Posted on Sep 18, 2013

Where were you during 9/11? What has changed in 20 years?

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This question is geared toward those who were in the service when this happened, (Old Guy/Gals I know...)however all responses are welcome.

Posted in these groups: Herodotos met 91.8

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PO1 David Waeschle

Posted 12 y ago

I was a PO1 in the Coast Guard stationed in Hawaii. I had already been in active duty service for 13 years and I happen to be home with my daughter who at the time was 3 or 4 and she had pink eye and could not go to the Ft. Shafter or AMR family service center that day. My wife who worked as a nurse at one of the hospitals in downtown Honolulu called me and said have you seen the TV? I said no why, she said just turn it on. From what I remember the second plane had not yet hit. I remember it was like yesterday watching the TV thinking WTF!?

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SSG (Join to see)

Posted 12 y ago

I was a PVT in Basic Training at FT. Leanardwood Missouri, we were on the last day of our FTX and were supposed to be conducting PLT wars on each other. Next thing we know the DS are calling for a mass formation at the assembly area and they are briefing us on what happened. We spent the rest of the day in the field and then instead of doing the standard 15k ruck to the night infiltration course we did over 22k that night. I remember the DS getting all the people that were from any of the affected areas together and put them on the truck to go call their families from the company area. The next morning 3 of our DS were gone and we didn't see them again till the day before Graduation. Since then I have been to Kuwait in support of Iraq 2 times, in Iraq 3 times and now I am finishing up a round in Afghanistan, and don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

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COL Richard Bassett

Posted 12 y ago

I was commanding TF 2-87 (2d Bde, 10th Mountain Division), a battalion-size task force, at South Camp, Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai, Egypt. We were about 3 months into a 6 month peacekeeping rotation with the Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO). I was sitting in my office, when one of my ops NCOs told me a plane hit the World Trade Center. He didn't know the details yet. A little while later, he told me a second plane hit the towers. We both said at the same time that it was a terrorist attack. We went from peacekeepers to potential warfighters immediately. We redeployed to Ft Drum in Jan 02, and immediately began to prepare for Afghanistan.

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SGT (Join to see)

Posted 12 y ago

I was in JRTC conducting a Mission Readiness Exercise with 1/32 IN. We were prepping for an upcoming Kosovo rotation. Our commander put us on perimeter guard with no ammunition and blank adapters. We then moved into the tent of our "FOB" and watched the second tower get hit. We thought we were heading to war somewhere since our equipment was already packed and on the way to Kosovo. My last thought was this is a helluva 1 year anniversary in the Army!

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LTC Paul Labrador

Posted 12 y ago

I was sitting in my room at the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul, Korea, getting ready to DEROS back to the States the next morning (Seoul is 13hrs ahead of EST). Yeah....that didn't happen....

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SSG (Join to see)

Posted 12 y ago

I was a freshman in high school sitting in english class. with no other thought than vengence!!!

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SGT Shawn Meredith

Posted 12 y ago

i was in boot camp at paris Island

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SSG Bill Sier

Posted 12 y ago

I was an Army contractor, workig at the Digital Training Facility on Ft. Riley. We had a class of officers and DA civilians in one of the rooms, so I left them to whatever they were learning. Shortly one of them came to me and said "A plane just flew into the World Trade Center." I said "A small plane?" and he said "No, an airliner." Whomever was doing the class had switched from class content to the CNN live feed. We watched in silence until the 2nd plane hit. That seemed to break the spell, so they all got up and left. Eventually they declared all training cancelled so I went home.

I well remember the next morning a well. I drove from Manhattan through Ogden to get to work. Riley had been an open Post, with no gates or guards, but when I crested the hill above Ogden, There was a solid line of vehicles out the East Gate, through town Wand to just below the crest of the hill. As you came onto post, there was a HMMWV with an M2 HB mounted, surrounded by a squad of soldiers whom the day before had had no concerns except possibly going to NTC or whether their significant other was pregnant or an imgending IG inspection. FOrtunately, I had just gotten my vehicle registered and I had my Reserve I.D. Card, so I got through easily once I waited through the line.

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SGT(P) Kenneth Jones

Edited 12 y ago

Posted 12 y ago

i had just got shot down by the marines after completing the dep program and passing it again. i also was lead maintence tech on 2nd shift for wabash national trailer company in lafayette indiana.

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MSgt Ryan Tanner

Posted 12 y ago

Figure I should add mine, since I asked the question....

I was a young SSgt Security Forces member stationed at Andrews AFB, MD, assigned to Presidential Support. I had just got home and it had been a long week, much less a long year of constantly being away for much of 2001. The night of 10 Sep 2001 was very odd to say the least as there were many things going on in the way of National level emergency preparedness. After I'd arrived at the house after a nightshift, I hit the bed and my wife woke me up for the first plane. I watched it and said "Well the NSTB is gonna be busy this week", and I drifted off again. My wife woke me up for the second plane, and I got up and told her we were under attack and it was likely Bin Laden, whom I'd had intimate knowledge of since 1995. I rolled back into work but had to cut through Washington D.C. due to traffic issues and that's when I saw the Pentagon. After living in D.C. for a couple years, I'd always assumed that if any major emergency event happened, folks would turn on each other like drowning rats. However this day people bonded together and stood side by side to help each other, truly amazing. I finally arrived at the main gate at Andrews AFB, and noticed a small U.S. Flag laying in the street, it was one of those small door window type flags, but I stopped my vehicle anyway, got out and picked it up off the street. After that it was approximately 70 days straight that we worked in FPCON Delta and was pretty much a blur...but this day will always be fused into my mind.

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Where were you during 9/11? What has changed in 20 years?

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