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Wlaf1450LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – We all remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news on that unforgettable day, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. If you like, please respond by sharing with us where you were when you heard the news of the 9-11 attacks.
It’s hard to think that it’s been 20 years, but for me, I was living and working in New Orleans. It was a morning I was flying back home with a stop over in Memphis before heading on over to Knoxville. I ran to my office to wrap up a few things, and while there, my brother called to tell me of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Then he soon called back to tell me about the next plane, and that they were now saying that this is an act of terrorism.
Before heading over to the airport, I had to stop by the TV station and drop off a tape. As soon as I walked in, Dan Rather was relaying the message that the president had just grounded all airplanes.
I had no choice but to drive back home rather than fly. I can still see the BP gas station where I filled up once I made it across Lake Pontchartrain. All the way up the road I listened to report after report on the radio with no idea of what I might encounter going state-to-state hoping that I would be able to make it back home without any issues. And I did.
The sad realization taken away from that day for me is that I knew that life as we knew it would never be the same again. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/10/2021-6AM)
I was in my office. Our receptionist was listening to the radio at her desk. She told me what she heard. I turned on the tv to see tower 1 burning and just a bit before a plain hit tower 2. We watched the happenings for pretty much the rest of the day.
Roane State Community College. Dr. Fisher’s Anatomy and Physiology class. A student came running through the halls and opening each classroom door to tell what was going on. Dr. Fisher dismissed us and we all gathered in the student lounges, library and lobbies to watch the news coverage.
I was a student at Campbell County High School at the time and the events were pretty sad. I was taking a class (I forgot which one it was) and stayed in school until someone came and picked me up at around midday. After I got home, I watched the coverage of the 9-11 attacks on the television.
Even though things have changed in the past 20 years, I am always thankful and blessed to be an American.
It was late evening in Korea, where I was serving with the 51st Fighter Wing’s Logistics Group Command Staff. I was home and had just gone to bed when a good friend called and told me to turn on the TV – we’d been attacked. All of the western Pacific was under an active terrorism alert – we suspected an attack on airlines in flight – probably multiple, simultaneous bombings – but the intel we were given said the target was Korea and/or Japan – so I immediately thought something had happened to a base in our region – until I turned on the TV.
After watching for a few minutes, realizing it was terrorism, and knowing we were still under alert, I loaded the wife into the car and immediately headed to group command office on base. No one else showed for a few hours… Once there we saw the towers fall. Shortly after that I was taking calls from CentCom in Tampa asking how quick we could transfer some of our stockpile of air-to-ground munitions to our bases in Saudi Arabia. The folks I was talking to that night were positive the attack was al Qaeda out of Afghanistan. I said, I’d start the process on my own authority, but that someone up the chain could still stop it. After a few more calls once PACAF HQ in Hawaii was manned a few hours later, we got final permission, but our guys were already prepping the weapons for shipment by that time. I wonder when they got expended?
In the meantime, almost everyone local with family in country had moved them to designated shelters on base – mostly in the high school.
As an epilogue, my son, David, who was just starting his stint at UT as a member of the Air Force ROTC at the time of the attack, was one of the last Marines (yup – Air Force raised and educated and he wanted to be a Marine – infantry no less!) …was one of the last Marines to serve in Afghanistan almost twenty years later. He was in command of the troops he’d trained up for the mission in the country of Georgia. They left theater in January.
It was our very first generational war (if you don’t count the Indian Wars). I hope it’s the last.
I WAS IN MY BEDROOM DOING SOMETHING…I DO NOT REMEMBER WHAT….I HAD MY TV ON…AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PROGRAM I WAS WATCHING…WAS INTERUPTED….CAUGHT MY ATTENTION TO THE PICTURES THAT WERE SHOWN…I FROSE AS I WATCHED BOTH TOWERS HIT BY PLANES…I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING….I IMMEDIATELY CALLED MY DAD AND MOM AND TOLD THEM TO TURN ON THEIR TV…THEN THE HORRIBLE PLANE THAT HIT WASHINGTON….IT WAS SO FRIGHTING….I STILL COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT I WAS SEEING ALL THE DAMAGE TO OUR AMERICA….AND LATER…AS THE PLANE CRASHED…ONE OF THE PEOPLE…A PASSENGER….SAID…LET’S ROLL…..MY HEART NEARLY STOPPED…THE MEMORY OF IT NOW…FRIGHTENS ME STILL….I WILL NEVER FORGET SEEING THE FIREMAN RUSH INTO THE BUILDING TO SAVE OTHERS…..LOSING THEIR LIVES…I COULD IMAGINE WHAT THEIR FAMILIES WERE FACING…EVEN SAW A PERSON AND OTHERS JUMPING OUT OF THE BUILDING….IN THE AIR…I PRAY I NEVER HAFT TO SEE ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN…GOD HELP AMERICA…SO MANY GAVE THEIR LIVES THAT DAY TO HELP OTHERS…THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME EXPRESS MY THOUGHTS…..
I was in the snack bar at the Walmart in Jacksboro taking a break during inventory when I saw an airplane hit the twin Towers on the television. I will never forget.
I was at Dr. Farris’s Office having blood work done when the news broke about the first plane hitting the first tower. By the time I got back to work the office TV was on and we all saw the second plane hit the second tower. At that point I realized that we were under attack by someone. We all stood and watched in horror as the next two planes crashed and wondered what was the next target. If President Bush hadn’t immediately grounded all flights, we don’t what could have happened next. Sept. 11, 2001 was on a Tuesday. I was scheduled to fly to Kansas City, Kansas on Saturday for auditing school. My wife Cindy and I were very uneasy about me flying, but I trusted GOD completely. That Saturday was the first day the airport in Knoxville re-opened and I flew to Kansas without incident. I did a lot of praying and kept my eyes wide open always looking around the plane, but really it was more secure on that Saturday than probably any other time that I have flown.
I was taking my twin babies to get their four month vaccinations the weirdest, most heaviest feeling day ever my babies are twenty now.
God bless