Some raw insights into the fear, confusion, and heartbreak they experienced on that tragic day.
This year marked the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“The hours before I knew if my mom was dead or alive.
They wouldnt let us leave the school, and I didnt have a phone.
From our school, we could look out the window and see the smoke.
Some people even saw the second plane hit.
Finally, they couldnt hold us any longer, and I ran home.
Sarin_The_End
2.
“An acquaintance of mine was a medical resident on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Then it was just…silent.
There were no survivors to send their way.
Thats when she realized the unprecedented devastation of the attack.”
dinglepumpkin
3.
“When the second plane hit, and it became evident that this was not an accident.”
Campbell__Hayden
4.
“I was in seventh grade in Brooklyn.
Mom worked right around the corner from the WTC.
samanthaaaaaaa7
5.
“Both my dad and sister were flying that day, and I didnt know when exactly.
I lived in D.C., and the phones were all down, so I couldnt check.
Definitely so much worse for so many people.”
4sOfCors
6.
“I was a child, so the whole thing didnt really sink in until later.
findallthebears
7.
“All the footage of people jumping.”
Santos_L_Halper_II
“I had trouble sleeping without thinking of that for weeks.
I still can’t dwell on it for long without getting unnerved.
The idea of having to choose between burning to death or jumping to your death is just unfathomable.”
arothmanmusic
8.
Then some of his regulars stopped showing up, and eventually, he found out they were gone.”
uPsyDeDown13
9.
While my dad was at the Pentagon that day.
All punctuated by new and increasingly horrific images and news updates.
Most of that day is a foggy haze to me.
My brain was just overwhelmed with the enormity of it all and my own personal shock.
I think I cried a little with relief.”
thrax_mador
10.
HumanWagyu
11.
The world we lived in changed dramatically and immediately.”
Tedsallis
12.
“The smell was horrifying.
handsomechuck
“I can’t forget it.
This is the thing that people outside New York don’t realize.
The smell was awful.
And it was literally everywhere.
You couldn’t escape it.
Home, work, everywhere.
It lasted for months.
But in NY, it was impossible.”
DiscoStu1972
13.
“I was living in the East Village at the time in one of NYUs dorms.
I remember how quiet the streets were.
Everything below 14th St. was closed off.
I called 911, and it took officers an hour to show up.
Thistlefizz
14.
I hadn’t even unpacked my gear yet.
By the end of the day, I was saying goodbye to my friends and family again.”
UltraSapien
15.
They had prepared us for attacks from North Korea and that’s how we treated that day.
FattDamon11
16.
“My high school was on the flight path for an Air Force Base.
cyclejones
17.
“When I found out that my roommate’s dad died in the second tower.
Then the second plane hit, trapping him.”
badhouseplantbad
18.
I was away at college and had no idea where he was until the afternoon.
He keeps a plaque with all of their names in his office.”
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
