A Morning I'll Never Forget....

[Jim Wilkins]

Tonight at midnight, SoCal IMT 2 goes on the rotation for two hour call when the clock strike 0001 on September 11th, 2014. Since that fatal morning in 2001, when I awoke my crew at Station 101 and shared the unspeakable horror unfolding before our very eyes, I have found myself with my team assigned to fire incidents. Twice, I gave a similar talk with the crews at morning briefing. This one was recorded two years ago at the Likely Fire on the stage of a century year old school that we used as a base camp.

Never forget .......

http://vimeo.com/49266214

[lagomorphmom]

Thank you Jim!

We were just talking about tomorrow at work today. We don't forget and will remember where we were forever.

[Tall Trees]

My Crew, Texas Canyon Hotshots were assigned to the "Star" fire on the Eldorado National Forest when the terrorist attacks occurred.  We were told of the attack and briefed as often as possible but I did not see the film footage and videos until a week after it occurred because we were in a very remote area and smart phones did not exist then.  I happened to carry a small radio in my gear and was able to hear news reports on the am dial.  I was shocked and horrified when I finally was able to see the footage of the terrorist attacks.

[Jim Wilkins]

There were lots of folks on assignment during this horrible event.  I can only imagine what it was like being on the line all day without any real solid information. I was very proud that the first two aircraft to cross the country the next day had National Interagency Incident Management Teams inside.  They rotated teams through in two week shifts until it was over in NY and DC.  I've spoken with many of them and it was a life changing event for them.

[ChrisLynnet]

I was heading down that morning to L.A. for a 1-day conference at the Hilton. I heard about the crashes at the World Trade Towers on the radio, I don't remember if the attack on the Pentagon had happened yet. I got to the Hilton, parked, walked into the lobby -- and joined a silent crowd of tourists, businesspeople and hotel staff as we watched the live footage on the lobby television. The only sound I remember was a collective groan when the towers fell.

But you know what? THIS COUNTRY CAME BACK. I knew we would. We were changed but we were -- and are -- unbowed.

God bless America.

[tcaarabians]

God Bless America and all those responders and the people on that flight in Pennsylvania!

My Mom woke me up and told me to turn on my TV. We sat on the phone together and watched as the second plane hit the other tower.  Not long after, another plane hit the Pentagon. News casts were scrambling to understand what was happening. An attack was incomprehensible. At first they thought it was a radar problem. They didn't realize that these were passenger jets.

I also recall watching the footage when George W. Bush was first informed. He was in a classroom with children. Gotta say that man did not flinch or show reaction.

That was a good speech Jim. cheryl o7o

[in my dreams]

I was getting ready for a job interview and watched it unfold.

[Nolena]

We had just gotten back from an Amtrak trip back east to visiting my mother. Had we been a day later, we would have been stuck in the midwest, as trains, as well as airplanes, weren't moving.
I was watching the news in the early a. m., and woke my husband up to watch after the 2nd plane hit the building.
There was an endless moment of dead silence from the news crew on tv, as reality sank in.
There was a structural engineer from New York City on tv who had been involved in engineering the high rises. He described how the buildings had collapsed exactly as engineered (collapsing straight down, or "pancaking," so as not to fall sideways and cause much more destruction).
My daughter was 7.
For many days afterward, the skies were eerily quiet.
Did a lot of walking and talking with friends.
We are still here, and so is this country.

[ForestGal]

I had a 2pm flight to Portland that afternoon to visit my sister.  I was about to get in the shower that morning, when the phone rang.  It was my sister, asking if I was watching TV.  I said no, and she said to go turn it on.  I sat there talking to her, both of us in utter disbelief.  I tried to rebook my flight for the next day, but that wasn't happening either. 

The following day, the 13th, a friend and I hiked to the top of Baden-Powell, and it was eerily quiet all the way up.  Sitting up on top, looking at the skies, we almost always would see and hear aircraft of some sort.  Not this day. 

But through this unimaginable tragedy, our country has stayed strong.  God Bless America!!   

[AvocadoFlyer]

I fly for an airline and vividly remember that morning.  I wasn't flying that day but all my friends were...until ATC routed everyone to the nearest airport to land (awesome work btw).  I lived close to the airport and the erie silence was very unsettling except for the F16's occasionally flying by.  Right after they opened up the skies i flew into La Guardia and still remember seeing the smoke rising from the world trade center.  All that said...we live in a beautiful and strong country.  We Americans are quit a resilient bunch.

[ForestGal]

BTW John, I love the banner at the top of the home page today!  A very beautiful tribute.  Again, God Bless America!   

[Leftfield]

I had to sneak on the internet as we werent allowed to have any form of radios, or TVs on the job.  I didnt know what to expect next.   I figured it was the beginning of the end.   Later when I was able to finally go home and saw the carnage, I just broke down and wept. 

Personally I think we are even stronger today than back then.   I saw an attitude change between folks that I never seen before.  Back then there were some who would say "you people"...  Now its more "...we, the people of the United States..." will stand up together against terrorism.