| 9-11 - Ten Years Ago; 11th year update - Now 14 years | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 6 2011, 05:28 PM (4,101 Views) | |
| Concerned | Sep 6 2011, 10:27 PM Post #16 |
|
Three weeks before the attack my extended family were having a friendly argument over the specifics involving a trivial incident that happened in the past. After many back and forth emails my brother, who is an Episcopal Bishop and lives outside the US, chimed in and said, "Will you quit this nonsense? I feel like something bad is going to happen to the US." Then 9/11. My sister called me and said to turn on the TV. A plane had hit the first tower. I later went to gas up my car and my hands were shaking. Then I went to Walmart and people seemed to be walking around quietly and looking fearful - I know I was. Was the attack over or would something else happen? When my sons got home from school one of them said his teacher was in tears because her husband was a pilot and she hadn't heard from him. We would find out later that he was ok. Within the next few days American flags appeared in many yards and cars were flying flags attached to the windows. Radio stations played Lee Greenwood's, "God Bless the USA." Churches were open to those that wanted to go pray. The country mourned and patriotism returned. |
![]() |
|
| Rusty Dog | Sep 7 2011, 08:34 AM Post #17 |
|
On the morning of September 11, I was heading over for a church circle meeting at a members house. I heard about the first plane on the radio news as I was arriving, but it must have just happened because it was still thought to have been a small private plane -an oddity. When the second plane hit, we moved between watching the TV in the basement, and trying to talk about what was happening and what was the meaning. I switched the channel over to Fox News, because I was frustrated with the other coverage. I needed to understand just what was happening in DC. What was that smoke near the Pentagon? How were those people in the towers going to escape those flames? The hostess changed the channel back to ABC apparently just as the first tower was falling. What I saw was all the smoke, I thought that was what it was, but I couldn't see the tower within that smoke. I kept asking, "where is the other building?". But Peter Jennings was oblivious for at least two minutes (it seemed like ages). I kept wondering, "what are we seeing here?" "what angle is this picture from". "I only see one tower." We continued to watch the events unfold in horror. We prayed, we comforted each other, we worried about friends and family. I'm very glad that we were together that day. |
![]() |
|
| Acc Esq | Sep 7 2011, 01:13 PM Post #18 |
|
That week my client from Southern California was in the middle of some grueling depositions in my office. We canceled the depositions for the day after the second plane crashed into the WTC. One of our lawyers told me that a 747 had flown into the first tower. My first thought was the B25 that crashed into the Empire State Building during WW2. When I saw the images, I remember thinking it was a real life Towering Inferno. Later in the day, we found out that a key employee of my client was on the first AA flight from Boston. We then canceled the rest of the depositions that week. I thought my client was very heroic when he boarded the first plane back to California later in the week. As I have been watching some of the remembrance specials and reliving the events, the outrage and surge of patriotism I felt 10 years ago is rekindled. My immediate reaction is how dare they put a mosque at Ground Zero! The effort to dumb down and de-Islamacize the event and recast it as a teaching moment for tolerance and multiculturalism may very well boomerang. When the wounds are reopened, I expect people to be more inflamed by any attempt to deflect the real meaning of 9-11. Never forget. |
![]() |
|
| Rusty Dog | Sep 7 2011, 01:24 PM Post #19 |
|
Yes, never forget. Now, let's roll. |
![]() |
|
| Baldo | Sep 7 2011, 05:49 PM Post #20 |
|
Flight 93 passengers remembered as heroes (3:11) Sep. 5 - Relatives of the United Flight 93 victims visit the Pennsylvania field where the plane crashed after it was hijacked on September 11, 2001 http://in.reuters.com/video/2011/09/06/flight-93-passengers-remembered-as-heroe?videoId=221154999 |
![]() |
|
| Baldo | Sep 7 2011, 11:06 PM Post #21 |
|
Where are they now? The Famous Photo ![]() It was made into a stamp ![]() The three firefighters in the photo have refused all media requests for interviews, choosing to stay out of the spotlight, they have continued their careers with the FDNY for the past 10 years. |
![]() |
|
| agatha | Sep 8 2011, 07:50 AM Post #22 |
|
September 11, 2001 was a beautiful morning in North GA. I was on the phone with my Mom (still living in Atlanta) when the first plane hit. What I remember about those minutes between the first and second planes striking was how careful the talking heads were to avoid the word "terrorism." They did not want to make the same mistake they thought they made in Oklahoma City (a discussion for another thread). We both saw the second plane hit. "Bye, I'll talk to you later." My youngest son was 10. Should I take him out of school? Even though the schools werelock downdown, his school released any child to a parent. I decided he was safer in a place he was present and accounted for. I sat by the television during the next few days and listened to the radio when I had to go out. I heard Peter Jennings snidely remarking "People have to be asking themselves WHERE IS OUR PRESIDENT?" My rage equaled the rage I felt towards the cowards who murdered so many innocents. I have to admit to feeling a sense of justice when I learned he was dying from lung cancer. I am not proud to admit I still loathe that man more than I can describe. |
![]() |
|
| agatha | Sep 8 2011, 08:08 AM Post #23 |
|
Aloha Ronnie is a name familar to many who post at FreeRepublic. He was with Rick Rescorla at Ia Drang in 1965. We Were Soldiers Once and Young ![]() "Rick Rescorla (above) KIA 9/11 WTC Tower 2 Credited with saving thousands of lives" Rick Rescorla Memorial Because of Aloha Ronnie, not only do I know of the bravery of Rick Rescorla, but also a better understanding of what being a soldier in Viet Nam was like. NEVER FORGET |
![]() |
|
| Kerri P. | Sep 8 2011, 12:00 PM Post #24 |
|
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/08/audio-files-reveal-11-air-traffic-horror/ Newly Released Audio Files Reveal Horror of Final Moments in 9/11 Hijackings ![]() Newly released audio files depict the horror of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks unfolding from the perspective of air traffic controllers and flight attendants on board the hijacked planes. The recordings, which begin with early reports of hijackings and include the scrambling of fighter jets, were recently published in their entirety by the Rutgers Law Review -- nearly 10 years after the attacks. At approximately 8:13 a.m., an FAA controller makes several attempts to reach American Airlines Flight 11, heading from Boston to Los Angeles, according to the audio files, which were first reported Thursday by The New York Times. In a chilling phone call made at 8:19 a.m., Betty Ong, a flight attendant on board the plane, calmly tells American Airlines reservations agents that someone has been stabbed in business class and that the cockpit "is not answering their phone." snip..... |
![]() |
|
| agatha | Sep 8 2011, 01:27 PM Post #25 |
|
Just reading the transcript made me ill. |
![]() |
|
| Kerri P. | Sep 8 2011, 02:43 PM Post #26 |
|
Have you forgotten by Darryl Worley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpoudLoc8sY Edited by Kerri P., Sep 8 2011, 02:44 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| foxglove | Sep 9 2011, 11:40 AM Post #27 |
|
I saw the news coverage of what was happening in Washington and NYC as I was getting ready for work. I drove to work with the news coverage on the radio. This was too horrible to fatham. At work, everyone was shook up and people who had access to radio and TV followed the news. Everybody was anxious for news. My department had scheduled a party for the next day and since no one felt it was appropriate to have a party the next day, we called all invited to postpone the party. A man in the cafeteria who I did not know, talked about the end times. I think we both felt there was a need for repentance-- that maybe God was trying to tell us something, life is fragile and not to be taken for granted. No one that I talked to felt anger, just shock, sorrow and concern. I will avoid watching or listening to the 10th anniversary speeches and ceremonies . I don't like that Mayor Bloomberg has prevented clergy and the first responders (or their representation) to the 10th anniversary event. Without the clergy or the first responders, it sounds like the event will be exploited for political purposes. I'll go to church that day and say prayers for those who lost their lives. |
![]() |
|
| Baldo | Sep 9 2011, 03:31 PM Post #28 |
|
Rescue dogs of 9/11: The drama's unsung heroes Meet the proud pooches who searched the WTC rubble ![]() She was a 3-year-old golden-haired beauty when she got the call to respond to her first disaster. Now, stiffer, slower and a bit gray, 13-year-old Bretagne is one of just a handful of World Trade Center rescue dogs still alive. "We arrived on 9/12 and started working right away," said Bretagne's handler, Denise Corliss, a search-and-rescue volunteer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Bretagne had spent more than a year learning how to find survivors in concrete rubble, but her Cypress, Texas, training site was nothing like Ground Zero. She clambered up ladders to get on top of the huge debris piles, padded across broken glass and twisted steel beams, wiggled into small spaces and crawled into dark holes, all the while sniffing through mounds of pulverized concrete searching for clues that would lead her to survivors. Like all the rescue dogs, she worked without a leash or a collar. The dogs also didn't wear protective booties, despite the crushed glass everywhere -- they needed their claws for traction. Every night, she was given a decontamination bath. Her eyes, ears and mouth were rinsed out, and her abraded paw pads gently cleaned. "It was her first mission, but she worked it like a pro. She didn't get cut up or fall or get hurt," said Corliss. But Bretagne had a couple of near misses. One day, sniffing along an elevated steel beam, she lost her footing. "It was real wet because the fires were still smoldering and the water spray was everywhere," Corliss recalled. "She just kind of slipped, but she used her paws to pull herself back up and kept on going. That was the only time I was a little unsettled." Bretagne was also a magnet for distraught firefighters searching the site for fallen comrades. "A lot of times, firefighters would come by and pet her, talk to her and tell her stories," said Corliss. One firefighter bonded so closely with Bretagne that he recognized her years later at a 9/11 memorial. The gregarious golden retriever has seen several national disasters since 9/11 -- she responded to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, going into flooded areas to find those unable to evacuate. She's retired now, but has a hard time accepting it, said Corliss. When Corliss heads out with her new search dog, Aid'n, Bretagne always wants to go along. "I bring her to the training site sometimes and let her run a few drills -- she's still got it," said the proud handler. Like Bretagne, the majority of 100 or so FEMA dogs sent to Ground Zero stayed only about 10 days. Thirty-three NYPD K-9 dogs took over recovery operations -- sniffing the rubble for remains -- for eight months. All of those dogs have since died. The last one, Charlie, a longtime K-9 unit member, passed in January, just a few months shy of his 13th birthday. All told, about 300 dogs contributed to the rescue and long-term recovery effort at Ground Zero, said Roy Gross, a Suffolk County SPCA agent who ran the mobile hospital that cared for the animals. "Besides the FEMA and NYPD dogs, you had therapy dogs, brought in to help the rescue searchers, and dozens of volunteers who showed up at the site with their dogs, too," said Gross A decade later, the vast majority of all the 9/11 dogs are gone, according to the book "Dog Heroes of 9/11," which tracks the canines who worked at Ground Zero and the Pentagon. Only about 14 of the original FEMA dogs are still alive -- including Kaiser, 12, a German shepherd from Indianapolis, and Tuff, 12, from Ashland, Mo. Kaiser was bused to Ground Zero with his handler, Tony Zintsmaster, and arrived late at night on 9/11. He was immediately assigned to the 12-hour night shift. As he climbed down from the pile on the morning of his second day, he badly sliced his right front carpal pad, probably on a sharp piece of steel, said Zintsmaster. "There was no vet there yet, this was early on the 13th, so we found a medical-team doctor who stitched him up. Later, some vets arrived, and we got him bandaged and wrapped, and he was back to work that night." The smoky, smoldering pile was especially difficult to navigate after dark, but Kaiser relished the challenge. In the daytime, the dog would de-stress with a visit to the free massage and acupuncture table set up for first responders by the School of Oriental Medicine. Kaiser particularly liked getting acupuncture, said Zintsmaster. Off the pile, his ebullient personality was a soothing balm to grieving responders. Early one morning, a firefighter walked up to Kaiser, knelt down and hugged him for a long time, in silence. Then he stood up and walked away, said Zintsmaster. Another time, a group of four firefighters decided the hot and thirsty German shepherd needed a drink. "So one firefighter cups his hands together and two others are trying to pour water into his hands so Kaiser can lap it up, and meanwhile, the other one's saying that Kaiser's dirty, so that firefighter starts cleaning and rubbing his back and his muzzle. Kaiser's real social, so he loved the attention and it was OK -- it was what [the firefighters] needed," said Zintsmaster. Kaiser, a "live-find" dog, never gave the alert to indicate he had located a survivor during his 10 days at Ground Zero. But several times, he expressed interest in a scent he'd picked up. "His training was good. He didn't alert, which meant whatever he smelled wasn't alive, but he reacted enough so that I'd know to bring over a cadaver dog," his trainer said. "It's always hard when you don't find survivors." The hardworking German shepherd, who will be 13 in October, just retired last year. He's in good shape, but no longer has the endurance for fieldwork, Zintsmaster said. Some of the 9/11 rescue dogs have been incredibly long-lived. Tara, from Ipswich, Mass., got to Ground Zero the night of the disaster and stayed eight days. She was one of the oldest survivors, until she died last year at age 16. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/rescue_the_unsung_dogs_of_drama_9PI2jS3hnB7Bhi3HzDMa7N
Edited by Baldo, Sep 9 2011, 03:32 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| Baldo | Sep 9 2011, 03:39 PM Post #29 |
|
This was posted in the New York Times October 2, 2009, 5:43 pm Dog From 9/11 Search-and-Rescue Unit Dies ![]() A German shepherd named Taz, who was almost 2 years old when he was assigned from the city police’s K-9 unit to do search and rescue at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack, has died. Taz was the last of the dogs involved in the attacks to still serve on the force. He died of cardiac arrest last Sunday, the Police Department said. Taz would have been 10 years old on Oct. 31 and had served in the Canine Emergency Service Unit, where his duties consisted of searching for evidence, suspects and missing persons. (The average age of the K-9 dogs is 5 years old, and their working careers generally last 6 to 10 years.) Dogs have served the New York Police Department since 1908, when five dogs were promoted to be full-fledged members of the department, complete with badges. At the time, using dogs in crime work was relatively novel and the project was kept secret for months. At the time, a skeptical newspaper (that would be The New York Times) noted the possibility that the dog unit could be “laughed out of official existence.” But in the last 90 years, dogs have become an integral part of investigations, in everything from search and rescue to sniffing for evidence. During the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack, an average of eight dogs were on duty for each of two 12-hour shifts every day, according to the Police Department. The dogs typically worked 30 minutes at a time, then were given breaks. The department currently has around 40 dogs — mostly German shepherds and bloodhounds — that work with its Emergency Service Unit officers on rescue and recovery missions, with other police dogs are assigned to the subways. Search-and-rescue police dogs were deployed for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In a statement, Taz’s handler, Officer Scott Ryan said, “His passing is not just a loss to me, my family and fellow K-9 officers, but to the city that Taz and his K-9 comrades so proudly and courageously served.” Officer Ryan added, “I will ride with my partner Taz for the last time, as I head to Hartsdale Pet Cemetery to bring his ashes home.” http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/dog-from-911-search-and-rescue-uni-dies/ |
![]() |
|
| Rusty Dog | Sep 9 2011, 03:55 PM Post #30 |
|
I think I remember a few years ago that the Westminster Kennel Club honored the rescue dogs at their big dog show. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · LIESTOPPERS UNDERGROUND · Next Topic » |













9:49 AM Jul 11