SEPTEMBER 11TH 2001/ PLEASE POST MEMORIES HERE/ NOTHING POLITICAL

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Our wonderful friend, Sheryl McCollum, is telling an amazing story about what happened to her and her sister on 9/11.

If you don't know Sheryl I can tell you with 100 percent certainty she is one of the kindest, hard-working and amazing person I know. Very proud to call her my dear friend.
Check out her story about 9/11
Sheryl McCollum
Hope it isn't private.
 
oceanblueeyes said:
I personally want to sincerely thank every one of you who have shared your heartfelt stories with us.

I will always remember vividly how both my hubby, and I put our hand over our mouths at the same time in utter disbelief when realizing it really was a terrorists attack of such unbelievable magnitude it was hard to even process.

Then knowing more attacks would be coming made it even more horrifying. We sat in stunned total silence for so long.

Even where we live I realized we both were listening for airplanes overhead.

I don't think anyone felt safe no matter where they lived in our country at the time. The not knowing if more attacks were coming or where they would strike next left the entire population paralyzed with fear of the unknown, and knowing that is exactly what the terrorists wanted to inflict on our people angers me even now.

I remember us trying to get in touch with my hubby's nephew who had worked in civil service at the Pentagon for over 10 years back then, and still works there today. We were unable to reach him nor could we reach his wife for a long time. Thankfully even though there he was in one section over from the targeted area.

He lost many dear friends that day, and stayed to help others, and helping to remove the bodies of many who he knew personally.

Since he works in intelligence they had amassed teams quickly once they heard of the attacks in NYC to gather all chatter intelligence far, and wide. That is what he was in the middle of doing when the Pentagon was attacked. Many didnt return to their families for days.

Many also died while doing their jobs while hiding under tables while gathering intelligence. I think they had already realized the Pentagon may become a target if more planes were in the air with more terrorists onboard.

I've always believed Flight 93 was headed to the Capitol or White House, and our brave citizens onboard 93 knew it so they laid down their own lives in order to save others, with one saying 'let's roll.'

There is no more greater selfless act than to have the courage to laydown one's own life in order to save others.

So there were so many heroes that day, both on the ground, and in the sky.

That is why none of us must never forget what happened on 9/11, and for all of those who were willing to give their all for the love of country, and it's people.
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OBE. I could not agree more with your sentiments about the valiant heroes and heroines of Flight 93. I believe they were heading for the Capitol. An easier target than the White House in terms of topography and size. I believe the lives of many dear friends were saved that day by those men and women.

I started my new job on The Hill, just feet from the Capitol on September 17th. My boss jokingly called it the worst first day of a job - ever. He was not wrong but I was proud. Scared. But proud. I was not going to be frightened out of a job that I felt served the American people. How could I? The heroes on that plane had saved us from further tragedy. Me going to an office building was hardly brave.

We had anthrax in the days that followed. But even that didn’t seem as bad as what could have been. We all knew our buildings still stood because of those wonderful men and women and their families on the ground who made sure they knew what was happening and told them to act. God bless them.
 
I saw the second plane hit the second tower live on television. I'll never forget that day or the days after. Every single channel on tv carried the news. Every person I passed on the street that day had the same mixture of anger, anguish and fear on their face. Their expressions and the raw emotions of that day are burned into my mind. We were all in shock. I couldn't reach anyone on the phone because everyone was trying to call at once and the cell towers were overloaded. Some of my friends and family members in the military were immediately called to active duty and we didn't know where they were being sent or how long they would be gone. Everyone wondered if we were at war and if there could be more attacks on US soil. I felt helpless and vulnerable in the face of the unknowns. Security measures changed everywhere starting with airports but also anywhere that large crowds gathered. We had to go through metal detectors and extra security to go to a football game or a concert-- and many games and concerts were canceled in the days right after 9/11. Everyone was afraid of gathering in large crowds. Workplaces introduced new security training such as how to spot a bomb or look for biological agents in the air vents. My church did a 48 hour vigil-- they kept the church building open for 2 days straight so anyone could come and pray or get counseling at any hour day or night. I remember going with my friends to pray at 1 or 2 AM because we figured not many people would be there at that hour. The church was packed with people-- praying and crying and leaning on each other. I think it was only then that I knew we would be OK-- that fear and evil would not win. We would never forget, but we would come out of it stronger. The shared grief over the massive loss of life would unite us more than it divided. We will not forget.
 
Beautiful Thank you
Gardener1850 said:
I saw the second plane hit the second tower live on television. I'll never forget that day or the days after. Every single channel on tv carried the news. Every person I passed on the street that day had the same mixture of anger, anguish and fear on their face. Their expressions and the raw emotions of that day are burned into my mind. We were all in shock. I couldn't reach anyone on the phone because everyone was trying to call at once and the cell towers were overloaded. Some of my friends and family members in the military were immediately called to active duty and we didn't know where they were being sent or how long they would be gone. Everyone wondered if we were at war and if there could be more attacks on US soil. I felt helpless and vulnerable in the face of the unknowns. Security measures changed everywhere starting with airports but also anywhere that large crowds gathered. We had to go through metal detectors and extra security to go to a football game or a concert-- and many games and concerts were canceled in the days right after 9/11. Everyone was afraid of gathering in large crowds. Workplaces introduced new security training such as how to spot a bomb or look for biological agents in the air vents. My church did a 48 hour vigil-- they kept the church building open for 2 days straight so anyone could come and pray or get counseling at any hour day or night. I remember going with my friends to pray at 1 or 2 AM because we figured not many people would be there at that hour. The church was packed with people-- praying and crying and leaning on each other. I think it was only then that I knew we would be OK-- that fear and evil would not win. We would never forget, but we would come out of it stronger. The shared grief over the massive loss of life would unite us more than it divided. We will not forget.
Click to expand...
 
Murphy1950 said:
Couldn't agree more. The one film clip I'll never forget is people running out of the front entrance side of the Pentagon, turning around mid parking lot, and then running toward the crash site to help.
Click to expand...

Yes, it doesn't get as much attention, but there were countless heroes at the Pentagon that day.

It was the day we saw the very worst in humanity, and the very best.

To this day I am in awe of the amazing courage of our own people in the worst time our country has ever faced.

It showed us all clearly when our people are united as one united America there isn't anything we can't overcome.

Jmho
 
I was sitting at home in Queens that morning taking my time and going to work a little late. I had a morning show on tv and they cut in to show WTC. At that point they thought it was a small off-course plane. I had a view of the Manhattan skyline from my window and could see the smoke coming from the tower. I worked in security in the city. Clients started paging me and knew I had to get in. I got quickly got dressed and ran to catch a train and was able to get in before they shut down the subway. I got off at a Fifth Avenue where people were standing in the street looking downtown. I got off the elevator at my office and someone told me there was another plane and the feeling was it was terrorists. I remember being in shock all day. We sat in the training room with the tv on watching people jumping to their death and saw the towers crumble. I stayed at work all night calling clients to assure them we’d be able to provide addition security for their buildings.
The next morning a group of us went down to the site to lock up buildings for clients who had run for their lives when the towers fell. We had 2 managers with us who were retired NYPD and were able to get access to drive right up to the site. When we got out of the car right in front of what used to be two iconic towers that were now skeletons of steel, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was like walking through a nuclear holocaust. There was glass, dust and papers, some places a foot deep. It smelled like burning wire and plastic. We had to navigate through streets that were unrecognizable. There was glass constantly falling from buildings. Police kept moving us over to the east side because they thought a building was going to fall. They’d make us wait a half hour and when it didn’t fall, they’d let us back in. We locked up buildings and brought water, food and clean clothes to guards who were stuck at work sites. At many times throughout that, I’d day stop and pick up a piece of paper that was 24 hours earlier on someone’s desk. I couldn’t believe that aside from these thousands and thousands of papers and the dust, there was nothing recognizable. No office furniture or equipment, no parts of an airplane, no bodies, no personal effects. We stood in front of what used to be Brooks Brothers and watched the bucket brigade for a while. Every once in a while everything would stop as they’d listen for someone who might be stuck calling for help but there was no one alive to yell. We finally left and headed back uptown to the office. I stayed in the city for 4 days, working almost 24 hrs a day.
I threw myself into work. I was so busy for a year after that I barely had time to process what I had seen. I didn’t realize how badly it had affected me. People sent me videos of various events of the day. I deleted them. For years I avoided talking about what I had seen and smelled that day and the smell of death through the months after. I never watched any 9/11 coverage or shows. I just put it out of my mind. I had nightmares once in a while but considered myself lucky. I could easily have been visiting a client in or around the WTC that day but I was safe uptown. I avoided all talk about 9/11.
When I finally saw a program about the events of that morning, it all came flooding back. I saw myself walking through dust that had once been people sitting on planes and at desks and cops and firefighters and first responders. I started crying and couldn’t stop. I started having more nightmares. I didn’t realize I had PTSD. I got help and have been able to deal with my feelings and guilt but there are many people who carry the trauma of that day with them. I’ve never publicly shared my small story with anyone but did so today in the hopes it can help someone else. PTSD can eat you alive. If you've been through any trauma, please get help.
 
I was in Brisbane, Australia, preparing to fly home to Auckland, New Zealand. Then we got a call that our flight was delayed. In fact all flights arriving and departing Brisbane airport were on standby until further notice. We were told to turn on the news. So I watched from my hotel room with utter disbelief and horror at what was unfolding. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about that day. The fear, the uncertainty, the worry for friends and family. Not knowing if the attacks were global and if we'd even be allowed to fly home that day. What if more planes were affected worldwide? Just how coordinated was this attack? There was such a terrible feeling of dread and helplessness in the air, being so far away and unable to do anything but sit, watch and wait. The thing that really set me off, though, was seeing poor Americans being interviewed as soon as they deplaned in Brisbane, some of them hearing the news for the first time. The shock of it. I thought it was really disrespectful and that was what made me cry after being pretty numb and in disbelief for most of the day.

I remember Peter Jennings doing a stellar marathon job as ABC anchor at the time. He was so compassionate.
 
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