Reflections on 9/11... 10 years later

Anyone who was over age 5 or 6 can remember exactly where they were the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.  Like millions of people I was at work that morning.  In fact, I was working at the same place I do now (at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, VA).  IDA is located literally 5 minutes south of the Pentagon along I-395.

The Washington Post was set as my homepage and I remember seeing a picture of World Trade Center on fire with the breaking headline that a plane had flown into the North Tower.  I remember saying to my co-worker, "What kind of idiot would fly into the World Trade Center?"  We both thought it was a private plane, a learjet maybe, that had mechanical problems and crashed.  This was at 8:46 AM.  At 9:03 AM, the time that Flight 175 flew into the South Tower, our faces turned white because we realized that we were under attack.  I immediately tried calling my parents in PA but the land lines were down. I ran into my boss's office and said, "We're under attack!"  He was unaware of what was happening.  Everyone rushed to our company's lobby and gathered around the lone TV at the front desk.

Then at 9:37 AM, Flight 77 flew into the Pentagon.  That's when this tragedy hit home.  We could hear the fighter jets' loud BOOM overhead after they were scrambled from Andrews AFB.  I made my way back to my desk and at that point, my mother (who was still completely oblivious to what was unfolding), IMs me over AOL Instant Messenger.  I thnk her IM said, "Good Morning, Honey."  I replied, "We're under attack!  Turn on your TV!"

IDA was evacuated as soon as the Pentagon was hit.  I lived 5 minutes from work at that time and I remember walking in my door just in time to watch coverage of the South Tower collapse at 9:59 AM.  I walked into my apartment and collapsed on my knees and cried.

I will never forget the horror and tragedy of that horrific day nor the surging feel of patriotism that followed. God Bless the USA!