story20681.xml
Title
story20681.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2006-09-11
911DA Story: Story
I was working late and I noticed news messages coming over the internet about plane crashes. It soon became apparent that this was becoming a big issue, so I woke up my wife and we watched the news. By this time there had been 3 crashes, flight 93 was in the air, and the two towers were up.
This was at midnight our time, and later on 12 September I had to run a major Shell/Rotary/CPA/Government workshop for young entrepreneurs. This was a big affair, with the best accountants and tax experts we could arrange.
We had large two large screen projectors for presentation support, and for the 30 minutes "arrival and settling" time, these were showing the news. Time after time the second 767 flew into the WTC. At 6pm I turned that off, and didn't quite know how to start.
In retrospect, I belive I was traumatised to an extent, and still wonder, as I board my Monday morning B767, how it was for those people. This was especially so yesterday (11 Sep 2006) ... the only B767 flight from Australia's second largest city to the Nation's capital, on the 5th anniversary of 911, and in the air at the same time.
Nevertheless, I'm very disappointed with what America did in the Middle East ... and I say this as an American citizen. I was not convinced about the WMD, and I could not see the justification for attacking Iraq. When I get a chance I watch the Jim Lehrer show which honours the 20 or so people killed in Iraq each day, and I wonder what this is all for.
The main thing that disappoints me, and I said this in a letter I sent to the NY Times before the invasion (no ... not published), is the precedents that are being created in the last 50 or so years. My father was at Pearl Harbour, and flew in B24s in the 5thAAF in the Pacific War. Defending the country was the right thing to do. Korea and Vietnam were less convincing arguments. But now we are at the point where we invade a country ... for what reason? Just because we can?
As an American child living in New Guinea after the war my vision of my country was that portrayed Norman Rockwell in the Saturday Evening Post. Can America be like that again? No we can't go backwards ... but moving forwards I'd like to see America adopt some old principles of aspiring to be a fairer country internally and externally.
This was at midnight our time, and later on 12 September I had to run a major Shell/Rotary/CPA/Government workshop for young entrepreneurs. This was a big affair, with the best accountants and tax experts we could arrange.
We had large two large screen projectors for presentation support, and for the 30 minutes "arrival and settling" time, these were showing the news. Time after time the second 767 flew into the WTC. At 6pm I turned that off, and didn't quite know how to start.
In retrospect, I belive I was traumatised to an extent, and still wonder, as I board my Monday morning B767, how it was for those people. This was especially so yesterday (11 Sep 2006) ... the only B767 flight from Australia's second largest city to the Nation's capital, on the 5th anniversary of 911, and in the air at the same time.
Nevertheless, I'm very disappointed with what America did in the Middle East ... and I say this as an American citizen. I was not convinced about the WMD, and I could not see the justification for attacking Iraq. When I get a chance I watch the Jim Lehrer show which honours the 20 or so people killed in Iraq each day, and I wonder what this is all for.
The main thing that disappoints me, and I said this in a letter I sent to the NY Times before the invasion (no ... not published), is the precedents that are being created in the last 50 or so years. My father was at Pearl Harbour, and flew in B24s in the 5thAAF in the Pacific War. Defending the country was the right thing to do. Korea and Vietnam were less convincing arguments. But now we are at the point where we invade a country ... for what reason? Just because we can?
As an American child living in New Guinea after the war my vision of my country was that portrayed Norman Rockwell in the Saturday Evening Post. Can America be like that again? No we can't go backwards ... but moving forwards I'd like to see America adopt some old principles of aspiring to be a fairer country internally and externally.
Collection
Citation
“story20681.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 28, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15725.