“What looked like ash started falling from the sky, followed by a HUGE fireball. I was on the 32nd floor in the stairwell when the second plane hit. The force of the impact threw me up against the wall. Once we got across the street, I stopped, looked up and saw the buildings with huge flaming holes. I swear to you I looked at my friend and said, ‘Do you think we’ll have class tomorrow?’”
‘He would count, look up, then scream ‘GO!’ The officer was helping us avoid the falling bodies.’: Woman describes feeling like a ‘walking zombie’ after surviving 9/11 attack in World Trade Center
‘My daughter arrived on 9/11. I woke up to see the first tower falling. I thought my family was watching an action movie.’: Mother gives birth on September 11th, ‘I was not emotionally OK’
“My OBGYN came in to check on me while not knowing where her own husband was at Ground Zero. I was in a hospital where they were calling in extra nurses and doctors for the casualties that should be arriving, but never came. Everyone knows where they were on 9/11, but I lived that day in a strange reality.”
‘I ran to the intersection. She jumped out. We embraced tightly, crying, saying I love you in 2 different languages.’: Woman adopts Iraqi girl in wake of bombing, reunites with birth mom 10 years later
“I glanced at our local paper. There, staring back at me, was a 4-year-old little girl with big, sad eyes surrounded by scarred skin, a head with virtually no hair. The room blacked out around me. I cut out the article, placed it in my pocket. I was determined to help her. Little did I know when I clicked ‘send’ on an email to the journalist, I would be sending away my old life as well.”
‘No matter how badly I want to stop my son’s addiction, I can’t. I finally had to walk away. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.’ Mom’s heart ‘aches’ for homeless son battling addiction
“Within 48 hours, he was out of my house with his bicycle and backpack. I lie awake at night wondering if my son is in a safe place, if he is eating, if he’s warm. I cry for him every time I think or talk about him for more than a few minutes. My heart aches. Knowing he is now a homeless, unemployed drug addict is the most terrifying thing I have ever dealt with.”
The medics arrived, and he couldn’t hide his pain. My husband extended his hand, looked him straight in the eye and quietly said, ‘thanks for the ride.’
“It was then that I saw it. My husband was a hero. In that moment I witnessed in his deepest, darkest despair, yet he still did the right thing.”
‘Hon, I know if you’re alive, you’ll make it out.’ I could see the Pentagon from my office. I was 32 weeks pregnant.’: Military couple recalls ‘pure fury’ felt by 9/11 attack, realizes ‘we are a part of history’
“After the first plane hit, my Senior Intelligence Officer was in my office. When the second plane hit, I looked at her. ‘Cathy, this isn’t an accident.’ The phones started ringing. It struck us – all at the same time – my husband was in that building. Our son was home with our nanny. ‘Is Daddy’s shirt ripped?,’ he asked as he saw people streaming out of ‘Daddy’s Pentagon’ as he called it.”
‘She walked in. The world stopped turning. I fell in love before I knew her name. I was married, she had a boyfriend. Life had different plans for us.’ Veteran recounts ‘whirlwind romance’
“Every time she entered the room, my heart leapt out of my chest. I tried my hardest to hide my feelings, but I was doing a HORRIBLE job. One night, after drinking with my buddies, I figured I’d tell her. I just had to get this off my chest! To my surprise, she wrote me back.”
‘I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked. I’m putting a plan together. Tell the kids I’ll talk to them later.’: 9/11 hero’s final words to his wife, his heroic actions played out minute-by-minute
“Deena: ‘Where are you? Are you in the air?’ Tom: ‘Yes, just listen. Our airplane has been hijacked. It’s up to us. I think we can do it.’ Deena: ‘I love you.’ Tom: ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to do something…’ Tom’s last act on earth was one of the most courageous things imaginable. I’ll never forget Tom’s last words. I hope you won’t either.”
‘It took us a second to realize this firefighter was walking the flights of stairs as all the firefighters did on 9/11. It’s little things like this that make you stop and think.’
This year, 17 years after the fatal attacks, the tradition continues. Never forget.
‘I saw a tower had been hit. I opened the curtain and saw the smoke over lower Manhattan.’: Man credits random encounter with ‘lifelong best friend’ for saving his life on September 11
“When I woke up, I heard the shower going. Then I heard someone leave the apartment. I rushed to Mike and Elena’s bedroom and hollered for him. No response, so I kept hollering, ‘Mike, Mike are you in there?’ Moments later, his tower was hit.”
