| Rep Candice Pierucci: I was nine years-old. My Mom was helping my little brother and I get ready for school when she told us to come downstairs and get ready while we watched the news. I remember watching the towers smoking while my Mom braided my hair for me to go to school. That was the first time my Mom had us all watch the news as kids. As a nine-year old, I remember watching and feeling scared, wondering what it all meant. Our elementary school held a stuffed animal drive for the children who lost parents, I remember bringing my favorite stuffed animal, a goat, giving it a kiss and putting it in the donation box. Shortly after the attacks my family and I went on a vacation and we were flying. I remember a neighbor asking if we weren't too afraid to get on the plane. My Mom responded, "If we are always afraid, and don't live our lives, then the bad guys win." As a kid, the long process at the airport security actually made me feel safer when we got on the plane. Rep. Mike Winder: Twenty years ago I was working in West Valley City Hallâs Economic Development office. My appointment from a morning meeting had just left, and a coworker informed me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We turned a TV on in the conference room while a few of us gathered to watch the coverage. We quickly realized that this was not just a small plane confused and off course, then before our eyes on live TV we saw the second airliner careen into the second tower. Any productivity the rest of the day was shot as we were all glued to TV and news websites, worried, wondering, and speculating what would come next. I remember estimating with some coworkers how many lives must have been lost, and that gratefully (and in large part because of the heroic first responders that day) the final death toll was much lower than it really should have been considering how many were in the towers that morning. But it is after 9/11 that is the most poignant to meâthe eerie silence in the skies for days (we live right under the landing approach to Salt Lake International Airport)âand the resumption of flights that would spook us when an extra loud plane descended in the weeks after. It was the national unity we felt as Congress sang âGod Bless Americaâ on the Capitol steps, as President Bush visited Ground Zero and spoke to the nation and world through that megaphone, and in months after as the flag from the hallowed rubble was reverently brought in during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. (Read More) Jennie Taylor: Quite ironically, I was out of the country on 9/11/2001. I was just beginning my time in Santiago, Chile as a young missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For years I felt as if Iâd âmissed outâ on my generationâs Pearl Harbor moment. Itâs now nearly impossible to describe the impact that day has hadâand will continue to have on my life. My husband enlisted in the Army largely because of 9/11, and my children will now spend the rest of their lives clinging to a very limited supply of memories of their late father because of his service in the war that began that day. For me, September 11th is a day of reflection on what sacrifice and service really look like, what the price of freedom really is, and the stark reminder that some things really are worth dying for. Mayor Dawn Ramsey: I will never forget watching the Today Show and hearing Katie Couric announce breaking news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I had stood on the public observation deck atop the south tower just a couple of years earlier and could hardly believe it. As I stood fixed in front of the television, barely aware of the toddlers running around me, my legs went weak and I fell back against the footboard of my bed when the second plane hit the towers. It wasn't long before they fell, and it seemed as if the entire world stopped while America tried to process the devastation of what was happening. Video footage of people running for their lives as debris and smoke permeated the air was both shocking and heartbreaking. It looked as if a volcano had erupted, leaving everything covered in ash. I remember friends who were desperate to hear if their loved ones were safe, and I recall watching through tears as first responders dressed in yellow bravely carried the injured away from the scene. The number of casualties was still unknown and impossible to comprehend. The feeling in America immediately following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 was the most patriotic of my lifetime. Our country set aside differences and stood together against a common enemy. Flags were displayed, patriotic songs were popular, and there was an overall feeling of unity. Folks everywhere were proud to be Americans. I miss that. The America I love today feels very different than it did then. On the wall at the World Trade Center Museum it says "We Will Never Forget." I hope that is true. It is up to each of us to remember how much we love this country and to honor the immense sacrifices that have been made in her behalf. May we always remember those we lost that on that tragic September morning. David Butterfield: To say the world stopped that morning is no reach. Whatever had come before would be different anyway and in those moments it didn't matter. I remember consuming the news despite it being difficult, like swallowing whole potatoes, and yet I couldn't get enough. The images and sounds were horrific and hard and I could barely process them. Our oldest daughter, four at the time, was confused at the sudden melancholy and wondered why her parents cried. And then, something happened in the days that followed. In our unbelievable sadness and grief we grew together. It seemed that borders and labels and divisions were suddenly swallowed up and we were all just Americans. Pedestrian and seemingly important things that had consumed us and our time and the news evaporated and our primary concern was each other. I remember feeling as if there wasn't anything I wouldn't do if I could help my country and my fellow citizens, particularly those who were experiencing such traumatic loss. Shawn Milne: I remember the call from an employee. He called and said America was under attack by terrorists and that I needed to turn on a TV. I was working in my home based office that morning. I donât know what I expected to see, but the gravity of the situation was even heavier after seeing the image of the first tower aflame with billowing smoke and a gaping hole. The news anchor speculated as to what happened. And then⦠Live on TV I watched the second plane hit. The news also reported additional hijackings. I remember feeling a sense of doom and uncertainty. But it was accompanied by a sense of determination and an immediate desire to fight back - from the âfight, flight, or freezeâ response of feeling threatened. I remember knowing that this would forever be known as a defining moment, like Pearl Harbor, when an international fight was brought to our soil. I contacted every one of my other employees by mid morning and told them all to leave work for the day and return to their homes. By afternoon I was calling family and loved ones just to check on them. I recall being glued to the news on TV all day. It was as if all the rest of the world stood still. By late night, my wife and I felt mentally exhausted from the nonstop digestion of replayed loops on TV showing the planes crashing in to the towers, the aerial views of the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania, the plumes of dust and debris barreling down streets many blocks away after the towers crumbled, and harried newscasters trying to make sense of it all. We knew by dayâs end that our world wouldnât be the same. Michelle Kaufusi: It is with heavy hearts that we think back on the events of 9/11. The images of that day are seared into our minds. Many of us remember the feeling of gloom that day. To many people, it seemed that we might never experience peace and security again. How grateful we are for the American heroes that helped us that day and in the days that followed, from the ordinary citizens who made the bold decision to fight the terrorist who had taken over the cockpit of their flightâto the firefighters and other public safety workers who rushed into the flaming towersâto the military heroes who fought to protect us in the hours and days and years that followed. It is thanks to heroes like those that we are able to stand here todayâ20 years laterâin an America that has not been overcome by terrorism and darkness but instead remains a land of liberty and safety.
Carl Downing: 9/11/2001 is a day burned in my memory, so few days are like that in history. We remember the Challenger exploding, President Reagan being shot and large events that impact an entire nation. Sept 11th 2001 started like any other day for me, I'm not one to watch morning news as I prepare to leave the house. I jumped in my car to head to work like most of us do and heard the breaking news on the radio, it took a moment to realize the scale of the moment, the second tower had just been hit and I remember the confusion as the reporters were making sense that America was under attack. There was a lot of confusion that day about other flights being hijacked and their destinations as the events unfolded. It was a very sobering day, one that I'll never forget. Looking up in the sky and not seeing any airplanes for days after is a memory that'll never fade. Ally Isom: Time stood still. I'll never forget the images of smoke, the second plane colliding with the second tower, people running in the streets, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, people jumping from windows.
I'll always remember my hot tears streaming, wrapping my arms around my pregnant body, and thinking, "What kind of world am I bringing this baby into? How do I explain this to my young children? What will their future be? Is this the beginning of something even worse?" I couldn't move. "Who was responsible? Why would they do this?" I bowed my head, praying for peace and understanding. My husband, Eric, got the kids breakfast while I remained frozen in disbelief, searching channels for more information. Then, after praying as a family and assuring our elementary-aged children they'd be okay, the kids left for school and Eric went to work. But I remained on the edge of the bed all morning with my questions, in my robe, my heart breaking for so many who perished and for those they left behind. Two months later, we joyously welcomed our fourth child. That golden-curled infant is now a broad-shouldered man--a digital native, adept with constant change, accustomed to uncertainty. A pandemic now bookends his youth. And nevertheless, I remain hope-filled that wonder and love and joy await him. Because while there is evil and adversity in this world, there are also so many heroes (and sheroes!). There is so much goodness and so very much that is right. For me, remembering 9/11 underscores that humans are resilient, that we take care of each other, and that, when we get knocked down, this country gets back up and keeps moving forward. One nation, under God and indivisible.
Becky Edwards: Shock, confusion, and disbelief. I could hardly comprehend what my husband was saying when he called on his way home from picking up our daughter from her early morning piano lesson and told me to turn on the TV. We didnât send our kids to school that morning. We sat in silence in our basement and watched for hours as things played out, waiting for glimpses of humanity amongst the horror. Somehow, we felt reassured to see people reaching out to grab the hand of a stranger as they stumbled together through narrow streets filled with plumes of smoke and debris. We had moved to Utah from NYC a few years before this, and we searched for weeks through images of that day for people we knew. We felt a connection to every story and every person who experienced this assault on our country. Witnessing the events of that day left a burning impression that America would change in ways we could not yet see. Stan Lockhart: Our kids were in elementary school and each morning revolves around breakfast in the kitchen. We had a small television on the kitchen counter that my wife turned on as she got the kids ready for school. On 9/11 I came into the kitchen and reporters were already talking about a plane that had hit the twin towers. My wife and I watched in horror as video of the crashed was replayed over and over. Then the second plane hit and soon after reports of a plane hitting the pentagon and of a plane that went down. We were in shock. I remember seeing people falling out the high rise and then the buildings crumbling. Our world changed that day. Terrorism had a new meaning. The world wasnât as safe a place. Bart Barker: Patti took our two youngest children to school that morning. Ammon and Amaleah, our twins, were six. I turned on the morning news, which is odd because I have seldom watched TV newsâor TV much at all.
Patti heard about the plane hitting the first tower on the radio on the way home from the school. I saw soon after it happened on one of the broadcast news stations. Patti got home and we were riveted to the TV for hours, trying to learn all we could. Patti called the school and asked them to watch our children at recess. We were afraid they might be teased or bullied because of the attacks. Their birth parents are Nigerian and Tongan. We discussed the attacks with six of our children extensively as they arrived home from school or work. (Our other child was serving a church mission.) We answered their questions and talked to them about their feelings.
Erin Preston: On 9.11 I woke up early to get ready for a morning flight. I was a Regional Manager (Lexis Nexis) who oversaw the Northwest Region. Since I was supposed to be headquartered in Seattle I flew there every other week to maintain appearances that I actually lived there â and not Utah. On that day I woke up earlier than usual so I would have time to go be sick for a while before pulling myself together, because â morning sickness. I was expecting my first son â a fact I was hiding from my company, because â 2001. As I did most days I turned on Good Morning America to catch their 7:00 news summary. That day however, coverage had already been interrupted. They were talking about a small plane hitting one of the World Trade Center buildings. The commentators were speculating that it could be the result of a radio disturbance and were showing a live shot of the building with smoke coming out of the top. Only a few minutes later that live shot showed another plane hit the second tower. They continued to talk about it being the result of a radio disturbance, but they didnât sound as convinced. What no one was talking about was that the planes werenât small personal planes that had flown off course, but were actually large commercial jets. No one was talking about any risk to the building occupants. And no one was talking about this being an intentional act â let alone terrorism. So in anticipation of a day of my âvery importantâ meetings, I finished getting dressed and drove to the airport. The airport was fairly empty, as it often was that early back then. The first thing that seemed different is that when I got into the concourse all the TVâs were off. A lone TV was on at Squatters â but it was small and so many people had crowded around that I couldnât hear anything. All everyone was talking about was what I had already seen, and it didnât sound like the narrative had changed, so I walked to my gate and got ready to board. The airline attendant was still preparing for boarding, but kept announcing that boarding delays in unspecified increments. Thatâs when my employees started calling me (on my flip cell phone of course â no such thing as internet access back then). Each called me with various updates: another plane had hit the Pentagon; another plan had hit the State Department building (an inaccurate rumor â but the news was a mess). I was still focused on the meetings I was missing because of the delays, calling my boss to let him know that I was still coming, just had to wait for boarding. We still didnât understand what was happening. (Read More) Erin Preston: My sister Teri, recently retold me her 9/11 story. At the time she was a new ESL teacher in Portland Oregon. Her class was made up of English language learner students from all over the world â among her 20 students there were 9 languages spoken. She came to school similarly rattled and in disbelief. She started the class by talking about what they knew, didnât know, and repeatedly expressing her disbelief at what was happening â still not absorbing the idea that this was terrorism. Eventually she noticed that her students werenât processing the same emotions. An Albanian refugee student finally broke and went off about how entitled Americans were that they couldnât understand what this was. She pointed out that in the war zone she had just left, thousands of people die every day and no one cares. Why did Teri, and why did Americans in general, think we were so special that this wouldnât come to us. With that, Teri stopped talking as she realized that many of her students had the same look â and likely had a similar history. As she now notes, the comments she had made that day âprocessingâ the events were not reciprocated by her students. Her comments were more likely causing them PTSD. | 