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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I witnessed the events while working at my job in Corona, Queens N.Y.C. We in our office saw everything from the 11th floor in our building. The Lefrak office building had a clear view of lower Manhattan that very day. My father called me about a few minutes after the first plane hit the Tower. He said a huge fire was reported due to a plane hitting the Tower. I immediately thought of the Empire State Building when it was hit by a plane in the thirties.I did not think of terroroism but I thought it very odd a plane could accidently hit such a huge skyscraper by accident. I remember reading about BinLaden from Time magazine and other reputable sources such as Newsweek. I thought if a terrorist would strike it had to be him. I walked over to the office areas facing Lower Manhattan. We saw the second plane hit the other Tower. We all knew this was no accident!!! People cried and were afraid. I saw the Towers both collapse in front of my eyes! I knew the Towers were doomed because from a distance the Towers started to look crooked. They were no longer standing straight. I saw the Towers start to warp. People said to me I must be crazy to say such a thing. I said look carefully. They no longer looked totally upright. The viewpoint of the Lefrak office building had a perect view of everything happening. A picture perfect day lead everyone from a good vantage piont from a distance to view the end of an era of American security to a new beginning of uncertainty for the future of our nation! NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I helped thousand of people. I worked at the World Trade Center Hotline for New York City!! I then worked the Lower Manhattan Air Quality Hotline for New York City!! I worked away from my job in Queens for over eight months!! I worked in Manhattan. We had phone calls from around the nation and even from around the world to our center. I helped to answer questions relating to financial aid to anthrax to terrorism. This experience made me a better person for the rest of my life!! Helping others is a pleasure! dealing with familes of the dead and injured and dealing with a panicked public made me more sensitive to people and delicate situations. When I played Sants Claus for the widows and orphans of 9/11 at pier 92 in Manhattan I held in my arms babies born right after 9/11. I talked to the wives of the deceased. I saw the children's pain when they picked out teddy bears and wished their fathers who were the firefighters were still alive. I cannot ever forget the human toll of such an event. Our nation has many forces outh there willing to destroy it! From within and throughtout the world people are jealous of our freedoms and of our Nation's place in history. I cannot ever let someone belittle our nation ever again! When I do have children I will tell them what I did to help others. I will tell them of what I had heard and saw. I will tell them to be proud Americans!! NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Sacrifice, courage, unselfish dedication are virtues for people to remember now and forever!! Never must we forget all the brave men and women who dies and were injured in helping others in our time of need and sorrow. 9/11 must be remembered for the people who perished. 9/11 must be remembered for the acts of heroism performed. 9/11 must be remembered for the will of people who view themselves as Americans to fight on! 9/11 is an act of war!! Us against them. America must never forget as America forgot Pearl Harbor's lessons. Ignorance will surely doom our nation!! NMAH Story: Flag 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!! I put a flag up in my cubicle. It was stolen. I got another one to replace it. I let it be know I will be very angry it another is gone. I flew another flag wil driving my car. My father and I flew a flag outside our apartment window in Jackson Heights. I still fly a flag at my job. My work area still has old glory proudly displayed! When candles were lit around the nation to pay respect to the dead of 9/11, my neighborhood and many neighborhoods throughtout New York City displayed their heartfelt sorrow and loss of our nations's people killed in the terrorist attacks. The Towers are gone probably forever. The pentagon will be rebuilt. Objects can be replaced. Structures can be rebuilt at a new location. Only the people are what matters! The dead can never be replaced. The memories of those who died must live on!! The American flag is a symbol of our nations's resolve to live on in the face of danger and trying times. Our flag represents courage, and resolve. Our flag to me is a symbol why BinLaden wants us dead! The flag resents all that is good in America. Our flag resents the best of us all!! Our flag resents courage and will. The virutes of our flag are the characteristics a snake like BinLaden and his thugs will never have. He is a coward. We as Americans are brave!! 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 nmah43.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.246.81.164