nmah200.xml
Title
nmah200.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-08-19
NMAH Story: Story
I was sitting in my office at work when my mother called me and said a plane had crashed into WTC. At the same time a co-worker came quickly in my office and reinforced the event happened. My first thoughts were, as I entered the conference room where our tv is, "I hope it was an accident." but that hope was shortly demolished when the second plane hit. I saw it live on tv with my co-workers. It was without a doubt the most shocking day of my life. We didn't know what to do, it was chaotic. Should we try to work, should we go home, do we stand there and watch tv, what do we do? The horror had us all in it's grip and we all sat in shock watching the rest of the events unfold. The information from the news stations was so sketchy and all over the map that I decided to see if my brother-in-law in England was getting any better news from BBC. We conversed in ICQ over the internet for a while as I ran back and forth from the conference room to my office 2 doors away. The transcripts of that day are attached at the end of this for archive recording purposes as an unedited live conversation (some language).
The scariest part for us was that the doomed Shanksville plane flew (probably) right above us as we are in NE Ohio, and from the maps of that flight it looks exactly over top of where we are. We heard jet fighters roar overhead in an apparent attempt at getting to that plane. Knowing that plane could have gone down at any moment made us potential targets and it was a horrifying thought. No one I know can even remotely come close to the level of witness that those in New York, DC or PA had, and frankly nor would we want it. But it was enough that we felt that the whole of the USA was involved. No one knew where those planes were going. The one thing I did know was WHO caused this. As a pretty politically aware person I guess it right before it was even mentioned on tv.
Here is the transcript from my ICQ conversation with my brother-in-law in England. There is some indelicate language but I am sure a lot worse was said that day. It also shows how confusing the incoming information was for us. Some news we received was accurate and some was false speculation but at the time it was what happened. (Names have been initialized for privacy) D. is myself and J. is my brother-in-law. D#2 is my husband and E. is my stepdaughter in England.
<<TRANSCRIPT>>
9:36am from J.: Do you know much about these 2 plane crashes?
10:17am from J.: I am shocked ... totally shocked ...
12:21am from D.: J you still here?
10:23am from D.: 4 plane attacks now. Two at the World Trade Center, one at the Pentagon and one at our Supreme Court. Every airport is on lock-down being evacuated. We are completely stunned. The horror is unbelievable. This will trigger a war. This day will be avenged in full force military action. This is worse than Pear Harbor. They are systematically trying to kill our financial center, military and governmental authorities.
10:24am from J.: I know ... fuck sake ... also a Washington Mall was hit by a commercial airliner :-(
10:27am from J.: Keep me updated with info.
10:29am from D.: We are just sitting here watching the tv in shock. We can't even move. It's like we're waiting for another attack - where and when... I can tell you that people on top of the WTC before it collapse started to jump to their death instead of burn alive. Bodies were falling from the sky.
10:30am from D.: I will as we find out. Is the BBC getting all of this right? I hope so because it is absolutely devastating beyond all comprehension. I saw the second plane crash into the building live. This is so traumatic.
10:30am from J.: I know ... I am shocked too :-(
10:31am from D.: Is the UK on alert at all for being an ally of ours?
10:32am from J.: I would think so ... I would also think that it is islamic extremists once again ... but its been extremely well put together to cause this much devestation :-(
10:33am from D.: It's fucking Osama Bin Ladin. It has to be. Afganistan will end up being nuked for sure.
10:35am from J.: Well if it is ... you can guarantee that the Russians will be getting involved ...
10:37am from J.: Just heard there is another hijacked plane flying to Washington. That'll be shot down before it gets there.
10:40am from D.: A third plane just took out the remaining twin tower. It's completely gone now.
10:41am from J.: There's another plane on the way to LA.
10:41am from D.: By the way, I can't even get into any news sites the net is so overwhelmed here. You are the only one so far I can talk to.
10:41am from J.: what???
10:41am from J.: I can only review headlines at http://www.aheadnews.com
10:42am from J.: That was unconfirmed ... but LA is on full alert too ...
10:43am from D.: It's being reported here too now what you said. Your news is on-line with our news. Those people in those planes are already dead and don't even know it yet. I'm shaking so hard I can hardly type.
10:45am from J.: Me too ... there is another plane on the way to DC ... that's 2 hijacked planes on way to DC.
10:46am from D.: We are at war Jamie. There is no other altnerative. Thank you for the website for the news. Other than tv we can't get any sites on-line.
10:47am from D.: That PA plane was 80 mile SE of Pittsburgh - where you landed the first time.
10:47am from J.: I have just heard that ...
10:48am from D.: What the fuck are we going to do????????
10:48am from D.: I hope E. isn't hearing this.
10:51am from J.: I would assume that the military are stretched ... so I would believe they will take out all planes known to be hijacked before they reach the destination.
10:52am from J.: London Stock Exchange has been evacuated + many american offices have been closed ... bank of america closed ...
10:52am from D.: Troops at the Pentagon are dead. Don't know how many.
10:52am from D.: D. (my husband) is going to phone E. (his daughter in England) in an hour and a half.
10:53am from J.: Where is D(#2).?
10:53am from D.: Do you think the UN Security Council is shitting bricks?
10:53am from D.: He's at work on the phone now.
10:53am from J.: I should think so ...
10:53am from J.: Is he okay?
10:53am from D.: Tell Mum he's OK please?
10:54am from D.: Jinx. Yes just in shock too.
10:54am from J.: Okay. 80% of the internet is down due to this.
10:54am from D.: Which is why I can only talk with you and see that site.
10:55am from D.: I will try to keep this access open as long as I can OK. If anything happens we will call you when we can. Your number is 44.2390.***.*** correct?
10:57am from J.: Okay ... Mum didn't know anything about it. She's on the phone now.
10:59am from J.: Financial districts in many Cities are also being evacuated.
11:03am from D.: We just moved our big American Flag from inside at work to by the side of the road outside and have patio blocks holding it down. Every car passing that hill will see it. If we can't do anything but support our country in symbolism, we can at least do that.
11:04am from J.: Yes ... thats a good idea.
11:11am from J.: Who had the capability to carry out this kind of attack?
11:16am from D.: Sorry - was gone. All airports in Canada are shut down now. We have an employee there than will have to see if he can drive home - but doubt it. The only person with the power and money to get this done is Osama Bin Ladin. And his boys tried to take out the WTC years ago and they're in prison. He's trying to prove he can do anything. And he is succeeding to a huge degree.
11:17am from D.: We think the plane that went down near Pittsburgh was hijacked from there and headed for Washington. We believe our gov't had to shoot it down.
11:18am from J.: Yes, that's been the reports here too ... so its looking like Afghanistan will be targeted.
11:19am from D.: Seems the US will own ourselves a desert.
11:21am from D.: A plane at Cleveland Hopkins is surrounded - don't know if it's been hijacked or there is bomb on it. We don't know what will happen to it. It has been diverted to another place at the airport. Also. - one of the other hijacked planes was going over Toledo airspace and the controllers heard screaming inside. That might be the one going to LA.
11:30am from D.: More info on the plane at Pittsburgh. It was instead actually a Chicago plane bound for Cleveland and hijacked toward DC. Another explosion but I can't see where -n the newscasters are freaking out so bad it's chaotic news. Also, a bomb by the WTC in a high school which had already been evacuated. It hasn't gone off yet.
11:32am from J.: Another explosion?
11:48am from J.: Any other news?
11:53am from J.: I am going home now ... I'll speak to you later.
11:55am from D.: I know you're not there anymore. Sorry - will call later.
<<END TRANSCRIPT>>
The scariest part for us was that the doomed Shanksville plane flew (probably) right above us as we are in NE Ohio, and from the maps of that flight it looks exactly over top of where we are. We heard jet fighters roar overhead in an apparent attempt at getting to that plane. Knowing that plane could have gone down at any moment made us potential targets and it was a horrifying thought. No one I know can even remotely come close to the level of witness that those in New York, DC or PA had, and frankly nor would we want it. But it was enough that we felt that the whole of the USA was involved. No one knew where those planes were going. The one thing I did know was WHO caused this. As a pretty politically aware person I guess it right before it was even mentioned on tv.
Here is the transcript from my ICQ conversation with my brother-in-law in England. There is some indelicate language but I am sure a lot worse was said that day. It also shows how confusing the incoming information was for us. Some news we received was accurate and some was false speculation but at the time it was what happened. (Names have been initialized for privacy) D. is myself and J. is my brother-in-law. D#2 is my husband and E. is my stepdaughter in England.
<<TRANSCRIPT>>
9:36am from J.: Do you know much about these 2 plane crashes?
10:17am from J.: I am shocked ... totally shocked ...
12:21am from D.: J you still here?
10:23am from D.: 4 plane attacks now. Two at the World Trade Center, one at the Pentagon and one at our Supreme Court. Every airport is on lock-down being evacuated. We are completely stunned. The horror is unbelievable. This will trigger a war. This day will be avenged in full force military action. This is worse than Pear Harbor. They are systematically trying to kill our financial center, military and governmental authorities.
10:24am from J.: I know ... fuck sake ... also a Washington Mall was hit by a commercial airliner :-(
10:27am from J.: Keep me updated with info.
10:29am from D.: We are just sitting here watching the tv in shock. We can't even move. It's like we're waiting for another attack - where and when... I can tell you that people on top of the WTC before it collapse started to jump to their death instead of burn alive. Bodies were falling from the sky.
10:30am from D.: I will as we find out. Is the BBC getting all of this right? I hope so because it is absolutely devastating beyond all comprehension. I saw the second plane crash into the building live. This is so traumatic.
10:30am from J.: I know ... I am shocked too :-(
10:31am from D.: Is the UK on alert at all for being an ally of ours?
10:32am from J.: I would think so ... I would also think that it is islamic extremists once again ... but its been extremely well put together to cause this much devestation :-(
10:33am from D.: It's fucking Osama Bin Ladin. It has to be. Afganistan will end up being nuked for sure.
10:35am from J.: Well if it is ... you can guarantee that the Russians will be getting involved ...
10:37am from J.: Just heard there is another hijacked plane flying to Washington. That'll be shot down before it gets there.
10:40am from D.: A third plane just took out the remaining twin tower. It's completely gone now.
10:41am from J.: There's another plane on the way to LA.
10:41am from D.: By the way, I can't even get into any news sites the net is so overwhelmed here. You are the only one so far I can talk to.
10:41am from J.: what???
10:41am from J.: I can only review headlines at http://www.aheadnews.com
10:42am from J.: That was unconfirmed ... but LA is on full alert too ...
10:43am from D.: It's being reported here too now what you said. Your news is on-line with our news. Those people in those planes are already dead and don't even know it yet. I'm shaking so hard I can hardly type.
10:45am from J.: Me too ... there is another plane on the way to DC ... that's 2 hijacked planes on way to DC.
10:46am from D.: We are at war Jamie. There is no other altnerative. Thank you for the website for the news. Other than tv we can't get any sites on-line.
10:47am from D.: That PA plane was 80 mile SE of Pittsburgh - where you landed the first time.
10:47am from J.: I have just heard that ...
10:48am from D.: What the fuck are we going to do????????
10:48am from D.: I hope E. isn't hearing this.
10:51am from J.: I would assume that the military are stretched ... so I would believe they will take out all planes known to be hijacked before they reach the destination.
10:52am from J.: London Stock Exchange has been evacuated + many american offices have been closed ... bank of america closed ...
10:52am from D.: Troops at the Pentagon are dead. Don't know how many.
10:52am from D.: D. (my husband) is going to phone E. (his daughter in England) in an hour and a half.
10:53am from J.: Where is D(#2).?
10:53am from D.: Do you think the UN Security Council is shitting bricks?
10:53am from D.: He's at work on the phone now.
10:53am from J.: I should think so ...
10:53am from J.: Is he okay?
10:53am from D.: Tell Mum he's OK please?
10:54am from D.: Jinx. Yes just in shock too.
10:54am from J.: Okay. 80% of the internet is down due to this.
10:54am from D.: Which is why I can only talk with you and see that site.
10:55am from D.: I will try to keep this access open as long as I can OK. If anything happens we will call you when we can. Your number is 44.2390.***.*** correct?
10:57am from J.: Okay ... Mum didn't know anything about it. She's on the phone now.
10:59am from J.: Financial districts in many Cities are also being evacuated.
11:03am from D.: We just moved our big American Flag from inside at work to by the side of the road outside and have patio blocks holding it down. Every car passing that hill will see it. If we can't do anything but support our country in symbolism, we can at least do that.
11:04am from J.: Yes ... thats a good idea.
11:11am from J.: Who had the capability to carry out this kind of attack?
11:16am from D.: Sorry - was gone. All airports in Canada are shut down now. We have an employee there than will have to see if he can drive home - but doubt it. The only person with the power and money to get this done is Osama Bin Ladin. And his boys tried to take out the WTC years ago and they're in prison. He's trying to prove he can do anything. And he is succeeding to a huge degree.
11:17am from D.: We think the plane that went down near Pittsburgh was hijacked from there and headed for Washington. We believe our gov't had to shoot it down.
11:18am from J.: Yes, that's been the reports here too ... so its looking like Afghanistan will be targeted.
11:19am from D.: Seems the US will own ourselves a desert.
11:21am from D.: A plane at Cleveland Hopkins is surrounded - don't know if it's been hijacked or there is bomb on it. We don't know what will happen to it. It has been diverted to another place at the airport. Also. - one of the other hijacked planes was going over Toledo airspace and the controllers heard screaming inside. That might be the one going to LA.
11:30am from D.: More info on the plane at Pittsburgh. It was instead actually a Chicago plane bound for Cleveland and hijacked toward DC. Another explosion but I can't see where -n the newscasters are freaking out so bad it's chaotic news. Also, a bomb by the WTC in a high school which had already been evacuated. It hasn't gone off yet.
11:32am from J.: Another explosion?
11:48am from J.: Any other news?
11:53am from J.: I am going home now ... I'll speak to you later.
11:55am from D.: I know you're not there anymore. Sorry - will call later.
<<END TRANSCRIPT>>
NMAH Story: Life Changed
Absolutely. I pay even more attention to politics, to what other countries' leaders do and say, and I avoid malls at peek times. At first I wouldn't even go out in public, even to a large grocery store. I do pay more attention to the strangers around me and watch for suspicious activity. Emotionally I was wounded, but my patriotism soared. The first month I did suffer from depression, insomnia, and when I could sleep - nightmares. My husband had to finally order me to not watch the news because it only made it worse. Week by week I gradually came out of the shock, but the horror of that day and my own resolve to never forget continue to exist with every minute of the day.
NMAH Story: Remembered
I do not think that an edited version of the day be the remembrance. Every person from here on out should see video footage in it's entirety no matter how traumatic or graphic. It's the only way to get the emotion of the day years from now. Children should see it when they are old enough to cope with it, so it lives on through them. Our children will have to deal with more of these people, and the only way they can grasp the magnitude of the day and be prepared is to see it for what it was.
NMAH Story: Flag
Our company put it's flag out that morning. It's an indoor flag on a base so we had to weigh it down with patio block by the road. We took it in each night and back out each morning for several weeks. At home I put one on my front door. My car has a magnetic one, and I have a "dog tag" hanging from my rear view mirror that has the flag on one side, and the other is plain metal engraved with the date. I intend to keep the dog tags but on Sept. 12 I will remove the others - my year of mourning will be over. It doesn't mean my pride is gone or my patriotism is gone, but it is a symbolic gesture, and if the flags are out all the time, the power will be lost if we need to use it in solidarity sometime else down the line.
Citation
“nmah200.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed February 17, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/45105.