9-11 Remembered: A Day That Changed DC, NoVA And The World

FAIRFAX, VA — I was sitting at my desk in Fairfax writing up the news stories that were due on Wednesday morning when the phone rang. It was one of the editors from The Connection telling me to get into the office as soon as possible.

When I asked her what was going on, she said, "Turn on the TV. We're being attacked."

I didn't need to ask what channel I had to turn to. Each one had the same video of the burning towers in New York and the huge crater in Pentagon's concrete wall bellowing smoke.

Driving to the office, I listened to the radio, trying to piece things together. As I crested the hill on Route 123 in Tysons Corner, I could see a huge plume of black smoke rising in the direction of Arlington.

Our editors scrapped that week's planned coverage and all the reporters were sent out to cover the story unfolding in our communities. I was sent to the West Falls Church Metro Station to talk to commuters sent home because of the attack. One man who worked in Rosslyn said one of his office mates had seen the plane strike the Pentagon. Everyone was in shock and unsure what to do.

Later, I talked to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue public information officer at the county's command center, which had been set up months earlier at an old school in Annandale. I found out very little. No one would talk on the record about the emergency response, because they didn't know what the nature of the attack was at that point. They didn't want something to get out that could make things worse.

My editor then sent me to a prayer service in Fairfax City, where I talked to the pastor and the handful of people who came to share the grief they were feeling. One man had been at the Pentagon and was pretty shook up.

Driving back to Tysons Corner, I encountered no traffic on the Beltway. Everyone was at home or in Arlington responding to the tragedy at the Pentagon.

In the subsequent weeks, we interviewed survivors, first responders, and the families of the dead.

The world was different. We had all changed.

— Michael O'Connell, Fairfax

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Patch asked its readers to share their memories of that day.

I remember what a clear and pretty day it was, as my husband and I, and my thee children, headed off to school and work. My oldest child was a freshman at Langley and my twins were fourth graders at Great Falls Elementary. We put the kids on the bus, and then my husband headed off to his job in D.C., not far from the Pentagon. I was a teacher at Village Green Day School in Great Falls where my first early morning responsibility was helping kids at carpool.

The teachers had almost finished carpool when our director appeared on the sidewalk looking quite alarmed. As we escorted the last couple of children into the school, she huddled the remaining staff as we walked toward the building. She told us of the maybe terrible accident but probably an attack in NYC with airplanes. We were stunned and speechless as we got to our classrooms and tried our best to act as normal as possible in front of the children. Terrible updates were made frequently to the teachers, as the assistant teacher or teacher were summoned into the hallway, to receive briefings from the office staff. I received a call from my husband to tell me that he saw the plane hit the Pentagon from his office complex.

Related: D.C. Police Officer Recalls Recovering Bodies On 9/11 At Pentagon

Parents started to come in and pick up their children — despite some rumors that the suburban Washington area could be targeted— and that it might be safer for the kids to remain. But by noon of that fateful day, my classroom was emptied, and I went over to Great Falls to pick up my twins. I was allowed to go up to the classroom to gather them, and there were still a number of children remaining, while the teacher was carrying on very bravely and reading a story. Then the three of us proceeded down Georgetown Pike to Langley High School, where we waited on an in-person line, to pick up my son.

I will never forget the poor mother behind me, crying inconsolably, because her husband worked at the Pentagon. Everyone near her tried to comfort her, but truly we were all in a state of shock.

We were lucky — no one in our family was hurt. We were all together at the end of the day — watching the terrible events unfold on TV. The next day school was canceled — and the playground in Great Falls was bursting with moms and kids, expressing their sorrow, grief, disbelief, while the children ran wild and played outside.

— Lauren Ambrosini, Reston

I've lived in Arlington continuously since the late 70s. I worked from 1985-2012 downtown (23rd and E Streets) at the Navy Medicine HQ.

That morning was a typical September (all kinds of reports, meetings, assignments) day in a Budget office. We were told about the crashes in NYC and watched on big screen TV in the boss' office. After the Pentagon got hit (I remember looking across the river at it and seeing the black smoke), we were told to evacuate. Before I left to join the total gridlock traffic, I witnessed the Navy Surgeon General, VADM Cowan, climb stairs at one of the buildings, as if to do a George Patton "Can I see the enemy planes?" move; his aide told him to come down since they might be targeting the State Department across the street!

I sat on Key Bridge in traffic as I heard about the Towers collapsing and Flight 93. I picked up two guys who were trying to get to Ballston Metro and couldn't get their normal bus.

Finally getting home about 12:30, I was checked on by my sister-in-law and niece; glad they were OK but I had been supposed to pick up my niece at high school (NCS) that afternoon.

That afternoon I was just glued to the TV news wondering what would happen next. My brother worked in NYC, an office building about as far away from WTC as my office was from the Pentagon. My parents were totally out of the area, vacationing with friends in South Carolina. ... They were calling to make sure I was OK, but phones at the office had gone dead. I was back at work the next day, but our focus was going to totally change in DoD!

— James Scarborough, Arlington

I worked at The Mitre Corporation in Reston at the time. I arrived at work early just like any other day.

Upon walking into my office I put my bag and briefcase down and began to turn on my computer, 3 minutes later I called my best friend STG Cassandra Barnes she works at the Pentagon for our daily check in.

Just as I was dialing her number I heard "this is A Special News Report" coming from the TV in my office saying that American Airlines plane had hit the Pentagon at same time STG Barnes phone was sounding off busy signals.

I started panicking because I knew she worked in that area where the plane had hit. MITRE security was evacuating people from the building. I kept calling and calling hoping she would answer her phone. I was calling my children's school to see if they were okay. This was supposed to had been a great day because it was my big brother's birthday but instead it was the worst day of my life. Not only did this impact here but, I learned I had lost 13 people in New York on that day as well.

But Cassandra did show up days later and I found out that she went back in the Pentagon to find her boss. Her office was just around the corner where the Bible was.

I will never ever forget this day and this year my big brother is resting in heaven on his birthday 9-11-54.

— Cassie Gainey

Early on the morning of 9/11/2021, I was at Dulles Airport, waiting for my flight to Charlotte. We kept being told that the flight was delayed due to maintenance. I worked for Intel Corporation and was traveling for work.

Impatient with the delay, I got on my cellphone to discuss strategies with a colleague who lived in New York City. Suddenly, she tells me that something odd is happening on TV. I looked up to see that folks in the terminal were crowded around TVs — but I did not go over to see why.

An announcement came on the speaker that everyone must clear the terminal. I hung up with my colleague and calmly went out to the valet area to wait for my car, thinking it must be a false alarm bomb threat. While waiting, my significant other of the time phoned me and was so relieved when I answered. He was at a meeting in a tall building in Falls Church with windows facing east and watching the smoke billowing up from the Pentagon. This is how I found out that the United States of America was under attack.

— Connie Hartke, Reston

Twenty years ago today I was on a quick day trip bound for Albany, New York on business. I wasn't supposed to take the trip, but my boss had unexpectedly injured herself and was unable to fly.

I left Dulles Airport on a delayed flight at around 8:30 in the morning. The AA flight that hit the Pentagon left Dulles at 8:20 a.m. It still takes my breath away when I think about it.

When I arrived in Albany, I remember the eerie silence of the airport with televisions displaying confusing images that at first glance appeared to be a Hollywood movie. The airport was already closed, and I overheard conversations that confirmed some type of attack in New York related to planes hitting the World Trade Center.

I arrived at the Albany office and met with my colleagues as they gathered around the television set. In horror, we watched the first tower fall. It seemed as if the world as I always understood it to be had turned upside down.

All I wanted to do was call my parents and hear their voices. Unfortunately, cell services were completely down. Thank goodness for a dear friend and colleague who received my colleague's email and personally reached out to my parents to tell them I was OK.

My one-day trip turned into three, and I stayed with my work colleague that first night. Thank goodness for that little taste of home to allow me to feel more grounded and less anxious. A trip to Walmart was in order because I had no change of clothes for my one day trip.

I finally left Albany on Friday morning and shakily boarded an Amtrak train bound for New York's Penn Station where I would continue my journey into D.C.

Once I changed trains in NYC, I rode the rest of the way with a nurse that had been at Ground Zero and left discouraged because unfortunately her help wasn't needed. I arrived in D.C. to a city that looked more somber. Flags were everywhere and people looked lost and confused. The world had changed from just a couple days before.

— Julie, Arlington

I remember being at work in the shop and seeing something that looked like a soap opera or a movie and then realizing it wasn't . Being someone who lived in New York and worked there it brought tears to my eyes because of all of those people that were being hurt and the loss of life.

— Taboo Koonce, Reston

I remember the challenge of being separated from my family while on a trip to an Air Force base in Texas and not being able to return to them in Virginia for five days. Then I realized how many heroes that day would never be able to return to their families and my grief focused on them and my prayers became about something much bigger.

— Jim Seevers, Herndon

I was working at a law firm in D.C. that day. When the news broke about the first plane, we all went to our 12th floor lobby because there was a TV there. As we stood there, we saw the second plane hit. When I got back to my desk, the news about the Pentagon broke. We weren't let go until 10:30. I didn't get home until 1:30.

Like many, I sat transfixed in front of the TV. It was so horrifying to see it and to realize how many lives were lost! My Dad, who was retired from DCA, left me a voicemail that said "What happened to Intelligence? Why didn't we know that this was coming?"

When we returned to work, we found out that one of our law firm partners had been on the plane that hit the Pentagon, and we had a memorial service for him. So sad, and such a sad day! We must never forget so nothing like this ever happens again!

— Marcia House, Herndon

Do you have a 9-11 story you wish to share? Add it in the comments below.

Related:

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