9/11: First Person
The goal of this compilation is to preserve the oral history of 9/11 for posterity. Over time, people get older, children are born who were never a part of events that feel like universal experiences. Most of all, memories fade. By sharing your story, you can help ensure that your memories are never forgotten. Whether you were in the World Trade Center, nearby, or on the other side of the world, your story matters. Thank you for helping us keep history available for all.
You can help by sharing your story.
Below are the stories of others who keep the memories of 9/11 alive:
"I remember sitting in my office, filling out paperwork, when a co-worker came out of his office and said a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I imagined it was a small two-seater plane, the kind amateur pilots sometimes fly, and assumed it was a tragic accident caused by an inexperienced pilot. More co-workers and the clients they were with started coming out of their offices. At that time, we didn’t have TVs, and the internet was nothing like it is today. I turned on the radio, and the only station I could find broadcasting was Howard Stern. I remember him telling his co-workers to go home, but he was staying to report what was happening. The only thing I remember clearly from that broadcast is the sound of his voice as he reported that the first tower had collapsed. I gasped so loudly that people ran into my office to listen. I immediately tried calling my friend who worked in the towers, but with so many people trying to use the phone lines, I couldn’t get through. I remember the day being beautiful and sunny, and for some reason, that detail has stayed with me. The next morning, as I drove to work, I was overwhelmed by all the flags hanging outside people’s homes. I had never seen so many flags before, and as I sat at a red light, I started crying."
"I was working at home with the television on when the newscaster said there was breaking news. A plane had struck the Twin Towers. I immediately thought the pilot had a medical issue and went off course for such a tragedy to happen. Then the newscaster continued to report that a second plane hit the second Tower. I stood frozen watching the TV with tears streaming down."
"September 11, 2001, is a day I will never forget. I was at a doctor’s office, and a nurse called the doctor to advise him that an aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center. He (the doctor) then turned on a TV in his office, and we watched the news coverage. I was very concerned when I saw reports that it was a commercial airline because I knew that was almost impossible. As I returned to my car, I turned on the radio and heard a second aircraft struck the second tower. At that point, I knew something was wrong. When I heard about the Pentagon being hit and a plane in PA going down, I knew this was very serious. Four events like this could never occur in such a short period unless they were connected. I could not stop thinking about all these people who went to work that day and would never return home. Later I learned that three people I knew and a friend’s brother were lost when the buildings went down. I spent many years in the Middle East, and later that day, I received a call from a Minister of the Interior from a Middle Eastern country. He expressed his concern and apologized for this act. I questioned him if he knew something about this, and he replied he didn’t but was suspect of some radical Muslim groups. I returned to the Middle East for the next few years, and things were very different."
"It started out as a normal beautiful September Day. My husband and I caught the train out of Little Silver NJ at 7 am to go to work in midtown Manhattan.
When I got to work one of my associates told me that his wife called to say there was a small plane that hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I thought oh no how could that happen but it was more a news story that I would find out about later- we all went about doing our work for the day. Then all of a sudden someone else’s spouse called into the office to say that another plane had hit the other tower and that it was a big plane and that the news said we were under attack!! Remember there were no sophisticated I phones like there are now. There were cell phone but nobody could text on them nor take any pictures. There wasn’t a T V in our office so a few of us went to another company in our building and crowded around their TV. No sooner than I arrived there to watch then the first Tower collapsed and I started to cry- thinking of all the people that worked in that building. I went back to my office and tried to call my parents on my cell phone and found that I couldn’t get through- (my parents happened to be living with us while my Mom went through radiation treatments nearby) I tried and tried to get my parents on the cell and the landline knowing they would be watching things unfold and I wanted them to know that my husband and I were ok! I finally called my sister in California to see if she could get a hold of my parents to tell them we were ok and not to worry- that phone call went through on the landline but that was it- no more calls went anywhere.
By this time they had closed down Broadway-and all avenues in Manhattan that went south and there was a stream of firetrucks and ambulances going south in front of our building! After a while though, all that stopped and you could stand in the middle of Broadway and see all the smoke in lower Manhattan. We then found out that they closed all tunnels and bridges. Into and out of Manhattan. They closed down the trains in and out of NY as well. There was no way to get out of Manhattan! All the people in my office( including my husband ) decided to stick together and our boss at the time knowing we could not go anywhere out of the city took us all to lunch. It was the most somber lunch that I have ever been to. After lunch ( who could eat?) We went back to our office and gathered up our things and decided to walk to a ferry - any ferry that would get us off the island. A few of our colleagues that went ahead called back to our office saying the line for the ferry was 5 hours long ! We started walking down 7th Ave towards the West side Ferry. At about 3:30 my husband and I were walking past Penn Station to get to the Ferry when we looked at each other and said let’s go down to see if the trains are running yet- One was we got on it not caring or knowing where it was going - any part of New Jersey would be ok. And guess what - it was our train - a North Jersey Coast Line train- it was pure luck. It was packed of course and I remember seeing many people caked in white ash from lower Manhattan-They had walked up the several miles to get away from the horror of downtown. When we finally got home( it stopped at every station on that line) we were thankful we made it home safely but somber and thinking about the great loss of life.We also knew in our hearts that everything was now going to change - our world, our daily life will never be the same.
That night about 9:30 pm there was a brisk load knock at our front door. We all jumped already very much on edge from the events of that day- Standing at our doorway were three uniformed people one an MP( we lived behind the back entrance of Fort Monmouth at the time and it still was an active Fort), a local Oceanport cop and the uniformed head? In charge of Fort Monmouth at that time. They were closing off our street. They asked us how many people were living at our house and how many cars we had. They gave us a sticker for each car and from then on we had to go past a check point show our id that we lived on the street and the they would let us go down our own street!! If we were expecting any visitors at all we had to go up to the check point and get them( including deliveries and workman) It was very unnerving. Although it was not said to us nor our neighbors, our street was the only water access that could go straight into Fort Monmouth and we felt they might be using our street for water access for equipment or perhaps bodies.
After all that happened on that day we were very thankful to see and be with our family and very moved by the fact that so many other people would not be with their families any more. We continue to pray for them."
"My name is Gina (Ferrugio). I was a freshman at college, 17 years old, on September 11, 2001. My roommate woke me up and told me to look at the TV. The sadness, fear and panic I felt that day never quite left me. The story of Ken is near and dear to my heart because like so many others that day, I lost a loved one too. My father, David Ferrugio, was in the North Tower. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and was trapped on the upper floors above where the plane crashed. Sadly, I'll never truly know what happened to him during those final hours, and for me that was the hardest thing to cope with.
A lot of years have passed, but the immense grief and sorrow that followed in the days after 9/11 still finds it way to the surface as if it happened yesterday.
Today, I choose to remember my Dad's smile, his laugh, the love he had for his family and friends, and the time we did have together.
It's so important to continue to share stories about Ken and all the brave souls who lost their lives that day."
"I was at work in a nearby building. I heard a loud noise and looked out the window. I could see the debris flying into the air. I saw on the news what had happened, although it wasn’t very clear, and quickly left my building. I ran across the Brooklyn Bridge along with many others as terror strikes the city. 9/11 should never be forgotten."
"Having grown up in Rumson, NJ, our proximity to New York City was something I took for granted. I spent my summers at the beach, and anyone from this area knows how beautiful it is on a clear day to look across the water and see the NYC skyline. As a teen I would drive up to the Twin Lights and the scenic overlook in Atlantic Highlands for another beautiful view of the skyline, especially at night with the city lights. I have great memories of taking pictures of the skyscrapers when we were on the ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty. I even had a school dance that took us on a boat ride in the harbor. Of course, the buildings that would grab our attention the most were the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. Iconic. We all wanted to get pictures with our friends with the backdrop of the New York City skyscrapers. I would never have imagined that those pictures would be among the last pictures I took of the Twin Towers.
On September 11, 2001, I was working my first job out of graduate school as the Human Resources Manager for a law firm in the Central Business District of New Orleans, LA. It was a typical morning at work. I remember that I was getting settled into the start of my day and was also getting excited to fly to the west coast to see my husband who was in the midst of a medical school rotation out in Seattle, Washington.
I was sitting in my office on the top floor of the tallest building in New Orleans, right down the street from the Super Dome. A co-worker told me to look at the news because they had heard that a plane hit a building in New York. I quickly searched up the news on my computer thinking a small plane must have lost control. I read the news flash a couple times because it was incomprehensible that a commercial airliner crashed. When I learned that a second plane was involved, my stomach dropped and I picked up the phone to call my husband. I remember waking him up since it was 3 hours earlier for him. As we both processed feelings of shock and confusion, I got really scared. I was scared for people in New York City, knowing so many people from home commuted to work there. And I was confused because people around me at work didn’t seem to have the same reaction that I was having to the chaos that was unfolding.
I then remember feeling unsafe. Noone knew what was happening at the time, but I knew that I no longer felt safe on the top floor of the tallest building in New Orleans. Justified or not, I felt like a sitting target and expressed this to my boss at the time. I don’t think the reality of what was happening hit my co-workers as quickly as it did me. I felt responsible in some ways to tell everyone to leave. However, people were going about their business day and I knew I could not be there anymore. My boss said I should do what I felt I needed to do, acknowledging that this hit close to home. I went home, turned on the news, called my parents and felt helpless as the news of terrorism and devastation unfolded. I was later relieved to learn that Security from our building ended up telling everyone to evacuate and go home.
Planes were grounded for days, so needless to say I never made the trip out to visit my husband in Seattle. I spent the following days and weeks learning other people’s stories. My parents who were still at home in NJ would relay the devastating news of the losses our town and surrounding towns experienced. I learned stories of how people got out of the city and others who were supposed to be in one of the towers but they had an appointment that kept them from going in that day. The stories of loss and heroism were endless.
Years later we moved back to New Jersey and I once again found myself lucky enough to enjoy my summers at the beach. The skyline on those clear days is still beautiful to see, especially when the Tribute In Light shines up from the ground each September 11 in remembrance of a day I will certainly never forget, and should never be forgotten."