Where were you 25 years ago today.

FLATHEAD

Rear Admiral
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
4,107
Two of us were doing a repair on the outside of one of our buildings. A coworker came flying across the field in his utility truck shouting we’re are under attack. We ran inside and turned on a TV just when the second plane hit. Could not fathom what we were seeing.
A friend of my wife lost her son that day.
 

Pmt133

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2022
Messages
1,817
Lost a close family friend that day, thought we lost more.

Kindergarten was only half days at that time so mom got me off the bus like usual at 12:00. I remember one of the AM news stations being on in the car ride to the office but didn't think much of it. It was when I got to the office and saw everyone, customers included, crowded around the one TV they had and just seeing the news loop that it kind of sank in. Obviously a 5 year old doesn't have the same experience as an adult but I knew this was very bad.

Our other close friend's office was where the plane impacted. Train was late and is the only reason he is still here. All communication was down so it wasn't until he showed up home at like 7pm that we knew he was still with us.
 

tphoyt

Commander
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
2,336
I went home to pick my mom up and take her to the airport port. She had been on a week long vacation. I walked in and she was watching the news and said a plane crashed into one of the towers. While we were watching the 2nd plane crashed and I knew then this was no accident. I know several people that lost someone that day. Need less to say mom didn’t fly home and was here for another week.
That’s when she informed me that family was like fish. After a few days to starts to go bad. 😂
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
14,351
Was working in one of the schools in the district I worked for over 30 years here in Long Island. The TVs were on because the students 3-5 graders were watching the news for an unrelated reason. Then the tragic story broke thru. Next thing I knew there were military helicopters flying overhead and F16s. The next day that horrible smell wafted east over Long Island.
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
14,351
Lost a close family friend that day, thought we lost more.

Kindergarten was only half days at that time so mom got me off the bus like usual at 12:00. I remember one of the AM news stations being on in the car ride to the office but didn't think much of it. It was when I got to the office and saw everyone, customers included, crowded around the one TV they had and just seeing the news loop that it kind of sank in. Obviously a 5 year old doesn't have the same experience as an adult but I knew this was very bad.

Our other close friend's office was where the plane impacted. Train was late and is the only reason he is still here. All communication was down so it wasn't until he showed up home at like 7pm that we knew he was still with us.
You must be about the same age as my son. It was his first day of kindergarten.
 

aspeck

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
19,865
Was getting ready for wife's stress test ... child #3 was about a week late in arriving. She decided to show her face on the 14th. We were glued to the TV. After the towers fell, the sounds emanating from the TV were horrifying to me. My wife asked what that noise was and I had trouble answering as tears were streaming down my face. It was the firefighters' PASS warning alarm going off. When we are still for so many minutes the alarm goes off so if we are down, we can be easily found and rescued. I lost 343 brothers and sisters that day and in the years after another 453 from cancer and breathing related illnesses. May we never forget what evil truly looks like, and may we never forget what America can look like when we pull together in unity.

1789138321295.gif
 

Chris1956

Honorary Supreme Mariner
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Mar 25, 2004
Messages
29,151
Gee, I had gone on a 24 hour tuna trip the day before. I was sleeping in my bed when the first plane hit. Wifey woke me up at that time and I saw the second plane hit.

I assured Wifey that our son was safe at school, since Bayville, NJ was not a high value target, like the terrorist's wanted. They clearly wanted to kill lots of Americans at a time.

We are about 60 miles down ocean from NYC, and when fishing in the next weeks, we saw lots of debris floating in the ocean, just offshore.
 

Jeff J

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
657
National Championship Air Races. I was on leave and had been notified to return to duty by the time the towers fell.
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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I was ‘on the bench’ (unemployed) and the Admiral was working. I was outside working on the house. She called and said go turn on the TV . . . 😲
 

DeepCMark58A

Captain
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Aug 17, 2015
Messages
3,508
I was in the BWCA we were prepping to pull of some big prescribed fires. I was spiked out in a wilderness. All we were told was that there would be zero.air support due to an attack on the country. I paddled out got back to Grand Maris and drove home.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Jul 23, 2011
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I had a staff meeting when the first plane hit, heard about it as soon as I ended the meeting The whole office watched as the second plane hit. I remember the F16s circling the lake Michigan shore to take any plane out of the air because there were 2 nuke plants in the area.

I remember not seeing con trails for a while
 

southkogs

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Jul 7, 2010
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15,118
Wife and kids were up north. I was home alone, so wound up just going into work - not knowing what else to do.

Remember seeing an F16 element flying CAP south of Nashville.
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
17,337
Sitting in my office 15 miles from the the Capitol Building. Mrs. Dingbat called and told me a plane hit a building in NYC

Gathered a couple of colleagues and headed down to the conference room to check it out on TV. Turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. Rumors of a 3rd plane (flight 93) heading back to Washington made getting out of downtown a high priory. Traffic on I-270 and the Beltway was getting "rush hour" bad by the time I left to head home around 11:30 AM

The thing I remember the most where the fighter jets flying overhead. My office was directly under the flight path for the multiple fighter jets making low, slow circles around the city.

Apparently our back field was on the outer edge of operations. Every 5-10 minutes a fighter would roll in from the South, make a big looping 180 turn and head back (south) towards town.
 

ezbtr

Captain
Joined
May 1, 2002
Messages
3,146
Right before leaving for work, arriving, getting as much live streaming possible, (no TV) , ended up there a few weeks later, MAJOR construction etc going on, could only drive in as far as the police horse stables, all covered in dust, fancy shoe, clothes shops etc, they were hosing the city down twice a day, SUPER quiet, bought some NY shirts (still have them) from some high end stores as that was the only thing they could sell....super sad
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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In the days after 9/11 I remember being outside and how eerie quiet it was. Then I realized how accustomed 'we' had become to jets flying at altitude overhead . . . not loud but more of a background noise.

Every once in a while you could hear a plane . . . obviously a military plane.
 

redneck joe

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Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
16,127
In the days after 9/11 I remember being outside and how eerie quiet it was. Then I realized how accustomed 'we' had become to jets flying at altitude overhead . . . not loud but more of a background noise.

Every once in a while you could hear a plane . . . obviously a military plane.
we were in MO at the time, SW of whiteman AFB by about a three hour drive. We were in the yard doing a project a few days after and overhead three stealth bombers, low. It was cool yet sobering.
 

jlh3rd

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jul 10, 2017
Messages
1,167
overnighting in Burlington, Vt. on a 4 day trip for Piedmont (Allegheny) airlines.
Slept long that morning, didn't even turn tv on. Went down to the treadmill about 9:30. news was on. Got my attention when talking about a plane hitting the WTC. Started watching, WTF.
We were scheduled for a Laguardia departure at 1 pm.
 
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