Rick Patrick
Greene Publishing, Inc.
September 11, 2001. It was supposed to be just another Tuesday morning. People all across the country started their day, just as any other. In Boston, Mass. and Newark, NJ, travelers boarded planes on their way to visit loved ones or to travel on business. Life was pretty much the same that morning as it had been, that is until 8:46 a.m. At 8:46 a.m. an Islamic terrorist, Mohammd Atta, and his fellow hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in midtown Manhattan, killing everyone on board and hundreds more inside the tower. Mere moments later, another passenger jet would crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center and yet another plane would crash into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Later, United Airlines Flight 93 would crash in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers foiled what was believed to have been an attack on the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. By the end of that day, September 11, 2001 would never be just another day.
As we approach the 15th anniversary of that fateful day, we asked you where you were on that day. Your responses were interesting, at times heartbreaking, and poignant.
Edward Vaughn of Beaverton, Oregon wrote: “I was in line to board a plane in Portland, Oregon as the first plane struck the tower. I was en route to Madison, Fl. to visit my mother, Marie Vaughn. We boarded the plane and subsequently the plane was pushed back and departed for the runway, stopping about halfway to the end of the runway as the pilot received instruction to abort the flight. The plane returned to the gate and we were told to go to [the] baggage claim area and pick up our luggage. By this time, the second tower was in flames and [was] about to collapse. My wife had dropped me off at the airport and returned home. I woke her up to come retrieve me from the airport and told her to turn the TV on. I am thankful we didn't make it into the air as who knows whether some of our passengers were motivated to bring down another plane. Also, I luckily wasn't marooned somewhere in the Continental United States for several days as many folks were.”
Mark Colbin is a retired Army and Marine Corps vet, now living in Madison, who was working as a police officer in Metro Washington D.C. on 9/11. He recalled seeing the plane fly over just before it struck the Pentagon, only about 10 miles away. He remembers the aftermath as being “total chaos.”
Diane Huggins Baughman of Pittsburgh, Pa. had this to say: “I was sitting at my computer. My son was home from school sick, [and] we were waiting for a doctors appointment. I had my little television on and when I first looked, I thought it was a movie. Then a friend called and told me to turn on the TV [and] I saw the second plane hit the tower. I just sat here and cried, praying for all those [who were] inside to get out. The realization of being attacked had hit me like it did the world, shock, horror, sadness and pain. I left to take my son to the doctor and on the way I heard the Pentagon had been hit. I got to the doctor's office [and] no one [was] there but the doctors. They looked at my son [as] he had a bad ear infection. [When] I started to leave, they informed me my daughter's school had been locked down and that a plane [had] gone down in Shanksville. I remember such a horribly scared feeling as I was driving home, I was scared to death for our Country and what would be next. I was scared for my children locked in the school. I called the school from the road and they told me it was a precaution; I decided the day was bad enough for me and to leave them there, as I knew they were safe. Days, months went on and the shock of it all affected my life and it still does to this day. I found the Organization Americas 911 Memorial Quilts and I started to write memorial poems for the families about their loved ones, I have written 1,500 poems to date and still have many to do. I had to face tragedy in my own family and it affected me but the families of 911 have given me strength to continue on. I hold a memorial service in our town every year and have since the 1st anniversary. I will finish the poems that I have started. My heart goes out to all the family's as I have come to know some of them and love them with all my heart! I remember the silence of the skies and I knew then that life would never be as it once was! May God Bless America!”
Joyce Carlene Gray of Pinetta, remembers the day like this: “[I was] sitting beside my brother’s bed, Jackie Gray; he was in his final stages of cancer, and died on the 13th. He never knew what had happened!!!!”
Leland Kesler, of Monticello, is a former Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who works with news and entertainment organizations, providing satellite uplink services, remembers this about that time: “On Sept. 11th, I was at home sleeping when the phone rang. It was my boss telling me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I turned on the TV and saw the flames, smoke and damage from the first impact. My boss asked if I thought that was an accident. About that time the second plane hit. While we were discussing the implications of what was now clearly a deliberate act, I got a call from the Chicago bureau telling me to grab the satellite truck and go to New York. I had to wait in New Jersey for a while before I was cleared to cross the George Washington Bridge into the city. Crossing that bridge was surreal. Mine was the only vehicle on that bridge that night. I ended up down below Canal St. and started doing live shots almost immediately. Walking from one live position to another that first night was like being in a science fiction novel where everyone but you vanished. It was lower Manhattan, the power was out, there was not a soul in sight anywhere and a fine white dust covered everything. Looking behind me, it was weird to see that our tracks were the only tracks in that dust.”
Kesler also added that, “One of the most vivid memories was when they would uncover the remains of a firefighter. Everyone would stand at attention [out of respect].”
The photos below were taken by Kesler in New York City in the days following the 9/11 attacks.
Photo Submitted By Leland Kesler
Some of the heroes of 9/11 at the end of a long shift.
Photo Submitted By Leland Kesler
New York City Firefighters on the way to ground zero.
Photo Submitted By Leland Kesler
Four legged hero of 9/11.
Photo Submitted By Leland Kesler
A New York Police Department truck burned as a result of the 9/11 attack.