Remembering 9/11 Ten Years Later

No matter where in the world you were when it happened you remember exactly what you were doing, how you felt, and the images that seemed to leap from the television screen and penetrate your mind, forever imprinted into your subconscious. After ten years, we are still haunted by what is arguably the great tragedy of our generation. We talked to Temple students to hear their accounts of the disaster that changed the culture of America to this day. 

I was in the fourth grade and it was really early in the morning. The teacher was trying to talk to us, but we weren’t paying attention. All of a sudden, another teacher came in and told us to look out the window. Everyone crowded around the window and all we could see was all this black smoke from the Pentagon. My first thought was that I was worried about my mother because she’s a teacher and the phone lines were down so we couldn’t hear from anybody. They kept us all in one big room and didn’t really tell us much because we were so young. People’s parents were coming to pick them up, some kids were crying because their parents worked at the Pentagon and they didn’t know if they were okay. My mom finally came, I must have been one the last ones picked up. I live about 10-15 minutes from the Pentagon and all you could see was people covered in white debris coming from there. On T.V. there were people jumping out of windows, the towers were falling down. It was crazy. I remember the next day, everybody was quiet. Nobody wanted to talk about it. Since then, every time I would be lying in bed and a helicopter or airplane flew above, I thought it might be happening again.” —Dayonna Johnson, sophomore. Washington, D.C.

“I was in the middle of an algebra test when the principle came over the loudspeaker and said, “The United States has been attacked.” Everyone was confused; the teacher thought it was a joke so he told us to just get back to our tests. Then I got to History class and we watched the towers go down on T.V.” —Alyssa Pearson, grad student. Canton, Ohio.

“I was in sixth grade, getting ready for school since we were three hours behind. My mom was watching the news and I think she was crying. I didn’t understand what was going on but it seemed like a big deal. When I got to school, the teacher had written on the board: “Terrorism in the United States.” We sat in class and had a discussion about it.”
— Megan Coronado, senior. San Francisco, California.

” I was in the fifth grade, it was my friend’s birthday and everybody just kept leaving early. We didn’t know what the f*** was going on. I mean, I’m Romanian, so I didn’t know what to think. I think I was just too young to care. I went to my friend’s house and played video games.” —Chris Stokes, junior. Williamstown, New Jersey.

“I was in high school, it was English class. We’re behind by three hours so when we found out, the first tower had already been hit. But we watched the second tower get hit live. None of us were around there, obviously, but a lot of people had parents there. My roommate’s dad was missing in the subway for three days.” —L.J. Koren, grad student. Buffalo, New York.

“I was in fifth grade when it happened. I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was, so when I saw all the adults freaking out, I didn’t understand why. I heard there was an attack on the Pentagon and that scared me because my dad is in the military and was at the Pentagon at one point, so for all I knew, he could have been there again. I just felt really out of the loop because I was so young.”– Matt Smith, junior. Waldorf, Maryland.

“I was coming from a bible study when I heard some mothers talking. There was a rumor that terrorists were blowing up all major cities in the United States. I started crying while riding in the car with my family. I was 10 and my brother was only six, but he had some idea of what was going on, too. Then we got home and saw the news and my mom explained what happened. I couldn’t believe it. It was unreal. It was scary. I asked my parents a lot of questions about it.”
—Priscilla Ward, junior. Washington, D.C.

“I was in the fifth grade and I was sitting in class. I went to school in Brooklyn so we could see the smoke rising from the window and kids were just devastated. That day, everyone went home and it was the only thing on the news. Everyone had their American flags out.” 
–-Keisha Gilkes, junior. Brooklyn, New York.

“On 9/11, I was in 4^th grader and I am from Long Island, which is about 45 minutes away from Manhattan. We didn’t know what was going on but there was a general feeling of discomfort and it was chaotic. Our teachers were talking in whispers and we had to close the windows and I think we even boarded up some of the windows. Nobody really knew what was going on and we kind of assumed it was a drill. I don’t think we even find out what was happening until much later towards the end of the day. A lot of people’s parents kept picking up their kids and leaving. A lot of people’s parents worked in the city and I am not sure if any worked in my class or in the World Trade Center. I know a lot of people worked close to there, so obviously they didn’t want any panic or anything like that. I remember coming home and watching it on television. It was a very weird experience but I remember it very clearly.”
-Kaitlin Reilly, Film/BTMM, sophomore, Long Island, NY.

“I was in sixth grade in Mrs. Snyder’s class at Twin Valley Middle School. She put it on at nine in the morning when it hit and we were all watching. We had a decently large-size television and we all look up and were like what was that coming across the screen and we watched live the second plane hit the Tower. And that was one of the most shocking moments of my life because in sixth grade, you don’t know what is going on. You don’t understand the magnitude of what is going on but at the same time we all had a real appreciation for the fact that we were watching history. We were watching something that moment that we will never forget. I think I will be 100 years old maybe someday and I will never forget Mrs. Snyder’s Room, watching this happen.”
-Lindsey Bitler, BTMM/History, senior, Elverson, PA.

“I was celebrating my birthday in Southwest Philly. It slowed me down a little. When I saw the first plane going into the building, I thought it just went off its course. But when I saw the second plane go into the other tower, I knew something was going on that was not supposed to be going on.”
-Rick, Temple House Keeping, Vietnam Veteran, Philadelphia, PA.

“When I first heard the problems, I was in the Physics library [at Temple]. It was a small departmental library that no longer exists but I was there. I first heard of a plane crashing in the World Trade Center and I thought it was just a small, private plan that just accidentally bumped into the World Trade Center. And then I heard another plane crashed into it and obviously there was something going on. We started searching the Web and looking for information. I remember it vividly.”
-Fred Rowland, Reference Library at Paley.
 
“I was in fifth grade and I remember the principal was walking around and told the teachers. So, they rolled the T.V. in and they explained everything to us from what the news people were saying. And we watched it and everyone was very shocked. And they cancelled the classes for the rest of the day and parents picked up their kids. It really surprised us.”
-Nejat Ibraheim, 19, junior.

“I was in sixth grade and I was coming out of gym class when they told us. We were first told us that it was a bomb-we didn’t know they were planes. At that point, I only think one had hit. So, we didn’t know what was really happening. When we went back to class, they didn’t really teach but kids started getting called out and parents started picking everyone up.”
-Robert Hayes, 21, senior. 
 
The moment has passed, but it is clear that it has left a permanent mark on our lives. Despite our hurt, we will continue to honor those who lost their lives on that tragic day and always keep our heads held high.