Metro residents look back at 9/11 tragedy
Graphic by Cannon Wake.
9/11 was a day that no one could imagine would ever happen. The world didn’t take its eyes off the television as people were scared of another attack and worried about their families. When the World Trade Center was hit, Manhattan, New York was filled with darkness and the entire world just stopped. There were nearly 3,000 deaths on this day, including passengers, flight crews, and the attackers.
Many people in Nebraska were worried that they would have an attack because President George W. Bush was moved to Offut Air Base.
“The president was brought to Offutt and I lived by Offut,” said Jennifer Bonham, a teacher at Kirn Middle School. “I was so afraid that was the next target. I remember rushing to get home to my kids and getting a first look on the TV of the attack.”
Bonham was not the only one worried about her kids. Thousands of people in Nebraska and Iowa were terrified for another attack.
“I turned on the tv, but in my sick stupor I didn’t really comprehend what was going on. I thought it was a dream. Only later in the day did it hit me that it was real.” said Sarah Richardson a technologist at ECS Technology Solutions. “Then all I felt was fear. I could visibly feel where Ouffut AFB was knowing it could be a target. It was such an unreal day.”
The day had started off so perfectly with a bright blue sky it was the calm before the storm. The loss of family and friends, so many people that were in the accident had families trying to call them with no answer completely terrified. “Several of my cousins came to see me at work. Then they told me my uncle had been in one of the towers and they couldn’t get ahold of him,” said Amanda Smith, a Licensed Mixxedfit Instructor.
Master Sergeant Harduff is a teacher at ALHS and he was stationed in turkey during 9/11 not knowing something horrific just happened.
“I was in the housing office on the base trying to get housing arranged for my wife and I and then there was a Turkish lady that sprinted into the room and cranked the TV on and she said, ‘Something terrible has happened. There’s been a plane that flew into the World Trade Center,” Harduff said. He, like everyone else, thought it was a freak accident until there was another plane attack.
We ask, “How could anyone possibly do this to innocent people?” The real answer is we have no idea, but all anyone could do was try to find peace with this horrible day. People are still haunted by the attack to this day and still don’t know how to come back from it. Every year on the same day we sit and watch, read, and listen to the stories of 9/11.
Ellie is a senior at ALHS, this is her first official year doing newspaper. She enjoys writing and reading all the time, and also loves painting. Ellie...
Sarah • Sep 10, 2022 at 9:39 pm
I was asleep when the first plane hit. We were living in Cedar Rapids, IA at the time. My husband at the time woke me by turning on the tv & telling me a plane hit the World Trade Center. As we watched, I remember telling him that this doesn’t feel like an accident. Moments later, the 2nd plane hit. For several days, I stay parked in front of my tv, only leaving the apartment once to fill our cars as fear created a major increase in gas prices. Nearly a week later, my husband received an email from a friend of ours’ father, telling us that Paul was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Disbelief, shock, and incredible sorrow washed over me all over again. Only a few weeks later, I found out I was expecting our first child. The fear of not knowing what kind of world I was bringing a new life into was extremely difficult. To this day, 21 years later, as I drive west towards Omaha, particularly on Broadway, my eyes still stray towards The Woodman & First National Towers. When I see a plane heading toward downtown, I’ve caught myself holding my breath, waiting to see another plane crash into another tower. It may seem irrational to most, but for me, and likely countless others, it’s a trepidation that will probably never fully ease.