A day never to be taken lightly, we pause to reflect on where we were when we heard the news that our country, our people and our freedom had been attacked on September 11, 2001. We would love to know where you were when you heard the news. Please join us in remembering by sharing your memories of that day below.

On September of 11, 2001 it was my Senior year of Highschool and I was working in the library and everyone was gathered around the TV.  I was actually watching the TV when the second plane hit, it was a scary sight and I was in shock of what I had just witnessed.  We stayed in school for the remainder of the day and I remember all the students were asking teachers questions like what is going on? what is going to happen? who is doing this to us and why?  There was a lot of confusion and everyone was upset. It was a sad day and one I will never forget.
-Kelsey Zeto

I was working for Matrix, we were at our Main Street office at the time.   I was in a coworker’s office when it came across her computer –  stood there watching as it was being reported.  Such a sick and helpless feeling filled the room.  Just couldn’t believe what was happening, nor could I rationalize anything I was seeing or feeling.   It went on for days, the feeling came back every time I saw the replays and information roll across the TV or internet.
-Marty Blanton

I was just starting my freshman year in college and was in class. About a half an hour in the professor stopped teaching and let us know some major events were happening in New York and that the remainder of class was cancelled. Everyone filed out and headed straight back to the dorms to catch up on the news. Everyone was gathered in our room as we watched in disbelief. It took a minute for things to set in but we all realized quickly that we were under attack and that our lives would be changed forever.
-Derek Meek

[I was in my] 6th grade classroom, but the 6th grade teachers decided not to share the news with us so it wasn’t until I was on the bus ride home that I found out about the attacks from 7th and 8th graders. Words that came to mind: confused, oblivious, shocked, frightened, horrified.
-Ade Adedapo

I was a junior in highschool and was excused from school that day to visit local businesses to sell yearbook advertising. Luckily the day before I was able to talk my mom into chauffeuring me around so I was with her when we found out. No matter how old you are, when something as tragic as those attacks happen there’s no place else you’d rather be than with your parents. Once I returned home I spent the next 8 hours with my dad watching anything and everything we could find on TV, trying to understand exactly what it all meant. Coming from a military family, our only comfort was knowing that no matter who was responsible our country would defend such a devastating loss.
-Ashley Shipley

I was in the 5th grade, so obviously they didn’t really tell us much. We pretty much just went along with the school day. I do remember knowing that my dad was traveling for work, so he had to rent a car and drive back from Texas over the course of the next two days. Of course once I got home from school, I sat in front of the TV for the rest of the day and watched the news just like everybody else.
-Patrick Ford

I was home recovering from a heart attack on that Tuesday morning. Immediately thought of my brother-in-law who worked for Wachovia in Tower one.  I really thought I was watching a movie.
-Cathy Hill

I was a naive freshman in highschool, I didn’t even know what the WTC were when everything was happening. Needless to say, classes pretty much ended for the day while all the teachers turned on the news to learn more. After school I parked myself in front of the TV with my dad, still shocked at the tragedies that had played out throughout the day.
-Jennifer Hoffmannbeck

I was working in southern MD. I remember being on the phone with a co-worker while he was passing the Pentagon on a nearby highway. He told me a plane was flying really low towards the Pentagon, I could barely hear him due to the background noise, then his cell cut off. My husband was working in NW Washington, DC. His workplace was on lockdown, the landlines were shut down, and no one had cell service.  I was unable to talk to my husband for hours, we were unsure if the attacks were over and I had a newborn baby and a 3-yr. old at home, it was a very scary day.
-Ashley Parks

[I was] working at a magazine company in Dublin, OH. I rushed home to my daughter who was home sick from school.
-Patti Petrochuk

I was in San Antonio on the way to work downtown when I heard the initial report on NPR. After I parked in our lot, I went over to the attendant’s booth where a small crowd had gathered around his tiny black & white TV. I watched the second plane hit there, then went into the office building, which was shut down shortly after and we were sent home.
-Brian Tankersley

It was my senior year at FAU, and I was getting ready to go to class when my Dad called to tell me to turn on the TV.  I couldn’t even find the words to describe what I was seeing, as my Dad was asking me question after question since he was only hearing reports on the radio.  And, then the second tower was struck…
-Emily Beringer

I was in middle school classes. It was a very strange day because all the teachers seemed very strain and secretive. Throughout the day, my classmates were being picked up by their parents without knowing why. It was too many to be a coincidence – we knew something was wrong. Some of the clever students asked to go to the bathroom, but really were investigating – they came back and said they overhead some of the teachers talking in the hallway – according to the overheard whispers, the Japanese were bombing us and flew a plane into the Pentagon. Muddled information of course, but the rumors spread. I lived in Frederick, MD at the time so many parents worked in the Washington D.C. area including my dad. Needless to say, it was not long before kids were crying and worrying that something had happened to someone they loved. At this point, my science teacher tried to calm us down and explained generally what was happening. I remember the science room being very dark both in lighting and mood. I can’t recall learning that day. I came home angry that my mom hadn’t picked me up from school (after all my best friend Cynde’s mom had gotten her) – but that anger subsided when I came home and saw the news. Finally, I saw what was really happening. I sat cemented in front of the TV the rest of the afternoon in a fearful awe though I think I was too young to grasp the full extent of what I was watching. My brother lived in New York City at the time, but my mom got a hold of him and we found out he was ok. Again, I think I was too young to fully comprehend how close my dad and brother were to the danger to really worry.
-Michelle Gaines