For 102 minutes on September 11, 2001, the world looked on in horror as terrorists flew hijacked passenger planes into New York City's mighty twin towers, destroying the iconic buildings and killing more than 2,700 people. Watch unfiltered videos from nine New Yorkers who witnessed the day that changed America."
9/11 Attacks — History.com Interactive Maps, Timelines & Games." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Web. 09 Sept. 2011.
"Remembering 9/11 - Oral History Exercise
Use this document as a guideline to conduct your own oral history of the effect of 9/11 on your family and/or friends. You may interview a parent, older relative or sibling and record his/her memories of that day. You may record responses in writing or with an audio/video device. If you choose an audio or video device, you must convert into a format that can be uploaded into Google docs such as windows media, or burn your file to a DVD. I cannot allow you to use personal jump drives in my computer to submit work. You will be sharing some of your material with the class.
"9/11 Memorial - Oral Histories
"Bearing Witness to History
"9/11 Timeline
Must be completed by class on Thursday 9/15
5 comments:
Emily Smith
1. Name of Interviewee: Christine Smith
2.“I was making out birthday invitations to my 4 year old daughter’s party at the kitchen table. I found out about the attacks from a phone call from my friend Judy Senft.”
3.“My immediate reaction was disbelief and horror…and fear for my children’s’ safety. My most vivid memories were watching the television and seeing the second plane crash. Also, watching the towers fall and knowing the massive amount of people that were inside. I couldn’t, and still can’t, imagine what those people must have been going through”.
4.“A feeling of solidarity that we would come together as a country no matter what our differences. I remember seeing video news clips of other countries and people crying. Everyone, it seemed, felt the anguish that America was going through- except for the Arab nations. I thought George Bush was an excellent leader and that he showed great poise. I felt reassured by watching him deliver his addresses to the nation.”
5.“Yes, yes, and yes…absolutely. It made me realize that there are people in the world who truly hate us solely because of the way we live. And I think it opened a lot of people in our country’s eyes to the fact that terrorism is real and there is a large group of people out there who want to harm us. For a long time, I would not travel to New York City – luckily, I was not directly affected by the attack, but that does not change the anger and anguish that I felt for our country.”
6."I always believed terrorism was a real threat and that we as Americans [before the attacks] did not take it seriously enough. Today I feel that people are becoming more complacent and that terrorism is just as big an issue as it was back in 2001.”
7. "Yes – there are people in the world that hate us because of our capitalist system and belief in democracy and they’re willing to kill both us and themselves because of it. “
Matt Mendonca
1.) Name of interviewee: Angela Petronio
2.) “I was at work in my Glastonbury office and I was in with a patient at the time. I could hear people shouting from down by the reception area and I heard gasping. So then when I went out to see what had happened I was told that a jet had hit the World Trade Center. Initially there was speculation that something had happened to the plane and that it was an accident. However, there was a television in the office which the other doctors wheeled into the reception area and everyone crowded around while they turned on the news. I still had to see patients but I was running back and forth and when the second plane hit I was near the TV and saw, then realizing that it wasn’t an accident after all and that it was some sort of attack.”
3.) “I remember getting this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and having this realization that even though the United States is a powerful country, we had this false sense of security that we were immune to attack, but this event proved otherwise. The next thought I had was that I remembered my mother’s stories about her experiences during World War II in Italy and her descriptions of her constant fear of attack and some of the horrors that she saw relating to war. Prior to 9/11 I had always felt safe and secure but ever since then, that sense of security has gone away like when I’m in Manhattan, in an airport, or on a plane. You’re always kind of waiting for that next thing to happen. The scariest part was that those people had just gotten up for work thinking it would be a normal day and they would go home later to be with their families, but that would never happen.”
4.) “I think the response of the people was horror and disbelief. Some of the older generation remembered Pearl Harbor, but for most people in the younger generation, it was their first experience of an attack on our soil. After the initial shock, I recall people being outraged that the attack cannot have been prevented. In terms of the international community, it brought unity to our country. Many were supportive and grieved along with us for the immense loss of life. At first it was a slow response from the government because they too had to figure out what was going on just like the normal citizen. However, people were very unified because people came from all parts of the country to volunteer and help at Ground Zero to try and help save lives.”
Matt Mendonca part 2
5.) “Yes, it was a pivotal event in all aspects not just for us but for the whole world. Subsequent to the attack, terrorist attacks became known in England and other places. You realize that warfare has totally changed. People used to fight on battlegrounds facing each other but now the enemy could be right among us and is illusive and can be connected to other terrorists in many other countries. In the history of the United States, it was probably an instrumental event in President Bush’s decision to attack Iraq, and later Afghanistan, which totally changed the course of our nation. We have spent billions of dollars and lost thousands of live which has negatively impacted our economy. Our involvement in those wars has caused us to lose the respect that we once held and has generated enmity toward us amongst many people. “
6.) “Previous to the attack, you were aware of terrorism but I tended to think of these events as isolated. But the more you read after 9/11 you realized that there are these complex, connected networks throughout the world who sole goal is to disrupt the political and economic wellbeing of western nations, particularly the United States, who they view as an arch enemy. I found it extremely upsetting however, that the 9/11 attacks created a backlash of prejudice towards all Muslims, which I believe has not totally dissipated even ten years later.”
7.) “September 11th has made society more vigilant in regards to security. Most people however, are willing to be inconvenienced by extra security to feel safer. Also a lesson is that people are more willing to help each other and we realize that terrorists are small pockets of people and not a stereotyped group. We’re also more sophisticated in terms of defending our country and responding to disasters due to the attacks.”
Nicole Stauffer
1. Name of interviewee: Bob Stauffer
2. "I was driving to pick up my truck at one of my apartment buildings and I heard on the radio that a plane had flown into one of the twin towers."
3. "I figured that it was a small plane that accidentally ran into the building that was flying too low. When I got to my apartment, I rushed into one of my tenant’s apartment that was watching it on TV. We saw the second plane hit and I immediately knew that this was a deliberate action, and that New York City was under attack. The surreal picture of a huge plane and the immense explosion that came out of the other side of the building and then finally watching the buildings come crumbling down like a house of cards were my most vivid memories."
4. "There was an incredible fear and anger in the American people. As a nation we realized that we were very vulnerable to this type of attack. Suddenly, such a strong country felt fragile for the moment. I remember the day after the attack it was very silent. It was a very sunny, blue-sky day, but no planes were in the sky. It was an eerily silent day. Most people in the international community condemned this attack and other countries rejoiced in it to see the United States be brought to their knees. The U.S. government vowed to make sure that this will never happen again, improve security in our airports and cities across the United States. President Bush stated that he would bring these terrorists to justice in one way or another."
5. "Yes, since that day I feel like my personal and national security was violated and truly realized that there are people in this world who have been trained to hate Americans and want to make it their mission to kill Americans and disrupt and threaten our society. I feel that anyone of us as Americans can be targeted at anytime by such crazy, insane and abominable acts. In American history, this tragic event will live on as the most significant attacks on American people and its government. We have to realize that the threat of terrorism has become part of our daily lives not only in the U.S., but also around the world. We must insure that we do everything in our power to not let terrorists enter our country to carry out plots of violence. We must be safe in the way we travel via the air, trains cars, buses and trains."
6. "Before the attacks, I thought terrorism was a real threat, but it would never happen to us. I always thought we needed to be more pro-active in preventing a terrorist attack. I think it is now more evil than ever. We must do everything in our power to stop it, not only in the United States, but also around the world. Yes, I still feel the same way today."
7. "There are many lessons to be learned. Be sure to always tell your family members you love them each time you leave your house or hang up the phone. But the attacks have made America stronger as a nation. There are far more good citizens in this world than evil. Ultimately, good will prevail over evil."
Lexi Koukos
1.) Name of Interviewee: Brooke Brittain
2.) “I was in first grade at my school in Kansas and that day we happened to have the roll in carts aka the carts with tvs on them. The teachers let us watch the tv and they put on the news showing the attacks on the twin towers and the world trade center. I as surprised at the fact that they let us learn about it at such a young age.”
3.) “At first I didn’t know what was going on. Being so young it was kind of hard to grasp the concept. But after school I went to the dentist and my dad tried explaining it to me, but it was still hard to understand because I didn’t know what world trade center was or the twin towers.”
4.) “My immediate reaction was that I was upset. It scared me that people were getting hurt. The memory that was most vivid was everyone freaking out and running around. I also remember everyone was talking about it and everyone was really upset and crying. The people of the united states were mourning for a while and there was definitely a lot of shock. The international community i remember helped out and the government tried to inform the public as much as possible.”
5.) “not really because it didn’t directly affect me. I lived so far away that it only affect my emotions.However, it was big in US history because this was a major event that traumatized many people and it definitely changed the world history because it now causes tension between groups. It also did change a lot about flying. There’s more checks and there a lot more security so that makes it harder to travel which I guess effects me.. affected the way people think about middle easterners
6.) “ I was in first grade so I didn’t think too much about it. I thought terrorism just had to do with war. The attacks did change my view. It goes to show that you can’t trust anybody and yes I do feel the same way.”
7). “I think that it shows that you really have to be careful and live every day like its your last. Also don’t trust other countries. and make sure your leaders are good with affairs.”
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