Tucson remembers 9/11: Never forgotten

While watching the second plane hit, I realized that this was a deliberate attack. First responders risked their lives to assist those attempting to get to safety. The attacks were numerous, orchestrated by evil souls. I witnessed America coming together as I have never seen before. I traveled back to my hometown of Wallingford, Conn., as planned late September. Every overpass on the highways had a sheet hanging over it with messages of thanks and God Bless America. As is a usual sight, most homes on the main street in town had an American flag hanging on the front porch. Firemen stood by the side of the road holding a boot, accepting money and supplies that were brought to the site in New York City daily. Let us honor the memory of those lost by remembering what we all have in common, instead of what divides us. Let us come together as we did 20 years ago. Our first responders continue to be heroes. While the public runs from danger, first responders run to it. They deserve our respect and gratitude. Evil brought us together with pride, the opposite of what they wanted. Don't let evil win now. God Bless America.

 ─ Debra Larochelle

On 9/11, I was working in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of European Affairs. When the terrorists’ plane struck the Pentagon, a few miles south in Northern Virginia, the State Department security officials couldn't decide whether to evacuate our building. When they finally ordered the evacuation, the mob scene on the street was chaotic. We could see the billows of smoke from the Pentagon explosion. People tried to help each other. Cell phone systems were overloaded and didn't work. At one point, my son, a college student at the time, heard on the news that another airplane had blown up the State Department. Of course, that didn’t happen. The Washington Metro shut down its lines in central D.C., but, along with thousands of others, I walked to the closest open station, Dupont Circle, to ride home. The next day, I was one of the few people going to work. As I drove to the Metro station on the bridge over I-270, the freeway below me had not a single car on it. I shared the Metro platform with about two or three people. That day, I compiled all the condolence messages from the leaders of Europe that I hand delivered to Secretary Colin Powell’s office. The entire State Department was ghostly empty. Life in the State Department did not return to normal for several days. A year later, I participated in the first anniversary memorial service for 9/11 in the U.S. Consulate in Podgorica, Montenegro, a very somber event.

 ─ Peter Becskehazy

My husband and I owned a logistics and trucking company. I had to be up at 4 a.m. on 9/11/2001 to make final arrangements with a Florida company scheduled to make delivery of two loads in Boston that morning. The dispatcher immediately told me his wife worked for American Airlines and had called him to tell him one of their planes had been hijacked. Because of that phone call to someone with information that had not hit the news yet, I feel I may have been the first person in Tucson to know about that attack on the USA.

 ─ Phyllis Christenson

I was on a Southwest flight from Tucson to Los Angeles, commuting to an early morning faculty meeting at my university. Something was clearly wrong when the plane landed and taxied far from the terminal, near to the beach. In due course, the excellent flight crew informed us of the tragedy and cracked open the plane doors so that, honoring FAA regulations, we could use our cell phones. Eventually we were able to deplane. I will never forget walking through the empty concourses, TVs silently looping over and over, images of the falling towers. I collected my car and drove straight back to Tucson, stopping only for water, rations and gas. Once home, I came to understand that our life as a nation had just changed drastically, and that we must develop new ways of dealing with fear, grief and hopelessness. By coincidence, the Arizona Daily Star published an article announcing a new program at UMC to train volunteer hospital chaplains. I applied, was accepted, and completed the high-quality ecumenical program provided by the chaplains there, continuing for a couple of years to volunteer, visiting all kinds of patients. And for myself, I met amazing colleagues, deepened my spirituality, and overcame my shyness and fear of encounter.

 ─ Karin Hilsdale Rodes

On 9/11 there was a New York mayoral primary election. I knew that my son, Josh had an appointment downtown. What I did not know was that he had not yet gone downtown, because he was near his home, in a voting booth. A sobbing poll worker stopped him in mid-vote and informed him that the World Trade Center had been attacked. Josh ran to his apartment and saw the second plane hit. He then rushed to the nearest hospital to donate blood. They sent him to another hospital where he stood in line for 5 hours to give blood. In the meantime, I did not know where he was. Had he gone downtown? Was he caught in the devastation? I could not reach him because the cell towers on top of the buildings had been destroyed. Luckily, he had missed his appointment. The voting had saved his life. 

 ─ Esther Blumenfeld 

It was September 10, 2001. We were finishing a fun weekend in Chicago and I was taking my friend James to Midway for his 9 a.m. flight back to San Francisco. At 8:30 we were in the thick of rush hour on the Dan Ryan. By 8:49, I pulled up to the Arriving Terminal and somehow James got on that plane and made it home. Less than 24 hours later air travel would never be the same.

 ─ Michael Story

On September 11, 2001, I was a high school social studies teacher. I had two children, one in junior high and one a senior at the high school where I taught. Turning on the television that morning, the first plane had already crashed into the World Trade Center. As we continued to get ready for school, the second plane hit the tower. My sons wondered if we should leave for school or not. I told them yes, we would be fine, and that we were proceeding as usual. It was surreal to know what was happening and to arrive at the high school with all the other students and teachers, as if it were any other day. My colleagues and I decided to teach lessons as normal, leaving the television sets in the classrooms off. Students were thankful for the routine. I calmed many nervous students that day, though inside, I was far from calm. How does one tell their students that, no, this was not World War III, and that we will be okay? All the while I was worried about my own family, and hungry for knowledge of what had occurred. At lunch, the teachers in my department gathered in one of the classrooms and turned on the television to find out more, so that we could better answer student questions. It was one of the strangest days I ever had as a teacher.

 ─ Laura Steele

On 9/11/01, my wife and I were living in Akron, NY, a small suburb of Buffalo. I had retired from my position as President of a private school for deaf students in Buffalo two weeks previously. Our plan for that date was to drive to New Hampshire to look at a motor home we were considering purchasing for our retirement travels.

I woke late and came into the TV room, and my wife informed me of the attack on Tower 1. Shortly after I sat down, Tower 2 was attacked. We were clearly stunned and shocked by the news, and could not stop watching.

We discussed our plan for the day, and since there was little else we could do, we decided to go ahead with our drive to NH to look at the motor home. We drove on the New York State Thruway (I-90) all the way East to the NYS line. The Thruway was nearly empty of cars! It was eerie. All the signs over the road, which normally advertised road conditions, spelled out “GOD BLESS AMERICA.” Many of the cars and trucks on the road flew American flags.

We attempted to get news on our radio, but reception was spotty and we occasionally learned more…about the Pentagon attack, and the attempt to attack the White House.

We did purchase the motor home, and towed our car after it as we left.

It was a memorable day, and one we shall not ever forget.

 ─ David R. Updegraff

An early morning call from my sister, Juanita, on 9/11/2001, caused me to scramble out of bed. "Go to your television and watch the news!" She said, "The World Trade Center has been hit by a big plane"!

After watching the horrifying sight of a huge building in New York on fire, and all the loss of life started sinking in, a second strike! And then the news about the Pentagon being hit. My first thought was, oh my God, we are at War! My second thought was, How do I protect my family? I don't know why, maybe it was the fact that I was once in the 82nd Airborne and have a strong sense of Patriotism, but I immediately raised a flag on my front porch.

Standing in the open doorway, I kept one eye on our neighbor, Davis Monthan AFB, and the other on the television. My street was elevated above the rest of the neighborhood, and soon, I spied another flag flying on a porch, then another. Soon there were flags at several homes. I realized that, somehow, this great tragedy had pulled us all together. Red, blue, black, white, young or old, we had, as one, become Americans! Ready to stand together and face whatever came. And what better way to show it than by hoisting the Red, White and Blue!

 ─ Robert W Garr

That morning I was set to fly from Tucson to San Francisco, changing in Los Angeles. Shirley, a close friend, was dying and time was short. My suitcase was at the front door — but at 7 a.m. Cavalier courier service called to say, "Turn on your TV. You aren't going anywhere." We kept the TV on for 14 hours and, as former New Yorkers, could barely understand it, our gently demented dad most so. But if the flight had been earlier, before all planes were grounded, I'd have spent many days stranded in Los Angeles. Never saw Shirley again, of course.

 ─ Judith Whipple

Twenty years ago, I was working an early morning airline flight from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Newark, NJ. We were off the coast of South Carolina, when the first message came in. Two aircraft have just hit the World Trade Center. I looked at it in disbelief. First thought was, it was a couple of small aircraft.

We received another message that the NYC area airports were closed. The air to air frequencies were lighting up with American and United flights talking about highjacking. No one knew what was going on. We were all out of normal ATC radio range. When we were able to finally check in with NY Center, we were told that we would not be allowed to land anywhere in the United States.

Then the message came that the Pentagon was just hit...The FAA decided since we were coming in from a U.S. Territory, we could land anywhere but the NYC or Washington DC areas. We decided on Boston since Continental had an operation there.

We were given instructions for direct Boston. Looking at the course line, it took us right over the middle of NYC. From 150 miles out, we could see two plumes of black smoke. As we got closer to NY, ATC descended us to 20,000 feet. We flew right up the East River towards Boston. I remember looking down at the Twin Towers and looking at the black smoke rise up...Then, all of a sudden one smoke plume changed to a whitish gray color. We looked at each other and said, what is going on???

We continued to Boston, not knowing...If was strange landing in Boston and seeing no movement on the ground except for us and a British Airways flight land. I called my wife to let her know where I was. I asked what was going on, but she was too upset to tell me.

I called my parents and asked if they were getting the fires out. Mom said that the towers are gone. "What do you mean the towers are gone???" They had both collapsed. That is when I found out the whitish gray plume of smoke was the first tower collapsing. We saw it from a very unique perspective. Flying over, we watched it collapse. That is an image I will never forget...

 ─ Steve Encinas

In 2001-02 I taught in a French lycée on the island of Guadeloupe as part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. My wife and I arrived in early September.

Then 9/11 happened. I wrote in my journal:

“This date will be branded in every American’s mind. I’ll always remember Nadine, one of the other English teachers, telling me that a plane had crashed into NYC and that I should go downstairs to the library and listen to the report on the radio. I called Suzy and told her to turn on the TV.”

Later, in the school parking lot, a teacher came over to my car and offered touching condolences, not only on his own behalf but on behalf of all the faculty/staff at the school. (which I still find emotional 20 years later).

I felt overwhelmed by the incomprehensibility of the attack and yet weirdly fortunate that I could observe the reaction to it in a foreign country.

I wrote: “A French commentator said on the news last night that, even though Americans and the French might often see themselves as being quite different and are sometimes critical of one another, nous avons les même valeurs, (we have the same values) and that strongly binds us.”

Over the remaining eight months we spent in Guadeloupe I would have many conversations with French friends and colleagues about America’s response to the attack. They feared we would overreact. As much as I hate to admit it, they were right.

 ─ Peter Bourque

On 9/11 I was a TWA captain scheduled to fly from STL to SFO. Minutes before pushback from the gate we were told "something is going on in NYC" and to delay our pushback. The flight was eventually cancelled. Outside the airport while awaiting a shuttle van to go to a hotel, I was approached by an Airline Pilot Association official who told me and my crew members to change out of our uniform because we could be targeted by terrorists. And I thought "I am in the middle of the USA, and I have to be concerned about being targeted?" This is a whole new world!

 ─ David Friel