story316.xml

story316.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-03-25

We were going to my Dad?s WWII reunion in San Diego.
My father, mother and sister and I live in Alexandria, Va.,
just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. We
selected a flight on American West Airlines scheduled to
leave Washington?s National Airport at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday,
September 11.

Early that morning, Dad, Mom, sister Rebecca and I
took a taxi to the airport. Everything seemed remarkably
peaceful. But the most notable thing that morning was the
entrance of the first of our autumn air. After weeks of
unbearable, sweltering summer humidity, right up through
September 10, the morning of September 11 was absolutely
gorgeous!! It was beautiful, spectacular sunshine, and the
clearest, most refreshing air.

The sunshine and autumn air put us in a good mood.
Our plane was scheduled to depart at 9:00 a.m. They started
boarding us about 8:20. We sat on the tarmac in a long line
of waiting-to-depart airplanes awaiting our turn to take off.
About 9:30 a.m., our plane finally lifted off towards the
west, giving us a spectacular view of Washington. Mom and I
were on the right side of the airplane, looking over the
monuments gleaming in the morning sunshine. Dad and
Rebecca were across the aisle from us on the left side of
the aircraft. With their direct view of the Pentagon,
Rebecca was pointing out to Dad the construction of a new
bus platform at the Pentagon.

As we flew over Dulles Airport to the west I
remarked to my mother how it looked like it was closed --
actually looked somewhat like a ghost town. I could not
see an airplane on the ground anywhere near the buildings
and the hangars. I kept thinking I just wasn?t seeing
things correctly. I kept looking and looking and never
could figure out why I couldn?t see any airplanes.

Soon we were over the mountains and on our way.
About 45 minutes later the pilot came on the intercom to
announce that the FAA had just grounded all domestic flights
across the U.S. He noted that apparently there had been
some suspected terrorist activity on the East Coast. He
said our closest airport was Indianapolis and we would be
landing there shortly.

So -- just when has the FAA ever grounded all
flights across the country? Simply unheard of! What on
earth could lead to this extreme measure, I mulled over and
over. Certainly this would all be resolved shortly. After
we landed in Indy, Dad asked me on our way to the terminal
how long I thought we would be there. We both agreed, no
more than two hours, max.

As we entered the terminal, all of the TV monitors
had on CNN. We could tell that some part of Manhattan was
on fire (we weren?t sure where and we had no idea why).
Rebecca?s daughter Christine and Christine?s husband Jason,
worked in mid-town Manhattan. Rebecca headed for the
nearby phone bank and eventually heard from our sisters back
home that Christine and Jason were OK and that they were
on the train going north to Sleepy Hollow -- their home.

At this time, we still did not know what had really
happened. None of the passengers seemed to know the full
story, despite the fact they were all on their cell phones.
It really wasn?t until we got to our rooms in the Holiday
Inn that we were able to concentrate on the news. I?ll
never forget us sitting on the beds, watching CNN and the
World Trade Towers collapse (over and over again). The sight of it
was simply incomprehensible. I kept thinking we were
watching a movie.

It wasn?t until later they mentioned the plane
hitting the Pentagon -- it hit at 9:40 a.m., just 10 minutes
after we flew over! What a complete shock!! The news of
the morning was just too difficult to absorb at once. We
spent the next few hours touching base with family and
friends. I called neighbor Kay to let her know we were not
on the plane that hit the Pentagon and that yes, we would be
back to take care of the cats. Our neighbor Martha left her
job in Maryland to return home that morning and discovered
many of our main roads were closed, incl. GW Parkway and
I-395. She threaded her way home through back roads.
Interesting in terms of reactions, Kay, Martha and my
brother-in-law John, who also was sent home from work that
morning, reported being physically nauseous, literally sick
to their stomachs by the whole series of events. The
?war stories? continued for weeks afterwards from neighbors
and co-workers who were forced to walk home that morning
from the District when the subway and bus system were
shut down.

Dad and Rebecca must have been two of the last
people in the world to see the Pentagon in one piece. I
found out later from a news broadcast that indeed, Dulles
Airport air traffic controllers had brought in all the
planes off the tarmac while they were dealing with their
runaway airplane - the American Airlines jet that left
Dulles at 8:10 that morning, initially on its way to
Los Angeles. The Dulles air traffic controllers were trying
to deal with their airplane that was heading back east at
the same time we were heading west. Thankfully, at that
time we were completely unaware of all of the activity that
was happening that morning.

I was glad to be away from the East Coast and in the
heartland. I would lay on my bed in the Holiday Inn and
marvel at how our family had been whisked away at literally
the last moment. So glad was I to be away from the East
Coast at this time I was sure everyone in Indianapolis felt
the same way. But Indianapolis rallied and responded to the
crisis immediately. They sent police and fire fighters (by
bus) to New York, and immediately started holding various
charity drives and prayer services. This went on for days
and probably weeks. I was so impressed.

We were at the Holiday Inn for two nights and
nearly three days (the airline put us up). There was
nothing to do except visit the new CVS drug store next door.
The America West passengers would cruise the aisles all day long.
The hotel took good care of us. We were on our own for
lunch but they provided breakfast and dinner. We spent a
lot of time on the phone and watching CNN.

Of the 54 airplanes that had been grounded and were
still on the tarmac at the Indianapolis Airport, only one
was an America West jet -- ours. Three days later from the
time we arrived, we were back on that jet--one of the first
planes out of there. Just before we took off, the Captain
said we had to undergo a test -- we all had to sing ?God
Bless America,? and those that didn?t know the words had to
get off. We sang the song and had a good laugh. No one got
off. After a plane change in Phoenix, we finally arrived
in San Diego about 10:00 p.m., Thursday night, September 13.

We had a wonderful time in San Diego. Dad got to
his reunion and we enjoyed our time with him there. Only
half of the expected attendees made it due to grounded flights
all over the country. We did a lot of sightseeing, the
highlight being a day trip to Coronado. What a spectacular
place! Of course, the weather was perfect. The Coronado
Hotel has a big ballroom where Dad said he and his buddies
would dance on Saturday evenings when they were stationed
at the San Diego Naval Station during WWII. This trip, the
only disappointment for Dad and his squadron of Marine Corps
pilots and crews was the cancellation of their scheduled
return visit to the Naval Station and Miramar. Because of
the terrorist situation, most military bases across the
country were now closed to visitors.

The following Monday it was time for Rebecca and I
to negotiate the trip home. Mom and Dad were staying
another week. Our intended destination airport, Washington
National, was closed because of the terrorist events.
America West found us a flight to Baltimore?s airport,
called Baltimore-Washington Airport. We had never been
there and didn?t know how we would get back to Washington
on arrival, late Monday evening. Somehow, Rebecca found us
a way home from the airport via train, subway and taxi.

The taxi passed by the Pentagon and the gaping
hole. We gasped at the dramatic site which news photos had
not been able to convey. The construction lights blinded us
as we came over the 14th Street Bridge. We arrived home
(less than two miles directly south of the Pentagon), to the
disconcerting drone of F-16 fighter jets flying overhead,
nonstop to this day. I found it hard to sleep that night
and many nights thereafter.

A week later the extended family got together to
share our stories. How wonderful to be all together again! ###