Judith:'I remember it was an ordinary day and I was sitting on my bed folding laundry and watching TV. On the news they were talking about a plane flying without clearance. No one seemed to know what was going on and I thought maybe I had stumbled onto a “War of the Worlds” type program. It felt unreal. I called my sister to tell her to watch and to see what she might know about the situation. Even as I watched the plane hit the building I thought it must be a mistake. They must have wandered off course--it must have been an accident–unbelief was the strongest feeling.
After the second plane hit and the buildings crumbled, I felt sad for all the families who had loved ones in the building. I about wondered the horror they must be feeling. I was sad on a broad level for our country but a part of there world was cut from them. My sadness was mixed with fear as more planes were reported. I feared this was the beginning of a major war on American soil. 911 marked a turning point in America. We use to feel safe and then the world crashed in on our peace.'
Christina:‘I was eating breakfast in my kitchen before school. My mom came running in and told me what had happened. We then rushed into the living room to watch the news. We watched as the second plane hit and began to worry for the safety of my dad, he was a pilot. We checked what airline it was and were so grateful that it wasn’t my dad’s plane he was flying that day, but were devastated by the loss of life.'
Devereaux: 'September 11, 2001 started off as any regular day for me. I was a junior at Spanish Fork High School and was hurrying from my calculus class to my AP history class. I was in a particular hurry that day as we were having a quiz and I hadn't studied for it all. As I entered Mr. Moody's AP history class, I saw my classmates staring at a TV that was in the front of the room. Unaware of the events that were happening, I asked a girl what was going on and if the quiz had been postponed. She looked back at me with a twisted face of disgust. Pointing to the TV, she then said: "What? Are you an idiot? Have you not been watching the news?" Puzzled and a bit embarrassed I turned to the TV to see a news reporter reporting on an airplane hitting one of the twin towers. A split second later, as the camera was filming the first tower, a second plane slammed into the second world tower! I was blown away and felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of me. I quickly slumped into a chair with my eyes fixed in dismay on the TV. As we watched the rest of the morning unfold and the towers crumble, I kept thinking: "Is this really happening? How? Why? We are the United States of America, who would want to do this? Where is the military?" From that day forth I became painfully aware that despite the richness and grandness of the United States, we are still very vulnerable to the acts of men who conspire for power and wealth without regard for life. Seeing the sacrifice that so many people made, both public workers and civilians, in those attacks has made me thankful for my country, the people that I share it with, and most importantly for the understanding that when Americans unite no matter what the challenge they can overcome it.'
