?m leaving and you?re all are following me out. I turned to open the door and heard Chris saying No, don?t open, and by that time I was out of the room and in the hallway again. All I heard from behind me was John saying Frank wait for me. I turned towards the voice and saw John coming towards me, and then the rest of them, one by one. Now we were all back where it all started, in the office area. (1) I lead them all towards the direction I had originally started my escape. We all ran around inside the building to the opposite side of the floor where the Exit sign was. As I was leading them towards the exit sign I realized we were the only ones left on the floor. We got to the Exit; where someone was holding the door open for us. As we were going down the stairwell at one point I heard screaming behind me. We were at about the 73rd floor when I told Chris who was in front of me; I?m going back up and for him to continue down the stairs. When he heard what I had said to him there was a moment of silence. I turned away from him, started going back up and heard him yelling, Frank. As I turned towards him he was saying are you Crazy, you can?t go back up, come back down with me. I stated to him I can?t I have to see what is going on. I?ll be OK. Please go down the stairs with the others. I don?t remember how many flights I had gone up before I saw someone grabbing a fire hose from the standpipe in the stairwell. I helped him release and untangle the hose. I asked what is your name, he replied Shin. I stated I?m Frank, while the other person was opening the valve. I asked Shin have you ever done something like this before. He replied Yes, I?m an ex-marine, how about you. I stated Yes, I?m an ex-volunteer fireman. Then I started going into the floor straitening out the hose towards the person at the nozzle, who was applying water at the fire by an elevator shaft. On the other side of the fire were a couple of people waiting to come through. The fire was under control, and at that time I went towards them. When I got there I had told them to go towards to direction I came from and at the end of the hall to make a left then a right into the stairwell. As they were going I saw more people, which looked like they were coming from a stair well inside their floor. I noticed a lady coming towards me walking with her arm held out stiff like a board wondering what happen. Once she approached me I realized her skin was hanging off her arms and she had blood on her face and along her blondish hair. When I saw the last person coming down I asked if there was anyone else behind you. He replied No. At that point I headed back where I came from and told the person on the nozzle this was the last one. We both left towards the exit. He went down the stairs and I decided to continue up. As I was going up I exited into each floor approximately 6 ? 10ft, yelling HELLO, IS THERE ANYONE HERE. At one point not knowing how far up I had gone, I was on a floor yelling to see if someone would respond, and the ceiling started coming down and struck me on the side of my chest. As I escaped off the floor I started tripping and falling to my knees and hands over the debris. When I got out into the stair well I shook myself off and continued up the stairs. I got to the 78th floor, which was the level were the elevators stopped. At that point you had to get on another to continue up to the upper floors. On the 78th floor I noticed a maintence worker, I yelled to him come on we have to get out. He replied back there is someone stuck in the elevator. As I was approaching him I said do you know what happen here. He replied, a plane has struck the building. (2) He took me to the elevator, where I saw an elderly man inside. He was very COM. I asked if he was all right, he replied yes. I answered don?t worry we will get you out. I noticed the elevator doors were jammed from the top leaving a gap from the bottom, like the shape of a triangle. I told him to stand back; we?re going to open the doors. I asked the worker to grab one side of the doors as I grabbed the other to pry open the doors, but that didn?t work. I said I?d be back. I went and got a pole from a sign I had broken to slip into the doors on top to open for leverage, but that didn?t work. The pole just bent, it was aluminum. Then I went and ripped off a part of the wall, which was Marble, that didn?t work. As we attempted to help him, I ask the worker if he knew where the keys were kept for the elevators. He said No. I asked the man in the elevator if he was able to open the panel by the floor level buttons, he replied No. By that time there were more workers showing up. One of them was about 7ft tall with a radio. I explained to him what we have tried using to open the doors. By this time there were about 7 of us trying to get this person out. I sat back against the wall trying to figure out what to do, and then I overheard the 7ft worker say something about a key. One of them left immediately. As I sat there thinking what to do next I heard a voice inside my head say Frank, You have done your share, it?s time for you to get out. So I grabbed my briefcase, which I had carried with me all this time and headed to the exit I had originally started at. As I was leaving I was saying to myself, he would be all right. I noticed the escalators connecting the 78th and 79th floors were destroyed. I got into the stairwell and headed down. As I was heading down there was silence, I heard no one yelling nor foot steps other than my own. The lights had gone out and the emergency lights were on. I noticed the floor numbers that were painted on the walls and I wasn?t even close to getting out. At this point I lost it. I had broken down and started crying. I grabbed a hold of my cross that I was wearing on my chain and kissed it, and started praying to God to help me escape. I sat down on the stairs and lit a cigarette to com myself. As I sat there I heard footsteps coming towards me, it was a Fire Marshal. He had asked if I was OK I replied yes. I had mentioned about the person in the elevator that he would be coming across and he said OK. Now I had my family on my mind, wondering if I would ever see them anymore. Wiping the tears off my face I stood up and continued down the stairs. As I looked at the floor levels I kept on panicking, wondering if I would get out in time. Awhile has gone by, and there was still no one in sight. From the floors up above me I started hearing loud noises as if something was falling down towards me. Now I started trembling, and was running down the stairs up to the point I couldn?t run any longer due to a pain I had in my leg. I rested a couple of minutes and continued walking down the stairs. I finally started to hear voices ahead of me, and had caught up with others. When they saw me they handed me a bottle of water and asked if I was OK. I didn?t reply, I just knotted my head Yes. (3) As we were walking down two firemen were walking up in full gear, then another two. Now we all came to a halt, there was shouting going on, go back up, go up. We were being pushed to start walking back up. There was a lot of anger going on, not knowing why we had to rush up the stairs. We must have gone easily 10 ? 15 flights up, before the pushing stopped. There was like a fog of smoke rising up and your eyes just started to burn and tear. As we started walking back down you could smell smoke that was rising up the stairwell. We were walking as if we were zombies, trying to feel if someone was in front of you. Then the smoke started to disappear slowly. The crowd of people had disappeared, which meant to me the ground level was near. I finally made it down stepping into water up to my ankle out of the stairwell. I stopped for a moment only to figure out where I was. I then noticed I was in the lobby that once use to be beautifully polished with chrome and marble. When I looked around it was all destroyed. The exit I had planned on taking to the path trains to Newark was out of the question. I then to my right and saw a very dim light, which meant to me being the outdoors. As I ran around the broken walls I kept falling over them trying to get the hell outside. I got to were once there was a tall wall of glass dividing the inside from out and they were gone, I actually walked out were they once stood. Then I noticed something lying on the ground. Seemed like a statue in a position of a dog on its back with its hands and legs in a begging position. As I approached it I realized it was a body burnt to a degree where I couldn?t tell if the person was black or white. Everything seemed to me in slow motion, people looking around including myself were in a daze. Bodies and parts all around you, streets were all covered in debris, ashes and paper, all over the place. Firemen, Policemen and the EMS were approaching me asking if I was all right. I just shook my head stating OK. I walked out maybe 50ft or so away from the building when I noticed a familiar face from the 81st floor I don?t recall his name, he was tall with a whitish beard. AT this point we were told to run away from the building. I ran maybe 200ft when I had to stop to rest. I then turn to look at the WTC. When I looked up, I just froze. I was staring up at the building and saw people holding hands as they fell to their death, that?s when I lost it. I got down on my knees and started screaming at the top of my lungs, NO. A moment later there was yelling behind me saying to run, run the building is coming down. I didn?t know if that warning was meant for me, but I got up and started running again. As I was running there was this loud noise and rumble. When all was said and done, I only remembered opening my eyes and noticing I was inside a hospital. I had all these nurses and doctors around me, wires on my chest, tubes sticking out of my arms and an oxygen mask over my mouth. I remember panicking and one of the nurses said something, so they injected me with some kind of medication. (4) When I got to the point of being more relaxed I guess from the medication, I was also confused as to why and how I had gotten there. I remember one of them asking my name, how do I feel, does anything hurt. All I recalled was a lot of dizziness. Then at some point I asked I had to call my wife, and they replied as soon as the doctor comes back with the results. The doctor came and stated everything is fine. I had been treated with smoke inhalation, you are free to go. I asked the nurse if she could call my wife, being it was late in the afternoon. I gave her my home number and said my wife?s name is Maria. When the nurse came back she said my wife was relieved I was OK. I then thanked the nurse and asked what hospital I was at, she told me NYU Medical. I then asked for my shirt. She replied it was half torn when I got there so they tore the rest off. She gave me a doctors operation shirt to wear home. I then asked how could I get to Jersey. She told me she heard the ferries were running out of Staten Island. So I started walking. I was about almost there when a cop stopped me and said the streets were closed. I told him were I was headed and he said I had to go to Chelsea pier. From Chelsea I managed to get on a tugboat to Weehawken NJ, and then walked to Hoboken to get the path train to Newark. Once at Newark I got the NJ transit to Avenel and finally home to my family at approximately 10:30. Words can?t express my feeling that took place when I walked into my home that night. The TV was on and I then realized by watching the news how it all took place and that I was still in tower 1 when tower 2 had collapsed. The next day my wife took me to JFK Hospital to get examined again, because I was dizzy and coughing up black saliva. After my examination, I was released with medication and if it was to get worse to come back. When I arrived home I started getting calls from my co-workers. I was glad to her there voices and that they were safe. But at the same time I was hurt, for the 4 employees that never made it out. I wished I could have been there for them. A couple of days went by and I noticed I haven?t been the same person I once was. I feel very lonely, depressed; I have nightmares, and cry in my sleep. When I had the TV on all you heard was the tragedies of 9/11. A week later I was told my picture was in Peoples Weekly Magazine. My wife went and bought what ever she could carry home. She was in tears when she arrived home. I took a look on page 32 of your Sept 24th issue and I couldn?t believe it myself. My biggest goal in life now is my Family and to conquer my fears, as it has taken over my life mentally. One day soon, I pray this will be all behind me, and I can live my normal life again. Survivor from the 81st fl, World Trade Center, North Tower. My name is Frank Castrogiovanni. (5) 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 story8443.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. 129.174.27.131 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 am very sorry for those who were lost in this catastrophe. I can't believe this could actually happen to America. How can people be so cruel. Or maybe just for doing this we can finally realize they aren't really people. Is that what they have been triing to tell us. I am very sad. I don't know everyone in the towers, but I know they were American. I hope Ameica won't let people die anymore. I hope Amrica, as usually, lives on and never forget that day. It will be too hard to forget. We will never forget those wonderful people in those towers. I don't want anymore people to ever die. I first heard what happened at home on the news. Then everyone knew at school. Everone including myself was watching the tragedy on television. Those people in those towers that were part of America are also part of our families and will be remembered as such.We will miss those people as if they were our brothers, sisters, moms, and dads. Pray for those people everyday. Nesa Nesa 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 story2643.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. 208.182.75.3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember trying to find something on a video at home. I had the sound turned down. I looked up at the screen and thought I was watching something from a film. It was only when the picture of the 1st plane hitting the tower left the screen and the BBC Newsdesk came on that I realised what I had seen was real. Still, I did not believe it. My Mum was downstairs on the phone. I switched on the TV & muted the sound so she could see what I had seen. She put the phone down and turned up the sound. Neither of us could believe what we had bee watching. Had it been April 1st we may have passed it off as a joke. We didn't leave the TV for the remainder of that day. To this day I cannot remember why I was at home and not at work, it doesn't seem important now anyway. 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 story1037.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. 2002-08-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 62.252.224.8 Annotation Annotations to this item. INTERNATIONAL 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 Bellevue,Ohio at the Jr. High. I was in English class reading a book about short stories. All of a sudden a voice came over the PA system saying to turn on the T.V. Then I saw that a plane had hit one of the towers at the WTC. I was shocked that they would do that. I was depply sadden that someone would do such a wrongful act. I love this country and I just want to know I'm safe here. 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 story6508.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. 156.63.116.141 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 mother phoned shortly after the second plane hit the towers. She was upset and wanted to know if I had heard the news. I told her I had been watching 'Good Morning America' and could not tear myself away from the television since they had broken in with the images of the first tower in flames. I explained to her that I was worried about a friend who had just taken a job directly across the street from the Twin Towers. It was only her second week of working downtown. Mom tried to console me and wanted to make sure that I was alright before we hung up. She was especially concerned about my health because I was barely three months pregnant with my first child. (I was scheduled for my very first sonogram later that day.) Early in the afternoon, my sister-in-law phoned. She was very upset and had some news about my mother. Mom was being rushed to the emergency room because she was suffering from a massive heart attack. My husband and I arrived at the hospital and waited with the rest of my family as a Catholic nun tried to speak words of comfort to us. Soon the nun would leave the room and return later with the horrible news. My mother had passed away. She was only 61 years old. She would never see my child. My friend survived the attacks because her train was late. She was able to escape uptown to her mother's apartment before the second tower fell. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on April 1, 2002. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6879.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. 152.163.188.6 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 INTO WORK. WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS ON THE RADIO. I COULDN'T BELIVE WHAT I WAS HEARING. I ARRIVED A WORK A BUNCH OF US FILED INTO THE BOSSES OFFICE, TO WATCH HIS T.V. TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON. THEN THE TOWERS STARTED TO COME DOWN. MY HEART SANK. I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES. ALL THOSE FAMILIES TORN APART. I THEN STARTED TO WORRY ABOUT A FRIEND I HAVE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. DO TO ALL THE PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT FRIENDS AND FAMILY THE LINES WERE BUSY THE ONLY WAY WAS E-MAIL. I TRIED TO E-MAIL HIM BUT I WOULDN'T FIND OUT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS THAT HE WAS ALRIGHT. BUT HE DID LOOSE SOME OF HIS FRIENDS. HE WORKED AT GROUND ZERO HE TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE WORST THING HE HAD EVER SEEN. HE TOLD ME SAY A LOT OF PRAYERS WE CAN SURE USE THEM. SO ME AND MY FAMILY PRAYED FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DAY EFFECTED. WE ALSO PRAYED THAT SOME GOOD WOULD COME OUT OF A TRAGGEDY SUCH AS THIS. ONE THING THAT DID, IS THAT WE ARE ALL SO MUCH CLOSER TO OUR NEIGHBOORS THAN WE HAVE BEEN IN A VERY LONG TIME. IT TAUGHT US STRENGTH IS IN UNITY. WE ARE A MELTING POT OF DIFFERENT CULTERS AND FAITHS BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU NEED HELP NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY THEY COME FROM OR WHAT BELIEFS THEY HAVE. THEY WILL HELP YOU THAT IS WHAT MAKES THIS COUNTRY GREAT. YOU CAN COUNT ON YOUR NEIGHBOOR. 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 story4164.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.211.240.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was on the couch; sick from work. My girlfriend had gone off to class and I was consoling my stomach bug with tea and muted television as I tried to nap the illness away. I am not sure what awoke me; I opened my eyes seconds before Good Morning America cut in with the live feed of the Towers. Disbelief, shock, dread, and an inward knowledge that this was somehow not an accident sank into me. After a few minutes of watching I called my mother back in Lubbock and told her to turn on the television. As she walked to her living room I saw the second jet pass through the camera's field and strike, turning at the last second like a guided missile homing in on its target. We sat and watched, my mom and I, unspeaking over the phone line for quite awhile then she excused herself; still through all this there were errands she needed to run and things to do before her day was over. I watched and watched and watched. I flipped through the channels, catching the various angles, until I came to one station that was showing a few desperate victims, a handful that were trapped and were unable to evacuate, giving up and jumping from their windows. How horrible a decision that must have been. When the first WTC Tower collapsed I had nothing but selfish thoughts. I did not think of the thousand still attempting to escape. I did not think of their families or the civilians on the streets below. All I could think about were the rescue workers. Being a Paramedic myself, all I could think about were the Firefighters, EMT's, and Cops that had to been inside. Trapped. Scared. Dead for sure in their final duty. I thought that that was the last straw. That tower falling and wiping out that many rescue workers had to have just thrown the service into complete chaos. And then the second tower fell and still, selfishly, all I could think was what Hell and despair these EMS, PD, and FD guys must be going through. It is horrible of me, but I did not mourn for those that worked in the WTC; I could have cared less for the victims. I was only worried about the rescue personnel. Throughout the day I became angrier and angrier at the speed in which the Government discovered the identities of the hijackers. It is an irrational thought, but if they could have done it this quickly then how could it not have been prevented. I was angry with the passengers for not fighting back more, for not using their numbers to overwhelm the few assailants. The day went on with the same scenes over and over on the television. The local channels showed images of downtown Houston as it was being evacuated and traffic was being detoured around the center of the city and all the tall buildings within. Galveston EMS went on standby alert and I packed up my kit with three days of food, water, and clothing in case we got called in. I watched the fighter jets go out on patrol over the the Island and into the Gulf. The city was quiet that night. Nobody went out. Stepping onto my balcony all I could hear was the sound of the waves crashing into the seawall. Looking across the parking lot, and then out past the bayou, every house and apartment I looked at, I saw the blue-green cast that the TV's screens cast on the shaded and curtained windows. I never have felt overly patriotic about this. I have not felt unified with my fellow citizens. I only feel that something has been lost in us and can never be recovered. 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 story195.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. 2002-03-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.119.140.107 Annotation Annotations to this item. Military Politics and politicians Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers 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 was traveling on Interstate 55, just south of Springfield, Il. when I heard on the radio about the first plane hitting. I immediately called my nephew to see where Sharon was, his wife who is a flight attendant. By this point, Tony could tell I was upset, he said she is at home why? I told him what had happened and I think he thought that I was mistaken at first. He then realized that this was true as I was relaying what was coming across the radio. I felt helpless, knowing my children were 2 1/2 hours south in Salem where I live. I couldn't get home fast enough to them. But then I wondered just how big this tragedy could possibly be and the lives that were lost. I prayed a lot on the way, being a Christian gave me great strength. I pray the God will continue to give America the strength and guidance that we all need today, tomorrow and forever. 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 story5321.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.124.239.52 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 morning was like most. Early out the door, a quick stop for fast-food breakfast and the paper. A nice drive across town to the office. As I came across town I turned on a local Radio show. They better than average morning talk and comedy show, but they weren't laughing. I had left that morning after watching the news and weather. Now 2 of the best morning show hosts in Indiana were stunned and you could hear it in their voices. As I listened I heard them say "a plane has just accidently flew into one of the Twin Towers" But you could hear the edge of nervousness in their voice. As I cautiously moved down the road, I started wondering about all those people there, adn about how terriable an accident this was. I truely wish it was an accident, then only one plane would have fell from the sky that day. As I got to my parking spot, thats when I heard that another plane had hit the towers, and that was when you could feel the ripple through the town. As I entered the office, the radio which is usually set to classical music, talked on about this new incident. I quickly ushered myself into the confrence room and there on a old tv, using the antanae, I saw the first image of the first plane, quickly followerd by the second image. It was shortly after that it seemed, that it was announced as a terrorist attack. My first thought was "Are they Out of their Minds?!?" They (who later were reveiled to be Al-Quieda) have to know that blood on our soild will only lead to a massive retaliation. If not outright war. I felt incensed, I felt robbed, and I felt Angry. All that rage though was capped by the first thought of those in New York who were bareing the brunt of this. It was then I prayed. Not for world peace, not for love, but for a lot of fellow Americans, That even in the fastest car, I could never help. I even believe in guardian angels, and asked mine to go and help those there, because they needed it more than I did. Then somone in the office, an Engineer, pointed out that back when the towers were being made some enviromentalists protested the use of asbestos to protect the steel in that area, and he was reading about it in a book for school. It was shortly after that the Mighty buildings were brought down on themselves. I felt my heart sink, and what hope I had disappear. Sometime in that day the other plane in Pennsylvania crashed, and the other hit the Pentagon. Both adding insult to injury. My boss prompted us all to work, and do our regular jobs, but there was nothing easy about work that day. The driving thought in my mind was "Don't Let Them Win!" so I kept working... cried a little... and still kept working. Al-Quieda would shake me, scare me, but I would never break. It was then I realized, thats our spirit. That is our America. The land my grandpa fought for, and his friends died for. The land my friends lost their childhood in Korea and Vietnam for. I realized, reguardless of what was found out, or how hard we were hit, we'ld live up to our oldest image as a nation. Rough and tumble... Bullnecked... Freedom lovers. The next though was "Fine we are the worlds last economic Superpower. It means we are the big guys on the block. We'll get bloody noses, but we'll always protect those who seek peace and freedom." and I wondered... The world will learn, again what Japan, and other nations learned before. Americans have a huge propencity for dwelling on internal politics, but smack the nest, threaten our peace, and you only succeed in rousing a giant. That day and its following days are a blurr. Lots of emotions, and a question of Why? Now a year later, I look back and wonder what we've gained and what we've lost. There is little doubt in my mind, that we had the right man as president. While most of us, even myself, were ready for blood, and vengance, he steered us and told us to wait. Now, we've toppled an evil regime, and are poised to finish a job the politicians didn't let us do in the first place, Iraq. Just rescently Arafat has denounced his countriemens policy of marterdom, and maybe someday there will be peace to that troubled land. Other countries watch us, and wait to see what we do. Some will follow and approve us, some won't. In the end ask yourselves, "If Iraq, or indeed any other Extreemist country has a chemical or nuclear arsennal, would they hesitate to use it on us?" if the answer is no, then realze your talking about our, and our childrens future. "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men, to do nothing, or little" 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 story5800.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.230.0.251 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was a normal school day of dragging myself out of bed and onto the bus that took me to school. Not at all was I with thought that perhaps today would in some way make history. A night full of homework had kept me awake all night so that today would be so tiring that I hardly felt aware of what was happening around me. Though, a disturbing event had happened to fall on this day that was not the nice little shake back to reality for me. I was walking on my way to 3rd period English while dragging my feet and not looking forward to the usual lecture by our teacher. Once I had entered the room the expression on my face of pure tiredness had changed with wonder and curiosity. The teacher and a group of the students in my class were huddled around underneath the television. I noticed it was a type of news channel and wonder what was so interesting that attracted a student?s attention. All of their faces seemed to be of shock. Once I had joined them at the television I saw news reporters in extreme alarm over something. Then that is when I saw it; there were two very tall buildings in which one had smoke coming from it. Just then, a plane came into the frame of the television and was headed right for the towers. It seemed to be something right out of an action packed movie. What was going on? My mouth dropped as I noticed ?LIVE? in the corner of the television and saw the plane drive itself right into the tower. Fire and smoke had surrounded the plain and where it hit. A while later is when the towers collapsed. A great wall of smoke and debris was seen from the ground below and people ran in panic. It seemed a sea of people were flowing in one direction. Some had cell phones in their ears, some were crying, and others had a look of shock in their face as if they weren?t sure of what just happened. Maybe they were just wondering when this dream would stop and they would wake up. If only it were that. This place on the television was the World Trade Center and the buildings were called the Twin Towers. In all honesty, I had never heard of this place and never knew it had existed. That is why to me, it had seemed unreal. As time went on and it all sank in, I realized that I had witnessed something that was sure to go down in history. This is something that would be in future history books! It seemed amazing I suppose. Though with thousands dead it was quite tragic. Who would want to do such a thing? I always saw the United States as a place where nothing from the outside world could harm us. Boy, was that misunderstood. The people behind it all were the Taliban of Afghanistan. Apparently it had been a suicide terrorist attack. Once again I knew little of this place or this group of people. Ironically we had been studying them a little in Global Studies before the attack. All I knew was that Osama Bin Laden was a man up to no good and happen to be the leader of this terrorist group called the Taliban. The planes had been hijacked by some of his group and in a suicide mission they crashed them into the building. This was all for their Muslim god, Allah. It is crazy that a god would want harm towards others. This too seems like a misunderstanding on their part. Much patriotism increased throughout the United States. This loss impacted the nation greatly. Many wanted Osama Bin Laden dead and even more, all the Muslims dead. True, I felt great anger towards Bin Laden for his actions cost us much. However, to take the life of those who had nothing to do with hate against Americans is most certainly wrong. Hate and violence only bring more hate and violence. No good comes out of any of it. 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 story679.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.34 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: Hi: MY name is Barbara Cisternas and want to share my story with you. I was at home in Elmhurst Queens when the 1st and 2nd attack occured I was dressing for work that morning and of course watching the news, when the video came on of the 1st tower was hit with the first airplane at first I thought it was an accident. Then the news was life from WTC the 2nd plane hit the next tower that's when I realized New York City was under attack. I dressed immediately went to get my daughter Krystle out of elmentary school then walked over to my sons middle school and signed out my son Dexter. Called my husband to find out where he was working that day his boss drove him home that morning. I was crying almost for 2 weeks after the attack what broke my heart the most is watching the people hanging out the windows and jumping to their death. When we were attacked a piece of all New Yorkers tumbled with our beautiful towers, I remember working at World Finicial Center #3 and walking through the towers to get there from the E train subway Chambers St, back in 1996. After the first attack of 1993 on the WTC. Shopping was such a pleasureable experience at WTC the WinterGardens was so pretty during flower shows in spring. Like I said a piece of me is gone our sense of security destroyed I believed we were untouchable ,but I guess I was wrong , to all the famlies that has lost their loved god bless you and NYC is grieving along with you. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Barbara Cisternas 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 story6195.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.158.180.118 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: Turning the corner, nearing my third period classroom, my heart sank as I heard a whale from within. I ran in only to see my teacher, and two fellow students standing glued to a television screen in pure horror. When I saw the screen my jaw dropped, and I prayed for my heart to beat again. My eyes grew blurry, and I could feel the tears begin to stream down my cheeks. ?This can?t be happening,? I muttered through my tears. More students were filling in behind me, each one staring at the screen with their own horrid reaction. We stood together, staring as the once proud symbol of America, the World Trade Center towers, went up in smoke. ?Was it a bomb,? I can remember one student asking. ?It was a plane,? proclaimed another. Suddenly, out of the corner of the screen, another plane emerged. Oh, God no, I screamed! We stood spell bound, and horrified as a second plane crashed into a second tower of dreams. With that, almost every student began to weep aloud. I looked around; there were now a good forty people in the classroom. Most of them I knew, but some were new faces that had pored into the room after hearing the commotion. Some people were crying on each other?s shoulders, some were hugging, but all of us were together. I had never seen anything like it, especially at such a prejudice school. Jocks, punks, rednecks, all standing together, being there for each other. The only label any of us had now was American. It was an incredible sight, but at the same time sad, that it took such a senseless tragedy to bring people together. ?Oh my God, look,? one student shouted. I turned back to the television, and felt my stomach flip. I froze in horror; I could feel the lump rising in my throat as I saw people jumping from the twin towers. They were jumping from the tops of the one hundred and ten story buildings. I felt like I was going to throw up for sure! These were people, human beings! These were mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends! The tears poured from my eyes, uncontrollably and I felt someone?s arms wrap around me. ?Everything is going to be all right,? I heard my good friend Matt say. I hadn?t even noticed him come in, but I was glad he was there. I felt guilty, for thinking about how happy I was that it wasn?t my loved ones there. How could I be so selfish, I thought to myself. More and more people were jumping from the windows now, and the sight was horrific! ?Holy shit,? one student screamed. There before my eyes, the twin towers crumbled to the ground. Matt pulled me closer as we cried together, for what seemed like a year. I was so glad to be with my friends, and the people I cared about. I knew that all my loved ones were safe, and that was a luxury that not everyone had. I thought about how horrid it must be, for the millions of people who knew someone in, or around the twin towers. I think I realized right then that our lives, as Americans would never be the same. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2355.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.109.168.234 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: I was running a little late to work. I was on the subway heading to my Wall Street stop. The train was running unusually slow, but I figured it was usual congestion. The first apparent sign that something was wrong was when the conductor said, "Due to an incident at Fulton Street, the train will skip Fulton Street and stop at Wall Street." I didn't think much of it at the time except that it would shave a few minutes getting to work. When the train pulled into the Wall Street Station, the smell of smoke was quite thick. I assumed there was a track fire on Fulton Street, which caused the delay, and the station skip. When I got to the surface (approx. 3 blocks from the World Trade Center), I saw people running toward the Trade Center, I saw a motorcycle cop drive by, and I saw little pieces of paper and debris falling from the sky. Since I was in the Canyon of Heroes - the area in Manhattan where ticker tape parades are thrown - I assumed that a world leader was opening the Stock Exchange. I figured people were running toward Wall Street (direction of the Trade Center from where I was standing) in order to get a better view. Then I looked up and my world changed. I saw a thick column of olive green, grey smoke moving West to East, with a slight southerly angle across the sky. This sounds so stupid, but I still didn't think anything major had happened. From my angle, I couldn't see the Trade Center. Obviously there was a fire, but I thought it was a fire in one of the high rises in New Jersey. I walked over to get a better look, and that's when I saw Tower Two was burning. I stood there looking at it for a few minutes, asked what had happened and got answers such as, "a bomb," or, "a plane." I never thought it was a big plane. Couldn't be. I stood for a few minutes, and then headed to work. I tried getting reception on my cell phone, but couldn't. I saw someone walking quickly up Exchange Place crying. I still was in the dark as to what happened and I figured I'd learn more once I got to the office. At this point it was about ten minutes past nine and my primary thought was that I was late. We had a view of the Towers (specifically Tower Two) from my office. I kept looking at it from the window. At points it actually looked like the fire was going out. It was almost impossible to get a phone call out, but the few people who I did speak to, I commented that I didn't know how the Tower was standing. It looked to me like a shark's mouth... like a Pac-Man. Mind you - I didn't really think it was going to fall - it just looked like it would. I said, "shark's mouth," because before September 11th, the big story at the time was about shark attacks off the coast. Those were much different times. The radio was on and I was talking to my boss, and that's when I first knew that BOTH Towers were hit. Due to the angle, you just couldn't see the First Tower at all. That's when I realized just how serious it was. At some point, the building's doorman came into our office to do a headcount (first time that had ever been done). As he was in the office I went over to the window and took a look at the Tower. As I was looking at it, it fell. This was before it was on TV, or radio. I just stood there and said, "Oh my God, Oh My God..." over and over again. When my boss asked what happened I said, "The Tower just fell. They got the Tower." When people are in stressful situations they react differently. I apparently cup my hand over my mouth. It's too cliche to say that the event was surreal. It doesn't actually describe anything. It was like watching God fall. It's something you just didn't think was possible. Within minutes, the dust cloud enveloped our building. Looking out the window, all I could see was debris within the cloud. There was nothing else. After some time, the dust cloud cleared. The office smelled from fire and jet fuel. My throat was scratchy. My eyes were burning. My mouth was dry. Just when it started getting lighter outside, the second Tower collapsed. This one seemed louder. Maybe because I couldn't see it. The first one sounded like thunder. This one seemed more like an explosion. It was scarier. I left the office right after that. I left the office knowing this: The Towers were hit, the Pentagon was hit, and the State Department was hit. Factual or not, that's what I knew. I took the staircase downstairs, and every sound in the staircase sounded like the building was collapsing. I suppose this is what military people call Post Traumatic Stress. I had the same fright over the next few weeks whenever I heard a sound of the same frequency I suppose of the Trade Centers collapsing - an elevator door opening, the bus scraping against tree branches, a truck passing by. When I got downstairs, it was pitch black outside. I stayed in the lobby. There was panic. One girl was hysterical. She was being comforted by people telling her she wasn't going to die. I grabbed some construction masks that were out. The building was undergoing some renovation at the time. The smell in the lobby grew stronger. It was the same mix of fire and jet fuel. I put the mask on. The air was dusty, even inside, four blocks away. I heard that the White House was hit too. I tried to figure out how to get home. I live uptown. After about an hour, the smoke had cleared enough to leave. My first impression was that this looked like a scene from the movie, "A Day After." There was about 2 or 3 inches of white dust on the ground. Everything was quiet like after a snowfall. A police car drove by. It struck me that in this time of panic and disaster, there was no direction and no instruction. They didn't know where to go, or to tell us to go. They drove up Broad Street toward Wall Street slowly, kicking up powdery white dust. I needed to walk North to get home, but a look to my left saw dark clouds of smoke, which looked dangerous enough to avoid. It looked black like thunderstorm clouds. Also, in my mind, walking North meant walking under the Brooklyn Bridge, which I figured could be a target as well. So, I walked toward Battery Park in hopes of catching a boat to New Jersey. I couldn't believe the ground. It was covered in white dust. When the wind kicked up, it was like we were in the Plains. The dust picked up and covered my glasses and my hair. There was a police officer with a ripped tee shirt, covered thickly in dust sitting on the ground. I got to the battery and asked if there were any boats going North. They yelled at me to get on this boat. They said, "There's a massive gas leak and everything is going to blow." I didn't hesitate. I had seen enough explosions for one day. I climbed over the sea wall (the boats were not against docks), and got on the boat. Waiting for that boat to pull away before a gas leak blew up all of downtown, or another plane headed toward downtown was the longest few minutes of my life. It wasn't until we were clear of the island, and we were in the middle of the Hudson that I realized it was a sunny 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 story1241.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.142.244.46 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Police Officers Rumors Struggle to get home NY:2