nmah2290.xml
Title
nmah2290.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-10
NMAH Story: Story
I was in Washington, DC for a national conference. Tuesday, September 11 was set to be my "goof off" day--a day to sightsee the nation's capital with my Mom who rarely traveled with me.
We began with an early breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Ironically, we left our room just minutes before the first Trade Center building was hit. We made our way downstairs for a quick bite. Since we had no need to return to the room after eating, we boarded the subway at Crystal City to go into DC to begin our day.
At the Arlington Station stop, on the banks of the Potomac River, our car came out into the daylight after several minutes of being underground. After riding in darkness,a natural instinct is to look out the window when you come out into sunshine. It was a gorgeous September day and I felt I'd take a peak at the view since I sat next to the traincar window.
What I saw from that point changed my life.
I witnessed an airplane hurling headlong into the Pentagon which could be seen about three football field lengths away. The explosion, fireball and thick, black smoke happened simultaneously. The next thing I remember is people screaming on the train as it lurched away from the station platform. They, too had witnessed ths same horror.
We sped through several stationed stops before the subway car halted abruptly at Union Station. As the doors opened, we were greeted by police officers waving us quickly off.
My Mom and I confused by what we had seen, made our way from the boarding area into the station. There we saw hundreds of citizens running into the streets of DC, frantic and trying to catch taxis to get home or elsewhere.
As we made our way to the front of Union Station, what we saw and heard next terrified us even more. Another plane was expected in Washington, there were terrorist acts being committed in DC and NY... and the Capitol might be next.
When we reached the front steps of Union Station, we became aware we were only a few hundred yards away from the Capitol. We froze. What would we do now?
Taxis, buses, cars, trucks and all forms of transportation had stopped in place in the streets. People were lining the sidewalks, all stopping to use their cellphones, all wandering aimlessly trying to determine what to do next, with no where to go and no way to get there. Each time a plane circled overhead we cringed and gazed upward.
The city took on the air of a science fiction movie.
Mom and I picked our way through the crowd until we had gone a good distance from the station. In our minds we were trying to get as far away from the Capitol as we could.
Eventually we came upon a sidewalk cafe attached to a tiny hotel. We sat there throughout the day and met many other stranded folks. We watched news reports on televisions through the open air bar. Over and over again we saw the planes slam into the buildings in NY. Over and over again we watched in horror and disbelief, realizing we were a part of this history as well.
IF there was a plane would it be shot down? Would the President allow Washington to be taken hostage to another attack. We didn't believe what was happening.
Finally by the early afternoon we were advised that the trains would be running again. We made our way back to Union Station and waited for the Crystal City connection to get us back to our hotel. By 4 p.m. we made it, only to be greeted at the door by heavy security and the smell of smoke in the lobby. The burning Pentagon was only a few blocks away from the hotel and the air conditioning system had taken in the odor. Although it was not toxic, it was another reminder of the tragedy that had happened that day.
Before we could leave the lobby area we had to show our room key to enter the hotel. Security was at its peak, but we were glad to know it.
Not long after we entered our room, two persons claiming to be "decorators" asked to enter our room. We let them in, not certain who they really were...as our room was immaculate and appeared to be recently decorated.
The two men went to the window and attempted to measure the window, looked about in the room and left. We still do not know who they were, but believe their inspection had something to do with security measures for the hotel.
From the 12th floor of our hotel, we could see the city was shutting down. Miles and miles of interstate into and out of the city were empty by late afternoon. It was a ghost town. We tried aimlessly to get a rental car to return to Alabama. The concierge informed us that within one and a half hours of the incident, all rental vehicles in DC had been taken by passengers on grounded planes from Reagan National airport. Because it was closed, we were forced to find another way home.
Across the street from our hotel, the Sheraton Crystal City was set to be the "counseling center" for Pentagon victim families. We watched from our hotel window day after day as families came to the hotel to see and hear details about their loved ones. We watched reporters give "live" reports from the corner all during the day.
Buses came and went taking families to the Pentagon to see the site from a distance. We watched hundreds of volunteers go into the hotel to offer counseling services, respite care, refreshment and relief for the victimized families.
We were "stranded visitors" in DC until Friday, when we were able to get tickets on Amtrak to Atlanta, Georgia. All during the 14 hour journey, I could think of nothing except seeing my husband and getting home. He drove from Montgomery, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and picked us up.
Needless to say we were exhausted, both mentally and physically...but glad to see the green, green grass of home.
Now, when I see the news accounts of the Pentagon and the Shanksville, PA crash site, I am reminded over again of how near we came to personal catastrophe. If the plane had not been stopped by its passengers, the Capitol could have been hit, as well. If this had happened, my Mom and I may not be alive today.
My life has been changed forever by this experience. I will never take freedom for granted again. Although we were truly blessed not to have lost a loved one in New York or DC that fateful day, we did experience the terror and panic of watching our Nation's capitol become a military state within hours.
It was an experience I will never forget. God bless the USA.
We began with an early breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Ironically, we left our room just minutes before the first Trade Center building was hit. We made our way downstairs for a quick bite. Since we had no need to return to the room after eating, we boarded the subway at Crystal City to go into DC to begin our day.
At the Arlington Station stop, on the banks of the Potomac River, our car came out into the daylight after several minutes of being underground. After riding in darkness,a natural instinct is to look out the window when you come out into sunshine. It was a gorgeous September day and I felt I'd take a peak at the view since I sat next to the traincar window.
What I saw from that point changed my life.
I witnessed an airplane hurling headlong into the Pentagon which could be seen about three football field lengths away. The explosion, fireball and thick, black smoke happened simultaneously. The next thing I remember is people screaming on the train as it lurched away from the station platform. They, too had witnessed ths same horror.
We sped through several stationed stops before the subway car halted abruptly at Union Station. As the doors opened, we were greeted by police officers waving us quickly off.
My Mom and I confused by what we had seen, made our way from the boarding area into the station. There we saw hundreds of citizens running into the streets of DC, frantic and trying to catch taxis to get home or elsewhere.
As we made our way to the front of Union Station, what we saw and heard next terrified us even more. Another plane was expected in Washington, there were terrorist acts being committed in DC and NY... and the Capitol might be next.
When we reached the front steps of Union Station, we became aware we were only a few hundred yards away from the Capitol. We froze. What would we do now?
Taxis, buses, cars, trucks and all forms of transportation had stopped in place in the streets. People were lining the sidewalks, all stopping to use their cellphones, all wandering aimlessly trying to determine what to do next, with no where to go and no way to get there. Each time a plane circled overhead we cringed and gazed upward.
The city took on the air of a science fiction movie.
Mom and I picked our way through the crowd until we had gone a good distance from the station. In our minds we were trying to get as far away from the Capitol as we could.
Eventually we came upon a sidewalk cafe attached to a tiny hotel. We sat there throughout the day and met many other stranded folks. We watched news reports on televisions through the open air bar. Over and over again we saw the planes slam into the buildings in NY. Over and over again we watched in horror and disbelief, realizing we were a part of this history as well.
IF there was a plane would it be shot down? Would the President allow Washington to be taken hostage to another attack. We didn't believe what was happening.
Finally by the early afternoon we were advised that the trains would be running again. We made our way back to Union Station and waited for the Crystal City connection to get us back to our hotel. By 4 p.m. we made it, only to be greeted at the door by heavy security and the smell of smoke in the lobby. The burning Pentagon was only a few blocks away from the hotel and the air conditioning system had taken in the odor. Although it was not toxic, it was another reminder of the tragedy that had happened that day.
Before we could leave the lobby area we had to show our room key to enter the hotel. Security was at its peak, but we were glad to know it.
Not long after we entered our room, two persons claiming to be "decorators" asked to enter our room. We let them in, not certain who they really were...as our room was immaculate and appeared to be recently decorated.
The two men went to the window and attempted to measure the window, looked about in the room and left. We still do not know who they were, but believe their inspection had something to do with security measures for the hotel.
From the 12th floor of our hotel, we could see the city was shutting down. Miles and miles of interstate into and out of the city were empty by late afternoon. It was a ghost town. We tried aimlessly to get a rental car to return to Alabama. The concierge informed us that within one and a half hours of the incident, all rental vehicles in DC had been taken by passengers on grounded planes from Reagan National airport. Because it was closed, we were forced to find another way home.
Across the street from our hotel, the Sheraton Crystal City was set to be the "counseling center" for Pentagon victim families. We watched from our hotel window day after day as families came to the hotel to see and hear details about their loved ones. We watched reporters give "live" reports from the corner all during the day.
Buses came and went taking families to the Pentagon to see the site from a distance. We watched hundreds of volunteers go into the hotel to offer counseling services, respite care, refreshment and relief for the victimized families.
We were "stranded visitors" in DC until Friday, when we were able to get tickets on Amtrak to Atlanta, Georgia. All during the 14 hour journey, I could think of nothing except seeing my husband and getting home. He drove from Montgomery, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and picked us up.
Needless to say we were exhausted, both mentally and physically...but glad to see the green, green grass of home.
Now, when I see the news accounts of the Pentagon and the Shanksville, PA crash site, I am reminded over again of how near we came to personal catastrophe. If the plane had not been stopped by its passengers, the Capitol could have been hit, as well. If this had happened, my Mom and I may not be alive today.
My life has been changed forever by this experience. I will never take freedom for granted again. Although we were truly blessed not to have lost a loved one in New York or DC that fateful day, we did experience the terror and panic of watching our Nation's capitol become a military state within hours.
It was an experience I will never forget. God bless the USA.
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Citation
“nmah2290.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 24, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/42056.