A New Yorker's Honest & Emotional Memories of 9/11

I was born and raised in New York City.

I was living in Washington, DC on September 11, 2001.

Both of my homes were attacked.

I will never forget.

** * **

I will never forget the feeling of helplessness as I watched the news for at least 3 days straight.

I remember joining my friends in my buddy Jon’s at 3am the night after September 11, 2001. We stuck an American flag in the sunroof and drove out to Northern Virginia to see the Pentagon burning with our own eyes. We had to.

We made it out to the highway next to the Pentagon, leaned out the window and took some video and photos.

Moments later were lit up by a police car. “What are you doing? Get out of here,” they said over their speaker.

(all three of these images were taken by Jon that night)

** * **

Next thing we knew, we were being escorted back into Washington, DC, with the police car right behind us until we reached the abandoned streets of Georgetown.

On every corner, we saw military Hummers with soldiers holding fully automatic weapons. Sandbags were set up in front of key buildings and the Nation’s capitol was a ghost town.

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Visiting Ground Zero in Manhattan
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A few weeks later I finally returned to Manhattan and was immediately shocked by the gaping hole in my skyline while driving alongside the City on the BQE in Brooklyn.

All of downtown Manhattan was off limits to the public due to the rescue efforts, but I had to see it with my own eyes.

My plan was to head downtown with my video and film cameras. If someone tried to stop me, I would tell them that I was making a very important documentary.

Thoughts like “what if they ask for a permit” didn’t even occur to me. The date was October 5, 2001. I was 20 years old, in a state of shock, and determined to see it with my own eyes.

** * **

I hopped on the E subway train and got off one station before the World Trade Center station.

When I asked someone if that was the last stop they said, “yeah…didn’t you hear? They blew up the Twin Towers.”

When I reached the top of the stairs, it felt like I had entered a war zone.

Dust, debris, and shocked people filled the eerily-silent streets;

Words of prayer were traced by hand onto shop windows still covered in World Trade Center ash; and hundreds of fliers wallpapered building facades showing photographs of those still missing.

What really shocked me was how many entrepreneurs were standing on the street corners selling NYPD and FDNY baseball hats.

Also for sale were postcards and photo books of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center before, during, and after the attacks.

To me it seemed quite horrible. But, the fact that people had the constitutional right to do it was a testament to just what makes the USA great!

I continued to walk until I found myself about two blocks from Ground Zero.

There were police officers everywhere and – faux-documentary or not – I couldn’t get any closer. It didn’t matter. Two blocks away was enough.

• Buildings were still burning.
• Smoke was still rising.
• People were still crying.
• The smoke was still thick.
• Despair was still in the air.

I snapped my photos. I recorded my videos. But mostly, I just took it all in.

I felt violated. I felt personally attacked. I felt helpless. I felt like I wanted to do something but couldn’t. So I documented.

Now, 11 years after September 11, I am ready to share that experience with the world.

. . .

Every year, the annual 9/11 Tribute in Light memorializes the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center by shining two massive flood lights from their former location.

All photos of the twin beams of light were taken in 2008 from Brooklyn, New York

The grainy images of downtown Manhattan are screen grabs from a camcorder video I shot documenting the aftermath on October 5, 2011.

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Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Please share any memories, thoughts, or reflections you have in the comments section.