13 years ago...

[Kevin]

…and it still seems like yesterday.

 

To those that lost someone

 

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal" from a headstone in Ireland.

[BuffaloBud]

Been thinking about it all week. Remember the post from the individual (I wish I could remember his name) that was in downtown NY and the events he went through to get home. Was wondering if there is a way to pull an old thread and pin it to the board - for memory / rememberance sake.

 

Flag went up when I left the house.

[26CornerBlitz]

@buffalobills

 

Our favorite colors are red, white and blue, today and every day. #WeWillNeverForget

[mead107]

Was a sad day. Be my brother in law was in bldg 6. He got out ok.

[CountryCletus]

I had just gotten home from basic training and AIT on the 10th... Was sleeping on the couch with the TV on, woke up and saw the footage and figured it was a movie that was coming out- as during basic and AIT you are disconnected from the world... 8 months later, deployed.... 10 months after getting home from that one, deployed again....

 

Prayers for all those effected by these cowardly attacks

[Canadian Bills Fan]

Even though I am not an American this still hit me hard and felt like it was an attack on Canada too.

 

I guess it’s normal to feel that way when we are close friends, neighbors, and allies.

 

May God bless everyone who was and is affected by this

 

CBF

[BillsFanM.D.]

I just remember being so mad/shocked that day. It was 'personal' for all of us.

[dib]

It is still a horrific memory

[CountDorkula]

This is one of those times that you will always remember exactly where you were and what you did that day. Just thinking about this gives me chills down my spine. Hopefully those involved and all who were effected by this have found peace.

 

More importantly may those involved in these attacks burn in hell for all of eternity.

[thebandit27]

Crazy 9/11 story...

 

I was standing in the library at school (UB) watching on TV for hours and hours.

 

My eventual wife was standing not 10 feet from me, watching on that same TV; we had never met before that day...

 

And we did not meet until 6 years later.

[boyst]

I was at the game in the picture. Quite moving.

 

Been thinking about it all week. Remember the post from the individual (I wish I could remember his name) that was in downtown NY and the events he went through to get home. Was wondering if there is a way to pull an old thread and pin it to the board - for memory / rememberance sake.

 

Flag went up when I left the house.

That would be Guffalo

 

I think I've gone back and read his threads on it every 9/11

 

http://forums.twobil...s/#entry2242446

 

I had been at that tailgate, after flying back to NY we flew over the Trade center that night. The next day I had a golf outing and I had a chance to golf with a guy I knew Pat O'Shea. After the outing I went home and had a call from a buddy Rob who wanted me to come over for MNF, I declined since my body was pretty stressed from the extended weekend of partying. I went to work, but had to help a house guest get to port authority. As everything unfolded I took it all in, the next morning, with no idea what was next I wrote this and posted it on this board:

 

I almost feel ashamed looking at this board, since football is far from my

mind right now, but my home page is TBD...

 

When I was on my way to work yesterday, I was on the #1 express from Penn

down to WTC, at 14th a couple got on and said they saw a plane hit the trade

center, I figured it was a light plane, and continued on. There was an

announcement by the conductor that said "Due to a fire at WTC there will be

no service to Cortland ave (in the wtc), I got out at chambers street and

started walking..as I turned around to face the north tower I saw people

just string up in awe..there was a hole in the tower with smoke and flames,

I asked some guy what happened and he said, he saw the plane go in.. and

then he said 15 minutes later the other tower exploded.. (we were on the

north side so he didn't see the 2nd plane , only the impact)

 

I tried my cell phone (no good) so I tried to find a pay phone , I thought

of my wife wondering if I was in there, and just the worry that the rest of

the family would have when they heard..I was able to get through to her

voice mail, and then I called our office on 36th st ( I am a consultant

assigned to 4 WTC since last September). The office wanted me to try to

locate another employee, and we started using my cell phone with the two way

radio feature.

 

I started looping around to the east of the buildings, trying to find my

co-worker, as I walked near the post office, I saw debris and broken

concrete, small puddles of blood, shoes ,lots of shoes and I picked up a

warm hunk of metal ( I have no idea why) it was almost hot and it was heavy

and it was oily or greasy... I dropped it when I saw a wheel or turbine that

was 20 feet away, high density aluminum about 6 feet wide....

 

Using my radio to my boss, I kept chatter back and forth and kept moving

towards where I figured Marcia would be (we went through the bombing in 93

and had always said, head for the water by the Seaport).

 

Police were busy on Church so I moved to Broadway by J&R Music and continued

the radio chatter with my boss, he said Marcia had not checked in yet, keep

looking, he also told me he saw video of the 2nd plane as it went in, he

said it had been hijacked as well as the first one, he also told be about

the Pentagon being hit.

 

I had worked my way to Nassau street, a pedestrian mall about 3 blocks east

of the towers. My radio was quirky, sometimes the frequency was jammed,

sometimes you could get through, so I told my boss I was going to keep it on

once I get a signal. As I was walking up Nassau I left the center of the

street and stayed along the storefronts, I was talking to Doug and he heard

me say "Oh @#$%^! something's happening, oh my God something went off", and

he could hear the rumbling as the first tower went down, I felt a shock wave

and wind rush as I ducked into a doorway (from the narrow street you could

not see the tower) I knew that one of them had fallen and I assumed it had

toppled over like a domino, not the gentle slide that I saw later.

 

The dust and debris cloud came next as I peered out of the doorway the cloud

came east towards the Nassau area, I started sprinting north and got one

block, as I looked over my left shoulder I saw a huge cloud of debris/dust

coming our way, as we ran I saw a woman fall, someone slowed down to help

and they were trampled ( I know I should have stopped, but I was thinking

about wife, kids etc, and she went down pretty hard) As I rounded the corner

near Beekman Hospital emergency personnel were waving us away I zigged

through the waiting stretchers, and headed to the Seaport, I slowed down to

catch my breath....

The smoke/debris cloud was covering us with something that was making me

choke and burning my eyes, it looked like snow... I started towards the

Brooklyn Bridge, but I was afraid that if the other tower went it may drop

towards us, so I started to go towards Chinatown. As I was walking I

remembered my radio.. the (last transmission I sent was Oh my God and the

rumbling in the background) when I finally got through my boss was excited,

he thought I was a goner.

 

A woman stopped be and asked to borrow the phone, I told her there were no

calls in or out, she then started wandering back towards the site and I

stopped her and asked what she was doing, "I have to get my pocketbook" I

said that would not be a great idea, and I asked her where she lives, we

were going the same way and started walking together, we saw a cab (empty)

so we got in and the driver said "I'm only going north" (well hello....that

was an understatement, who the hell wants to go back there!!!)

 

In the cab, Doug (boss) confirmed that the tower had fallen, we looked back

and saw the new skyline with just one tower standing up. A short time later

Doug asked where we were, I told him in a cab, and he told us the second

tower just went down, we looked out the back window of the cab as the debris

and smoke filled the air in the distance.

 

We were up to the village, and I saw the Empire State building looming in

the distance.. I told the driver to stop and let me out, the girl (Valerie)

said why get out now??? I pointed to the building/target and said"what would

be the next landmark to get hit??

 

I got out and gave the girl some money for the cab , she insisted on paying

me back and made me give her my card ( amazing at a time like this the

etiquette thing still remains in some people).

 

I started west to avoid the Empire State Building and went around it to get

to our office located 2 blocks north of the ESB. I got upstairs and changed,

called the wife ( she heard my voice cracking on the messages and she cried

every time she heard news of my progress)

 

We watched the news as others straggled in (Marcia had gotten up there too).

Once they opened the Long Island Rail Road, I left and got on and headed

home..

 

I never figured out whose shoes those were..

 

I am home now, and I suggest the following:

Don't complain about doing your kids homework.

Say I love you whenever possible

Try to keep in touch with your loved ones,

 

 

God Bless us all

 

Guff

Edited September 11, 2014 by jboyst62

[Marv's Neighbor]

We were living in Seattle, so it was very early in the AM. Got a call from work (United Airlines). Lost friends and co-workers on 2 of those planes. I know for a fact that had we not grounded all flights, more attacks were in the works for the W Coast, on the same day!

 

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

[OGTEleven]

It is so hard to believe it was that long ago. It had an such a lasting impact on America on all of us as individuals. The song in my link was written about the people making calls from the towers or plane(s) to say goodbye because they knew their fate. Those stories and recorded calls, while incredibly sad to hear, also helped me realize the almost universal desire of all of us to say things that too often remain unsaid.

 

[Wacka]

I worked in the SF Bay Area where flight 93 was headed. Our company had a lab in NJ and had people commuting throughNewark all the time.One guy would book fights for the evening and the next morning, and then put the unused tickets toward future flights. Back then, electronic tickets were not in existence and you had the ones printed out by travel agents. This guy had flown back on 9/10. As the events unfolded, he came out of his office ay about Noon with a shocked look on his face. He avowed us a ticket for United Flight 93 for the morning of 9/11. If he had worked later on the 10th, he would have been on that flight.

[DC Tom]

I still remember the sound of the plane hitting the Pentagon. You get used to thinking, from movies and such, that it would sound like an explosion. But it sounds nothing like that. It's not an explosion, it's more like a big truck hitting a building.

[Guffalo]

I was at the game in the picture. Quite moving.

 

That would be Guffalo

 

I think I've gone back and read his threads on it every 9/11

 

http://forums.twobil...s/#entry2242446

 

Wordy motherplucker, doesn't he use spell check?

[boyst]

Wordy motherplucker, doesn't he use spell check?

It was before smart phones and autocorrect. Forgive him.

[BuffaloBud]

JB - Thanks for finding that. The odd / funny thing about your link is that I was the first one to reply to Guff's post in 2011. Wierd.

[bowery4]

I lived on Bowery just above Canal, I lived on the top 4th floor of a big loft building. I had taken my dog for his little walk on the roof (he was old and would pee up there before I went to work), I hopped into the shower and heard a loud noise but thought it must just be a truck driving by off of the Manhattan bridge but I didn't usually hear them in the back 1/2 of the loft (it was 125 ft long x 25 wide), so I thought that was pretty loud. I came out to the front of the loft where my bedroom and the windows were and started to get dressed.

 

While I was putting on my shirt I looked out..... There was a giant hole in the building and it was burning...I ran to the back again where one of my roommates room was and started yelling to her to come see. She actually came out of the room 1/2 dressed as I sounded like the loft was on fire, I guess. I explained she should get some clothes on and we could go see it from the roof. I tried my phone to call work but it was dead. I stopped at the TV on the way out and turned it on but it was just snow on the picture. I grabbed my camera and we went to the roof.

 

We could see pretty well that something had hit it and it was burning. But we didn't know what, I thought a missile at first, my phone actually rang and it was my sister calling from Buffalo to see if I was alright. I said yeah, that was when we found out it was a plane. After I hung up, I thought we should go and see if the TV was working again so we went inside (my roommate wanted to get her phone too). The TV was working now and all of a sudden the other plane hit. I saw it on TV and the noise.... it was so loud, I blew out an O2 hose on a tank one time welding right next to me and it was as loud as that. I ran back upstairs again. I didn't go back down until both towers were down. My other roommate came home during the both of them being on fire and brought out some binoculars..... Saw some stuff, I can't unsee. I gave them back to her.

We watched as all the dusty people came up Bowery and the traffic became one way. The cars on both sides of the street going north.

 

I couldn't go down to the site, I thought about it but I had, had a business on Broad Street a few years before. The business didn't work out, I sort of had bad memories already (my ex and I split up then too). I rode my bike down near Broadway, Trinity church was about as close as you could go, a week or so later. I went back home.

 

I was working delivering and installing art about a month before that and we did regular trips to the towers, usually about once every 2 weeks. I had a small accident with the truck and they fired me. I got a new job, 2 people I worked with there were there that day but got out. They were in tower 2 (unloading their truck in the basement) and left shortly after plane 1 hit. They had gotten there a little late, which I never did.

 

The smoke plume of the towers stayed aimed at my house, there was a map on TV sometimes and it seemed to follow me. The smell was bad at times I kept my windows shut, even on warmer days. At Christmas time that year my nephew, his wife and I went up to Bflo for the holiday, the day we were leaving there was a big storm. I saw the beginning of it at 2 am and decided we should try to leave early before they closed the thruway. When I turned on the TV at 6:30 the storm was going right over my sisters house, where I was staying. I could see the doppler radar on TV and it reminded me of the plume, I felt like I was still being chased around by it even in my home town.

Edited September 11, 2014 by bowery4

[Nick in RaChaCha]

I was working for the one of the Government's Intel agencies in VA at the time. Everyone was watching the TV after the first plane hit the Tower. I remember thinking that it was a pilot suicide or something like that. (I think I was in shock) Then the second plane hit. In that moment everyone in the room had the same thought. "We were under attack and it was Bin Laden"

 

I ran to my office grabbed outside line and called my wife who worked for the Bureau of Prisons. They had a close relative if Bin Laden in custody so they were a target. I remember shouting that I was on an unsecured line and for everyone in the office to STFU. I told my wife to grab everyone who will listen to her and get out of the building. I told her to stay in one of the parks or to grab a cab and get out of DC. (She wanted to take a train - I told her that the train station is a higher target the her building.) She told me that she heard an explosions and there was smoke by the Capital (less then 1/2 mile away from her office)

 

I told her to ignore the news and people in the street and find a way home. (Columbia MD) She ended up getting a cab - the cabbie charged her $200 - twice the amount it should have been. Didn't care then - still don't.

 

She asked if I was leaving - I quickly said "Soon" and hung up after saying "I love you"

 

I called a friend at the Pentagon " Told him what we knew - He said they were just told to evacuate.he hung up. He got out ok...

 

My office regrouped and started to do some work - sending information. It was about this time when all the planes in the area were diverted and their flight paths seemed to be directly over my building. It was extremely nerve wreaking to hear those big jets scream over the building. ( I worked in the basement and I swear I could feel the building shake)

 

When word came for use to evac - we quickly left. I think the scared est I have ever been was when I was running to my car which was parked in the lower level of a parking garage. (all that concrete over my head)

 

I took me 4 hours to get home. I did not report to work the next day. my nerves were shot. I did report to work after that. Worked there for about 6 months then returned home to Western NY