9/11 Memory—Twelve Years On

There are certain moments in my life where I can recall all the vivid images, remember the sounds, the smells, and exactly what I was doing at the moment when something profound affected my life. Like most Americans I remember the horrific images of September 11, 2001, that were permanently seared into our psyche. It is our shared personal history.

I was working in the communications branch of a federal agency in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, and we always kept a news channel feed on in the the common area of our offices. When the first plane hit the World Trade Center, everyone immediately huddled around the TV monitor to witness the tragedy on live TV. We all stood with mouths agape when the second plane hit the other tower and the gravity that it was an attack began to sink in. As we helplessly watched the devastation in New York City, we felt a sudden jolt and shaking of our building. The thick plate-glass windows rattled. The Pentagon had also been struck.

Then there was much ado in the office. People trying unsuccessfully to call home, schools, and loved ones. I could see emotional chaos on the faces of my coworkers. I tried calling my wife, but the system was overloaded with other trying to do the same. The news soon carried images of the Pentagon with smoke billowing. I looked out of my 11th floor office window and watched silently as a massive debris cloud drifted through the streets of Crystal City. Aloft in the thick brown smoke I could see tiny pieces of paper and shiny debris amidst the dust particles--a shimmering cloud--like glitter and eerily mesmerizing.

My trance was broken soon after as the streets below turned into a sea of people and cars with no navigable way out. When two F-16s zoomed overhead at low altitude I heard the startled mass scream in unison as it pitched and heaved a wave in all directions. Throughout the morning and afternoon, Route 1 would become a pedestrian way as thousands of people from the Pentagon and Crystal City avoided the overstressed mass transit system and took to foot. My journey home in the afternoon would take seven hours instead of the usual 40 minutes door to door. The day had begun with crisp air and clear blue skies. It started out as such a beautiful day I thought I was ready for anything.