9/11 WTC

[Hiede]

I know it is one day I will never forget. Being an eyewitness of the second plane hitting the WTC,Having lost my husband a little over a year later because of it and watching my brother in law as he suffers from the sickness caused by it. I'm not looking for sympathy or anyone to feel sorry for me because I'm proud of what both of them did. It's just a reminder that there are still victims out there that are sick. Many are heroes for putting their lives on the line to help people they didn't even know. I'm not just talking about the firemen or police,I'm talking about the average person.

Those of you that don't live in the area could'nt see how the people in our nieghborhood reacted. Living only 20 minutes from NYC when asked they banded together went and helped a day later.That was only because there wasn't much access to NYC. From what I heard many other towns did the same. To these people should go many Thanks,Prayers and alot of Respect. They did what they felt was right. I could go on but I think I've said enough and you have an idea what it was like.

As of yesterday one SOH member ( Talon ) is in NJ and plans to go to NYC and the Memorial and speak up for others that are sick because of the WTC attack. He has recovered enough to travel and feels it's the right thing to do because not enough people have spoken up.

Remember the Victims and Pray for them,their Families and the many Heroes that go unknown.

Please do not make this political and Disrespect their Memory.That is not my intent.

Hiede

[TARPSBird]

One thing that makes me proud to be an American is how we can all come together in a crisis or tragedy, in spite of our differences. When we lived in San Diego a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 collided with a light plane and crashed about a block south of our apartment. Took out a good portion of the neighborhood and caused a raging fire. Everybody in the neighborhood stepped up to protect their property (and their neighbors') and help the firefighters and emergency crews. I hadn't lived there long but I was proud to live in that neighborhood, just as I was proud of the New Yorkers and the folks at the Pentagon who stepped up in the dark time of 9-11. Let's stay vigilant and watch out for one another. Terrorism is just as much a threat now as it was back then.

[Navy Chief]

Hiede,

I can only imagine the horror you witnessed personally, and the sadness you have, and are still enduring.

Thank you for sharing your story.

NC

[Quixoticish]

It's such a crying shame that a day of memorial is being overshadowed by disgusting displays of ignorance such as complaints about the construction of a nearby Mosque and idiotic Pastors threatening to burn copies of the Qur'an.

I don't think there's much hope for humanity to be honest.

[AndyG43]

9 years ago, as I was going into a job interview, the 1st reports were coming in of a plane crash in New York; by the time the interview had ended the true scale of what was happening was becoming apparent.

Even now, with the passing of time, it is difficult to grasp the scale of what happened. But the heroism on that day, from the emergency services who knowingly put themselves in danger, the (extra)ordinary people in the Towers & passengers on Flight 93 should be remembered. This is a time to remember both those who paid with their lives & those who continue to live with the legacy of that day, as Hiede so movingly made clear.

Since that day our world has become a less pleasant place to live in. Extremists and fundamentalists on both sides have used the events have been used to justify many actions. On this day I choose to celebrate the nobility of America & her people, and the dignity they showed in the immediate aftermath; and I reject utterly the evil that has been done in their name.

[Cazzie]

hEGjzuGI71w :salute:

[OBIO]

Hiede

Thank you for sharing what the 9/11 attack cost you on a personal level.

Talon

Thank you for going into the heart of madness and working to find any possible survivors. I know that you have been hospitalized a number of times as a result of all the toxic substances you inhaled while digging through the rubble in the hope of rescuing people. There are many like you, people who have had their health and vitality undermined, or their lives cut short, by the air they breathed at Ground Zero. It is high time that our government acknowledge the truth about just how deadly the air was in New York and at Ground Zero and to begin properly caring for those effected by it.

To Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Attacks and As A Result Of Working At Ground Zero

You will forever live in my heart and memory. Though I knew you not, though I may not know each and every name, I will never forget that you were lost to your family, friends, and country due to a cowardly and hate-driven act of terrorism.

__________

At the time of the first plane's impact, I was in a meeting. The door opened and a lady stuck her head into the room and told us that there had been an explosion at the World Trade Center. A few minutes later, we all decided that the meeting could be finished later and went scrambling to the various break rooms to watch the news. I heard people saying that a plane had hit the tower, and I found myself thinking "How is that possible? Why would a plane be flying that low over NYC. The sight and sound of a plane being piloted into the second tower will be forever seared into my mind...and I knew at that moment that the Nation and People that I am proud to be a part of was under attack.

OBIO

[HundertzehnGustav]

It was a nasty day...
started off ordinary, but when i came back from school, i saw the people of the home glued to the TV in the admin tract.

Was like WTF you gotta be kidding.
accident? no effing way. not in THAT city.
another B-25-style Ramming of a Military plane in NYC? a KC-135? a C-17?

then images of the second plane... the purpose... the aim, the goal, the devastation, the people...
Oh oh. like... Pearl harbor.
Thought: whoever does this shytte, he better stop right now. the West is gonna hang him and his mates off a Lightpole. By the Balls.

The world has been a darker place ever since. Spawned a lot of bad elements in our current World.

[jmig]

It was a day that changed the world forever. We all changed.

As Hiede so aptly pointed out, there are husbands and wives, children and families who are still paying the price. They are still suffering.

I ask that we all take a moment to pray or reflect for the lives lost and those still suffering.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

2001 was one of the defining years of my life. I think certain events simply strike directly to the core of being human.

One of the core issues is mortality. People die all the time but I think everyone has a death (often of a celebrity) that suddenly hits them - makes them realize how mortal they are. I know people struck that way by the death of Princess Diana. For me February 18 2001 made me realize how mortal I am. Dale Earnhardt - the Intimidator - die - no way - no death had ever struck me with the sheer force of his. Now fast forward seven months...

Where were you?

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I was on my way to work in Vegreville Alberta and was in 7/11 paying for a medium size coffee black on a beautiful September morning when the cashier told me somebody crashed into the world trade center in New York. I didn't know whether to believe her. I went to work went straight to the internet and totally ignoring policy about streaming news feeds and such caught up with the rest of the world. Watched for an hour or so went home and was glued to a TV the rest of the day like everyone else.

I mentioned that mortality had become real to me 7 months earlier - now I saw a different kind of mortality. I was not yet a full citizen of Canada nor even a landed immigrant - just a guy on a work permit - now I'm a dual citizen. On September 11 2001 the very country that I was born, raised, educated and had lived in most of my life was under attack. The most powerful nation in history dealt a staggering blow by less than two dozen people. The simple questions - How? How could somebody do something as big and more importantly symbolic as this? and second who would dare have the nerve? Yes up to that time I was pretty certain of American supremacy on planet earth. I realized that America with all the ideals it stands for was truly mortal. Not only was I mortal but so was my country. Over a seven month period - for me the world had changed never to be the same again. I saw my life, my children, even a beautiful September morning differently.

On January 1 2001 I was a proud immortal Montana redneck - on September 12 2001 deep down I knew everything had changed and I had to give this a lot of thought and come to a new understanding of the world. The journey continues and becoming a Canadian citizen in addition to being American is part of it.

This world faces huge challenges - some of them sheer evil - like violent extremism - no matter where it comes from. In today's world it will not be solved by one nation anymore. It will take concerted and coordinated effort.

Daryl says it well...

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We have a continuing duty to those who fell on 9/11. In my opinion we does not mean America alone - it means all freedom loving people. As Daryl sings we vowed to get the ones behind Bin Laden - the job is not done - as to this day as far as we know Bin Laden still walks the earth - giving hope and inspiration to those who would follow in his footsteps.

-Ed-

[Lionheart]

Well written EasyEd.


Its sad to think that such a thing could happen and did. That these evil people that carried this out were mostly living in America at the time, practicing on Flight Simulator, taking flight lessons right under our noses.

Many more attacks tried to launch that morning but were thwarted and didnt get a chance to work, thank the Lord. It was a well planned attack, on a huge scale. Only a portion of it worked. It was of a very evil group, a group that even today, spill their own peoples blood at perhaps 20 to 50 innocent souls a day. That is a staggering number of innocent bloodshed...

May all those souls lost to 9/11 rest in peace. God bless the ones that helped the injured, helped to rescue people, helped in the cleanup. God bless them. And God bless America and sweet freedom. How precious it is.


Intelligence says that bin laden is living comfortably in the city of tehran, iran.



Bill

[rpjkw]

My heart is so heavy today. So many thoughts, feelings, and a multitude of prayers. Susan (she's a Brooklyn girl) and I visited GZ six months later. She still has tears to shed.

Thank you, Heide, for starting this thread. Responding seems to ease the heartache a little.

Bob

[Oelwanne]

I posted this already in another Topic...my English is limited...
... but not my Thoughts and Feelings!

God bless the Fallen!
As this Attack happened i used to live in Hamburg...the City where it all started...
I´am sorry that this thing started from the Soil of my Homeland!
I was a Soldier in an CRC (Control and Reporting Center) at that Day...
...we used to do Air Policing in Germany.
I remember the Time shortly after 9/11....we where pretty busy.
I want everybody in the U.S. to know that me, and my Comrades where ready to go to War at that point!
But as the Truth has two Faces...its the same with Wars...

I hope this posting is not an insult against the Forum Rules.
And maybe something is´nt written right because i am not an English speaken man!

[Toastmaker]

Oelwanne, your message is no insult and your English and your kind intent is clear. Your kamradschaft and that of your fellow soldiers is appreciated. Our whole world was changed by this event, not just America.

[Bjoern]

The world has been a darker place ever since. Spawned a lot of bad elements in our current World.

Actually, it is only "darker" because we've broadened our awareness. Thus the increased number of "bad elements" we're seeing today.

[Oelwanne]

Oelwanne, your message is no insult and your English and your kind intent is clear. Your kamradschaft and that of your fellow soldiers is appreciated. Our whole world was changed by this event, not just America.
Thank you very much, Sir! :salute:

[BOOM]

Thank you Hiede and all of you for sharing your story's, It helps knowing we are not alone in our grief.

God Bless You.

18410

[Ripcord13]

Thanks for posting Heidie.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/Brass_Monkey_/innocent.jpg

[Cloud9Gal]

http://dl5.glitter-graphics.net/pub/60/60225ppn91xdmhp.jpg (http://www.glitter-graphics.com)