9-11 - Where were you?

I remember it clearly.

I had just gotten done with a morning class. I can't remember which one it was, but I was meeting some of the cadets at the canteen for some food. The canteen was relatively desolate, and I heard another table of cadets talking about the World Trade Center...and explosion...and all I coudl think was, "duh...that was like 10 years ago or so when it was bombed." The other cadets also shrugged it off.

It wasn't until we departed ways, and I headed to the bookstore. It was on the news. All I saw was an image of a plane crashing into a tall building, and I put two and two together. Some professors, military instructors, students were all in the bookstore...silent.

We are a senior military college. Out of our 3000 students, almost half are in the Corps of Cadets. Out of that half, nearly 75% are active military or active Reserves. What did this mean?

I whispered to another student, "what's going on?" She turned to me with a sick look on her face when she replied, "they hit the World Trade Center." As it all unfolded, I headed back to the dorm with a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew my uncle worked in the city as a limo driver, and I knew that part of the city was someplace that he frequented.

As I ran up the hill to Donovan (yes, ran, and those of you that know that "hill" know that takes effort!), I ran over to the television by the kitchen. Already, a group had gathered around the tv as we watched in horror of business people jumping out of the windows to their death. We watched as the Fire Departments and the Police Officers went into the building, doing their jobs. "Firemen run into burning buildings while everyone is running out."

We watched in horror as the buildings collapsed...as the news surfaced about the Pentagon....as news surfaced about another plane whose passengers had formed a mutiny against the terrorists and crashed their own plane into a field to save the lives of hundreds including the President of the United States.

The classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day. The flag was lowered to half staff, and we all watched as students were called up to their Reserve units and others joined the Army. Our student population dropped rather dramatically actually. And we waited. And we listened for word of our fellow students.