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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 2561
Location: Rapid City, SD | Subject: Seven years ago today -
- I was reading the morning paper and thinking about what I had to pack to take to the USS Sterlet Reunion in two days. My brother and I had purchased plane tickets and paid for our reunione dues. It would have been his first Sterlet Reunion, and as it turned out, the last reunion of the WWII Vets - Elmer's shipsmates.. My TV wasn't on yet.
The phone rang. It was Elmer. He said, "Well, are you ready to get on an airplane today?"
I was puzzled. I thought that he must have been confused. "No, not until day after tomorrow."
"You must not have your TV on."
"No."
"Well, turn it on."
I did, and watched while the world changed for all of us in this nation. Since then, I guess I've lived with the realization that we can be hit anytime anyplace.
When my now fourteen grandson watched it on TV, he very quietly asked his mother, "This isn't a movie, is it?" He was seven years old.
What were you doing when you saw? Or, heard?
Cora
Edited by Corabelle 2008-09-11 6:44 PM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1814
Location: Boydton, Virginia | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I had been retired ( #1) for about 3 months. My wife was still teaching. I was enjoying my 3rd or 4th cup of coffee that morning and Mary called me from school saying how awful it was. I said what are you talking about. I turned on the TV and watched it continuously for about a month, as did a lot of folks, I think.
Steamboat sends |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 6180
Location: Summerville, SC | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
On 09/11/01 I was doing what I was doing this morning, making plans for our next Sennet SS408 reunion plans. This morning I did offer up some prayers for those we lost and for those left behind. |
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Senior Crew
Posts: 186
Location: Chunky, MS | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I was at work trying to conduct a sale. Got a phone call and was told to turn on the TV. This was just after the 1st plane struck the WTC. I figured it was someone in a little private jet who had bad luck and crashed in a horrible way. Then we saw the 2nd plane and it all began to come together.
That was our first no-sale ever at work. And work has never been as good as pre-9/11/2001 again.
Terrorists are such cowards! |
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Old Salt
Posts: 264
Location: Harrison, NJ | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I don't think anyone will forget that day. I happened to be sitting in the USSVI BoD meeting in Peoria, IL that morning when we found out.
NYC is less than 5 miles from my house, as the crow flies. I live on the second floor of my house. My front window faces Manhattan.
For years the last thing I saw at night and the first thing I saw in the morning was the glorious NYC skyline and the WTC in particular.
NYC is my absolute favorite city in the entire world. When I go to NYC I take the PATH train. It ends at WTC. I passed through WTC many times. I also liked to go to the top of the towers and take pictures.
Now it's gone. I miss the towers. I'm angry at the silly SOB's who knocked it down. (I'm getting emotional; as I type this)
They're building a new WTC. It'll be 1776 feet tall - taller than the original. I'm happy about that. Building a new tower says F.U. to the bastards who knocked down the original. I plan to be one of the first to visit the new tower. |
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Mess cooking
Posts: 46
Location: east river, South Dakota | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I was at work, and trying to be somewhat productive, so don't recall all that much about during the day. However I wil never forget the week following it. Howard and had a good friend, online. Her twin sister was stationed at the pentagon. She came on and told me that her twin had died in the crash, as her office was right in the middle of the mess, and they had not been able to get in contact with her. A week later she came online again, very excited, and told us that her sister had been in a very bad car accident the morning of 9/11, on her way to work. Someone had run a red light and her twin had been in the hospital, unable to get any message out (badly injured), but alive. We discussed that if not for the bad driver, ......... I have to think that maybe there are a lot of similar stories out there. I don't think I will ever forget about the courage the folks on flight 93(the one that went down in a field in PA). That has become such a part of the US vocabulary for courage and doing what has to be done. "Let's roll"
Edited by sister5lp 2008-09-11 8:29 PM
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 602
Location: Visalia, Ca. | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I was on the way to work, listening to a radio station that didn't do news.
Heard about it from coworkers - didn't believe it until I went up to the office and the Admin folks had it playing on one of the local TV station's website. Wanted to be sick, but couldn't. STILL can't stand to watch that video - or Challenger.
Called Bingo at the FRA Branch that night - offered a Moment of Silence before we started play. Had crews from 3 of the 4 local stations interviewing members and players during breaks. Lot of anger in those clips.
My father had a solution - find out where the masterminds are hiding, and nuke the whole area, Tehran and Damascus, too, like Sodom and Gomorrah. Tell the locals it was the vengeance of Allah for doing evil in His name.
Works for me. Probably get the attention of Comrade Putin and the Chinese, too.
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Admin
Posts: 2297
Location: Renton, WA | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
Tom, Thank you for your excellent service to USSVI. You served with great honor and capability and did so without calling attention to yourself... you simply served with honor. Outstanding shipmate... BZ!! |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 877
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I was at work..posting something to an internal website - when a guy came to my cube and said one of the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane.. We managed to switch a TV on in a manager's office and watched things as they happened.. saw the second plane hit.. and immediately knew it wasn't an accident. Then things started happening in DC.. and decided to stay at work (safest place to be with snipers on the roof and bomb dogs going throughout the building) because the roads outside my building were a parking lot. Saw the towers fall.
Managed to get home .. tried to sleep for a few hours before I had to go back into work.. the Thursday after, I found out someone I knew from home was on the first plane (he'd come over to our house to play cards with my oldest brother) and then it became personal.
Ken Waldie
American Airlines Flight 11
September 11, 2001
TO REMEMBER |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 2672
Location: New Jersey | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
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| My eldest son has worked on Wall St. all of his working career and has worked with many, many of the people who died in 9-11. He is alive because he went to work for a different company that was not located in the WTC, but across the street. In fact the building he worked in was damaged by falling debris from 2 WTC. He was working in the WTC when the muslims in '92-'93 bombing attempt of the WTC. I wrote the words below last night.
Afterseven years, my son still has trouble sleeping the night before 9-11.Today he was "off" he said. Not as bad as previous years, but still, itcontinues to haunt him. All the people he knew and worked with foryears, dying a horrible death in a matter of minutes. Going to 15funerals, when his wife had to tell him; enough! No more. Tonight heattends a mass to honor those who were killed, andthose that came from his town of Ridgewood, NJ which lost anextraordinary amount of people in the attacks and hopes that tomorrowis a brighter day. His sadness & depression used to last for weeks,prior to and after 9-11. Now with the help of time, that all purposehealer, he is himself after a day or two.
As his father, Iwish I could make it all go away. But I can't. As a father &veteran, I wish I could pick up a bomb and drop it somewhere where itwould do the most good. I can't do that either.
He stoppeddrinking more than two years ago and this has hastened his healing. So,I offer a prayer to the universe and I ask that all the people whosurvived this horrible day, heal and be peace with themselves and theworld around them.
Amen
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1269
Location: Hopewell Junction NY | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I had flown out to Peoria on Monday for the USSVI Convention and a USS Sea Robin Reunion.
On Tuesday morning I was lolling in bed with my coffee and smokes, watching the NBC Today Show when they cut away to a scene on the 1st WTC tower that was hit. The reports at that time suggested a small plane had collided with the tower. My 1st impression was THAT WAS NO SMALL PLANE.
It wasn't long afterwards that a second plane swooped into the picture and slammed into the 2nd tower.
The Convention/Reunion was a surreal event for all who were there. Shipmates as well as conventioneers were stranded at airports all over the country and had to cancel their plans. By late Saturday flight restriction were being lifted and I hopped a very early commuter flight out of Peoria on Sunday morning to Chicago - O'Hare. There were so few people at O'Hare that my footsteps echoed in the American Terminal. The flight back to Newburgh was nearly empty. Very few spoke at all.
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
Location: Belleview, Fl | Subject: RE: Seven years ago today -
I was given the day off because the evening of the 10th my ex-wife had a miscarriage of our son Max, he was to be born 4-5 months later. My sister in law called me and told me to turn on the TV and I asked her why because she was hysterical and when I saw the second plane hit I put my uniform back on and went back to the hanger to wait orders to go and kick the bad guys butts for what they did to us.. We didn't get that call for another year and a half and we kicked a LOT of butt in the opening days of Iraqi Freedom and honestly we didn't want to stop until all of the bad guys were gone completely. I took my qual dolphins with me and wore them from time to time in the desert and they are still worn on my uniform today (although subdued instead of being pewter now). September 11, 2008 is also my 11 year mark for being on Active duty in the Army and I did not celebrate that nor have I since 2001 because I would rather honor those who were lost that fatefull day then celebrate another year on active duty.
Darrin |
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Seven years ago today -
