Where were you on 9/11?

This year brings the 15-year anniversary of 9/11.

Before the attacks, we had a sense of invulnerability, like no one could touch us, no one would dare touch America. But then, the impossible happened.

It’s been 15 years since four attacks were made on American soil in a matter of a few hours. 15 years since more than 3,000 people were taken from us. 15 years since the term “terrorism” became a part of our everyday vocabulary. And 15 years since our country was changed forever.

With this anniversary, it is imperative to recollect and remember those we lost.

Ask anyone that was over the age of five in 2001 where they were when the towers were hit, and they’ll be able to tell you – where were you?

Ricky Lam

Age 5

“All I remember about that day was that I was in school when the Pentagon attack happened. The morning kindergarten section started around 9am, so I was only at school for about half an hour or so. I remember seeing images of the two World Trade Centers on the news, but I was young and didn’t know English very well back then, so I didn’t understand the whole concept of terrorists or al-Qaeda. I lived pretty close to D.C. and I remember hearing a loud noise when the plane hit the Pentagon. Suddenly, parents came immediately to pick their kids up and school was cancelled. It all happened so quickly that I barely understood the impact of it all. The images of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were so distinctive that I remember constantly drawing it out during those ‘sketching’ sessions we used to have. Of course the teachers would take it away immediately, but it showed how traumatic the event was for a young kid like me. I was never exposed to anything so severe at that point, much less a couple miles near me. It was all just a whirlwind and I couldn’t exactly describe a feeling I had at that moment. It pretty much felt like I was in a shocked and confused state for about a week.”

Amanda Sebastian

“I was in eighth grade and was in the middle of math class. The teacher abruptly stopped going over the homework and put on the TV. We all sat quietly and watched the news. It was pretty surreal.”

Quandra Moore

Age 7

“I was seven years old in Mr. Brownlee’s second grade class. At this time, I was living in D.C., but I went to school just outside the city, in Maryland. On that morning, shortly after school started, we heard on the intercom system that our school was on lockdown. ‘Code red, code red’ is all we heard constantly blaring. Even at a young age I had a good sense of what was going on around me, adults used to tell me I was wise before my years. My teacher then dropped everything he was doing, locked all the doors and windows and turned on the television. Blasted on the screen was ‘BREAKING NEWS: TWIN TOWERS IN NYC HAVE BEEN HIT.’ This was around 9am. By looking at my teacher’s body language I knew it was bad. Less than 40 minutes of sitting in silence later, we got a more personal attack. Less than 10 miles away, a third plane had flown into the Pentagon. The entire city went into a panic, schools closed, parents were picking up their kids left and right. Luckily, my grandmother lived across the street from my school and came to get my brother and me. ‘Where is mom,’ I asked. ‘She’s coming,’ my grandmother replied. I can remember the darkness that filled the sky to this day. Pitch black, people crying, sirens blaring. Suddenly, I remembered that my mom worked near the Pentagon, we tried calling her all day. Nothing. Silence. All the lines were down and hours went by. I got a call from my dad earlier that day who was in the Army and stationed in Texas. He asked were we all right? I still hadn’t heard from my mom, so I sat just staring at the door hoping that she would walk through soon, unharmed, hug me, and take us home.”

Joshua Soloway

Age 16

“At that time I was working at a daycare in Ocean View, Norfolk. When we got word what happened, it was right around lunch time. We quickly got the kids fed and put them down for their naps. Then the staff plugged a TV in the hallway so we could watch the news and not disturb the children. We were in shock. After that, it was a panic because a lot of the children had parents in the Navy. Those parents were already on battleships to be deployed immediately because we thought that the naval base would be next place to be hit. So we got a lot of calls saying ‘I can’t pick up my child so ‘so and so’ will be picking them up.’ For the rest of the day we had to make sure that each kid went with the right person and not with a stranger. It was stressful.”

Aspen Brown

Age 9

“I was in third grade. It was supposed to go to skate night that evening. I remember one of my classmate’s dads coming to pick him up from school. All of us kids were confused because we weren’t sure what exactly was happening. I think that was the year they started putting permanent televisions in the classrooms of my elementary school. When my peer’s dad came into the classroom to get him, he informed my teacher of what happened and she turned the news on. I’m not 100 percent positive, but I think we got out of school early. I remember being upset because skate night had been cancelled and it only happened once a month, so a bunch of us were upset about that. I didn’t fully understand why something in New York was impacting us in Virginia. Once I talked to my parents and the situation was explained to me, I had a better idea of the significance of what had happened.”

Christine Yen

Age 6

“I remember hearing lots of screaming and teachers trying to stop parents from running in and grabbing their children. I heard a lot of crying from classmates around me. I kept coloring in the middle of the classroom because I didn’t know what was going on. The teacher turned on the TV and I looked up and realized that something terrible had just happened. Many parents came in and out to get their kids and quickly go home. Everyone was panicking, it was really chaotic. I still didn’t really understand what was happening. I don’t remember if my parents picked me up, but I did get home safely with my two older brothers. That night we slept in my parents’ room all together and we prayed a lot. We prayed for our country, our nation, our friends and family affected and we prayed for our home. The next morning, I remember a lot of neighbors were outside gathered around and panicking about their friends and family in D.C. and New York City. My parents hurried outside and talked to the other neighbors. They gathered around and embraced each other as they cried. They prayed together. Now I understand what it is to be American, to care and always be there for each other, standing strong together, always.”

9/11, never forget.