9/11

[Polkadot123]

I was about 9. We got told about it at school (UK). I remember a girl in a year below got taken out by herself as her uncle was in the building on quite a high up floor, not sure if he made it out though.

I have visited the memorial and museum in Newyork and it is very eerie, but done very respectful. You walk around in pretty much silence. It's very interesting, I learnt alot that I did not know. And seeing the fire engines, and bits of the plane is very upsetting. I couldn't listen to the phone call recordings as I just started crying thinking about it.

 

[chandlercheesecake]

The thing that always sticks in my mind is watching the news live and seeing the second plane hit and the penny dropping that it wasn’t an accident.

Watched the Under Attack documentary on ITV the other night and found some of the calls from people trapped inside the building absolutely harrowing. One woman was asking the operator if she was going to die, I think I read that nobody on the floors above the point of impact survived so I think that lady probably didn’t make it

The whistles/ distress signals from fire fighters inside the building. Gut wrenching.

Also the recordings from air traffic control when they realised there was a plane headed for the Pentagon and mobilising the fighter jets to the United 93 flight.

Bloody hell when you really think about it, the terrorists brought America to it’s knees that day

That was Melissa Doi and she did sadly die, she was only 32.

Melissa Doi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

14 people that were in the South Tower managed to escape past the impact zone because the plane hit it at an angle, which left one of the stairwells intact.

 

[SloaneRanger]

I was in a double period of GCSE French and the teacher wheeled the TV in (doesn't that make you realise it was 20 years ago!) so we could watch the news unfold. We still didn't really grasp what was really going on (thought it was an accident or something). So I continued down the road afterwards to my music lesson, walked into the music centre and there wasn't a soul about. Went upstairs to find all the staff and pupils in the staff room glued to the TV, and that's where I saw the second plane hit. We all just sat there the rest of the afternoon until parents came to pick us up.

I'll never forget the events of that day and I can't believe it's been 20 years.

I also remember every plane across the world being grounded and all the security around hand luggage being introduced in the following days. 20 years on, we still don't take liquids in hand luggage - I wonder if people too young to remember 9/11 realise that's why?

I'm now a secondary school teacher and it always surprises me every year to realise that the kids I'm teaching weren't even born when it happened (they're always curious and asking questions about it when the anniversary comes round).

The liquid thing wasn’t down to 9/11, it wasn’t introduced till 2006.

 

[openbook1]

I was watching the news last night and they were talking to a man who was one of the last people that managed to escape the towers. He suffered huge burns, broken bones and his contact lenses melted to his eyes. Amazingly, he still has his sight. He managed to get out because he removed a piece of drywall that led to a staircase.

 

[Kaylon8083]

I was 17 and in first year of Sixth Form. I remember coming home from school and my mum had the news on, which was unusual and was white as a sheet.

I remember watching it in shock and wondering what this would mean. It definitely changed the world so much.

 

[L3moning]

Where were you when 9/11 happened?

I may have posted this elsewhere on tattle, but I was in a year 11 biology lesson. Supposedly learning about teeth. Our teacher told us about what was happening / had happened at the start of the lesson, and we were all a bit shook up by it, and not much learning got done. The only specific memories of that lesson are the guy who sat next to me freaking out a bit about WW3 and a guy repeatedly shouting "I bet it was the bleeping Arabs!" (spoilered because it's not that PC), and the only response - from an admittedly lenient teacher - being a half hearted "calm down [name]".

 

[ElectricDreams]

I was 19, at home and my Mum and I were decorating the spare bedroom. I'd gone downstairs to wash a paintbrush when the phone rang and the next minute my mum was running down the stairs shouting at me to put the telly on. Dad had called her from work to tell her that a plane had hit the World Trade Centre. I'd never heard of it, but put the telly on just in time to see the second plane hit.

I remember sitting there in stunned silence, tears streaming down my face thinking about the poor people in the towers, and feeling afraid because I knew the world would never be the same again. I watched coverage of it for the rest of the day (we never did finish painting that room!)

I can't believe it's been 20 years and there are adults who weren't even born when it happened. I wonder how they feel when they see footage of it, having not lived through it. I watch all the documentaries when they're on TV and I still have to close my eyes when I see the second plane hit the tower. I don't think I'll ever become desensitised to that. These days, everything major event is caught on film, and nothing seems shocking any more but back then, it was pretty unheard of to see anything like that on the news.

 

[Kaylon8083]

My mum had a painting of the New York skyline before 9/11 which was hung in the hallway. After 9/11, it felt so weird looking at it and feeling sad for the lives that had been lost.

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

I was in my late teens, my mum had given me a lift to the Health Centre with my son for his monthly check up. On the news on the way back we heard a plane had flown into the tower. We assumed, like so many, that it was a random accident.

At my mum's we watched the plane fly into the second tower. We knew instantly that there was an enormous problem.

Then came the reports of further planes. I was only meant to pop in but I stayed there for hours just glued to the screen.

It changed everything. There was a similar feel with the London bombings in 2007 but not the same as this.

It's really hard to express... so many of us literally watched people jump to their deaths, on screen, in front of us.

I'm very fortunate I didn't know anyone directly involved but even just watching left a mark, if that makes sense. It wasn't like now when everything is available, on screen immediately. Live happenings were really unusual. It was just absolutely awful. The world literally didn't know that type of tragedy, whatever had gone before.

 

[Abongo]

Literally got off the school bus and headed to my local library and it was on the news.

stood there as an 11 year old in disbelief and even now as a 31 year old I have nightmares about it. I either dream I’m in one of the towers or I’m at a local shop being told to run. Either way it horrendous and my heart goes out to anyone who was there that day.

 

[Pickminy]

I was 11 and had just got home from secondary school. I remember turning the TV on and it being on every channel, I didn't realise the full scale of what was happening. It sounds awful but I was miffed there was no childrens TV on and went out with friends. It wasn't until the next day that it hit me. I can't believe its been 20 years! Did anyone watch the programme on itv about it the other night? Life under attack I think it was called. I've watched so many documentaries on it but this one hit me differently.

 

[NP]

Has anyone read this report before? It’s fascinating, also really sad in parts, covers everything from the planning of the attack to the aftermath. I haven’t read it all as it’s super in-depth but what I have read is really interesting for want a better word.

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

 

[Gym&Tonic]

You know it’s really lucky that social media didn’t exist then and camera phones were only in their infancy because I dread to think what would have been shared online. Not just images of jumpers etc but people trapped inside would have no doubt filmed and uploaded, as happened with Grenfell Tower. It doesn’t really bare thinking about does it?

 

[NeverEnough]

We had just moved to a new house and I had taken the week off to decorate. I was in the middle of painting the lounge and I had the TV on the background, that’s what we did in those days, no wall to wall internet. I remember distinctly that a News Report interrupted the program. Which always made people stop in their tracks. It was just so dramatic and you knew that if they did that it was major major news. Anyhow it was initially reported as the WTC was just “on fire” there was no initial indication as to what had happened. I guess the situation was confused and the BBC News was under immense pressure to get the story out. Then, literally live on the air a plane just swooped in from nowhere and just smashed into the second tower and a nation had a blinking rabbit in the headlights moment. WTF just happened? It took a few seconds to process but that was the moment that you realised this wasn’t just a blaze in a wastebin which got out of control. It was horrific but utterly compelling, sort of like a traffic crash on an international scale.

Suffice it to say the decorating wasn’t completed that day. The wife was less than impressed. Hell hath no fury like a woman denied her Sunflower White walls.

 

[Columbo]

I was in my late teens, my mum had given me a lift to the Health Centre with my son for his monthly check up. On the news on the way back we heard a plane had flown into the tower. We assumed, like so many, that it was a random accident.

At my mum's we watched the plane fly into the second tower. We knew instantly that there was an enormous problem.

Then came the reports of further planes. I was only meant to pop in but I stayed there for hours just glued to the screen.

It changed everything. There was a similar feel with the London bombings in 2007 but not the same as this.

It's really hard to express... so many of us literally watched people jump to their deaths, on screen, in front of us.

I'm very fortunate I didn't know anyone directly involved but even just watching left a mark, if that makes sense. It wasn't like now when everything is available, on screen immediately. Live happenings were really unusual. It was just absolutely awful. The world literally didn't know that type of tragedy, whatever had gone before.

I think that’s one of the reasons we all have such vivid memories of it. We normally see the news after it’s happened but there we were watching it all unfold in real time, the plane hitting the second tower, then we saw people jumping to their death and the towers collapsing. Then the news of the other hijacked places. It was just unbelievable.

I often wonder how it was for people who were there in New York seeing it with their own eyes rather than on TV. I dread to think of the long lasting impact on people, PTSD, anxiety etc

I was 11 and had just got home from secondary school. I remember turning the TV on and it being on every channel, I didn't realise the full scale of what was happening. It sounds awful but I was miffed there was no childrens TV on and went out with friends. It wasn't until the next day that it hit me. I can't believe its been 20 years! Did anyone watch the programme on itv about it the other night? Life under attack I think it was called. I've watched so many documentaries on it but this one hit me differently.

I’ve seen other documentaries too but I agree that one actually left me reeling. Lots of footage I’d never seen before.

 

[Clemmy Fandango]

I always wonder about how many people were on holiday, called in sick that day or was late for work and survived due to it. There must have been a fairly sizeable amount.

 

[RosieBella-01]

Heartbreaking....devastating.

Absolutely shocking, disgusting & an act of pure evil by brainwashed vermin.

The heroic bravery, unity, kindness, strength & humanity, shown by all Americans that day was special. The whole world was united in grief that day.

America saw no colour that day, There was people of every colour, race, religion, status helping each other, carrying injured people, sharing water, letting them use their phones & homes & comforting each other.

On youtube search Brian Clarke & Stanley Praimnath. Two of the survivors from above the plane imapct. Amazing story. There was 4 survivors in total from above impact zone

 

[L3moning]

I always wonder about how many people were on holiday, called in sick that day or was late for work and survived due to it. There must have been a fairly sizeable amount.

The famous case is the TV producer Seth MacFarlane, who should have been on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center, but was hungover and overslept so missed the flight.

 

[RosieBella-01]

The famous case is the TV producer Seth MacFarlane, who should have been on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center, but was hungover and overslept so missed the flight.

I think Michael Jackson was supposed to be in the towers that day too

For anyone who is interested, here are some Youtube videos worth watching about 9/11:

A 9/11 Survivor's story - Brian Clarke

9/11 WTC footage (2001)

A New York City Firefighter Remembers 9/11 - Part 1 | Miracle Detectives | The Oprah Wingrey Show (theres 3 parts)

9/11

9:11World Trade Centre Survivor Joe Dittmar

Inside the twin towers

Le récit croise de deaux survivants du 11 septembre depuis l'intérieurdu World Trade Centre (it's in English)

Miracles and fate on floor 78

The Miracle man of 9/11: How he survived the twin towers' collapse | 60 Minutes Australia

9/11 The falling man - The most powerful Image of 9/11 Documentary | Documental

Michael Hingson - Blind 9/11

Youtube channels that have multiple videos of interviews from people who were there, telling their story

Q1043 New York

9/11 Tribute Museum



Movies

World Trade Centre

Flight 93

United 93

12 Strong

 

[dorydaryl]

I also meant immune in regards to terrorism in general, the fact it’s become such a, well not regular but frequent thing in our lives since 9/11 first happened, - not 9/11 itself. Hope that makes sense!

Like I said, I do know what you meant . Time obviously does change the impact of those images. It's just that, especially this time of year, it all comes back to mind again and I feel almost transported back. Horrific things are happening all over the world right now and you do become kind of 'hardened' to it because the images are so much more accessible. Sad as it seems, it often feels like 'some other country, far away' (I'm guilty of instinctively feeling this), when the USA and the NYC skyline is so 'in our faces' and has been for decades. Think 9/11 was striking because we were watching it unfold live on TV in a way that had seldom been seen before. We were watching people dying in real time, in such a visible, graphic way.

Seen a new documentary, recently and it involved a woman who survived horrific burns from the WTC attacks who had a young tot at the time. He's now a very angry young man and an additional 'victim' (been diagnosed with PTSD) because even though he was too young to know what was happening at the time, he's lived with the aftermath and watched his mum suffer through all his formative years. Thankfully, his supportive dad is around and still with his mum. I hadn't really given much though to the children of survivors at the time and was more aware in terms of those whose parents/ family members were actually killed. So sad.