Area Residents Recall Where They Were On 9/11

It is 8:46 a.m. as this story is published, precisely 18 years after the beginning of the most heinous terrorist attack in United States history. At this time on that terrible day, American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the northern facade of the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

About 17 minutes later, United Airlines flight 175 slammed into the south face of the World Trade Center's south tower. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, and at 10:03 a.m., a hijacked plane believed to be headed to the nation's capital crashed into a field in Shanksville, Penn. The World Trade Center south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., followed 29 minutes later by the north tower.

Among the casualties aboard United 175 were a young couple who had been dating for about two years, and had recently moved to Stafford Springs. Amy King and Michael Tarrou were flight attendants on United 175, and a memorial to them is currently situated in front of the West Stafford Fire Department, as well as a steel beam from one of the World Trade Center towers. Enfield, South Windsor and Manchester are among Connecticut towns which also received portions of the destroyed skyscrapers.

Every American seems to recall where they were and what they were doing when the attack on our nation took place. I was in Vernon working for a weekly newspaper, and when a staff meeting ended around 9 a.m., one of our graphic artists told us about the first crash while on the phone with this girlfriend. As he was conveying the information to us, she told him about the second tower being hit, and we immediately went to a first-floor conference room and turned on the television. I remember nearly all of us sitting transfixed for the majority of that day; no one went out on the road, and no ads were sold that day.

Tolland businessman Glenn Johnson puts up a memorial display each year. See his full story here.

Many people are posting their remembrances of 9/11 on social media. David Heuschkel of Simsbury, sports editor for Turley Publishing, wrote:

"Eighteen years ago on this day I boarded a plane in Hartford at 7:50 a.m. Covering the Boston Red Sox for the Hartford Courant, the team was scheduled to play a three-game series against Tampa Bay. My flight to Tampa departed at 8:25 a.m. Normalcy would soon be replaced by uncertainty and fear when the pilot announced all planes have been ordered to make an emergency landing. No reason was given, but word began to circulate throughout the cabin about the hijacked planes. I remember a man sitting a few rows behind me began to scream and curse: “Those sons of bitches!” The elderly woman sitting next to me asked if I would hold her hand. I reached across the empty middle seat and held her hand tightly, telling her not to fear. In my CD Walkman that morning was Robert Plant’s “Fate of Nations.” Our plane landed in Charlotte, N.C. I rented a car and drove to Tampa, arriving at my hotel around 9 that evening. The next day I headed back to Connecticut in my rental car. Fast forward a year later. A story in the paper reported a Tampa-bound flight out of Hartford on the morning 9-11 was in a direct collision course with one of the hijacked planes and had to "immediately" change its course to avert a mid-air disaster. I was fortunate to be on that plane because it was reported that up to 10 planes out of the Northeast were supposed to be hijacked that day."

Patch is asking readers to share their memories of that tragic day. Comments may be written directly onto this story, or posted on our various community Facebook pages.

Never forget...

A pair of steel beams from the World Trade Center reside in a memorial garden in front of the Enfield Fire Department Station 2. (Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)