9/11 Dark day for America

[1lieutenant]

I can still remember the patient I was treating and the operatory I was in. Disbelief and outrage then, outrage still.

 

[Number_35]

This was one of those huge catastrophic "I remember where I was when ..." events that left an indelible impression on me:

The JFK assassination when I was in Grade 1,

The MLK and RFK assassinations when I was in Grade 5,

The Challenger explosion when I was in my late 20s,

and

9/11, when I was in my 40s.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I was in a Chemical suit on top of a storage tank inspecting a vacuum breaker. Got shutdown and called to our main shop with all the other mechanics by our boss. He rounded us all up in the lunch room to watch this unfold on the Tv we had. This was just after the first plane and before the second. Still, we all had the sinking feeling that it was not an accident. Then the second plane did its evil too. A sad day for humans everywhere. Even if they did not know it and cheered about it.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I was ordered to the Twin Tower sight a few minutes after the 2nd one dropped. Con Edison Utility Company Worker. I was charged with cut/capping gas mains feeding gas into the area to stop fires. Saw a lot, body parts, plane parts, ladies shoes and handbags. Knee high in that dust. No respirator. Worked down there for 2 months/ 12hr shifts. Had a great boss. He'd look up and see which direction the smoke was blowing, and change my work orders to work opposite of the smoke. He died from WTC complications @ 59. He saved my life. I'm fine. Get tested 1x a year and no cancer. I'll be 59 soon. I still can't get the constant " beeping" from the firemen's automatic alarms they all wore out of my head. Those things beeped for a month, till the batteries died. Con-Ed's decontamination worked like this. You finish you're shift. They blow you off with an air compressor hose. Then wash the trucks with soap and water inside and out. Employees were a number. We didn't get new clothes. You took them home and washed them yourself. We were disposable. Not their $ 80k trucks though. You get back in in the truck and drive back to the yard, go home, repeat. All scheduled vacations were cancelled. Terrible company, except for that 1 supervisor who saved my life. A lot of my co-workers have already passed from related illness's.

 

[levi]

I was ordered to the Twin Tower sight a few minutes after the 2nd one dropped. Con Edison Utility Company Worker. I was charged with cut/capping gas mains feeding gas into the area to stop fires. Saw a lot, body parts, plane parts, ladies shoes and handbags. Knee high in that dust. No respirator. Worked down there for 2 months/ 12hr shifts. Had a great boss. He'd look up and see which direction the smoke was blowing, and change my work orders to work opposite of the smoke. He died from WTC complications @ 59. He saved my life. I'm fine. Get tested 1x a year and no cancer. I'll be 59 soon. I still can't get the constant " beeping" from the firemen's automatic alarms they all wore out of my head. Those things beeped for a month, till the batteries died. Con-Ed's decontamination worked like this. You finish you're shift. They blow you off with an air compressor hose. Then wash the trucks with soap and water inside and out. Employees were a number. We didn't get new clothes. You took them home and washed them yourself. We were disposable. Not their $ 80k trucks though. You get back in in the truck and drive back to the yard, go home, repeat. All scheduled vacations were cancelled. Terrible company, except for that 1 supervisor who saved my life. A lot of my co-workers have already passed from related illness's.

Thank you and all those who served so bravely during this time of tragedy.

 

[I<3oil]

For sure man.

It’s people like you, me and the others I know and serviced with that makes me get so furious when people start bashing Millennials for being lazy, entitled or whatever. That’s why I unapologetically don’t sit back and just take it.

We stepped up to the plate and volunteered (not drafted) when duty called so folks can stand down with that crap as far as I’m concerned.

That and some people just aren't cut out for military, doesn't make them lazy. Not everyone has the mentality to join, especially with a war or 2 wars already going on. And that's fine.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

For sure man.

It’s people like you, me and the others I know and serviced with that makes me get so furious when people start bashing Millennials for being lazy, entitled or whatever. That’s why I unapologetically don’t sit back and just take it.

We stepped up to the plate and volunteered (not drafted) when duty called so folks can stand down with that crap as far as I’m concerned.

THANK YOU.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I was ordered to the Twin Tower sight a few minutes after the 2nd one dropped. Con Edison Utility Company Worker. I was charged with cut/capping gas mains feeding gas into the area to stop fires. Saw a lot, body parts, plane parts, ladies shoes and handbags. Knee high in that dust. No respirator. Worked down there for 2 months/ 12hr shifts. Had a great boss. He'd look up and see which direction the smoke was blowing, and change my work orders to work opposite of the smoke. He died from WTC complications @ 59. He saved my life. I'm fine. Get tested 1x a year and no cancer. I'll be 59 soon. I still can't get the constant " beeping" from the firemen's automatic alarms they all wore out of my head. Those things beeped for a month, till the batteries died. Con-Ed's decontamination worked like this. You finish you're shift. They blow you off with an air compressor hose. Then wash the trucks with soap and water inside and out. Employees were a number. We didn't get new clothes. You took them home and washed them yourself. We were disposable. Not their $ 80k trucks though. You get back in in the truck and drive back to the yard, go home, repeat. All scheduled vacations were cancelled. Terrible company, except for that 1 supervisor who saved my life. A lot of my co-workers have already passed from related illness's.

Wow. My cousin, a civil engineer, worked at the site for a couple of weeks to help engineer a way to stabilize it (keep it from collapsing inward). Last I heard he's also healthy.

 

[KrisZ]

I was ordered to the Twin Tower sight a few minutes after the 2nd one dropped. Con Edison Utility Company Worker. I was charged with cut/capping gas mains feeding gas into the area to stop fires. Saw a lot, body parts, plane parts, ladies shoes and handbags. Knee high in that dust. No respirator. Worked down there for 2 months/ 12hr shifts. Had a great boss. He'd look up and see which direction the smoke was blowing, and change my work orders to work opposite of the smoke. He died from WTC complications @ 59. He saved my life. I'm fine. Get tested 1x a year and no cancer. I'll be 59 soon. I still can't get the constant " beeping" from the firemen's automatic alarms they all wore out of my head. Those things beeped for a month, till the batteries died. Con-Ed's decontamination worked like this. You finish your shift. They blow you off with an air compressor hose. Then wash the trucks with soap and water inside and out. Employees were a number. We didn't get new clothes. You took them home and washed them yourself. We were disposable. Not their $ 80k trucks though. You get back in in the truck and drive back to the yard, go home, repeat. All scheduled vacations were cancelled. Terrible company, except for that 1 supervisor who saved my life. A lot of my co-workers have already passed from related illness's.

Wow, just wow! I don’t understand why you didn’t wear a respirator? Didn’t you and your co-workers know it was full of asbestos?

 

[wavinwayne]

If any of you follow @CaptainSteeeve on YouTube, he was supposed to be piloting one of the hijacked planes that hit the WTC on 9/11, but got bumped the day before. There is a video on his channel called "In my seat" where he talks about it.

 

[02SE]

I had just arrived at the office a couple minutes before. The first employee to arrive came in and asked if I had heard of a plane hitting the WTC. I said no, as I hadn't been listening to the radio, or watching TV since I got up. So he turned on a radio, and the realization hit us that it was a commercial jet and not some small Cessna like we both assumed. It being some sort of mistake seemed unlikely.

I called a salesman and asked if he was coming into the office, he said yes he was just leaving home. I asked do you have a small TV you could bring?, and he said he did and would bring it.

As soon as he got to the office, and turned the TV on, we watched in real time as the second plane came in and hit the second tower.

At that point it was very obvious this wasn't a mistake.

A very surreal day that still makes me angry.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Well, we funded Mujahideen and Northern Alliance in Afghstanistan. There's no way to have predicted the future that OBL would have split off from the Mujahideen to form AQ and perpetrate attacks against the US. AQ funded the Bosnians, not us. Unless you have some credible links to show otherwise?

True. Like most decisions during the Cold War the immediate ends justified the means. There wasn't an incentive to look to far into the future.

 

[Astro14]

Folks - If you want to discuss where you were on that day - fine.

But stop with the politics, blame and conspiracy or the thread gets locked.

 

[ripcord]

It was my day off and I was awoken by a semi-hysterical call from my wife saying, "They're blowing everything up!"

 

[Wireman1987]

was a wild day for all Americans. God bless

 

[uc50ic4more]

I ran a recording studio at that time and Sep 11 2001 was the first production meeting for a charity Xmas CD I was recording with a bunch of local acts. As I was preparing my wife came into the studio and said "turn on the TV", which I did, a mere 30 seconds before the second plane hit.

 

[GSCJR]

I'll never forget that day, ever. Every time we go to NYC, I make it a point to take my family to the WTC

 

[nickaluch]

I was in downtown Manhattan making a coffee delivery. I witnessed it all. I had over $50k in vending and coffee equipment in the trade center I watched 1/10 of my business income disappear and I lost a box truck. Following that I lost another good amount of business in downtown Manhattan. No damage to my equipment but nobody wanted to come back to work for a long time. Downtown was vacant. I watched people jump that still haunts me to this day. When your best option is to jump from 100 floors up I can't imagine what was going on up there. I literally walked for hours to get to my aunt's house in Brooklyn to call home. My family was freaking out they thought I was dead my wife sobbed on the phone it broke my heart . My brother came and picked me up took me home I was filthy exhausted and In shock. I laid on the couch for days stunned, devastated , shocked and depressed. I lost friends and neighbors. I remember driving by the Merrick train station LIRR was shutdown for days. Parking lot had cars in still parked. I realized those people died never came home. Many years later my nephew came in from San Diego he wanted to go Downton to see the memorial and museum. Inside I was extremely nervous going but didn't show it..We went on a Sunday morning my wife daughters and nephew. When I saw the memorial I walked up to it my knees buckled I went down to my knees sobbed uncontrollably..It all hit me at once. I was embarrassed to be that way in front of my daughters but I finally got it off my chest.. With hard work my business recovered and so did I

 

[ripcord]

I was in downtown Manhattan making a coffee delivery. I witnessed it all. I had over $50k in vending and coffee equipment in the trade center I watched 1/10 of my business income disappear and I lost a box truck. Following that I lost another good amount of business in downtown Manhattan. No damage to my equipment but nobody wanted to come back to work for a long time. Downtown was vacant. I watched people jump that still haunts me to this day. When your best option is to jump from 100 floors up I can't imagine what was going on up there. I literally walked for hours to get to my aunt's house in Brooklyn to call home. My family was freaking out they thought I was dead my wife sobbed on the phone it broke my heart . My brother came and picked me up took me home I was filthy exhausted and In shock. I laid on the couch for days stunned, devastated , shocked and depressed. I lost friends and neighbors. I remember driving by the Merrick train station LIRR was shutdown for days. Parking lot had cars in still parked. I realized those people died never came home. Many years later my nephew came in from San Diego he wanted to go Downton to see the memorial and museum. Inside I was extremely nervous going but didn't show it..We went on a Sunday morning my wife daughters and nephew. When I saw the memorial I walked up to it my knees buckled I went down to my knees sobbed uncontrollably..It all hit me at once. I was embarrassed to be that way in front of my daughters but I finally got it off my chest.. With hard work my business recovered and so did I

Amazing account. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[GSCJR]

@nickaluch, I'm in tears as I type this. God bless you brother. God bless America.