Walking up the stairs after getting off the E Train at Canal St in Manhattan. Heard the explosion when the first plane hit and when I got to the top of the stairs could not believe what I was seeing. Walked south & stood in front of 60 Hudson St when the 2nd plane hit. Heat from it felt like the sun does on a hot summer day.
Thankfully I wasn't any closer than that.... those who were most likely saw many things they never thought they would that day.
Successful BSTs with doubleeagle07, adriana, barrytrot, Bochiman, Dabigkahuna, Modern Coin Mart, oilstates2003, terburn88, THEGENERAL, treybenedict
On 9-10-2001 I spent the day in a deposition taking place in an office on one of the top floors of the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco (a likely target of any terrorist attack in SF).
The next moring I woke up around 6:00 a.m. PDT and turned on the news on the television. Local news broadcasts were interrupted and replaced with live video of the Twin Towers of the WTC in New York. One tower had smoke billowing out of it (the first plane had already flown into the building). I was wondering what is happening and thought it was an accident or a terrorist attack. As I continued to watch another plane appeared in the sky and I watched the plane as it flew into the second tower of the WTC. Knew at that moment it was a terrorist attack.
Thought that if the attack was one day earlier and if it was directed at SF I could have been at west coast ground zero.
As the morning went on more reports came in about the attack on the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.
In short order people across the bay area started to organize and publicly demonstrate. Many gatherings were to show support for the people who died or were injured in the attack. Many were to show support for the country and to request that the country to seek out and punish those responsible for the attack.
A couple of days after the attack I had a court hearing in Oakland. Upon leaving the main courthouse in Oakland (taking up an entire block bounded by Oak Street, 13th Avenue, Fallon Street and 12th Avenue), I walked towards the corner of 12th and Oak Street. Across Oak Street between 12th Avenue and 13th Avenue is a large plaza sitting in front of the Alameda County Adminsitration Building. This plaza has long been a gathering place for the public. I saw a large group of people gathered in the plaza, many holding signs. Microphones were present and people were addressing the ever swelling crowd. I walked across the street to the plaza to see what was going on and to hear what was being said. The people attending ranged from local politicians, local government workers, businessmen and businesswomen, students and other members of the general public. Male, female, young old, well dressed and down at the heels, ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, in other words a true cross section of the population of Alameda County.
The general topic being discussed was the 9-11-2001 attacks and how to respond to same. The sentiment of the crowd and the speakers was strange. There were a few people who through carried signs and spoken word called for a action to find out who was responsible and for retribution. These few people were shunned and criticized by the others. The majority of people present at the event seemed to be hesitant to speak their mind, but as time went on they seemed to be emboldened. As the event went on the message being conveyed was:
1. retribution is not warranted at all, under any circumstances;
2. it is the fault of the USA that the attack happened; and
3. the USA and its citizens need to work hard to understand what it is that motivated the people who carried out the attacks so that we can reach out to them.
Made me shake my head and wonder if the people at the event would have these opinions if the attack took place in SF and as a result one or more of their own family members and loved ones were killed or injured.
I was in bed. The clock radio woke me up around 2 p.m., and I heard the talk show hosts say, "I can't believe we're talking about the World Trade Center not being there anymore."
I ran downstairs and watched television coverage for the next 48 hours, with very little sleep. I'll never forget how clear and bright and blue the sky seemed that day. Very strange.
I was just driving into the town where I taught and the newscasters were saying that there was a report that a small plane had just hit one of the Twin Towers in New York. They said they would keep us updated when they heard more info. It was probably the most quiet and sad day that I ever had at school.
In my life (born in 1956) the only events which had the same level of impact that 9-11-2001 has had are:
1. 11-22-1963, the day JFK was shot and killed; and
2. 7-20-1969, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
My father and my in laws told me that to them 12-7-1941 (the bombing of Pearl Harbor) had the same level of impact as 9-11-2001.
I suspect that other events that would have the same impact would be the killing of President Lincoln and other presidents who were killed in office, plus (in hindsight) the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.
To a lesser extent (but not by much) the killing of Martin Luther King and RFK in 1968 would be in the ball park.
I was at work when a co-worker, on his day off, called and said turn on the television. When I turned on the television the first plane had just hit the World Trade Building and they didn't know it was a terrorist attack yet.
It was my morning for sleeping-in (my only morning off from early classes in college.) My dad woke me up as soon as the story broke that the first plane hit...we sat in the front room and watched the rest of it unfold. It's strange hearing about terrible things happening, watching the plane crash into the second tower from the comfort of your own home is something else!!! Something surreal and unfathomable. Unbelief, sheer unbelief, then anger...
<< <i>In my life (born in 1956) the only events which had the same level of impact that 9-11-2001 has had are:
1. 11-22-1963, the day JFK was shot and killed; and
2. 7-20-1969, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
My father and my in laws told me that to them 12-7-1941 (the bombing of Pearl Harbor) had the same level of impact as 9-11-2001.
I suspect that other events that would have the same impact would be the killing of President Lincoln and other presidents who were killed in office, plus (in hindsight) the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.
To a lesser extent (but not by much) the killing of Martin Luther King and RFK in 1968 would be in the ball park. >>
On 11 September, 2001, I was in Pomerode, Santa Catarina, Brasil. I was visiting their small, attractive zoo. Pomerode is the most German town in all of Brasil; I didn't find a single "Da Silva" in the phone book. German and Portuguese are the two official languages of the place. A guy looking about twenty was working there and had a very sad expression on his face. This is unusual in Brasil. I vividly remember the following conversation we had. I'll translate it into English:
"Why do you seem so sad?" "Did you see the news today? It's very bad." "The news is always bad, that's the news every day." "But did you see it?" "No, I'm on vacation. I try not to look at it when I'm on vacation." "Are you from Brasil?" "No, I'm from the U.S." "You need to see this." The guy almost started crying. He showed me a small television he was watching. We saw the second plane crashing into the tower. We looked at one another in shock and horror. I thanked him for letting me know.
In terms of similar impacts, I actually cried when I found out at school the President Kennedy was shot. I was horrified when I found out that Dr. King was assassinated, and wondered what the world was coming to. The Robert Kenendy assassination was slightly worse than the Dr. King assassination for me, because my physiology teacher was actually in the ballroom at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles when RFK was shot, and saw the aftermath. The next day, speaking in a state of shock and disbelief, he told us about what happened.
These are really horrible events which will always be with me.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
<< <i>On 9-10-2001 I spent the day in a deposition taking place in an office on one of the top floors of the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco (a likely target of any terrorist attack in SF).
The next moring I woke up around 6:00 a.m. PDT and turned on the news on the television. Local news broadcasts were interrupted and replaced with live video of the Twin Towers of the WTC in New York. One tower had smoke billowing out of it (the first plane had already flown into the building). I was wondering what is happening and thought it was an accident or a terrorist attack. As I continued to watch another plane appeared in the sky and I watched the plane as it flew into the second tower of the WTC. Knew at that moment it was a terrorist attack.
Thought that if the attack was one day earlier and if it was directed at SF I could have been at west coast ground zero.
As the morning went on more reports came in about the attack on the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.
In short order people across the bay area started to organize and publicly demonstrate. Many gatherings were to show support for the people who died or were injured in the attack. Many were to show support for the country and to request that the country to seek out and punish those responsible for the attack.
A couple of days after the attack I had a court hearing in Oakland. Upon leaving the main courthouse in Oakland (taking up an entire block bounded by Oak Street, 13th Avenue, Fallon Street and 12th Avenue), I walked towards the corner of 12th and Oak Street. Across Oak Street between 12th Avenue and 13th Avenue is a large plaza sitting in front of the Alameda County Adminsitration Building. This plaza has long been a gathering place for the public. I saw a large group of people gathered in the plaza, many holding signs. Microphones were present and people were addressing the ever swelling crowd. I walked across the street to the plaza to see what was going on and to hear what was being said. The people attending ranged from local politicians, local government workers, businessmen and businesswomen, students and other members of the general public. Male, female, young old, well dressed and down at the heels, ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, in other words a true cross section of the population of Alameda County.
The general topic being discussed was the 9-11-2001 attacks and how to respond to same. The sentiment of the crowd and the speakers was strange. There were a few people who through carried signs and spoken word called for a action to find out who was responsible and for retribution. These few people were shunned and criticized by the others. The majority of people present at the event seemed to be hesitant to speak their mind, but as time went on they seemed to be emboldened. As the event went on the message being conveyed was:
1. retribution is not warranted at all, under any circumstances;
2. it is the fault of the USA that the attack happened; and
3. the USA and its citizens need to work hard to understand what it is that motivated the people who carried out the attacks so that we can reach out to them.
Made me shake my head and wonder if the people at the event would have these opinions if the attack took place in SF and as a result one or more of their own family members and loved ones were killed or injured. >>
With that crowd it may have taken a few months instead of a day in that case. Mass case of Stockholm Syndrome.
Gold and silver are valuable but wisdom is priceless.
In Los Angeles on business....flipped the TV News on and took a shower....as I was coming out, the Newscaster were speculating on the 1st impact. I froze in my tracks to listen and watched the 2nd impact. Needless to say, I spend a few extra unplanned days in LA before I could get back on a plane to head home.
A somewhat amusing side story to that week (not the event) was that I was also looking for a house to rent in LA and ended up leasing a house in El Segundo, which is immediately adjacent to the runways at LAX. That week, was when I leased the house and it was mighty quiet at LAX as there was no virtually airport noise. I knew there would bo noise but I subsequently learned just how noisy LAX can be by living in that house for 6 months, less than a mile from the runways.....especially the 3am FedEx L1011's taking off......
Craig If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
In an MRI tube, an 8:45am starting time, at McLean Hospital, 5 miles or so from Boston. Messed up my knee (MRI for possible MCL or ACL, but no damage, after it was done/finished 4 days later) playing my first year of H.S. ball, starting at defensive end, as a freshman. Had the headphones on, listening to my favorite 'rock' station. In the middle of the scan, I heard the news, that a plane out of Logan hit the North Tower at 8:46am, 1 minute into my MRI. Horrified (still kinda a youngster), thinking Boston was gonna get it next, and at home, in Everett, MA, we were 'reversed called' and had like a code 'double red' or some shyte, specifically due to Everett having the holding tanks where contents of the petroleum cargo ships, coming into, are first dumped (LOTS of tanks/potential targets to blow up a good portion of the Everett & Chelsea, MA, and the Boston Harbor area). The scan immediately stopped and rescheduled, as THEY were getting ready for possible casualties in case of a Boston strike, similar to BryceM's preparedness in Hanover, NH. Got out, got a ride home...no schools open. Got home, settled in just in time to see the second plane, again, out of Logan, hit the 2nd Tower. Awestruck, and fearful of another strike for days, just freaked out at the site of no planes in the air for what seemed forever, as they fly over Everett very often on take-off and approach at Logan Airport, just freakin' surreal.
In a bit of coincidence, 3 years later, in my senior year, as one of 4 captains, I won the Trentini Award, as the team's 'Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year. Trophy is named in honor of James and Mary Trentini, of Everett, MA, who were on American Airlines Flight 11. Mr. Trentini and his wife Mary were going to Cali to visit their grandchildren, were going to leave on 9/10, BUT, Mr. Trentini had gotten called for Jury Duty on 9/10, so they had to reschedule for 9/11, and the rest is history. You can read the obit, see that this story is no B/S, but TRUE, here. The trophy was presented to me by the Trentini's surviving children and grandchildren at half-time of our Turkey Day/Homecoming game. Of all the hardware I've won in my life (and in Pop Warner, H.S., D-3 college ball, the awards/trophies I got are many, not to be conceited....I enjoyed the hell out of playing, and played hard), THIS trophy means the MOST to me (not to mention biggest), right there on par with my 3 State Div 1 Super Bowl rings, and my 2 D-3 college Nationals playoff rings. To think, if not for jury duty, they'd have made it to see their grandchildren, and not be in the history books as being aboard the first flight to hit the Twin Towers on that fateful day, the very first flight that started that ugly day. Following on Flight 175, were Mark Bavis and Garnet 'Ace' Bailey, both residents of the area (Bailey played for the Bruins, Habs, Wings, Oilers...won 2 Cups with the Bruins, as a player, and 5 with Edmonton as a Scout, and Bavis from Roslindale, MA, played for B.U., won 3 BeanPot's, and played in the AHL. Both were well-known in the area, and were scouts for the L.A. Kings, just simply on their way to L.A. to begin their scouting for the 2002 NHL draft. Both are remembered in the Dropkick Murphy's song "Your Spirit's Alive."
I shall NEVER forget that day and have a very big, very special remembrance of that awful day, one that I look at every single day and feel a special, in an awkward way, connection to it.
I was in charge of two ER's in NJ and we went to emergency over- staffing in anticipation of receiving many "overflow" injuries from NYC as well as suburbanites returning home with injuries. Sadly, there was no immediate influx into the ER as there were mostly minor inhalation injuries and sadly, many dead.
I was working on a commercial construction job. There were only about 5-6 people on site that day and this was a very large assisted living complex. I didn't have the radio on or TV that morning. After several instances of walking by a couple of carpenters I kept over-hearing them talking about planes, buildings...etc. I literally had no idea what was happening up to that point. I casually asked what they were passionately talking about and they about hit the floor and one guy says "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON MAN!? OUR COUNTRY IS UNDER ATTACK!". I decided I had worked enough and left the site, on my way home I turned on the radio in my truck and was shocked at what had happened. I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was sitting in my cubicle at work. A fellow employee walked by and said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
I immediately thought of the Dec 1976 plane crash at Memorial Stadium about 10 minutes after the game ended. I brushed the employee's report off to some silly light aircraft pilot.
When I entered the cafeteria for morning coffee and saw the reports on the TV located in the dining area, I became aware of the immense loss of life that was about to occur. It was a numbing experience.
I saved some of the news video's that had been posted on the net at that time.
I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
Cool I have about 50 melted coins from 9/11 WTC collapse. They were in a JP morgan vault in the bank in the trade towers. Over a year later they recovered my box and everything in it was ash. I had silver eagles and franklins that expanded, and a gold watch that melted.
I had just arrived at my Business Group Controller job in the downtown Houston HQ of a worldwide chemical manufacturer and eating breakfast at my desk when the first bits of news came in. They first reported a small plane had hit the WTC. When the first tower collapsed I think people realized the seriousness of what had happened.
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor.
Teaching at my high school. I went into our department copy room and Janice, a sweet, elderly teacher, was crying in there alone. I asked her what had happened. She told me to go turn on the TV in my classroom.
We did not do anything else but watch TV in class the rest of the day . .
I was at work doing my routine when i heard one of my co workers say a plane hit the WTC then he said those stupid idiots are attacking us...i did not pay him any attention because i thought it was just an accident...then when the second plane hit the other tower we all stopped working because we were all stunned. Somebody in the other department brought out a portable TV and we all went over there and saw what was truly going on. I then had to go outside in the street and walk a block away to see the towers at the distance with smoke coming out from them.My sisters office was near WTC enough for her and her office mates to see people jumping out of the windows. What a sad day that we will never forget.
I was walking through the Times Square when the first plane hit the WTC. It was on the big screen TV over the Times Square with no sound and only subtitles saying at the time "It looks like a small commercial plane hit the WTC". I walked for another 5 minutes and when I got into the office the second plane hit…. The panic started... Five hours later I was on the ferry crossing the Hudson with the eerie skyline in sight - the huge void where WTC once stood and the giant smoke going to the sky… This image has been imprinted in my mind forever ...........................................
In one more o/w forgettable meeting that became unforgettable. Never will lose the memory of looking at the 1st tower with the top leaning, wondering what would happen if it gave way..........
Gone but not forgotten: IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal, CoinsAreFun.
I am an electrician and we were building a data center in Secaucus, NJ . We went to the roof and could see the towers. My wife worked at Saint Barnabas hospital in Livingston, NJ and they were kept there just in case.
and tom keep it coin related
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because it's trust is not in the branch but it's own wings.
Walking in the front doors of Richmond High School in Richmond, CA (of Coach Carter fame), where I was beginning my fourth year as a high school English teacher. A distinguished colleague, a retired Air Force officer in the fifth year of his reincarnation as an outstanding history teacher, broke the news.
I went to work on the morning of my 46th birthdate, grateful for the beautiful blue and spacious skies bathed in early autumn sunlight in Upstate New York. From my then position in a warehouse as a delivery driver, I watched the news video of the twin towers being impaled and subsequently collapsing. My colleagues and I all worked in silence, and as I set out on my initial route that day, I happened to be crossing a lengthy, desolate bridge span (Irondequoit Bay), when I noticed the unmarked black helicopters flying East to West along the south shore of Lake Ontario. My first experience with absolute fear.
Stationed with the United States Army in a Communications Brigade outside D.C. which handled the worldwide communications for the military and the White House. The emergency operations center went into full mode and it was hectic for weeks.
Thanksgiving 2026 National Battlefield Coin Show November 27 & 28, 2026 at the Eisenhower Hotel Ballroom, Gettysburg, PA. No Early Bird passes for this show. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com
I was working for HUD at the time in manufactured housing industry. I used to fly out every single week and audit manufacturing facilities. Once in a while , I was scheduled for office duty, where I got to stay at home and do paper work all week. It was a nice on occasions. That week I was supposed to fly out on Tuesday am to the west coast, but a last minute change put me staying at home. It was very slim, but not out of the question possible scenario that I could have been on one of the hijacked flights because I used to fly united and or American to the west coast quite often, and thru dulles. The one thing for sure is I would have been stranded out west or at a layover spot when US grounded all air transportation that day. it would have been a mess to try and get back home.
I was sitting at my desk at home when my mother in law called to tell me that a plane just hit the wtc, so I flipped on CNN, just about the time the second plane hit, realizing then we were under attack. My wife was at walmart shopping, and didn't know until they made an announcement over the intercom.
I was very nervous about flying after that for a long while. The first week after air traffic got back going you could literally count the number of travelers(most business) on one hand, it was like a ghost town in the sky and airports for a few weeks.
I had just walked in the front door where I worked at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, when the front desk girl told me an airplane just crashed into the WTC. I remember thinking it was going to be one of those days - another black eye for general aviation. Little did I know, or even think, that AA and UAL jets were involved. My thought was somewhat prophetic as we small airplane drivers are still feeling the effects a dozen years later.
We were shopping at BJ's. There were TV's on at the checkout. We got home just before the buildings collapsed.
My Canadian brother-in-law showed up in NYC with a trailer truck full of lumber. They treated him like a hero. He got a rude awaking when he had to refuel his truck to leave. It was not cheap.
<< <i>I had just arrived at my Business Group Controller job in the downtown Houston HQ of a worldwide chemical manufacturer and eating breakfast at my desk when the first bits of news came in. They first reported a small plane had hit the WTC. When the first tower collapsed I think people realized the seriousness of what had happened.
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor. >>
Paris. I just arrived from NY that day. Surreal being overseas. It took me a week to get back. I lived 4 blocks from the WTC and came back to tanks and military outside my apartment which was a complete loss. I went back to Tribecca for the first time in 12 years this spring. It was tough
MJ
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I was stationed at Hanscom AFB, 20 miles north of Boston, sitting in a court-martial for another stupid Airman involved with drugs. I was the Corrections NCOIC for the entire northeast, since I took care of the only military jail in that area.
As the judge announced the guilty verdict of the accused, I got up and walked outside the courtroom to see the second plane hit the WTC. As I stood there, realizing the war had just started again, I turned around and started walking back towards the courtroom. As I did, I ran into the military judge, who was walking down the hallway.
I said, "Your honor, have you seen the news?" He stated he had not, to which I told him what I had just seen. He told me to get everybody back in the court room, which I did as I past another prosecuting attorney.
The judge walked in, called the court back into session, and announced the sentence to the accused.
The whole thing (from the time the judge went into deliberation, to the completion of the sentencing) lasted less than 5 minutes... when usually the judge took at least an hour to deliberate a sentence.
It was also the only time I ever took an inmate to jail in my own car, handcuffed all the way.
The next year was all a blur... we went into Threatcon Delta for a few days, then into Charlie for a long, long time... Bravo lasted years. I think they are still in Alpha.
Peace!
Steve
U.S. Air Force Security Forces Retired
In memory of the USAF Security Forces lost: A1C Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 9/28/05; SSgt Brian McElroy, 1/22/06; TSgt Jason Norton, 1/22/06; A1C Lee Chavis, 10/14/06; SSgt John Self, 5/14/07; A1C Jason Nathan, 6/23/07; SSgt Travis Griffin, 4/3/08; 1Lt Joseph Helton, 9/8/09; SrA Nicholas J. Alden, 3/3/2011. God Bless them and all those who have lost loved ones in this war. I will never forget their loss.
<< <i>I had just arrived at my Business Group Controller job in the downtown Houston HQ of a worldwide chemical manufacturer and eating breakfast at my desk when the first bits of news came in. They first reported a small plane had hit the WTC. When the first tower collapsed I think people realized the seriousness of what had happened.
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor. >>
Unfortunately, this was during a time when WAR could actually be declared AND we knew exactly who the enemy was.
This "terrorist threat" does not have a nation associated with it unless, of course, you consider the entire Middle East and Indonesia and the Philippines and countless other countries.
Come to think of it, there has not been ANY direct face to face conflict with a known enemy since, what, the Korean War?
Sure, this angers me but this enemy even walks our streets.
I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
A terrible day indeed. My wife came into the bedroom as it was time to wake up for work. She told me that I needed to look at the TV news..."it was bad, REALLY bad. Those live feeds and scenes of horror will forever be burned into my memory. My Mom called from out of state and told me that the US was under attack and to turn on the TV... It was already on.. The metro ride into work was surreal with people quiet, scared, and some in tears... I got more terrible news that day as well, but it was nothing in comparison to the thousands who had loved ones in the Twin Towers and The Pentagon related hijack and attack.... Some guy at work said there was a jumbo jet flying low and headed towards our building complex..... Probably the top of the list for most tasteless 'jokes' I've EVER heard in my life!
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
was on a plane landing at Newark about the time the first plane hit the tower....didn't know what was happening but thought it was odd that we came straight in without circling the airport...second thing we noticed that planes were parked slightly away from the gates - so not connected to the terminal....third thing was the empty southbound NJTP and all cars stopped on the northbound lanes...finally turned on the radio and heard the news
Collector of Modern Silver Proofs 1950-1964 -- PCGS Registry as Elite Cameo
I'll never forget how clear and bright and blue the sky seemed that day. Very strange.
That's exactly how I felt on that day. It was a perfect bright blue sky where I was at (Ada, OH).
It was also very strange not seeing commercial planes in the air for the next week or so. I went trout fishing on a nice stream on Sept. 13 and saw Military F16's fly over and over. It was truly a strange feeling that that was all that was flying overhead at that time. God lets hope we don't have these awkward and terrifying times in the future.
Living in my first bought home in Reno, NV, I got ready for work. Upon leaving for work, around 7AM Pacific, I noticed that my wife, who's usually asleep at the time, was up and watching some burning building on the TV.
At the time, my firstborn was only 10 weeks old.
Not sure if I was jaded or stunned, but I actually headed for work. On the way there, or maybe just after, I heard about the collapse of the south tower. Not too long after, I watched the north tower collapse on TV.
More shock than awe, the images of people jumping out of windows too a long time to affect me.
This was probably the only time in my life that an event left me both sad and angry feelings that did not go away for a long, long time.
A week later, my cat never returned from a night out prowling.
Comments
Thankfully I wasn't any closer than that.... those who were most likely saw many things they never thought they would that day.
The next moring I woke up around 6:00 a.m. PDT and turned on the news on the television. Local news broadcasts were interrupted and replaced with live video of the Twin Towers of the WTC in New York. One tower had smoke billowing out of it (the first plane had already flown into the building). I was wondering what is happening and thought it was an accident or a terrorist attack. As I continued to watch another plane appeared in the sky and I watched the plane as it flew into the second tower of the WTC. Knew at that moment it was a terrorist attack.
Thought that if the attack was one day earlier and if it was directed at SF I could have been at west coast ground zero.
As the morning went on more reports came in about the attack on the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.
In short order people across the bay area started to organize and publicly demonstrate. Many gatherings were to show support for the people who died or were injured in the attack. Many were to show support for the country and to request that the country to seek out and punish those responsible for the attack.
A couple of days after the attack I had a court hearing in Oakland. Upon leaving the main courthouse in Oakland (taking up an entire block bounded by Oak Street, 13th Avenue, Fallon Street and 12th Avenue), I walked towards the corner of 12th and Oak Street. Across Oak Street between 12th Avenue and 13th Avenue is a large plaza sitting in front of the Alameda County Adminsitration Building. This plaza has long been a gathering place for the public. I saw a large group of people gathered in the plaza, many holding signs. Microphones were present and people were addressing the ever swelling crowd. I walked across the street to the plaza to see what was going on and to hear what was being said. The people attending ranged from local politicians, local government workers, businessmen and businesswomen, students and other members of the general public. Male, female, young old, well dressed and down at the heels, ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, in other words a true cross section of the population of Alameda County.
The general topic being discussed was the 9-11-2001 attacks and how to respond to same. The sentiment of the crowd and the speakers was strange. There were a few people who through carried signs and spoken word called for a action to find out who was responsible and for retribution. These few people were shunned and criticized by the others. The majority of people present at the event seemed to be hesitant to speak their mind, but as time went on they seemed to be emboldened. As the event went on the message being conveyed was:
1. retribution is not warranted at all, under any circumstances;
2. it is the fault of the USA that the attack happened; and
3. the USA and its citizens need to work hard to understand what it is that motivated the people who carried out the attacks so that we can reach out to them.
Made me shake my head and wonder if the people at the event would have these opinions if the attack took place in SF and as a result one or more of their own family members and loved ones were killed or injured.
I ran downstairs and watched television coverage for the next 48 hours, with very little sleep. I'll never forget how clear and bright and blue the sky seemed that day. Very strange.
Lafayette Grading Set
1. 11-22-1963, the day JFK was shot and killed; and
2. 7-20-1969, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
My father and my in laws told me that to them 12-7-1941 (the bombing of Pearl Harbor) had the same level of impact as 9-11-2001.
I suspect that other events that would have the same impact would be the killing of President Lincoln and other presidents who were killed in office, plus (in hindsight) the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.
To a lesser extent (but not by much) the killing of Martin Luther King and RFK in 1968 would be in the ball park.
<< <i>In my life (born in 1956) the only events which had the same level of impact that 9-11-2001 has had are:
1. 11-22-1963, the day JFK was shot and killed; and
2. 7-20-1969, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
My father and my in laws told me that to them 12-7-1941 (the bombing of Pearl Harbor) had the same level of impact as 9-11-2001.
I suspect that other events that would have the same impact would be the killing of President Lincoln and other presidents who were killed in office, plus (in hindsight) the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.
To a lesser extent (but not by much) the killing of Martin Luther King and RFK in 1968 would be in the ball park. >>
On 11 September, 2001, I was in Pomerode, Santa Catarina, Brasil. I was visiting their small, attractive zoo. Pomerode is the most German town in all of Brasil; I didn't find a single "Da Silva" in the phone book. German and Portuguese are the two official languages of the place.
A guy looking about twenty was working there and had a very sad expression on his face. This is unusual in Brasil. I vividly remember the following conversation we had. I'll translate it into English:
"Why do you seem so sad?"
"Did you see the news today? It's very bad."
"The news is always bad, that's the news every day."
"But did you see it?"
"No, I'm on vacation. I try not to look at it when I'm on vacation."
"Are you from Brasil?"
"No, I'm from the U.S."
"You need to see this." The guy almost started crying. He showed me a small television he was watching.
We saw the second plane crashing into the tower. We looked at one another in shock and horror. I thanked him for letting me know.
In terms of similar impacts, I actually cried when I found out at school the President Kennedy was shot.
I was horrified when I found out that Dr. King was assassinated, and wondered what the world was coming to.
The Robert Kenendy assassination was slightly worse than the Dr. King assassination for me, because my physiology teacher was actually in the ballroom at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles when RFK was shot, and saw the aftermath. The next day, speaking in a state of shock and disbelief, he told us about what happened.
These are really horrible events which will always be with me.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
<< <i>On 9-10-2001 I spent the day in a deposition taking place in an office on one of the top floors of the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco (a likely target of any terrorist attack in SF).
The next moring I woke up around 6:00 a.m. PDT and turned on the news on the television. Local news broadcasts were interrupted and replaced with live video of the Twin Towers of the WTC in New York. One tower had smoke billowing out of it (the first plane had already flown into the building). I was wondering what is happening and thought it was an accident or a terrorist attack. As I continued to watch another plane appeared in the sky and I watched the plane as it flew into the second tower of the WTC. Knew at that moment it was a terrorist attack.
Thought that if the attack was one day earlier and if it was directed at SF I could have been at west coast ground zero.
As the morning went on more reports came in about the attack on the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.
In short order people across the bay area started to organize and publicly demonstrate. Many gatherings were to show support for the people who died or were injured in the attack. Many were to show support for the country and to request that the country to seek out and punish those responsible for the attack.
A couple of days after the attack I had a court hearing in Oakland. Upon leaving the main courthouse in Oakland (taking up an entire block bounded by Oak Street, 13th Avenue, Fallon Street and 12th Avenue), I walked towards the corner of 12th and Oak Street. Across Oak Street between 12th Avenue and 13th Avenue is a large plaza sitting in front of the Alameda County Adminsitration Building. This plaza has long been a gathering place for the public. I saw a large group of people gathered in the plaza, many holding signs. Microphones were present and people were addressing the ever swelling crowd. I walked across the street to the plaza to see what was going on and to hear what was being said. The people attending ranged from local politicians, local government workers, businessmen and businesswomen, students and other members of the general public. Male, female, young old, well dressed and down at the heels, ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, in other words a true cross section of the population of Alameda County.
The general topic being discussed was the 9-11-2001 attacks and how to respond to same. The sentiment of the crowd and the speakers was strange. There were a few people who through carried signs and spoken word called for a action to find out who was responsible and for retribution. These few people were shunned and criticized by the others. The majority of people present at the event seemed to be hesitant to speak their mind, but as time went on they seemed to be emboldened. As the event went on the message being conveyed was:
1. retribution is not warranted at all, under any circumstances;
2. it is the fault of the USA that the attack happened; and
3. the USA and its citizens need to work hard to understand what it is that motivated the people who carried out the attacks so that we can reach out to them.
Made me shake my head and wonder if the people at the event would have these opinions if the attack took place in SF and as a result one or more of their own family members and loved ones were killed or injured. >>
With that crowd it may have taken a few months instead of a day in that case. Mass case of Stockholm Syndrome.
A somewhat amusing side story to that week (not the event) was that I was also looking for a house to rent in LA and ended up leasing a house in El Segundo, which is immediately adjacent to the runways at LAX. That week, was when I leased the house and it was mighty quiet at LAX as there was no virtually airport noise. I knew there would bo noise but I subsequently learned just how noisy LAX can be by living in that house for 6 months, less than a mile from the runways.....especially the 3am FedEx L1011's taking off......
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
In a bit of coincidence, 3 years later, in my senior year, as one of 4 captains, I won the Trentini Award, as the team's 'Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year. Trophy is named in honor of James and Mary Trentini, of Everett, MA, who were on American Airlines Flight 11. Mr. Trentini and his wife Mary were going to Cali to visit their grandchildren, were going to leave on 9/10, BUT, Mr. Trentini had gotten called for Jury Duty on 9/10, so they had to reschedule for 9/11, and the rest is history. You can read the obit, see that this story is no B/S, but TRUE, here. The trophy was presented to me by the Trentini's surviving children and grandchildren at half-time of our Turkey Day/Homecoming game. Of all the hardware I've won in my life (and in Pop Warner, H.S., D-3 college ball, the awards/trophies I got are many, not to be conceited....I enjoyed the hell out of playing, and played hard), THIS trophy means the MOST to me (not to mention biggest), right there on par with my 3 State Div 1 Super Bowl rings, and my 2 D-3 college Nationals playoff rings. To think, if not for jury duty, they'd have made it to see their grandchildren, and not be in the history books as being aboard the first flight to hit the Twin Towers on that fateful day, the very first flight that started that ugly day. Following on Flight 175, were Mark Bavis and Garnet 'Ace' Bailey, both residents of the area (Bailey played for the Bruins, Habs, Wings, Oilers...won 2 Cups with the Bruins, as a player, and 5 with Edmonton as a Scout, and Bavis from Roslindale, MA, played for B.U., won 3 BeanPot's, and played in the AHL. Both were well-known in the area, and were scouts for the L.A. Kings, just simply on their way to L.A. to begin their scouting for the 2002 NHL draft. Both are remembered in the Dropkick Murphy's song "Your Spirit's Alive."
I shall NEVER forget that day and have a very big, very special remembrance of that awful day, one that I look at every single day and feel a special, in an awkward way, connection to it.
Commems and Early Type
I casually asked what they were passionately talking about and they about hit the floor and one guy says "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON MAN!? OUR COUNTRY IS UNDER ATTACK!".
I decided I had worked enough and left the site, on my way home I turned on the radio in my truck and was shocked at what had happened. I remember it like it was yesterday.
A fellow employee walked by and said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
I immediately thought of the Dec 1976 plane crash at Memorial Stadium about 10 minutes after the game ended. I brushed the employee's report off to some silly light aircraft pilot.
When I entered the cafeteria for morning coffee and saw the reports on the TV located in the dining area, I became aware of the immense loss of life that was about to occur.
It was a numbing experience.
I saved some of the news video's that had been posted on the net at that time.
The name is LEE!
<< <i>
And to keep this coin related:
Here's about where we were at that time:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011204212803/http://forums.collectors.com/categories.cfm?catid=9 >>
Cool I have about 50 melted coins from 9/11 WTC collapse. They were in a JP morgan vault in the bank in the trade towers. Over a year later they recovered my box and everything in it was ash. I had silver eagles and franklins that expanded, and a gold watch that melted.
Cashback from Mr. Rebates
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor.
We did not do anything else but watch TV in class the rest of the day . .
Drunner
Coinfame,Kaelasdad,Type2,UNLVino,MICHAELDIXON
Justacommeman,tydye,78saen,123cents,blue62vette,Segoja,Nibanny
My wife worked at Saint Barnabas hospital in Livingston, NJ and they were kept there just in case.
and tom keep it coin related
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
I was sitting at my desk at home when my mother in law called to tell me that a plane just hit the wtc, so I flipped on CNN, just about the time the second plane hit, realizing then we were under attack. My wife was at walmart shopping, and didn't know until they made an announcement over the intercom.
I was very nervous about flying after that for a long while. The first week after air traffic got back going you could literally count the number of travelers(most business) on one hand, it was like a ghost town in the sky and airports for a few weeks.
My Canadian brother-in-law showed up in NYC with a trailer truck full of lumber. They treated him like a hero.
He got a rude awaking when he had to refuel his truck to leave. It was not cheap.
<< <i>I had just arrived at my Business Group Controller job in the downtown Houston HQ of a worldwide chemical manufacturer and eating breakfast at my desk when the first bits of news came in. They first reported a small plane had hit the WTC. When the first tower collapsed I think people realized the seriousness of what had happened.
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor. >>
Wtf on so many levels?
MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
As the judge announced the guilty verdict of the accused, I got up and walked outside the courtroom to see the second plane hit the WTC. As I stood there, realizing the war had just started again, I turned around and started walking back towards the courtroom. As I did, I ran into the military judge, who was walking down the hallway.
I said, "Your honor, have you seen the news?" He stated he had not, to which I told him what I had just seen. He told me to get everybody back in the court room, which I did as I past another prosecuting attorney.
The judge walked in, called the court back into session, and announced the sentence to the accused.
The whole thing (from the time the judge went into deliberation, to the completion of the sentencing) lasted less than 5 minutes... when usually the judge took at least an hour to deliberate a sentence.
It was also the only time I ever took an inmate to jail in my own car, handcuffed all the way.
The next year was all a blur... we went into Threatcon Delta for a few days, then into Charlie for a long, long time... Bravo lasted years. I think they are still in Alpha.
Peace!
Steve
In memory of the USAF Security Forces lost: A1C Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 9/28/05; SSgt Brian McElroy, 1/22/06; TSgt Jason Norton, 1/22/06; A1C Lee Chavis, 10/14/06; SSgt John Self, 5/14/07; A1C Jason Nathan, 6/23/07; SSgt Travis Griffin, 4/3/08; 1Lt Joseph Helton, 9/8/09; SrA Nicholas J. Alden, 3/3/2011. God Bless them and all those who have lost loved ones in this war. I will never forget their loss.
<< <i>I had just arrived at my Business Group Controller job in the downtown Houston HQ of a worldwide chemical manufacturer and eating breakfast at my desk when the first bits of news came in. They first reported a small plane had hit the WTC. When the first tower collapsed I think people realized the seriousness of what had happened.
I do remember being set up at the Bellaire coin show just a couple weeks prior when gold was at $285 an ounce....I remember MS 64 Saints trading at $450......I know of one large ebay seller at the time who shut down all his gold coin related auctions, took all that material off the market to his bank box, and it did not resurface until 2011 when gold was pushing $2000.
More people were killed in this enemy attack on American soil than Pearl Harbor. Because the target was essentially American civilians I believe it was a really vicious attack requiring an immediate retaliation response. I think leveling Kabul with an intense firebomb and napalm attack carried out by carrier aircraft would have been a good start. Showing them what Hell really is and burning them up in it would set the stage for the conflict. Then with the large Naval and Air assets or ours injected in the region we could see who would really want to come out and fight and then take it from there in eliminating them from the face of the planet. This thing could be set up like a bullfight - the leveling of Kabul in a firestorm of destruction would have been the picadors......Strategy could have been put in place with our ally in the region, Israel for a joint strategic first strike on on 2 or three of the other hostile nations if things really heated up. No national border would be respected especially if that country aided or harbored enemy personnel. The message to the enemy would be we are there to fight and with their territory encircled a loop of constant naval and aerial bombardment would be closing. This would then followed by an invasion to eliminate whatever fighters were left and assimilate any surviving assets to make the area a permanent attack and production base in the region. The political and religious infrastructure which resulted in the initial hostilities would have been permanently eliminated with everything else assimilated and the booty taken (oil producing lands).
The US Navy declared after Pearl Harbor "Unrestricted Submarine Warefare" on anything flying a Japanese flag. This included Sampans, Fishing Boats, Merchant Vessels.as well as Battleships. Whether the ship was civilian or military did not matter. I believe a similar doctrine should have been declared against the enemy whether civilian or military similar to when FDR requested a declaration of war against Japan the day after Pearl Harbor. >>
Unfortunately, this was during a time when WAR could actually be declared AND we knew exactly who the enemy was.
This "terrorist threat" does not have a nation associated with it unless, of course, you consider the entire Middle East and Indonesia and the Philippines and countless other countries.
Come to think of it, there has not been ANY direct face to face conflict with a known enemy since, what, the Korean War?
Sure, this angers me but this enemy even walks our streets.
The name is LEE!
My wife came into the bedroom as it was time to wake up for work. She told me that I needed to look at the TV news..."it was bad, REALLY bad.
Those live feeds and scenes of horror will forever be burned into my memory.
My Mom called from out of state and told me that the US was under attack and to turn on the TV... It was already on..
The metro ride into work was surreal with people quiet, scared, and some in tears...
I got more terrible news that day as well, but it was nothing in comparison to the thousands who had loved ones in the Twin Towers and The Pentagon related hijack and attack....
Some guy at work said there was a jumbo jet flying low and headed towards our building complex.....
Probably the top of the list for most tasteless 'jokes' I've EVER heard in my life!
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
Link to 1950 - 1964 Proof Registry Set
1938 - 1964 Proof Jeffersons w/ Varieties
That's exactly how I felt on that day. It was a perfect bright blue sky where I was at (Ada, OH).
It was also very strange not seeing commercial planes in the air for the next week or so. I went trout fishing on a nice stream on Sept. 13 and saw Military F16's fly over and over. It was truly a strange feeling that that was all that was flying overhead at that time. God lets hope we don't have these awkward and terrifying times in the future.
At the time, my firstborn was only 10 weeks old.
Not sure if I was jaded or stunned, but I actually headed for work. On the way there, or maybe just after, I heard about the collapse of the south tower. Not too long after, I watched the north tower collapse on TV.
More shock than awe, the images of people jumping out of windows too a long time to affect me.
This was probably the only time in my life that an event left me both sad and angry feelings that did not go away for a long, long time.
A week later, my cat never returned from a night out prowling.
Empty Nest Collection