I keenly call this event
the worst terrorist attack ever in American history. Even worse than the famous
Unibomber mail bomb attacks, and even worse than the bombing of the parking
garage of the World Trade Center that happened in 1993, and still even worse
than the Oklahoma City bombing of the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995.
I can remember all of
the news footage on TV from different channels from ABC, NBC, and CBS, honing
in on the first tower that was hit on 9-11 – which was the North Tower, and saw
big plumes of smoke - more smoke than
fire, but I can see some fires from the building itself.
Then, I was shocked –
as well as millions of Americans – when, about 10 minutes after the north tower
of the World Trade Center was hit, was that I saw another plane – and as I saw
that shape of the plane, I knew it was not a prop, because I did not see any
propellers on that plane…..it had wide wings, and as soon as I saw those wings,
I can see within those three seconds I saw that plane—from the time I saw the
plane zooming into the screen to the time the plane hit the South Tower of the
WTC---that it was a real jet. A REAL JET! And when I saw the massive explosions
from that South Tower – I knew that it was not an accidental plane crash at all
– it was a concerted attack on not just the Trade Center – not just Manhattan –
not just all of New York – but ALL OF AMERICA!!!
I can remember that I
saw guerilla video footage of rare scenes in the midst of the two purposeful
airline strikes on the towers. For
example, I saw millions of bits of paper sharpnel, fragments, and shards – fly
like tickertape confetti in a massive parade as it cut through the normally
innocent morning blue sky, as if Times Square was celebrating New Year’s Eve,
but it was not on New Year’s Eve. The paper bits were from the fires ripping up
countless pieces of paper from the towers and seem to fly around in the air in
a slow freefall. It looked like a celebration – but it was just simply shear
horror. And it was not funny at all.
And more rare video
footage just minutes after the towers struck showed even more horror. I saw firebrands from the pieces of the
towers that were superheated by the already-detonated jet fuel into nothing—and
even worse---I saw a few or several real people—having no choice but to go on
the edge of the deadly heights in the fires to gasp for air outside, and later
on, as the heat and fires both got worse, had no choice but to jump about 1,000
feet or so to their deaths, and I knew these helpless people died, because they
never had any emergency parachutes to save them.
I also saw more rare
footage of first responders—EMTs, police, and firefighters of New York, going
into those crippled towers to try to save the lives of those who got affected
by the two suicide plane hits at the Trade Center towers. Most of them who went
inside the affected towers, or came close to them…did not know in the next
20-30 minutes that the extreme heat eating away at the trusses, I-beams, and
supports of the top floors of the towers already burning, would cause most of
them to end up causing them to either go to their graves or end up with massive
amounts of dust and soot trying to get away from the doomed towers.
Then, I got word from the
FAA that LaGuardia and Newark international airports got a taste of what
Operation SCATANA will do to air space affected by the terrorist attacks – I
found out that those two airports had to stop landing and take-off operations
immediately, shutting down both airports for good. (I also had a hunch that JFK
International Airport also had to lock down operations too.) Eventually, orders
came to eventually shut down air space operations at Cleveland and Boston at
its airports, so this also affected Logan International Airport in Boston,
where American Airlines flight 11 took off and slammed into one of the towers
in a suicide attack. Then, I found out that Operation Archangel was launched in
Manhattan, causing a massive metro-evacuation of personnel at such governmental
facilites as New York’s City Hall and the United Nations, fearing that such
buildings could be future targets of suicide attacks from planes like that of
American 11 and United Airlines 175.
At the 9:27 am point, I
saw that the smoke plume went up and then horizontally for as long as 2
miles…all the way to the Hudson River. That is the type of enormity that I saw
with the attacks on the towers that were already done by brazen terrorists who
made us paid the price for what we did to them, although I did not know why in
the first minutes of the attacks.
Then, later on, after
realizing that the towers and the Pentagon were attacked, I and other Americans
witnessed our former president, George Bush, came to the podium at a Florida
School, at about 9:30 a.m. He said to us that America is now saddened and
shocked by the brazen concerted attacks on the World Trade Center. “Terrorism
against our nation will not stand…and now will you join me in a moment of
silence….May God their victims, their families, and America…Thank you very
much.”
Then, about 15 minutes
into the attacks, I got new breaking news that another plane – American 77 –
struck one part of America’s military headquarters in Washington D.C. – known
mainly as The Pentagon. Now I realized – after I heard this happen – that this
is a definite attack on America – not just on Manhattan, not just on New York –
it was an attack on us Americans!! When I saw that gaping hole and big plumes of
black smoke from the Pentagon, I am trying to say to myself, “Now which other
American building or buildings could become the next target? Could it be our
Sears Tower in Chicago? Or the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World in
Florida? Or maybe even part of the buildings covering the Bourbon St. strip in
New Orleans that was famous during the Mardi Gras celebrations?” The FAA did
not yet close down our entire American air space yet at that point (they only
had an order for no more takeoffs/departures for just the New York, Boston, and
Cleveland airports), so until I heard that they would completely close down
that air space and force all civilian aircraft not affected by the hijackings
to land at the nearest airport, I was scared that the Sears Tower, or Hancock
Building, or maybe even the Chicago Board of Exchange or CNA Plaza building –
could all be primary targets. So I decided not to go to downtown for 1 or 2
hours…but I was holding my breath, because I was afraid that more planes could
crash into other major buildings all over other U.S. cities. I was so scared at that point—especially at
the 9:15 am to 9:55 am mark where tensions due to the attacks were at its very
highest!!! I loved Chicago, but I was still too young to die at the hands of
brazen suicide terrorists hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings!!!
Then, I got word from
the FAA that about a few minutes after the Pentagon was hit by American
Airlines 77, a nation-wide emergency ground stop was now in effect—every civilian plane—whether or not it was
hijacked, was now forced to land at the nearest airport—regardless of the
destination they were intending to go to. And with that order, in addition
to the no-more-departures order already in place, I knew that it was absolutely
all over for civilian planes in
American air space, and I breathed just merely a very slight sigh of relief—I
took two or three breaths now realizing that I will never see any civilian
aircraft flying in our Chicago skies for an indefinite period, but I was afraid
that there will be more military jets flying over our city to enforce the
temporary no-fly-zone over our country, just in case any civilian plane who
refuses to land violated that air space. But I was now happy that I would not
see any civilian jet try to crash into any more buildings for as long as that
air space closing order stayed in place. And I am glad that the air space is
now locked down everywhere in the country – so now, I can go downtown whenever
I wish and not have to worry about jets flying into buildings for at least the
next week or so……
