First plane strikes the tower
Second plane hits
“Where were you when the world stopped turning, that September day..?” Alan Jackson sang in his haunting song about the day we realized we were not as safe on our own soil as we used to think. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks it made me think back to that day and what I was doing. I also wonder how many of you remember exactly what you were doing.
I was supervisor of an ambulance service in Adamsburg, Pennsylvania. I was sitting at my desk reviewing trip sheets from the previous day. My partner was out straightening up the day room when I heard him yell, “Holy shit!” I chuckled to myself because he would say that even if he was watching cartoons. I went back to work when he ran into my office. “Bob! Turn the news on! We’re under attack!” I clicked the TV on and flipped on CNBC. I saw smoke pouring from one of the towers of the World Trade Center. “What the hell happened?” I asked. “They said a plane flew into it,” my partner Ken replied. As we discussed the possible scenarios we both watched in horror as the second plane hit. We both sat there like stroke patients with our mouths open just staring. Neither of us could believe what we were watching. The director of our service, my wife Michelle, was at a training session at the hospital. On one of her breaks, shortly after the second plane hit, she called the station to find out what was going on. I gave her as much information as I could. She said she would call later to see if we had heard anything else.
The Pentagon was the next target
Flight 93 never made it to it's intended target.
Within the next hour we watched the TV, never diverting our eyes from the screen. We were unable to make ourselves believe what we were seeing. Not only was the World Trade Center a target but the Pentagon as well. One could only speculate where Flight 93 was headed. (Most thought the White House was the intended target.) It never made it because of the brave passengers that sacrificed their lives to save countless others. Flight 93 crashed one county over. I decided to call Michelle and suggest recalling personnel in the event this was a nationwide terrorist event. We have several power plants around us so who knew what their agenda really was. Within the next 45 minutes Michelle was back at the station and we had enough personnel to man our available rigs. The township had activated it’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and was requesting all department heads come to a briefing. We put our senior medic in charge and left for the meeting. We were told to use caution on our calls because the terrorists may try to steal emergency equipment to use for their plans. This was based on intel they had received from Harrisburg.
The towers start to fall
The dust cloud that enveloped most of Manhattan
September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday and started the same as every other day. By the time that day was over our country would forever be changed. We watched towers collapse and engulf an entire borough under a pile of ash, dust and debris. We saw a military landmark fall victim to a terrorist attack. But not only did we lose buildings of steel, stone and glass, we also lost more than 2,500 civilians and 300+ Emergency Service Personnel. We had some heroes emerge from places we never imagined. Some of us just reached down inside and found something in ourselves and we went to help at one of the scenes without making a fuss or trying to get any recognition, just a nameless, faceless person.
The heros of Flight 93
The uniformed heros of 9-11
So many people became heroes on 9-11 either by job or desire. There were the heroes of Flight 93 who disregarded all else but stopping the terrorists from carrying out their sinister plan. Then there were the police, fire fighters and EMS personnel who rushed into those buildings that day in New York never to make it back out. But what about the guy from the 83rd floor who worked in his cubicle every day and was just a Joe every man. But he was the guy who made sure everyone got off his floor okay before leaving himself then getting trapped in a stair tower when the building collapsed. The guy who no one knew his name and didn’t even exist to any of us until that day.
I will never forget that day as I know none of you will. It also makes me think back to what has happened since then. Saddam Husein was captured and executed and Asshola Bin Ladin has been killed as well. We are also working on bringing our troops home. I wonder how many men and women gave up what they were doing and chose to serve either in the Armed Forces or in Public Service. I did my time in the Armed Forces but I remain a loyal Public Servant today. Football player Pat Tillman is another name that comes to mind. Playing for the Arizona Cardinals he gave all that up to join the Army Rangers all because of 9-11.
As we remember the events of 9-11-01, please let us remember all that we as a country stand for and honor those lost. Let’s keep their memories alive and ensure that none of their deaths were in vain. Yes we were caught back on our laurels that day but hopefully it made us re-evaluate everything and it will never happen again.
And they call ME crazy 
9-11, 10 Years Later
First plane strikes the tower
Second plane hits
“Where were you when the world stopped turning, that September day..?” Alan Jackson sang in his haunting song about the day we realized we were not as safe on our own soil as we used to think. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks it made me think back to that day and what I was doing. I also wonder how many of you remember exactly what you were doing.
I was supervisor of an ambulance service in Adamsburg, Pennsylvania. I was sitting at my desk reviewing trip sheets from the previous day. My partner was out straightening up the day room when I heard him yell, “Holy shit!” I chuckled to myself because he would say that even if he was watching cartoons. I went back to work when he ran into my office. “Bob! Turn the news on! We’re under attack!” I clicked the TV on and flipped on CNBC. I saw smoke pouring from one of the towers of the World Trade Center. “What the hell happened?” I asked. “They said a plane flew into it,” my partner Ken replied. As we discussed the possible scenarios we both watched in horror as the second plane hit. We both sat there like stroke patients with our mouths open just staring. Neither of us could believe what we were watching. The director of our service, my wife Michelle, was at a training session at the hospital. On one of her breaks, shortly after the second plane hit, she called the station to find out what was going on. I gave her as much information as I could. She said she would call later to see if we had heard anything else.
The Pentagon was the next target
Flight 93 never made it to it's intended target.
Within the next hour we watched the TV, never diverting our eyes from the screen. We were unable to make ourselves believe what we were seeing. Not only was the World Trade Center a target but the Pentagon as well. One could only speculate where Flight 93 was headed. (Most thought the White House was the intended target.) It never made it because of the brave passengers that sacrificed their lives to save countless others. Flight 93 crashed one county over. I decided to call Michelle and suggest recalling personnel in the event this was a nationwide terrorist event. We have several power plants around us so who knew what their agenda really was. Within the next 45 minutes Michelle was back at the station and we had enough personnel to man our available rigs. The township had activated it’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and was requesting all department heads come to a briefing. We put our senior medic in charge and left for the meeting. We were told to use caution on our calls because the terrorists may try to steal emergency equipment to use for their plans. This was based on intel they had received from Harrisburg.
The towers start to fall
The dust cloud that enveloped most of Manhattan
September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday and started the same as every other day. By the time that day was over our country would forever be changed. We watched towers collapse and engulf an entire borough under a pile of ash, dust and debris. We saw a military landmark fall victim to a terrorist attack. But not only did we lose buildings of steel, stone and glass, we also lost more than 2,500 civilians and 300+ Emergency Service Personnel. We had some heroes emerge from places we never imagined. Some of us just reached down inside and found something in ourselves and we went to help at one of the scenes without making a fuss or trying to get any recognition, just a nameless, faceless person.
The heros of Flight 93
The uniformed heros of 9-11
So many people became heroes on 9-11 either by job or desire. There were the heroes of Flight 93 who disregarded all else but stopping the terrorists from carrying out their sinister plan. Then there were the police, fire fighters and EMS personnel who rushed into those buildings that day in New York never to make it back out. But what about the guy from the 83rd floor who worked in his cubicle every day and was just a Joe every man. But he was the guy who made sure everyone got off his floor okay before leaving himself then getting trapped in a stair tower when the building collapsed. The guy who no one knew his name and didn’t even exist to any of us until that day.
I will never forget that day as I know none of you will. It also makes me think back to what has happened since then. Saddam Husein was captured and executed and Asshola Bin Ladin has been killed as well. We are also working on bringing our troops home. I wonder how many men and women gave up what they were doing and chose to serve either in the Armed Forces or in Public Service. I did my time in the Armed Forces but I remain a loyal Public Servant today. Football player Pat Tillman is another name that comes to mind. Playing for the Arizona Cardinals he gave all that up to join the Army Rangers all because of 9-11.
As we remember the events of 9-11-01, please let us remember all that we as a country stand for and honor those lost. Let’s keep their memories alive and ensure that none of their deaths were in vain. Yes we were caught back on our laurels that day but hopefully it made us re-evaluate everything and it will never happen again.
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