Posted September 6, 2011 12:10 PM
By Alud Davies
Every generation has a moment where people can ask 'Where were you when you heard?'
Every generation has a moment where people can ask 'Where were you when you heard?'
The generation before mine always remember where they were when they heard that JFK was shot, and the generation after mine always remember where they
were when they heard that Princess Diana had died.
But there is one event that eclipses both these events, and crosses all generations; the horrific events of September 11th 2001.
I'd just arrived back from a long weekend plane spotting in Stockholm when I heard. I'd dropped my bags and made myself tea when I turned on the TV to watch the live coverage unfold in front of me. I sat in stunned silence, the tea almost dropping from my hands as I sat motionless for several hours, my mouth aghast, unable to properly process what was happening.
A friend of mine, a fellow plane spotter, was in Los Angeles at the time, having arrived the day before for a few days plane spotting before flying off to the NBAA in New Orleans.
He remembers waking up in a hotel around the airport perimeter to silence, an usual thing for a major international airport. Looking outside he could see the airport was at a standstill. Thinking something might be up he went downstairs into the hotel lobby to find a mass of people huddled around the only TV available. Some were crying, others just stood in shock, but nobody could believe what was happening.
Another friend of mine, now working in the airline industry, was 19 at the time and on a college trip outside of her native Manila when she heard. Her thoughts echoed that of so many others; worrying about her family and whether it was the start of another world war.
And we were at war, but this time we were at war with an unseen enemy.
In the days, weeks, months and even years following, aviation went through many changes. The US Department of Homeland Security created the much maligned TSA; the agency responsible for security at airports, and for putting Air Marshalls on-board aircraft. All around the world security tightened, not only at airports, but also at ports and offices; the world we knew it had changed forever.
On September 11th 2001 we all stood still and watched as the world around us changed. A total of 2,977 innocent people lost their lives in the attacks, including 411 true heroes from the NYFD, NYPD, Port Authority Police Department and EMT's who bravely and courageously tried to rescue people and fight fires.
This coming Sunday, marks the 10 year anniversary of those horrific attacks, and I hope you’ll join us all in observing a moments silence at 08:46 EST / 13:46 BST to remember those that were so tragically lost.
9/11 touched us all in many ways, and everybody has a different story to tell about where they were and we’d love to hear from you in the comments box below about where you were on that day and how you found out
Hey Alud, I remember where I was on 911, I will never forget it. I was working in the city and I thought we were being invaded, but it was unbelievable. Thanks for the post.