9-11-2001 ??
- Thread starter redbenjoe
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TRC-911
Member (SA)
I was in grade school, 11 years old. An army brat at Fort Lee virginia
We were all in our 2nd class when the teachers acted funny, they wouldn't talk about anything and it became a 'free day' we got to play inside, we weren't allowed outside for some reason.
Several of the kids in my class were talked to privately and they were crying, as they were escorted to the office they told us their parents had died in the pentagon. This waas when we all knew something bad happened. School was on lockdown until about 1:30,we were released early with MPs escorting each class to an assigned bus with a sheriff escort in front of the bus for the entirity of the ride home.
Upon getting to the gate on post, the appearance had totally changed, their were giant concrete blocks criss crossed, Humvees with 50 cals on top, and a man on it, about 30 guards on the entrance side with m16s and guard dogs, and 8 on the exit side.
Every bus was checked with mirrors, and a soldier got on the bus to check the papers
When I got home, my dad (then in the army) wass home early, watching cnn, and told me I counldnt go outside until they said it was safe.
At 11, I had never heard of the World trade center, afghanistan, or osama bin laden, now these three words tug a certain string in me. I felt like the world around me had collapsed. I mean, a bunch of people died, my dads friends died, and my friends who I hung out with, had lost their parents
RIP to all who were lost and those who are left to pick up their lives, god bless
We were all in our 2nd class when the teachers acted funny, they wouldn't talk about anything and it became a 'free day' we got to play inside, we weren't allowed outside for some reason.
Several of the kids in my class were talked to privately and they were crying, as they were escorted to the office they told us their parents had died in the pentagon. This waas when we all knew something bad happened. School was on lockdown until about 1:30,we were released early with MPs escorting each class to an assigned bus with a sheriff escort in front of the bus for the entirity of the ride home.
Upon getting to the gate on post, the appearance had totally changed, their were giant concrete blocks criss crossed, Humvees with 50 cals on top, and a man on it, about 30 guards on the entrance side with m16s and guard dogs, and 8 on the exit side.
Every bus was checked with mirrors, and a soldier got on the bus to check the papers
When I got home, my dad (then in the army) wass home early, watching cnn, and told me I counldnt go outside until they said it was safe.
At 11, I had never heard of the World trade center, afghanistan, or osama bin laden, now these three words tug a certain string in me. I felt like the world around me had collapsed. I mean, a bunch of people died, my dads friends died, and my friends who I hung out with, had lost their parents
RIP to all who were lost and those who are left to pick up their lives, god bless
Mrs. Fatdog
Member (SA)
Wow TRC. From a (at the time) child's viewpoint, really impresses how scary it was. Adults to some degree can at least comprehend what is happening, albeit with no understanding or reasoning behind it. But to a kid on an armed forces base.....that's a whole different thing altogether.
I had a vaguely similar experience when I was 14 or 15, but by no means near that magnitude. Mine was simply rushed into a coat closet with 60 other kids as a tornado literally tore through the city, destroying everything in it's path. Our school had no windows and because I was there after normal hours (for band practice), the regular teacher alerts didn't happen. We had no idea what was going on. And our school was crazy sound proof, so we heard nothing. I had only been at that school (and in that state, AL) for maybe 5 months, so I didn't even know what happened with a tornado (WI and CA prior to AL). When I walked outside (nearly 2 hours later), the strip mall and surrounding neighborhoods (along with countless other things all around the city) were in complete rumble. And our school, including the trees....untouched. A tornado and it's path are freakily distinct. The news coverage was overwhelming...so many died, so much destruction, all because of....wind. It took me forever to calm down, even now, some 20 years later, I am still jumpy. I can't imagine what the kids that experienced something so violent at the hand of another human must feel.
**Note**, I am in no way comparing 9/11 to a tornado and certainly do not mean to underscore the significance of it. Simply the feeling from a kid's perspective of not really understanding what is going on, but all the while knowing whatever it was .... was bad. And then to witness your safety amidst all the destruction....like you are in a living nightmare....messed up, messed up indeed.
I had a vaguely similar experience when I was 14 or 15, but by no means near that magnitude. Mine was simply rushed into a coat closet with 60 other kids as a tornado literally tore through the city, destroying everything in it's path. Our school had no windows and because I was there after normal hours (for band practice), the regular teacher alerts didn't happen. We had no idea what was going on. And our school was crazy sound proof, so we heard nothing. I had only been at that school (and in that state, AL) for maybe 5 months, so I didn't even know what happened with a tornado (WI and CA prior to AL). When I walked outside (nearly 2 hours later), the strip mall and surrounding neighborhoods (along with countless other things all around the city) were in complete rumble. And our school, including the trees....untouched. A tornado and it's path are freakily distinct. The news coverage was overwhelming...so many died, so much destruction, all because of....wind. It took me forever to calm down, even now, some 20 years later, I am still jumpy. I can't imagine what the kids that experienced something so violent at the hand of another human must feel.
**Note**, I am in no way comparing 9/11 to a tornado and certainly do not mean to underscore the significance of it. Simply the feeling from a kid's perspective of not really understanding what is going on, but all the while knowing whatever it was .... was bad. And then to witness your safety amidst all the destruction....like you are in a living nightmare....messed up, messed up indeed.
Boom Shaka Laka
Requiem Æternam
Value Center Market... in the checkout lane. Folks at the customer service desk were talking about it. I thought they were discussing a movie... until I turned on the car radio on the way home.
ViennaSound
Boomus Fidelis
Was in our electronic shop to buy an battery for my (one of my first) cell phones.
Over the cashdesk was a little black/white television running, everybody staring at it.
First i thought it´s a hollywood film. The first plane crash.
Then seen it was real
Jumping in the tram, driving 5 stations home.
Turn on the tv, just the 2nd planecrash
Rest of the day following everything on the screen.
RIP to all those people, what a awful day.
Over the cashdesk was a little black/white television running, everybody staring at it.
First i thought it´s a hollywood film. The first plane crash.
Then seen it was real
Jumping in the tram, driving 5 stations home.
Turn on the tv, just the 2nd planecrash
Rest of the day following everything on the screen.
RIP to all those people, what a awful day.
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