Where were you and what were you doing during the 911 attacks?

Question

nightdrot · Accepted Answer

Living in northern Virginia and working in Washington, DC, I got an almost first hand view.

My boss came in an told me that a plane had hit one of the twin towers. We went into his office and watched television. We saw the other tower hit. Then we continued to watch when a reporter came on to say the Pentagon had been hit.

It was funny, we continued to watch the television - even though we were in a 7 story building with a view over to the Potomac and the Pentagon. Suddenly it hit me and I looked out the window and saw the flames pouring out of the Pentagon on the opposite side from our vantage point.

My boss said, "Oh my God!"

So we watched for a while and then they ordered us to evacuate the building. I opted to remain, figuring that the traffic would be awful. I waited till about 2 or 3 then went down to the garage and got my car.

The streets were empty and I was able to make the ride home in only 30 minutes, driving right past the Pentagon - on Rt 110 - on my way. (The damage was on the opposite side.)

It was a stunning day, but in a strange way I was not surprised. I had dealt with terrorism and unconventional warfare issues over the course of my career and knew such an attack was a theoretical possibility. So I found myself more impressed by the tactics and it only hit home later the lives that had been lost.

One of those lives, it turned out, was the husband of a friend of mine. That suddenly made it less surreal and more concrete.

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

I was at home, asleep, in California.

My brother, who was living with me at the time, and worked the graveyard shift, heard about it on the radio and the second plane hit just as he was getting home. He shouted my name as he came through the door and I immediately knew that something was very wrong - I was instantly wide awake and preparing for danger - having no idea what the problem was. A fire? A refinery explosion? Active shooter?

He turned on the TV as he was telling me what happened, and 30 seconds later, we see a replay of the second plane hitting the WTC. At that point I knew that I wasn't likely in immediate danger, but that it was likely to lead to a war situation. I called my parents and made sure they knew about it and that they stored some extra water and prepared for emergencies (they're normally pretty well prepared as it is).

Then I went to work, and dealt with the impact of that for weeks. I feel very lucky to have been largely unaffected (in a direct way, at least). So many people had it so much worse, that day and for a long time after.

midnightmoon05 · Accepted Answer

Was 7-8 miles away. Up in the 5th floor building. We say our pleadge of allegiance, as always, I can see lower manhattan well from my windows. It’s always a very pretty sight to start the morning.. while doing so, I saw fire from the first tower. I couldn’t say anything. When my class settled down… I looked out to check … the first tower down. Second tower with lots of smoke around. At that point I knew something very wrong happened. … I had to stay calm. Around 10/11am… they made announcements that students will be picked up…

the rest was a blurb… my sister walked over the bridge to return home, all train systems were suspended.

about a week or so later, I received a phone call from our childhood friend… his best friends furnal, my heart sank. They were best friends. Eugene made it to copper union with free tuition. He made it to cantor Fitzgerald, an only son to an elder Romanian couple. He was getting ready to married to a very smart girl.
I have visited the site numerous times since. I saw my friends name engraved among others. It’s a very peaceful place in the evening to visit.

jennifer_bloom · Accepted Answer

I was in my grade 10 class and I believe I was heading into math class when I heard the news, a blond girl was crying to her boyfriend and I did not understand because people die every day, all over the world.

ShadezMcgee · Answer

I was sitting in school for my third grade English class. Principal came in looking shocked and kind of distant and said that terrorists flew a plane into the WTC. Didn't see the full aftermath of the day until I got home.

Remember my sister was crying when watching and hearing about it. Mom and Dad were both stoic, I was just watching the events again and again. I knew people were dead and something bad happened. I was really just stoic about the whole thing like my parents. Can't remember if we got released early or not that day, but I think we did.

Probably the most impactful thing I have seen in my life.

Sparkie460 · Answer

I was working for a food distributor. I was making a delivery to a pizzeria in Syosset. The manager that I knew very well asked me if I heard about the plane hitting the tower. He said it was on TV in the restaurant. We stood there watching it. One of the drivers that worked for my company died in there and the pizzeria manager lost his brother in law and his sister. I remember that day like it was yesterday. During the search and rescue I delivered food from my company to ground zero, the coroner's office and the landfill. I just found out that I now have cancer from breathing the dust.

ChattyGuy43 · Answer

Ironically, I was in the middle of doing a travel course at the time, that morning I was asleep in bed till I am woken up abruptly by banging outside the front door, I open the door half asleep and my mate Daniel is yelling at me saying, Turn your tv on right now, world war 3 is going on, I find the remote and switch it on and i see a lot of smoke and fire and screaming, I reply to him is this a movie, he replied no, this is in New York right now, it's happening right now live. And sure enough I see the world trade tower on fire, I'm horrified completely, I couldnt believe what I was seeing.

ArrowheadSW · Answer

I got up in the morning and turned on the internet, and got some water heating for some coffee. I saw on the internet a photo of what looked like to me, a ball of fire coming out of the World Trade Center. Needless to say, I was very concerned. I poured my coffee and went back to the computer and saw more of the story, including the plane crashing at the Pentagon. I was in shock. For the next week, you'd see people crying all around town. It was truly a sad time.

Chris_Morgan · Answer

I was living in a little one bedroom house with my girlfriend and we were sitting on this old bergundy colored loveseat sofa when we heard about it on the radio. It was so weird, we couldn't understand if the States were at war or what the hell?

Chazmatazz269 · Answer

I was home on vacation after a long weekend in Florida. I slept in and then went to veg out on the couch until i decided what to do for the day. Turned on the TV to see live news coverage of the first plane hitting the first tower. Then i actually saw the second plane hit live on the news. It was nuckin’ futz!

AviatorTom · Answer

I was in my office working on my computer in Upstate NY State when I got a call from a colleague in Europe, who told me what had just happened. I then relayed that to others in the office, and we spent the rest of the morning watching events on the Internet... until management told us all to go home. There was a mosque near our office and there was a fear that there would be some retaliation against it, so local police evacuated the immediate area.

exitseven · Answer

I was working as a lab engineer and when I heard what happened I set up a TV in the lab that we used to show videos. We had no antenna so I made one out of wire and paper clips. When people heard there was a TV set up in the lab everyone came in to watch.

Alexandrubaschet08 · Answer

Home, in summer holiday, about to start school in a couple of day.

It whas a shok even for me witch i had only 7 yares and not a USA citazian and not even in USA.

I simply understand that will change the world, whit 0 politic informations. Just by the fast it whasn't a SF movie, but reality.

andreasderjuengere · Answer

I only heard about it about a week later. During that time I was boycotting TV, ''news'' and such. Also ''social media'' wasn't a thing yet.

I guess that I was sleeping - or having a good time.

I do understand (meanwhile) that for many ''Americans'' this was a traumatic experience. Problem being: I'm NOT American... so where does that incident touch me personally? (other than now enjoying air travelling a lot less)

Andres77 · Answer

I’d just flown back to the US from Colombia the night before. That morning we were waiting for a C-130 to show up so we could do a parachute jump.

we heard announcements on the radio. Got word that Bush grounded all AC nationwide and we went back to our team rooms. Lockdown, briefings, pack…

hafinjun · Answer

My ex and I had just got our cable installed the day before, I got up that morning to find my oldest daughter 9, watching what I first assumed to be a movie, as I was trying to figure out which diehard she was watching the second jet hit second tower and I realized. I went to work that day and it was eerie with no air traffic except for the f15s in the sky.

Twalli · Answer

I was in a school bus heading to my city's art museum. Almost as soon as we got there one of our teachers got a call on their cell phone and we headed back to school where our principal told us what happened.
My uncle worked in the second tower, but got his office out safely after he saw the first tower get hit. His wife was in Washington D. C. and paid a cabbie to drive her all the way to NYC as soon as she heard.

Lyndsielee666 · Answer

In class. They made us watch it on tv all day long because who doesn’t love a bunch of traumatized children 🤦🏻‍♀️

RolandCuthbert · Answer

I was driving to work. . . listening to Mancow in the morning. And he was screaming saying this was the beginning of WWIII. Thinking this was a bit, I turned to an R&B station and they confirmed everything.

MCheetah · Answer

High school. The 9th grade. They canceled school and sent us home and everyone on the city bus had the radio on for the news report. When I got home, I saw the second tower hit. I stayed up until 6pm watching the news, then fell asleep.

misfittoy · Answer

i had stayed home that day was listening to howard stern when he said about the attacks then saw it on tv, then took frantic phone calls form my older brothers

HighValue · Answer

Just waking up at home when I hear on the news about the first plane crashing. My TV was already on because I had fallen asleep the previous night while watching Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.

tfan1 · Answer

Asleep in my bed till my mother busted in my room saying the WTC had just been hit by an airplane. That instantly woke me up and my mom, my dad and I watched tv of the terrible sight. Fox News I think it was.

worldscolide · Answer

I was walking to work. I unlocked, went to the back room. Boss was there and told me that we were closed, i asked why and he said "watch" and he pointed to the TV. I sat down. I lost family that day.

A_Bell · Answer

I eas in first grade and everyone started acting weird and we were sent home. It didn't really make sense at the time.

Tekkasonic · Answer

High School, I rigged a TV in the classroom with a Paperclip antenna to watch the news with the class.

Msputiton · Answer

I was like 15 days old so probably in my crib drooling and making stinkies

Paris13 · Answer

In Queens, NY. Living at The Time. xx

NewsReader · Answer

At school around 18th Street and 6th Avenue. Got sent home.

Rosexøxø · Answer

I was in my mom’s womb thank God she wasn’t in there…

jshm2 · Answer

Laughing at some Eddie Murphy. Continued laughing at some "flying Americans"

genericname85 · Answer

I was at school. Was great cause the teacher would roll the tv in to watch the news. Better than regular class.

HeyBenSultan · Answer

When I was 1 year old, I was either sleeping or doing diapers. I was comfortable but💁🏽‍♀️

Aquariusmystery · Answer

I was probably in bed I was 1 year old and living in the uk

FunkyMonkee · Answer

Sleeping, at first and then watching it happen on t. v. once I got up around 11:00 or noon.

boobliker · Answer

on my bost in middel of london thinking is it true or fake news by the end of the day it hit me on how bad it was!

bolverk · Answer

It was roughly 13.00hrs in the UK when the 9/11 attacks happened I watched news coverage as I prepared to go into work on an afternoon shift.

Likes2drive · Answer

I was delivering in Queens watching it burning and trying to get back to the warehouse because they were shutting down a lot of roads

BJP21 · Answer

Ironically I was taking a pilot ground school class... needless to say I didn't fallow through with a pilots license after that happened.

Iron_Man · Answer

It was early in the morning I was still sleeping getting ready for the day soon and then I was awakened by the news felt horrible Instantly

John_Doesnt · Answer

I was asking "Why isn't Obama doing anything about this?"

Rockstarrrrr · Answer

I was only 4... Probably watching cartoon or something lol

Anonymous · Answer

Sleeping. I was in college at that time and had no morning class that day. And my mother burst into my bedroom shouting "we're under attack". 🤣

Anonymous · Answer

Talking to the retention recruiter for the Marine Corps, Camp LeJeune, NC.

Pixel343 · Answer

1st grade, at school, no idea wtf was going on.

AimeeKyle · Answer

In Chicago working on my computer listening to the radio on my headphones.

Voldra · Answer

Playing Runescape flip merching party hats.

joeldalton · Answer

I was working. wife called and told me what was going on.

Anonymous · Answer

I was Bored to death at school first grade doing nothing. Didn't even know 9 11 happened until like in 2016.

Gökbörü · Answer

I was 10 years old, want back to this age to start everything new

mT2359 · Answer

I remember that the World was a different place till that day... after that it changed Forever.

despiteful · Answer

I don’t remember. I was only 3 when it happened.

krisluv · Answer

Helping my brother change the break pads on the front end of his car..

CamilleL96 · Answer

I was 5 years old, 1 country above, and 318 miles away. My mom still came to pick me up anyways.

Cheerfull009 · Answer

I came just after job, when this happened, I was in Saudi Arabia at that time

Midgetmcwidget · Answer

Quality foam. My mother was getting ……….. foam

sphinx23 · Answer

In the classroom, studying. JHS that time.

BlueScorpio · Answer

I was a kid and in school.

Sour-rose · Answer

Most likely in school, not givin' a shi

SeriouslyFunny00 · Answer

I wasn't alive yet..

curlyfirecracker · Answer

In class, middle school.

Agape93 · Answer

I was eating at school I think

FilmGuy93 · Answer

I was in 2nd grade.

Fireguy17 · Answer

Getting ready for work.

Where were you and what were you doing during the 911 attacks?

Most Helpful Opinions

What Girls & Guys Said

Where were you and what were you doing during the 911 attacks?

Most Helpful Opinions

What Girls & Guys Said

We're glad to see you liked this post.