Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   9/11, where were you? Date:   9/10/2019 4:03:56 PM

I was working in the DC area.  Sitting in my office with a couple of people, when a colleague came by and said a plane crashed into the WTC.  We all thought commuter plane accident.  A little bit later, same colleague said a second plane flew into the 2nd tower and we knew it was no accident.  Then the fun started - rumors that the Pentagon was hit (it was, and a colleague's brother died there) and the State Department was hit (it wasn't).  No one seemed to know what to do.  We got ordered to evacuate - all of DC at the same time in fact- so what might have been a 30-45 minute ride turned into two hours.  Got home and was glued to the TV.  That night, it seemed like anyone who knew that I had worked in the Pentagon called to check on me (by that time I had left the Pentagon and was working in Alexandria VA).  People that I knew that still worked in the building said that when the plane hit, the only indication was that the building seemed to quiver and sigh.  The Secretary of Defense declared we were open for business the next day.  They blocked off the area of the building which made it tricky to get to some offices and the building reaked of jet fuel.  Paper masks were issued, but most people didn't wear them.  We had many meetings about soft targets and what would be the procedure if something that happened again.  Told people to store some of their medication, and extra pair of glasses, some snacks and a blanket in their desk, in case we were put on lockdown  

But people came together in unity.  We were Americans first and foremost and we had been attacked.  Eventually a memorial was built at the Pentagon and there is a memorial quilt that hangs to remember those that lost their lives that day  It should be said that a lot of military people were heros that day - despite being injured and scared themselves, for many their training just kicked in and they saved others.