(The Reporter sent out a request for 9/11 memories and we were absolutely inundated. We received so many, in fact, that we can’t print them all here. We are in the process of putting them all online at www.rockdalereporter.com. Thanks to all for your submissions.)
“I was in Germany for a five year assignment. Germany is six hours ahead of the United States so it was about 3:30 p.m. when I walked into the cable TV office to ask for an update on installation. The lady in the office asked if I had heard about the plane in New York, which I hadn’t at the time. I went back to work after that. We had a big meeting and we were told about the attacks and put on alert. That evening, it took two hours to get back on base (home) because they were searching every car that was coming on base with dogs, mirrors and flashlights. For the next few days, all of the bases were ghost towns because we were locked down for security reasons, not knowing the next target.”—Former city manager Chris Whittaker, Lt. Col. (Ret.), US Army, Logisitics
“My mama and I had a Birkenstock specialty store in Highland Park and we were selling shoes when we got the news. We stopped everything we were doing and turned on a little radio and listened to the fate of our country. It was one of the scariest days of our lives. The news was saying they were heading to Dallas next so we were scared to death!”
—Brooke Graham
“I was working for Alcoa and was visiting a new location in Baton Rouge. We were in a group meeting when someone came in and shared with us that a plane had hit the WTC. I initially didn’t think much about it until after the meeting and was able to watch a television. I remember feeling very sad and almost fearful. We’d flown into Baton Rouge, but fortunately had a rental car so we were able to drive back to Rockdale.”
—Former VFD fire chief Ward Roddam
“My Mill Street Tea Room had been open almost three years. We had a small portable TV in the kitchen so could listen to the morning news shows while we prepared for the day. I wasn’t usually there alone but happened to be on that day. I was taking a break while talking to my best friend, Sally Simmons, on the phone. She was at work in Minnesota. I heard the news break in on the TV and looked. We were silent for several minutes just listening. When we saw the video of the plane hitting the tower for the first time, we both broke down crying. She started praying aloud. It felt like an eternity. I just sat down on the kitchen floor in stunned silence.”
—Georgia Rolan Zamora
“We were in Las Vegas attending a polka band festival with the Vrazel Polka Band being one of the performers. We could not fly home since planes were not allowed to fly. Finally on Friday a charter bus was acquired by Bernice Vrazel and we started on our journey to Austin. I think it was a 26-hour straight-through ride home. Still have memories of the fear being in Vegas when it was announced that Lake Mead, which supplies power to Vegas, could be hit.”—Madeline Kovar
“I was asleep, having worked the night shift at Rockdale PD the night before. My sister, Nikki, called me sounding worried, asking me if I’ve seen the news. I turned on the TV and like everyone else, was glued to it for hours and hours. Getting phone calls all day about it. My dad gave me an American flag pin for my uniform shortly after that and I wore it for years. I probably shook everyone’s hand in Rockdale and Milam County three times each in that following few months. I didn’t pay for a meal and heard ‘thank you for what you do’ more times than I could count. Bless those souls and heroes 20 years ago.”
—Milam County Sheriff Mike Clore
“On that day I was in Bryan with 25 principals attending a professional development class. We heard the news and the class was canceled. We all said a prayer and headed back home. Later we heard about the other two planes. It was a terrible day.”—Retired school administrator Raymon Puente
“I was sitting at my desk writing an email to Denise Starnes wishing her a happy birthday when KRXT made an announcement on the news. Charles and I turned on the television and watched in shock. All I could think was are my kids in school able to see any of this? They were in 8th and 10th grade.”
—Gaye Bland
“I was working at Memorial Hermann and I was rounding as the nursing director on the Orthopedic Trauma with Dr. Red Duke. While we were in a patient’s room, the TV was on and the patient started screaming. We thought that he was in pain due to his bilateral leg fractures. Instead he was watching the first plane crash into the twin towers! I will never forget how sick I felt after watching it over and over again as we continued our patient rounding.”
—Dr. Tommye Cashaw Austin, RN.
“I will never forget that morning. I remember I stayed home from work that day with my oldest child (only child at the time). I was folding laundry when Eric called telling me to turn on the news. When I turned the TV on, only the first tower had been hit. I quickly put in a VHS tape and hit record. I remember feeling so scared for those people. A sad day for sure.”—Courtney Paulsen
“I was working at Alcoa. That day I was working with Scott Randall. The shift supervisor that day was Teddy Gaines. He rode up on a scooter and told us what had happened and that Scott needed to come with him. They went into a briefing about what had happened, and Scott came back and told us what had happened. Everyone was so shocked at first, scared for a little bit and then mad for a long time.”—Charles Starr
“I was on my second day at of training at Dayton Area School Employees Federal Credit Union in Kettering, OH. We were all panicking. We brought the TV in to watch it. The Air Force cleared air space which let out a loud boom and we thought we were being attacked. It was such a horrific day. A day I will never forget.”—Eva Anderson
“Working at Alcoa in the rod room. We had a TV that only picked up the local news. I thought it was fake until the second plane hit the Twin Towers. Totally crazy, but I never will forget.”—Lee Parsley
“I believe I was 12 at the time. I was in school when they announced it. We had a moment of silence and as they explained what happened it broke my heart.”—Sarah Everage
“I was managing a body shop in Round Rock. Had a TV in my assistant’s office. She started calling me to come back there. Watched it all unfold on TV while praying for all the people involved. The rest of that day no phone calls came in unless it was family checking in and no work was performed. It was like we were all lost; like it was a bad nightmare. I will never forget that day.”
—David Taylor
“Allen and Shelly Sanders and I were at a teachers’ conference in College Station. Someone came in and told us all to go back to our schools to help share the news with the students and teachers. We were in shock! I can tell you exactly where I was sitting!”
—Sharon Shoemake
“I think I was on a job somewhere. Then I talked to Terri who was at the Keenland horse sale in Kentucky. She said royals were being evacuated really fast. It took me several days to find her a flight home since the skies were shut down. But we finally did it. Watching it on TV was just mesmerizing.”—Jeff Noack
“I was dropping off my son, Blake, at Little Tykes Learning Center, when I saw other moms watching a small TV up in the corner. The first plane had just hit and we were all in shock, but we thought it was a small plane. I drove home and turned on the TV and saw the second plane hit, realizing at this point it was no accident. I’ll always remember sitting on my couch, holding Eve in my arms, rocking back and forth, with tears streaming down my face wondering how and why would anyone ever commit such a hateful act.”
—Rebecca King
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