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 was at work in Chicago in the Prudential Building when my project coordinator told me that "this" just happened -- he was looking at a picture on the internet of the first building burning. At first I thought it was a traffic helicopter that had crashed. I was working with a nervous consultant who was standing over me while I edited some charts. A girl in my group got off the phone with her sister and started crying. The rest of the group went to a bank of TVs in our office and watched the second plane hit. It still hadn't really hit me what was happening. I continued to work on the charts. We were told that if we wanted to leave, we could. Everyone else in my group left. Our office manager came by and said it was now mandatory that we evacuate the building. The consultant asked me if I could work on the charts later that evening because they had a meeting in the a.m. My thoughts were, "Your meeting has been cancelled!" A friend of mine who lived near me called to say she had driven in and would I want a ride home. We sailed home -- the highways were empty. We later heard the commuter trains were packed like Calcutta. When I got home, I watched the events on TV -- it was the first time I saw it. I cried and cried. It was the worst thing I have ever seen. I called my sister whose brother-in-law worked in the South Tower. Fortunately he hadn't been there that day. I called my mom and we cried together. It still effects me deeply. We later found out at work that one person from our firm had been killed in one of the towers. Several others had escaped with minor injuries. We also had offices in the Financial Center and everyone got out of there alive. Everyone walked all the way down to Broadway that day to our other offices. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I wasn't really aware of the events that had happened in 1993 at the World Trade Center, so my thoughts did not immediately leap to terrorism when I saw the first building burning. Terrorism was one of those things that was remote and would never happen in my world. Now I am hyper-aware of it all. Working in Chicago, we've been told that the city is a target. Security has been tightened everywhere, especially the Sears Tower. It's sad but necessary. I also feel that people are friendlier to each other since the attacks -- more caring of each other, more unified in their outlook. I feel that way. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think the victims should be memorialized somehow. They should never been forgotten. That America united after the attacks was a wonderful thing to see. I saw a lot of compassion in my workplace and in my friends and neighbors. That's a good thing that came out of this horrible thing. 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? I put a small flag on the side window of my car and it remains there today. I have the flag that I was given at my father's funeral on my porch out all summer -- from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I never would have done that before. It is a symbol of pride more so now to me than it ever was. 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 nmah5599.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. 2003-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.164.76.13