story4319.xml
Title
story4319.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
I had arrived back in Newark Airport from vacation at 5 pm on Monday September 10th. Little did I know how lucky I was not to have delayed my return by one day.
I was driving down to the Camden area to do some fieldwork for my company and was on the Garden State Parkway when the news bulletin came on the radio just before 9 am. At first, it was reported to be a small prop plane that hit the tower and was thought to be an accident. I couldn't believe that someone would be so careless a pilot to hit such a large building. Then, a few minutes later, the report of the second plane hitting the tower came on. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. This was obviously no accident. All I could think to do was to pray for those in the towers...that they would be able to get out safely. I was thinking of the 1993 bombings, and didn't even conceive of the towers themselves collapsing. About a half hour later, the news reported that the Pentagon had also been struck. I felt numb. When the Pennsylvania crash was noted later in the morning, it was still not known that they were also on a suicide mission but had been stopped. I couldn't understand how anyone could do this. I returned back home to northern New Jersey, and as I drove back to my house, I could see a black smoke plume rising from across the river. I live only about 5 miles from the Meadowlands, and so usually have a clear view of the Manhattan skyline. That day everything was obscured by the smoke plume. I watched the news for the next three days, never turning off the TV except when I left for work, even sleeping in front of it all night. I was afraid that something else was going to happen and I didn't want to be unaware of it.
I can't imagine the pain and fear of those who were in lower Manhattan that day, but I feel for them. There are some days that I still cry when I remember those who lost their lives and those who so bravely fought to save others. The police and firemen, civilians, and especially those aboard Flight 93, who sacrificed themselves so that no more unsuspecting innocents would die. Thank you to all of these heroes. We will never forget you.
I was driving down to the Camden area to do some fieldwork for my company and was on the Garden State Parkway when the news bulletin came on the radio just before 9 am. At first, it was reported to be a small prop plane that hit the tower and was thought to be an accident. I couldn't believe that someone would be so careless a pilot to hit such a large building. Then, a few minutes later, the report of the second plane hitting the tower came on. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. This was obviously no accident. All I could think to do was to pray for those in the towers...that they would be able to get out safely. I was thinking of the 1993 bombings, and didn't even conceive of the towers themselves collapsing. About a half hour later, the news reported that the Pentagon had also been struck. I felt numb. When the Pennsylvania crash was noted later in the morning, it was still not known that they were also on a suicide mission but had been stopped. I couldn't understand how anyone could do this. I returned back home to northern New Jersey, and as I drove back to my house, I could see a black smoke plume rising from across the river. I live only about 5 miles from the Meadowlands, and so usually have a clear view of the Manhattan skyline. That day everything was obscured by the smoke plume. I watched the news for the next three days, never turning off the TV except when I left for work, even sleeping in front of it all night. I was afraid that something else was going to happen and I didn't want to be unaware of it.
I can't imagine the pain and fear of those who were in lower Manhattan that day, but I feel for them. There are some days that I still cry when I remember those who lost their lives and those who so bravely fought to save others. The police and firemen, civilians, and especially those aboard Flight 93, who sacrificed themselves so that no more unsuspecting innocents would die. Thank you to all of these heroes. We will never forget you.
Collection
Citation
“story4319.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 7, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/3614.