Remembering 9/11

[jimmycc]

Where were you on 9/11?


Jimmy

[alain]

Where were you on 9/11?
Jimmy

Inside the World Trade Center - Building 4.

When the first plane hit, I thought it was an earthquake because the floor (I was on the 6th floor - WTC4) was shaken. That theory didn't make too much sense applied to NYC though. I looked through the window and I saw a lot of debris coming from the sky. I was not concerned because it was mostly paper but then, I saw fire falling from the sky. That was when I decide to run away... as far as possible.

After I left the building and looked up, I saw the top of WTC 1 on fire. My first idea was that a gas pipe had exploded somewhere there but I still decided to go all the way to the East side.

I was able to called my family from a pay-phone from around a block of the South Street Seaport. My cell phone was still in the building. My plan was to go back there later to retrieve it. While I was there, I heard another explosion and people running from that area towards us (me and my boss). I didn't know what it was until people started screaming that a plane had hit the WTC.

One of the saddest parts for me was when the WTC2 came down. I saw it from the distance... the 2 towers in flames, suddenly a lot of smoke and then just one building standing...

A lot of people died that day. Friends of friends... lives were changed forever... including mine.

[Sankar]

23rd and Lex

[Peik Looi]

Constructing a building in Singapore and finding my profession on a hot-spot.

[Bridgett]

My apartment in Utah...getting ready for school...didn't quite yet realize what really had just happened.

[Yan He]

Rushing for a morning class in Ohio, the first almost week to USA, not really recovered from jet leg yet.

[Andy]

I was in the Bronx, getting ready for school. I got a call from my coworker to ask me turn on the TV. I went to work and saw the second tower struck. Then we knew what happened.
I spent the next few week glued to the TV. I lost none of my loved ones but the consequences changed the direction of my life. I had an job interview with IBM scheduled for Sept 13 in their NYC office and it was cancelled. I decided to go to graduate school instead of work.

[bob]

Riding the C train to work on the Upper West Side. We pulled into the Chambers Street / WTC station, and they held the trains for a couple minutes. Then I heard, for the first time in my life, actual panic in the conductor's voice as he shouted "Stand clear of the closing doors!" and we rocketed out of the station. I didn't realize what kind of reports the conductor must have been getting until I got out and started hearing the news.

Spent all morning walking around muttering "This is going to be VERY bad" to anyone who would listen. I didn't just mean the building collapse. The attack here was horrible, but the numbers pale in comparison to the lives lost since that day, more or less as part of the same conflict. It shows no real signs of slowing down, either. In a century, historians will be drawing comparisons between the WTC attack and the sinking of the Lusitania: a tragedy with many civilian casualties, terrible to be sure, but only part of a much larger war with far greater implications.

[Eddie]

in Christchurch New Zealand, when i got up at 7ish and watched the breaking new on local chanel, it was already 3 hours after the incident.
Moan for those who lost their innocent lives... ...
Hope the evil culprits will be punished.

[dstefan]

I was in Boston. I had just submitted a paper at 3am on September 11, 2001, and went to sleep around 5am. I woke up at 10am and turned on the TV. That's how I found out about what was happening that day. I watched the news for a couple of hours, then went to MIT where everyone was in disbelief. It is just so painful to relieve the memories of that day. But I will never forget.

[hasan]

I was on the 24th floor of my workplace (penn plaza, by the penn station), by a window facing WTC with rest of my group-mates... watching the whole incident unfold. One of my Colleague lost her husband, I lost a friend, used to work in WOW.

[RussianMike]

I was 4 blocks away at 100 William Street. I got in early(8am) because as always I had some homework to finish. I finished the homework and went outside for a cigarette. I came back and people started coming in and saying a plane had hit World Trade Center. At first I thought it was a joke, then I thought it could be a pilot error. People started crowding around the TV. I called my dad because my mom was coming back from Russia that day and he was supposed to pick her up. Still not realizing completely what had happened I told my dad to rush to the airport because there could be some extra traffic as a plane had hit World Trade Center and I did not want my mom to be stranded. My dad didnt believe me but then he turned on the TV and saw for himself. At around 9:30 the buildings started collapsing and the debris was hitting our windows. The reaction was to look outside at what was happening. A manager said to get away from the windows(good call because the debris could have penetrated the windows). A decision was made to evacuate the floor. So we got up and started making our way outside. We came outside and it was strange, there was debris floating in the air, it looked like snow except you knew that it wasnt. We started making our way towards the Brooklyn Bridge(I lived in Staten Island, so it was a logical thing to do). One of the lunch places we would normally visit was handing out water to passersby, I took a few, just in case. As we walked up to Brooklyn Bridge we saw people running back. Deciding it was better to walk elsewhere we went to the Manhattan Bridge instead. People were tired because at that point it was a few hours of walking. While we were on the bridge, the group I was with, decided to rest there, I said that we should keep walking, at least until we crossed the bridge. I was not sure but I did not want to stay on that bridge longer than was needed. We got to someone's apartment in Brooklyn, close to the bridge and called a car service to go to Staten Island. The driver would only take us as far as the Verazzano because he was not sure if he would be able to come back to Brooklyn. I was with several people going to Staten Island and I called my best-friend(I could not get a hold of my dad due to phone problems), his mother picked-up and cordially invited me over. I made sure the people got on the Staten Island buses and from there took a bus to my friend's house. The driver did not even charge anyone a fare. I bought a six-pack on my way over, came inside, drank 2 bottles and fell asleep. The next day my dad picked me up and said that my mom was in Canada, she would be there for a week. I was home for about 1 week and then went back to work.

[frankm1342]

I was working at JPMorgan Chase that summer, 2 blocks away from Ground Zero. I was scheduled to start my official new job with them on 9/12/01, so my summer manager said that I should stop working on 9/10 and take 9/11 off. I was fortunate to have been spared being downtown on that day. I got up, turned on the TV and the 1st tower had already been hit. I was puzzled and just staring at the screen. Then from the corner, this image came into view and slammed into the 2nd tower. I immediately called my Dad and sister. When I called my Dad, he couldn't believe what I was telling him (he works at Columbia University uptown). My sister made her way over and we watched it all on TV. What a horrible feeling to watch my country and city (I've lived here for all of my almost 30 years) being attacked. Eventually, the company allowed us back to work at 1 Chase Plaza and for the next few years I had a clear view on a daily basis of Ground Zero. Ash coated everything at the beginning and Ground Zero was a huge pile of twisted metal and wreckage. Over the next 4 years that I was at Chase, I watched the site go from this pile of destruction into a pit that will hopefully one day become a beautiful memorial and business center. I work in midtown now and sort of miss downtown. Wall Street has a certain look and feel to it - yes, it is dirty and there isn't much to do, but it has a special feel all its own. I look forward to the continued revitalization of this area and my city.

[AmericanBilly]

A store on Nantucket buying postcards.

[kevin]

I was in Long Island. I used to take train to work and there was nothing new when the N train was running over the M bridge. When I got back to my company, everybody was watching the TV. It was just like a movie.

I called my sister immediately because she was working in Deutsche bank, one block away from the Ground Zero. I got no answer. I almost cried out. Fortunately, my sister called me about 1:00pm and told me that she was in Staten Island. We got off work at about 3:00pm that day and got home about 10:30pm.

[Hien]

I was in the PATH train arriving WTC right after the first one had just hit (~10:00am). Everybody was confused...we were instructed to leave the building ASAP. I got out and looked up. I saw people dropping out of the building like ants, with their arms and legs wavering...it was pretty bad. I started heading away from the site and right then a big big explosion happened. Everybody started to run like there was no tomorrow. Cellphones, wallets, bags, abandoned trucks, smoke, all kinds of other debris filled the street and the air.

You can feel the emotions from everybody passing by today...both in the morning and evening.

[joe_bradley]

Working at my then-new job. Our company was then located in the shadow of the Empire State Building. After the second plane hit, we were all quite nervous since we knew if there was a plane #3, we knew -exactly- where it was heading. I didn't leave until about noon, when things were settled at work. It was pretty horrible. The senior people in our company were almost all Wall street refugees, and many of them knew someone who had died.

[Hien]

With all the things happening today at WTC, it's quite emotional walking pass the site this morning. God bless all those affected.

[Dmytro]

brooklyn, watching the whole thing from the balcony of our office.

i came in early, my boss called and asked to turn on the tv - 'some idiot lost control and flew the plane into one of the towers!'.

after that it was like a snowball-into-avalanche progression - another plane, first tower collapse, second tower collapse... followed by complete surreality and utter disbelief.

i rushed to snatch my wife from her classes (cell phones not working), who had no idea what was going on; we spent the rest of the day with the family. luckily, noone from immediate family was physically hurt.

it was only a few months since i arrived to the US, but the event catalyzed my bonding with it, and especially with this city.

what hurt a lot was coming across articles in foreign press saying that america got what it deserved. i guess only somebody very distanced from what was going on here , and also with complete inability to relate to it could come up with such claims.

[Andy]

It seems like every 9/11 falls in a Tues. I remember visiting the towers at night within days of arriving in NYC. I went back to visit it during the day once and didn't get to the Observation desk yet.

NYC is my second home and I hope to see the new towers completed soon. I wouldn't mind working in one of those towers.

[Yuriy]

I was at work in Brooklyn, having just returned from Moscow on 9/9. My coworker was on the phone with her friend who saw what happened from the window at work.

[Vic_Siqiao]

i was still in high school. when first seeing the news in China, i at once thought it as a terror attack with a lot of other guess, which finally was almost true.

[Rachit]

I was in India at that time and got shocked when i switched on my television set.

[charlesdwright]

On September 5, 2001, I had flown to NYC from Florida for the first time in 3 years to sign with a proprietary equities trading shop. The weather was perfect; when we took off from LaGuardia at sundown, we made a long, slow loop around the city that kept those magnificent Towers in our view for a very long time. It was impossible not to be impressed, and inspired.

On September 11, 2001, I was kneeling beside my bed saying a morning prayer. My wife at the time had just received a call from her sister with the news. We turned on the TV and I did my best to reassure and to explain to my children who were too old to be sheltered from the news. They received the news with calm and sobriety, not a hint of panic.

A few years later, I moved to the City and joined the New York Board of Trade (now ICE), which was formerly located in #4 WTC. Everyone I worked with was there on 9/11. They all had escape stories. Remarkably, the exchange lost only a few souls. My clearinghouse was located on 85th floor of Tower 2. One of the traders tells the story of ducking under his desk as he watched something approaching the building at blinding speed. The plane hit only few floors above. One of the firm's clerks is featured in a famous photograph of people walking down the stairs, while firefighters were walking up. Monsignor Reilly of Brooklyn has said in his talks that firefighters that day were asking for final absolution prior to entering the buildings. They said, "This is like Normandy. We know we're not coming back out of there." There were truly heroes.

Somehow my love for my great country and for this city catalyzed that day and I knew that I had put off coming here for too long.

***
If I may, I'd like to offer that, as an American by birth, it is very moving to read what so many of you who are new to this country have said about 9/11, and I want to thank you for your sensitivity. Among America's strengths are people like you who come here for the freedom and opportunity every human being deserves, bringing not only your talents but your hope and character as well. I thank you for bringing your strengths to our land, and for renewing us in our common strengths.

[VladimirBunicu]

Where were you on 9/11?


Jimmy

Even though I was in Moscow that day, it was shocking and memorable, I will never forget it.
It was about 5pm, I just came back from university, turned on the TV... At first I thought it was some action movie... Switched the channels - every channel had the same news. When I understood that it was real-time event, I just set down silently with my eyes wide, and remained that way for few hours. When my mother came in and asked what was the problem, I just pointed at the tv screen... That was shocking.
Then I tried to call friends and relatives in New York, but all the lines were busy. I reached them only the next day. My uncle worked one block away from WTC; their building was evacuated and he observed the explosion very closely.
That date I try not to watch tv. Since I moved to NYC, I decided not to own a tv at all... that's a different topic.

My condolence to quantnet'ers who had friends being victims of the attack.

[iosakwe]

At the bay in Exchange place, Jersey city. One of the thousands watching from the pier dumbfounded and wondering how the first building could have been struck. At that time, I consulted at Merrill Lynch and my commute involved connecting to the path train at the WTC - so i barely missed the first strike. As with most New Yorkers, I clearly remember that day very well. It was reasonably windy, a fall-like appeal, beautiful blue and clear skies, with minimum white clouds in sight. There was a helicopter hovering over the North tower. We kept asking each other 'How on earth could you crash into the tower' but the fog cleared up really quick. I literally saw the second plane hit the south tower. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was like an action movie. The pilot really seemed determined as he tried to position the plane's wings in a vertical angle to increase the number of casualties. I felt the impact of the explosion ACROSS the river. It sent chills through my spine and then a stream of anger, like I wanted to enroll in the military and go hunt down the perpetrators. Around me, there were different reactions, some cried, some cursed, others stood in shock. Then someone yelled "Get everyone out of these buildings", as we didn't know if there were more en route. We all evacuated. What cracked me up was when one of my co-workers, upon hearing about the evacuation and everyone going home, responded "I can't go home, my wife's there".

It was also striking how all New Yorkers became soft hearted, expressed concerns and embraced each other - stranger or not - which of course reverted a few weeks later.

[pauljack]

I was in Atlanta working at Cox Communications. I was using headphones to listen to the radio while I was working.
I remember hearing about the plane hitting the first building, and everybody thinking it was an accident. Then after the second plane hit it was a whole different situation, people started talking to each other, telling each other what happened, then everybody either listened to the radio in their cubicles, or were watching TV in the break room.
Since there was no productivity they sent everyone home.
I called my parents to check on my brother. My brother, who lives in NYC, was working a temp job at Morgan Stanley at the time. Luckily he wasn't in Manhattan, He was working in Brooklyn, and he was OK.
I remember driving home and being scared, it felt like the whole country was being attacked, we didn't know what would happen next. I also remember this pride I had and the love of country that I felt. it definatelt changed me forever.

PaulJack

[Andy]

It's very heartwarming to read many stories from our Quantnet members. I think 9/11 has connected all of us in more ways than one. While majority of our members live, study or have relatives in NYC, it's always nice to read stories from members as far away as Paul and others.

6 years later and as some of us prepare to join the working force down on WS, the event surely will bring some new meaning to our life. Some of us will work at the new WTC buildings that were rebuilt. Some will work nearby but as you work past ground zero, it will be a constant reminder of the most important event in this country.

If you have stories to tell, I'd love to hear them all. Once a year, we will bring this thread back up to remind us all why NYC is so special and why we all hold it so dear to our hearts.

[IlyaKEightSix]

In freshman high school class in geometry when our teacher told us the WTC was attacked. At first I thought it was a joke since he had a reputation for joking a lot, but no, that indeed was the case. My English teacher was crying as well.

Indeed, never forget. I would say something a lot more politically incorrect relating to this, but I'll refrain.

[charlesdwright]

Andy,

Thanks for putting up the banner. It's an exceptional message.

[doug reich]

I was in high school a few blocks up West Street at the time. I wrote something down that evening, I think (there was nothing to do, and I was at loose ends). It is here with many others from my high school: World Trade Center Memorial Site: Eperience (http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/wtcmemorialsite/experience.html)

You can also find a special edition of my high school's newspaper here: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/terrorism/stuy.pdf It was published about three weeks afterward, and it was included in the New York Times the next month.

Reading those things is more wrenching now than it was immediately afterward.

[emil]

On the 9th floor of a Romanian railroad company’s building ending my working day (~4pm). When I heard the news I ran home to watch the news. Since then, I follow closely the aftermath. The company that I, now, work for is located in one of the buildings surrounding WTC. Two of its salesmen died that day inside the twin towers.

[charlesdwright]

9-11 seems to have divided the world into two camps: those who love America and those who hate it.

[Stefan Zota]

I was just relaxing at home in Romania before starting 3rd year of college.
I worked for about 2 months that summer at a software lab, so I had a vacation till October 1st.

I turned on the TV to watch a Discovery documentary and switched by accident to a general station. Normally I would not watch such a station at 4-4:30PM, nothing good at that time.
When it all started, it seemed unreal. My father just walked in, he was convinced it was some joke. I was glued to the TV for next 10 hours. There was a strong pro-american sentiment before the event (joining NATO and everything), this has really made every Romanian part of U.S. (long story here).

I didn't know much about WTC at the time except that it was a large building in Downtown Manhattan. From this event, I started to read about different Financial District locations. I wanted to come to U.S. to do Computer Science research, this was the first time I considered being closer to financial world.

[Olivier Sel]

I was in France, the TV was running in background. Then I saw the breaking news at 3pm, and I stand there 2 hours watching something i'll never forget.

Later on, I was outside, drinking a coffee. At first no one seemed to know, it was very hot, every one was taking a sun bath outside, drinking cofee, talking, laughing. But at about 6pm, I saw more and more sad people, sad faces, some were crying. Everyone was aware. I've never seen such a thing.

I think I will never feel myself so American and New-Yorker as I felt that day.