Today marks the 13th anniversary of 9/11! It is hard to believe that 13 years has already passed since this devastating tragedy! Today we want to commemorate the lives that were lost on 9/11 and also the lives that were changed forever because of it! Below are stories from our staff of when and where they were the day of the attack!
“I was on my way to a Milliken plant up in Marietta, SC. Along the way, I had to stop at a Verizon store for a phone repair. The customer service representative mentioned something about a plane flying into the World Trade Center Towers in NY. My first reaction was disbelief, but once I got back into my car the radio stations were full of information – I vividly remember very somber discussions on every station. When I got up to Marietta, I called my client and we agreed on postponing our meeting. Due to this, I promptly went into a small hardware store – sat down on a stool beside the store owner and watched all the madness unfold on a very old TV! I recall being shocked and fearful of the world and my children who were at a very young age. My company had representatives flying on a daily basis. The message to all of us was to get home any way you can and to not travel until further authorized. I was blessed and thankful that I was simply in Travelers Rest, SC that horrific day. “ – Drew Brown, VP of Sales
“ I was in the 7th grade when word spread that planes had flown into the WTC. I recall being in an Algebra class and our teacher immediately turning off the television and refusing to let us watch. There was a great deal of debate about whether or not we should be kept informed of what was happening. My family and I had visited NYC on a number of occasions and I remember taking a definite hiatus from travel to the city or anywhere else. We were all afraid to travel by plane. I was naïve to the implications and gravity of this event for a long time, but I’ll never forget where I was when it occurred.” – Hannah Barfield, Medical Recruiter
“I was working for the Girl Scouts and was at a United Way campaign kickoff in Pickens where WYFF’s Carole Goldsmith was speaking. I got back in my car and it was all over the radio. I went home for lunch and watched the replaying of the towers collapsing over and over. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before to see those airplanes fly into the Twin Towers and bring all that steel down with all of those people who were just going to work like any other day. I’ll never forget those images.” – Karen Truesdale, Manager of Support Operations
“I was in Charlotte at my condo working on my marketing report and watching the Today Show. Everything unfolded in front of my eyes. I called my mom who was alone in Virginia and told her to turn the TV – we told each other that we loved each other. After that I raced into work – I did not want to be alone. I watched it with co-workers on the television at work. I worked in healthcare at the time and the hospital was in urgent mode. With Charlotte being one of the largest financial markets in the US at the time, everyone was uneasy. Detailed emails from friends of friends in New York flooded in – bringing this horrific day very close to home.” – Katherine Ericson, Medical Recruiter
“I was in NY on August 11th, 2001 and my girlfriend (now wife) and I decided we would go visit the Twin Towers next time we were in NY because of our long day of touring. Little did we know that our next visit in 2002 would be a somber reflection of those that lost their lives to a terrible attack. Being from that area, I immediately tried to sign up for the military. I was told to go through officer training school as I was too old to enlist.I went through the whole process and did not get in due to a DMV report that was not completed. I appreciate our military more than ever just going through the process. NY has changed, our country has change and people’s lives have changed.” – Michael Bays, IT Recruiter
“I was in London, working in the City on the 10th floor. It wasn’t long after lunch when one of my teammates came in shouting, “Put the TV on, there’s been an attack in New York.” The TV went on, the reports started to come in and everyone stopped talking. The phones stopped ringing. Seeing the explosion at the second tower and reacting with total disbelief, I (and my colleagues) went to the windows – it was like some kind of learned response – and looked out and up at the sky. The normally empty windows surrounding us were full of people doing the same as us – noses pressed against the windows, eyes up – there was an apprehension that the same thing would happen to London within minutes. I left the office that evening to go home with thousands of others in complete silence. It still feels like yesterday, not 13 years ago.” Douglas Fowler – IT Recruiter
“I was in week 3 of my freshman year in college in Texas (I was a mama’s girl so my choice of college way out in Dallas was a shock to everyone!) and never felt so far from home. My mom called me after the first plane hit; I was in my dorm room getting ready for class. I went downstairs to our common room on my way to class and stopped to watch the news coverage on TV along with everyone else. My 9:30 am Econ class wasn’t cancelled, but the rest of classes were called off that day. When my family came to visit a few weeks later, I’d never been so glad to see them. My uncle actually worked for a company in the first tower at the time, and it was a huge blessing that he was on his way to Delaware for a round of golf that day with clients. His company relocated to Jersey City, NJ after 9/11.” Courtney Mebane – Professional Recruiter
“I was at Godshall when I heard that a plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers. I was scheduled to fly to NY to visit my sister in 2 days and I selfishly thought “Oh no, I bet my flight will be cancelled.” I did not remotely grasp what this “plane crash” meant at the time. I went to the break room to watch the TV and my heart sank with each minute of the broadcast. To learn this was not an accidental plane crash, but a horrendous act of terrorism, it suddenly hit me that those towers were filled with thousands of innocent people. Someone’s mother, father, child, co-worker and friend were killed that day. The shock, disbelief and fear were surreal. From that day forward, I begin to pray for the safety of our country and those families affected, not just those in my immediate life. It put all life’s petty complaints in perspective.” – Cathy Boggs – Professional Recruiter
“I was in my 6th grade homeroom class when I received news about the 9/11 attack. I remember my teachers all having a horrified look on their faces but I had no idea why. At that age, I wasn’t able to grasp just how huge of an impact this attack was and would be for our families and for this country. I remember coming home after school and seeing my mom on her knees in our living room floor crying. We watched the news for the next several hours in silence and shock. My heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones in the attack and also in the war that followed. May we never forget!” Shawn Kinard – Recruiting Coordinator
Written by: Shawn Kinard