September 11, 2001, 8:46 a.m. “At that moment, everything changed,” writes Grant Kunkowski ’78.
On the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., Grant and dozens of alums share their 9/11 stories. Some, like Grant, ran to Ground Zero to help. Others ran from it seeking safety.
At left, read alums’ accounts of the disaster from different vantage points—Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New Jersey, Hawaii, and U.S. airspace.
Our deepest sympathies to all who have lost loved ones in the war against terrorism, which came into focus for most Americans on September 11, 2001.
Here is Margaret O'Meara's full story:
My husband and I were in Hawaii on September 11, 2001. That morning, we were awakened by a 5 a.m. (Hawaii time) phone call saying that the World Trade Center was gone. We thought we misheard Ryan’s sister ... When we turned on CNN, we knew that it wasn’t a joke and that she had barely missed being crushed by the North Tower.
It was very unsettling being in Hawaii when the attacks happened. We were at an Oracle conference and thought that many people may have died on the LA flight travelling to the conference. One gentleman who did pass away was Todd Beamer on the Pennsylvania flight, the one who said, “Let’s roll” before the passengers tried to take over the plane.
Our flight home was scheduled for the first day that planes were allowed to fly again. Everyone was on edge and there were only a few planes in the air. A loud applause and cheers accompanied our safe landing in Newark, New Jersey.
At the time, we lived in a Brownstone in Jersey City, and we could see the Twin Towers from our bedroom. Driving back to Jersey City was surreal. A stream of smoke was emanating from the ground where the Twin Towers stood. The highways were empty and our hearts were in our stomachs. There was smoke and ashes and a very strange smell that lasted into November coming from lower Manhattan. It was the eeriest and strangest trip I have made from the airport. Later on I found out that two college friends were killed that day.
Like every American, I will never forget that day and the way that it changed my life and the lives of all Americans. Many times my parents were asked, “Where were you when JFK was killed?” The question for my generation is, “Where were you on September 11th?”
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