9/11: 10 Years Later. BN Remembers.
by freesia39 on Sep 11, 2011 5:46 AM PDT
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10 years ago, at the exact time of this post, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center North Tower.
At 9:03am, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.
At 9:37am, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
At 10:03am, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into an open field in Shanksville, PA.
The South Tower collapsed at 9:59am.
The North Tower collapsed at 10:28am.
World Trade Center 7 collapsed at 5:21pm.
Where were you 10 years ago?
I was at UCLA for the month of September - my brother had to move in early at UC Riverside as a member of the residential life staff, and I managed to move in early to the dorms through my job at the front desk in Covel Commons.
I woke up to my phone ringing. It was after 9am Pacific Time, I think. I had no idea what was going on, and I heard:
"Wake up. We're under attack."
"Huh, what?"
"Airplanes flew in to the World Trade Center. They collapsed."
"What?!"
I woke up and ran to the front desk in Covel, frantically trying to find a TV so I could watch the news. The images were so haunting, so surreal. I couldn't believe what was happening, and I couldn't believe it was real. I have a hard time believing anyone could hate the United States that much that they would want to plot our demise (mind you, I was a political science major, you'd think I could think of it....) but I believe there is good in most people.
I became a news junkie. I had to watch the news nonstop. (If you've ever been in Covel Commons, and noticed the TVs above the front desk area - the cable to those TVs were only fixed due to 9/11 - they never worked before that day.) I lived in my little UCLA on campus bubble, watching the news, staring agape at the TV, and wondering what was next for the world.
10 years later, I still don't know what's next for the world. I don't want to know. Do I feel like the world is safer? Not really. Anything you do, anywhere you go, there will be an extremist waiting to challenge you, believing their view of the world is better than yours. And until the day people are willing to work with each other instead of against each other, there will always be that fear.
Today we remember the 2,977 victims of 9/11, and honor the family members, survivors, first responders, firefighters, police officers, and anyone else that has helped us to heal since 9/11, and to help those who still need to heal from the wounds of 9/11. 10 years later, they are still fresh, and will probably never completely close.
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10 Years ago I was driving to work to finish my summer job before classes would start again. These events lead me to join ROTC at UCLA and fight in two war zones. Today, I sit in my home on Fort Bragg and knock back a cold one for all those who died 10 years ago today and all 23 of my friends who have lost their lives in the GWOT.
God Bless America.
You are my hero, Big Bully. Thank you.
With young people like you, we will prevail. Hand wringing, fear and appeasement, political correctness, will ever solve anything. Positive action, personal commitment, courage and valor, like yours, are the answer. Just like WWII.
I was on the commuter train going to work. I heard a man talking on his cell phone saying thank G-d he wasn’t in the WTC. Then the news spread like wildfire. I will never forget how united we were that first year. We need to get back to that commitment and focus.
BTW one of my sons, a Bruin, too, is in Israel now to join the IDF. I pray for him, soldiers and sailors like you and our wonderful country every day.
Again, thank you for your service. There is no higher calling IMO.
it's strange to reflect upon, but i likely would never
have become a bruin if 9/11 didn’t happen. i was a kid living in chicago at the time, ready to live the rest of my life in illinois. my parents both worked for united airlines, so needless to say they lost their jobs as a result of the attack. they started new careers in california, and the rest is history. it still blows my mind how much 9/11 changed the course of my life, but i couldn’t be happier to be a bruin
by dhuang90 on Sep 11, 2011 6:28 AM PDT via iPhone app reply actions
Driving to work.
I was in my car driving to work listening to the radio. It was so surreal, I couldn’t even imagine it. When I got to work (I’m a high school teacher) everyone was scrambling around trying to find a way to hook up a television. We did, and we watched together as events unfolded. What a horrible day. My students now didn’t watch, they were so young…it’s now something I have to teach.
Go Bruins!
Getting ready for work.
It was supposed to be my last day for the summer at a local amusement park before heading back UCLA that week. I went in, but they sent us all home. I can still remember every moment of that day like it was yesterday. Now as a high school teacher its hard to believe how much time has passed. The majority of my current students were in their first week of kindergarten.
I'll NEVER Forget
I was sitting at my desk at DSL Transportation when I received a IM from a friend in Virginia asking me if “I was looking at the news?” She said, “They said a small plane crashed into the WTC!” I remember asking, “Was it a Terrorist Attack?” No sooner I turned on the TV, United Flight 175 came into the picture and crashed into the South Tower. I knew my answer then. America Still (and ALWAYS Will) remember the people lost. Love You, GOD Bless You and May You Rest in the Arms of JESUS Forever!!
GOD Bless the World!!
by Travis L. Marshall on Sep 11, 2011 8:01 AM PDT reply actions
I had just woken up and was in the bathroom when the phone rang
I knew it was Mr. BB. He was in Paris and was to come home the next day. He tells me, “I don’t think I’m coming home tomorrow.” He told me that two planes had hit the World Trade Center and one had hit the Pentagon. I think by the time I turned on the TV the first tower had fallen. I remember watching the second tower fall, but not really understanding what had happened. Once it sunk in, I was scared and angry.
I was awaken
by my inlaws who were getting ready for work. I had just returned from a year in S. Korea and was leaving for my new assignment in England on the 14th. We were leaving Santa Barbara and heading to LA to visit family that day. I have been in 3 different warzones, 5 times and not one of them gave me the feeling I had that day driving in the city after LAX had been closed. The anger, frustration and disbelief was evident in everyone on the freeways that day. It was a difficult visit with family, talking about the events of the morning, trying to make sense of it all, and saying goodbye to my great-grandfather who was 95 yrs old and I was sure would not be with us by the time I made it back to the states. Today I will remember the 2,977 victims, along with every servicemember who has given his or her life in support of freedom and the effort to rid the world of terrorism.
I was at work in downtown DC
Around that time in the morning, I was finishing up reading up on UCLA football through LA sites and Bruin message boards. And then I heard a colleague coming into my office saying if I had seen that a plane had crashed into the WTC. My first though was that a small place mistakenly may have edged and hit one of the towers. So I didn’t turn on the TV.
But just to be curious I turned it on 5-10 mins later and there it was. Things happened really fast after then. After the towers fell we heard about the 3rd plane heading into Pentagon. And that’s when mass chaos ensued.
We were essentially trapped downtown. The streets were jammed. People started getting out of their car and walk. I met up with my friends and room-mates at a bar downtown and decided to just calm down a bit and watch TV and have a beer. That seemed like the most sane thing to do.
None of us were going to get in the subway. Didn’t want to walk over any bridges. We ended up being there few hours, seeing everything unfold. We eventually just walked to our home back in Northern Va (took us about 3-4 hrs, can’t remember the time).
And then we felt like we were under siege with nowhere to go for few days. DC and the whole world became different.
PS: Sidenote that happened the week after UCLA had put together one of its biggest road wins in history – v. Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The following weekend’s game (IIRC v. ASU) was canceled. But the Bruins eventually reconvened in a nationally hyped matchup against Ohio State and WON the game. That year was the beginning of the end (especially after a massive choke against Stanford on the road). I wish though we could get the UCLA football program as it was before 9/11.
I was a squad leader with....
2nd Battalion, 6th Marines. We had just completed a 17 day training exercise at Ft. Bragg, waiting to go back to Camp Lejeune.
by USMCtoUCLA on Sep 11, 2011 10:51 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
I was on my way to school
My grandpa was dropping me off at Emerson Middle School (near Santa Monica and Westwood) around 7 am PT. We were listening to the radio and that’s where we heard the news. Being a kid, I didn’t think much of it until class started. My homeroom teacher talked to us about the gravity of the situation. The Federal Building up the street on Veteran and Wilshire was on some sort of high alert with concerns it may be targeted next. IIRC, we were told that the building was evacuated. To give further evidence to the old adage “it’s a small world”, it turns out that the grandmother of one of my classmates died in the attacks at the WTC. He was pulled out of school that day.
All the non-stop media coverage of 9/11 for weeks to come was so overwhelming… the images of destruction, violence, despair, hopelessness, and so on made me question the world we live in.
I was in New York...
It was all too real then, and still feels too real now. You’ll forgive me but I don’t really want to relive that day.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I was starting my second year of teaching middle school
I had never before, and have never since, walked onto a campus full of middle schoolers in total silence. I happened to turn on the news when I woke up and at that point they were still calling it an “accident”. A few minutes later, I saw the second plane hit. On the way to work, I was listening to Mark and Brian (LA radio morning show) and I have never heard them so serious. They must have been watching TV as they were broadcasting because they were describing the towers falling to the listeners. When I got to school, I shared a room with another colleague who was sheet white and looking for answers. We were instructed NOT to allow our kids to watch TV because we were only going to make it worse for them. Instead, we tried to explain the situation the best we could and answer questions. I remember every kid whose parent worked in a high rise was scared. Heck, I was scared. My own mother worked in a building right next to John Wayne airport. But we survived and now 9/11 is something my students don’t remember. In a year or two, the school age child will not have been born. We just need to teach and remember.
by AnteatersandBruins on Sep 12, 2011 9:07 AM PDT reply actions
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