9/11 Memories from my Dad

By Silas Freeman

September 16, 2020

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When the 9/11 attacks occurred, my dad was in Fort Polk, Louisiana. My dad was in the Army at that time doing physical training. When he returned from physical training, he was informed by his superiors that there was a terrorist attack.

He only had 6 months left in the Army. He knew that after the attack, he would not be getting out for a very long time. My dad was scared because he knew he would be shipped off to Iraq soon. He had only signed up for 4 years. My dad was not married then and was not a husband or father yet.

He was really only concerned about his safety at that time. He could not really do much except to fulfill his obligation to his country. He enlisted and after all was not drafted. One of my dad's friends was in his New York apartment building when the attack took place. The attacks shook his apartment building, but he was not harmed.

After the attack the nation was very spiritual. Churches were packed because everyone thought it was the end of times. What is sad is that war will never end and humans will continue to fight each other. The events of 9/11 happened when my dad was young. He had to be a brave soldier serving his country. He had to be extra brave knowing that he might have to give his life for others to enjoy the freedoms we have now and will always hold dear.

 

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My 9/11 project

By Ariel

September 16, 2020

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My mother was getting ready to clean an apartment when the events of September 11, 2001 started. She and my grandma own a clearing business. All of a sudden, she got a phone call from my grandpa. He told them that one of the towers from the Twin Towers in New York was struck by an airplane.  The first couple of minutes, they thought it was an accident. Then they realized it wasn’t, but my mom didn’t know yet. Then one of the maintenance men rushed to the apartment and told them the same thing that my grandpa told them. It did not stop them from cleaning through. They kept doing their jobs, but they had it on their minds the entire time.

It wasn’t until lunch that they saw it was a terrorist attack. My mom had a mix of emotions. She felt horrified and sorrow for all those who died. But she was also furious. She was angry that the terrorist attack killed almost 3,000 people. She was also frightened that something like this would happen where we live. My mom was very concerned about the safety of my family. Even though it was hard she left it up to God to protect them. Luckily, she had no family members that were in the attack, but she felt sorrow for the families that did.

The nation reacted sadly. They could not believe their eyes. Everyone was working together for the greater good. It was harsh to see all the families sad about their family members who had been with them forever.

My mom believes terrorist attacks are still a threat to the United States because you can’t cover all your bases. Since we have been in a war on terrorism for 19 years, my mom thinks that there will never be an end.

The last things she wants to share with all of you is it was extremely overwhelming. There was nothing else on TV but the attack of 9/11. It finally got to the point where she could not watch TV anymore. She had to turn off the TV.  She just could not watch to see if someone else’s family members died or not. It was heartbreaking even though it was not her own family. She could not deal with the thought that it might have been her family in that situation.

 

“No Day Shall Erase You from the Memory of Time.”

Virgil

 

 

Remembering September 11, 2020

Ashton Ennis

September 16, 2020

 

                   My mom’s name is Jessica Alstatt. She was 15 years old and in 10th grade when 9/11 happened. She was sitting in Mrs. Kilday’s psychology class, waiting because she was late. Her teacher came rushing into the class and just kept rambling about how the World Trade Center got hit but she did not know what that was. Mrs. Kilday ran to the TV and then turned on the news. Everyone in her classroom was confused and did not know what was going on. They were scared, sad, and confused. She was watching the news when she found out it was a terrorist attack. Everyone was in shock. At first, she was scared because they were at school when they found out. No one knew what was happening. It wasn’t until they got home, they could ask their parents. Lucky her parents kept up on world events, so they were able to make her feel better. She doesn’t know who was living in New York, Pennsylvania, or DC at the time of the attacks. However, she does have a friend that dropped out of school and got his GED so that he could join the Army.

                    Unfortunately, she does believe that terrorists are still a threat to the United States. The question is should we be afraid of foreign or domestic terrorism. There are many reasons why individuals or groups feel that they have to resort to things like terrorism. She doesn’t know how to answer when the war in Afghanistan will end. The idea of “the War on Terrorism” is similar to “the War on Drugs” in her opinion. She hates to think that it will go on forever.

                   She feels like it’s hard to explain to someone my age. She encourages you to learn about the world where we live. The only thing she knew about 9/11 back then is what she was told. When she made it to college, she made it a point to take classes like Foreign Intelligence and National Security and Political Terrorism so that she could get a better understanding of what is happening in the world. Ask questions. Find your own answers. In order to understand what happened, you have to understand when and why a person feels no other choice than to resort to terrorism. She wants children who have grown up only hearing about 9/11 to remember how America came together as a country. She wants them to know that we were able to look past our differences to realize that life means more than those differences. We acted like we cared about each other.

 

 

 

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Memories of September 11, 2001

Makenna Reagan

September 16, 2020

 

September 9, 2001 will always be a day that many Americans will never forget. On this day the United States were attacked by terrorists. To understand and learn a little bit more about these awful attacks, I interviewed my mom Dorian Reagan. She said that she will never forget that day. On September 9, 2001 my mom, Dorian Reagan was in her Junior year in High School. She was sitting in her math class when a student ran into their classroom and told them there was an explosion at one of the World Trade Buildings in New York. Her whole class then turned on the news and they watched the replay of the plane crash into the building. As they were watching, the second plane hit. She said her whole class screamed. 

My mom, Dorian Reagan said, “I was sad, scared, devastated at the thought of how many people have died. I was afraid it was going to happen again. I was afraid that the USA was going to start a war and then it would be fought over here in the USA. I was worried that buildings in Atlanta would be attacked. I remember that they shut down the airports and the Buford Dam that was just a mile down the road from us as a precaution. It was like we were expecting another attack and we didn’t know if and when it would happen.” My mom said that she was not too concerned about her family at the time because her mom was at the school right next to her and her sister was at the same school as her.

Many people were affected by the September 9, 2001 terrorist attacks. My mom told us a story about a girl in her class losing her father. “During my math class, I had a friend sitting next to me. Her name was Elizabeth. When we first found out about the first plane, she pulled out her phone and tried to reach her dad. She told us that he was on a plane to New York for business that morning. She couldn’t reach him. She then asked to go to the office and continue to try and get a hold of her mom and her family. 

“The next day we came to school, Elizabeth was not there,” mom said. “We found out two days later that her dad was a passenger on the second plane that we watch crash into one of the buildings. In the months that followed the 9/11 attacks, our school held an assembly for Elizabeth and her family. It was a way for us to come together as a community and grieve and to be there for a fellow classmate.”

 It was after the attacks of 9/11 that Dorian Reagan saw our country come together as a nation. She said that she saw neighbors helping one another and it didn’t matter the beliefs or views, they still wanted to be there for one another. When I asked my mom if she believed terrorist attacks were still a threat to the United States she said yes. Dorian said that she believes there will come a time when the war will be over.

While interviewing my mom, I learned a lot about what it must have felt like living through 9/11. The people that were in New York were really devastated that the twin towers fell while so many people were inside. When I asked my mom, if she had anything else she wanted to tell my audience about the events from 9/11, she said, “The events from 9/11 were devastating for our nation, but I want you to understand that through devastation, something beautiful came from it. I saw more communities working together for a common good. I saw neighbors helping one another. I saw the people of New York come together to help clean and rebuild their state and the tragedy that came from it. While it was an awful event, our nation grew stronger.” We will never forget those who lost their lives from the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

 

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My Dad’s Story About Sep 11, 2001

By Autumn Ritter

September 16, 2020

 

David Ritter, my dad, was in Elizabeth City, N.C. Gospel Ridge Lot 114 when this happened. He was at work putting in air conditioning. He was listening to music and out of nowhere the bad news came on. About twenty minutes later he knew it was a terrorist attack. When he heard about the news he got upset and thought that was crazy. He was not concerned about his safety or my family's safety because they were always prepared if things like this happened. They always had guns and other weapons wherever they were. They are a military family. 

My dad did not know anyone that was there when the attack happened. Dad remembered that everyone came together and for once America was the United States. He does believe terrorist attacks are still a threat to America. The reason being their beliefs are different than ours.  

My dad thought about the end of the war on terrorism for a while before he answered. “During war the strongest try to conquer the weak. But this war is different. We are fighting a battle that has no rules, a battle where they don’t wear a uniform.” 

My dad joined the U.S. Army because of September 11, 2001. He has been deployed four times, twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. While he was in Iraq, he got me a stuffed animal named baby Jaguar, even though it was a white tiger. Sadly, it is at my mom’s house but she is taking care of it. My dad is a true United States hero.  

 

 

 

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Memories of September 11, 2001

Rowan Walden

September 16, 2020

 

I have a grandma, and her name is Cathy Lee. She has an opinion about 9/11 too. When 9/11 happened, my grandma was at work. She was working on processing insurance claims. One of the workers told her about the attacks and she was wondering if it was real.

She turned the TV on at work and was shocked. When the second plane hit, she knew that in her heart it was not an accident. When one of the buildings fell down, her heart broke into little different pieces. She was shocked and sad. She was in Savannah. She felt safe but still in horror.

            Nobody that she knew was in New York, but she saw everybody so scared. The devastation spread all over the country. The kindest thing about 9/11 is people came together to help people, to support each other. For my grandma, evil is still in the world. There is nothing we can do about other people like that.

            My grandma believes that things will get better, I do too. My grandma and I can only hope that things will get better. She hopes that our president can fix this problem about people hating Americans.

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