9/11/01 Where Were You?
Imagine how terrible it was in that building; it is haunting. The choice between dying of smoke inhalation or burning to death, or jumping from the building were the only choices the victims had if they survived the initial fire and explosions. All resulted in death. Desperation to live and escape the terror was the common denominator in choosing to jump. And in reality, none of the people jumping thought they could survive the fall. It was all done in desperation.
The gentleman in the photo has never been identified. The man's death was caused, not by jumping. He was climbing down the building, trying to escape the inferno inside. He could climb down a few floors before he either lost his balance or was unsteadied by the wind.
There is a documentary, The Falling Man, made about him. I will post a link to that.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0810746/
When I was working for AT&T in Maryland, I worked in a dedicated group that provided secure phone equipment to the Defense Department in the Pentagon and the White House. I talked to people in the Pentagon all day, every day. I also went to the Pentagon and met many of the people that I was working with. Some of those people lost their lives when the plane hit their particular part of the building. It took me several years to look at the names of the deceased. I just did not want to know. I tried to imagine that they all survived. But they didn't. Five people that I had known did not survive. And to this day, I have never checked the names close enough to see if any of the people, the techs from AT&T that I knew were listed. I just don't want to know. Then it becomes personal.
On the morning of the 11th, I was working away from my desk. I worked in the administrative offices of a large bank. I was walking around our floor, posting results for the reps. I never heard a word about the first crash until I was 3/4's of the way around the floor. Everyone in that area was talking excitedly. I asked them what was going on, and someone told me. I couldn't believe it. I just could not believe it. I went back to my desk and turned on my radio.
It wasn't long until the second plane hit the building. No way. This can't be. I wanted to jump up and run somewhere and do something, but I don't know what. I was just standing by my desk. Other people talked about it, and I was just standing alone, not knowing what to do. I had been through this before when President Kennedy had been killed. I just couldn't move. I couldn't analyze what I was hearing. Nothing made sense. I think someone came up and joined me in my frozen stance. Somebody said they had friends that worked in the Trade Center. Another person said they had family that lived near that area. We all looked like expressionless zombies.
My phone rang. It was my son. He was in the Marines. He said he was on alert and might not be home. I don't know what I said to him. A few minutes later, he called back. He said the Pentagon had been hit. I couldn't take any more bad news. I went downstairs to go to the smoking area. I never made it there. A TV was on. They were showing the planes hitting the buildings. Tears were running down my face. They were talking about firefighters going into the building, and I thought that was stupid. They could never reach all of the people in time. I thought it was foolish to make them go in. But they did. And most of them died. They were sacrificed.
I wandered back upstairs. I think I was in some kind of shock. My phone rang again. It was my son. He told me he was leaving to pack his gear. There was a rogue plane still in the air threatening the White House and Capitol. His unit was now on immediate standby and leaving for somewhere, but he wasn't told where. He swore me to secrecy; he was told that our fighters jets were given orders to shoot the last plane down. We were at war. With who? He hung up.
I couldn't process what he told me. It seemed bizarre. We wouldn't shoot our people down, would we? How could we do that? Holy hell, what a horrible day. Later, someone said the last plane had crashed. I didn't say anything. I just listened to everyone talking. I wondered if the aircraft had been shot down. We would never be told the truth about it if we had.
I was watching the clock; I just wanted to go home. I wanted to watch the news coverage because it was just too hard to believe. I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it. How could this happen? This was the United States of America who would do this, and how could we let this happen?
Where were you on September 11, 2001, when the first plane hit?
#wewillneverforget
#September112001
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