nmah4135.xml

nmah4135.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

Tarffic that morning going into DC was worse than normal. Took what seemed like forever to get to work, and hearing what was going on in New York on the radio had me in tears. We worked at the Pantagon City Mall, just across I-395 from the Pentagon. My partner, David, mentioned something about the Pentagon being next, but I wasn't paying attention. It must have been about a half hour or so after getting there that it happened. I remember hearing a WOOSH then BOOM and the building shook. I remember telling myself that it was just a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. I worked in the men's store of Macy's, which faced the Pentagon, and from the doors going outside, we could see just a wall of black smoke on the other side of the interstate.
A few minutes later, the crowd came. People who had been in the Pentagon came looking for a phone to call whoever they needed to call. Being the floor manager, everyone looked to me as to whether or not to let them use the phones. I told my staff to let them use the phones without hesitation. Military personel flashed ID at me telling me they had priority due to national security. It was crazy. We must have had 50 or more people in the store using phones before we got the doors secured.
Then the evacuation. We sat in traffic for hours. Not moving more than a few feet. People asked for rides to Springfield, and we told them they were welcomed to join us, but that we needed to get gas first. They opted for another ride. It took 6+ hours to get home, when it would take 1 without traffic jams.
A friend of mine who worked at Macy's in NH lost a daughter. Her name was Amy, and she was a flight attendant on one of the planes that struck the towers. I didn't know her very well, but her mother was a sweet, kind woman. I hope you are doing ok today, Ellie.