Memory is a strange thing.
There are many things I remember about the attacks on 9/11/01: The first announcement when I was at my desk in Providence that a “small plane” had hit the World Trade Center, the announcement of a second “small plane” and then the reality; the collapse of the buildings, something that was unimaginable; the films of people jumping from windows above the flames; and the images of medical staff at St. Vincent’s Hospital and elsewhere who waited for thousands of injured who never appeared because there were so few survivors.
But three things keep coming back to me.
First, the missing persons flyers posted throughout downtown New York City. Whether on walls or held up by relatives on the street, each poster represented grieving families and friends:
Second, the sound of the PASS (Personal Alert Safety System) alarms worn by firemen, which continued chirping after the buildings collapsed, each one representing a life lost. I never have been able to erase that sound from my memory:
Third, the farewell messages from people trapped above the flames or on Flight 93 left on answering machines of loved ones.
The one I remember most vividly was that of Melissa Harrington Hughes who was visiting New York on business. Melissa did speak to her father, who recounts the events here, and then left this message for her husband who was asleep in San Francisco and didn’t answer the phone in time. When he tried to call her back, the call didn’t go through.
Those are my memories.
Added: While it’s still live, I’ll include the live feed of the reading of the names today. It’s very moving as relatives are reading the names. [reading over, embed removed 1:15 p.m.]
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9-11 Turns 10 – A Remembrance…
It has been 10 years since the 2001 attack on America, but the memories of that day will stick with all Americans, particularly those of us whose lives have been scarred by terrorism, for the rest of our days. The day haunts me at times unexpectedly. A…
Like everyone I remember exactly where I was when the announcements of the attacks began. I was a retail sales rep at the time and aside from listening to the news on the radio as I drove and watching the scenes on TV whenever possible my own personal horror was the hours of time spent frantically trying to get calls though on my cell phone to find out if all of my coworkers in the areas affected were ok and if my brother was at the Pentagon at the time of the attack. My associates were all well but my brother was across the street from the Pentagon when the plane hit and his mind has never recovered from the shock of frantically trying to get home to his family in Virginia…they lived very close to the CIA headquarters and his trip home was a nightmare…though he’s still physically alive, I lost him that day.
I remember these things, also. I also remember Muslims dancing and singing in the streets of Arab and other countries and blaming the United Staes of America for this attack. I just haven’t seen many references to their disgusting and shameful actions anywhere.
As an aside, I believe that the next attacks will be against synagogues or Jewish facilities. The reasoning will be, “It’s just Jews. Who will care?”.
You mentioned the PASS system. My wife worked at Skytel, a two way paging company.
I suggest an article in The Daily Mail (UK ) that explores the situation of the people who were forced to face the only option of exiting via the windows & not burn to death.
A paper that is heavy on celebrities does an excellent job of focusing on a taboo area for Americans & the absurd medieval judgments that these people were in American eyes sinners because jumping was willful & thus suicide.
It does no earthly good but I have these people in my thoughts even if their countrymem have photoshopped them from memory.
Relgious beliefs can be cruel & a crime against humanity & life itself.
My brother in law escaped from the 51st floor of the north tower. The detail I remember from his account was that the stairwells were extremely hot. (They were crowded and I’m guessing that the ventilation system was not working.) The emergency personnel overseeing the evacuation broke open soda machines and were handing drinks to the escapees. A firefighter handed him a bottle of water about the 20th floor. He realized some 45 minutes later after he was safe that the hero who had aided his escape was dead.