OT 20 years ago....

[Lith]

 

[Lith]

1 hour ago, AFJF said:

Some still remember, but it's always shocking to me to see how many have forgotten or just don't care.

Think about where we were as a nation on September 12th of that year.  Think about the unity and comradery we felt with our friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Then look at what we've devolved to become.

So sad.

Great post. 

I just hope that someday we will find a way to come back together as a nation without a tragedy as the catalyst.

[Jimmy 2 Times]

4 minutes ago, Lith said:

Great post. 

I just hope that someday we will find a way to come back together as a nation without a tragedy as the catalyst.

It was a lot like today before 9/11 though.

I remember as a kid in the 70's and 80's.  The patriotic pride was enormous.  

9/11 brought the country together for a short while.

 

 

I'll never forget, but then again I still remember/observe and get emotionally worked up over Pearl, even though it was before my time.   

[Warfish]

When I think 9/11, I don't just think of the victims of that day.  I think also of all the victims of misguided U.S. policy that also had to pay with their lives because of those 19 Saudis.

We should keep in mind, we rightfully mourn the 2,977 of our friends and family killed on 9/11 by those 19 Saudi Terrorists.

Yet we've also lost 2,420 of our kids, and 19,950 wounded and maimed for life in Afghanistan.

We've lost 4,825 of our kids, and 32,292 wounded and maimed for life in Iraq. 

That's over 7,000 dead and 50,000 wounded, and countless more mentally damaged beyond repair.  

That's a 9/11's worth of American losses a year for 20 years, and we accomplished absolutely nothing with that payment.  And that doesn't count the lives of our friends, like the UK.

And that also doesn't count the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi and Afghan civilians, also victims in all this. 

We destroyed a generation of American kids, and burned up trillions of our dollars, in these misguided pointless no-way-to-win Wars.

One day I hope we learn this lesson.

 

[AFJF]

1 hour ago, OilfieldJet said:

That was great, I never knew.

Same.  Had to show it to a bunch of colleagues at work one day and the link was sent to me via email.  Put it on to watch it with them and was blown away.  Didn't seem to hit the others very hard at all and that's when I realized none of them were old enough to remember 9/11.

[FTL Jet Fan]

Thanks for posting @AFJF 

[DJF71]

I will never forget. Sadly, our country has forgotten. We have forgotten how united we were as a country. We now have never been divided more. I didn't live in NYC, but my brother did. I remember not knowing for hours whether he was ok. He was fine. If we learned anything from 9/11 and COVID, its live your life everyday. It could end in an instant. 

[Jet Nut]

2 hours ago, AFJF said:

I watch this every year on 9/11.  This should be a much bigger story than it is.  Should be a movie.

 

Thanks for this, another good one I've seen

 

 

[Jet Nut]

And this came out this morning from Joe Namath

 

 

 

 

[LockeJET]

1 hour ago, TheNuuFaaolaExperience said:

20 years. Probably a typo. 

Yes thanks. Corrected. 

[jetscanes331]

3 hours ago, AFJF said:

I watch this every year on 9/11.  This should be a much bigger story than it is.  Should be a movie.

 

I had never seen or known about this. Thank you for sharing.

[Biggs]

1 hour ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

It was a lot like today before 9/11 though.

I remember as a kid in the 70's and 80's.  The patriotic pride was enormous.  

9/11 brought the country together for a short while.

 

 

I'll never forget, but then again I still remember/observe and get emotionally worked up over Pearl, even though it was before my time.   

I moved back to CT from AZ this year.  The eastern end, real New England.  Flags everywhere, patroitism every where.  Never seen anything like it out West.  

Remeber the 70's for the loss of the Vietnam war, and a disgraced US President resigning after a third rate burgarlery to subvert democracy and gain an edge in a National election.  

[Mark78]

13 hours ago, ZacharyWilson said:

Was down there that day. 20 years has gone by so fast.

Went to Manhattan and went downtown a week after it happened; one of the saddest things I ever encountered.  There were posters up everywhere of loved ones and friends who were missing and just hoping they made it out alive; broke my heart.  We need to make sure as a nation that something like this never happens again!  

[Grandy]

9/11 was a horrible tragedy that should always be remembered. Its effect on our nation can still be felt today. Thousands died and were injured in a horrific act, and they should never be forgotten. All of them deserve eternal respect and remembrance.

Our nation was so unified during that time, and we had a chance to all come out stronger and better as people. My family, and many others were greatly altered. Everything changed. Industries, people, governments etc. Sadly though it seems that our nation, and our unity has declined since then.

9/11 has been used to justify warmongering, causing even more bloodshed than the original event as @Warfish stated earlier. However we refused to actually reprimand the Saudis who had an extremely large implication, and instead burnt money and millitary lives on both sides for no purpose. It has also been used as justification for the infamous Patriot Act as well with the governments privacy overreach only recently coming to light. Trillions have been spent, thousands more have died. And for what purpose?

Its a shame to see all those victims used as a justification to push this country in a certain direction. And even now, the awful event that took place seems to not be talked about or acknowledged as much as it should. I hope those thousands of victims are resting easy, or flying high.  They should be remembered forever. Same with those who perished in the wars that came afterwards. 

 

[Mark78]

3 hours ago, Warfish said:

Amazing that's its already 20 years.

With that said, I prefer not to relive that day every year, so TV's and radios and newsites are off today, too many folks making $$ on tragedy porn today IMO.

 

Cannot watch anything about it too.  Extreme anger builds up about what happened that day.  

[TokyoJetsFan]

I lost too many childhood friends that day who were first responders.  I carry this around in memory of them.  It's a St. Michael coin.  He is the Patron Saint of law enforcement.  I always carry an extra one in my car and give it to a LEO or fireman if I see one as a token of appreciation and the hope it keeps them safe throughout their careers.

Edit: if anyone on here is a first responder and wants one please PM me and I will happily send to you. 

 

[Ken Schroy]

21 minutes ago, Biggs said:

I moved back to CT from AZ this year.  The eastern end, real New England.  Flags everywhere, patroitism every where.  Never seen anything like it out West.  

Remeber the 70's for the loss of the Vietnam war, and a disgraced US President resigning after a third rate burgarlery to subvert democracy and gain an edge in a National election.  

Let's remember those we lost and try and keep politics out of it.

[Biggs]

Well said Free.  
 

It’s one of those perfect fall days exactly the way it was 20 years ago.  It was pure evil and devastation.  I love NYC always have, always will.  Still it took a piece of my innocence that I will never get back.  The death, fouled air, smell and trauma changed me and I suspect all of us who have an ounce of empathy.  
 

RIP to all those victims.  Peace to the survivors.  

[Peace Frog]

5 hours ago, Warfish said:

Amazing that's its already 20 years.

With that said, I prefer not to relive that day every year, so TV's and radios and newsites are off today, too many folks making $$ on tragedy porn today IMO.

 

Yup, don’t want to watch or hear anything about that day. Was one of the worst days of my life and a lot of really bad stuff happened that year and the next few years I can’t help but associate with that day. 
 

Didn’t get out of Manhattan until about 11 pm that night, but at least I was one of the “lucky” ones who did make it out. Seeing EMS vehicles speeding past me covered in rubble with no one inside of them still effects me. 
 

Can’t relive it today watching all the specials and memorial broadcasts. Yeah, I’m good, don’t need any reminders. 
 

Never forget is just not a slogan for me. 

[Jet Nut]

10 hours ago, Mark78 said:

Went to Manhattan and went downtown a week after it happened; one of the saddest things I ever encountered.  There were posters up everywhere of loved ones and friends who were missing and just hoping they made it out alive; broke my heart.  We need to make sure as a nation that something like this never happens again!  

Going around Trinity Church on both the Broadway and Vescey St sides of the church, seeing all the pictures of the missing, the flowers, the cards from all over the world combined with that smell that never seemed to go away.   I can still smell and taste created the absolute worst memories.  

Until I had the names of those that I knew who perished that day.  

[southparkcpa]

My first job was in the WTC.   Drinking at market bar after work, Windows on the world on occasion.   has some heavy petting in the fire stairs with a not chick in 1985 at a Christmas party.  Find memories. Too many colleagues lost.   Will never forget.  
 

When I moved to Charlotte in 1995, that summer I took my 2 kids to the observation deck.  so for young kids… they have a bit of connection that seems lost on kids today.  

[92ShaunEllis92]

Ex-New York Jets QB Vinny Testaverde recalls 9/11: 'Saw some things I wish I'd never seen'

 

 

play

The Man in the Red Bandana (13:29)

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Vinny Testaverde was sitting in the New York Jets' trainers' room getting treatment on his day off, when the terrorist attacks on New York City occurred 30 miles away at the World Trade Center.

For Testaverde, the starting quarterback and a native New Yorker, the event triggered profound emotions.

In a 20th-anniversary exclusive for ESPN, he recounts the indelible moments -- praying with neighbors in church, visiting rescue workers at Ground Zero and, a week later, discovering from a poster on a locker-room wall that one of his high school teammates had died in the disaster.

Testaverde also shares why, in the aftermath, he did something he never thought he would do -- refuse to play a football game. He was the driving force behind the Jets' decision not to play that weekend in Oakland, California, which in turn, spurred the NFL to postpone all games that week.

Now 57, Testaverde remembers the day that impacted him -- and everyone -- forever:

---

It hit me hard, maybe harder than most, because New York is my hometown. I remember when I was a kid, my father actually worked on some of those buildings in Lower Manhattan. He was a cement mason, a foreman, and he worked the basements, the concrete garages. He was part of that, so there was a connection there.

Being from New York, I had been down there many times, in the Twin Towers, going up to the top as a kid and looking around. It was sad. It was a lot of things. It's something you couldn't have imagined happening, and it was happening right before our eyes.

A bunch of us were watching it unfold on TV in the trainers' room, and you could see guys getting nervous and talking about what the possibilities were. Shortly after that, everyone took off and went home. I remember calling my wife on the way home, telling her to get the kids out of school. A little bit later, I got phone calls from family. They all wanted to get together, so they came to my house, and we spent the afternoon and the evening together, just watching the news.

We were all nervous, on edge.

 

In his 21 seasons playing in the NFL, quarterback Vinny Testaverde played seven for the New York Jets, and the 2001 season was unlike any other in his career. Andrew J. Cohoon/AP Photo

The next morning, in meetings, you can tell everyone is quiet and somber. You're thinking about what's going on in the world and what happened. With the hijacking of the planes, the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, half our mind is on football, half is on that.

We go out to practice and it's very quiet. Even the hitting. Normally you hear the guys thumping each other; that was even quiet. Nobody wanted to hit. The focus wasn't there.

I go home that evening. My wife and I grab our kids and we go up to our church, and the church is packed. Everybody is just sitting there, praying. All of a sudden, we start hearing some friends in church, how they lost some friends or people connected to them. You start hearing everything and it's getting worse. I'm thinking, 'We're still playing a football game on Sunday?' This is crazy.

I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night. I decided I was going to go in early the next day and meet with Herm Edwards and Terry Bradway [coach and general manager] and tell them: 'Listen, here's how I'm feeling. I know we're playing a game against the Raiders. With what's going on … I'm not going to make the trip. I don't think it's the right time to play a football game. Whether you fine me, cut me, bench me, whatever it is, I'm staying home. I don't believe it's time to play football.'

And they both agreed with me.

For our team meeting, I went in 10 minutes early, addressed the team and told them how I was feeling and what I was planning. We had an open discussion. Some guys wanted to go play and show we weren't afraid as a country, we don't back down. I tried to claim it's not the time to show that; it's time to mourn our loved ones and get back to a normal routine.

They appreciated that. They backed me.

Herm came in, addressed the team and said we're not playing. He told that to the league, which decided not to play that weekend.

I've always lived my life by trying to do the right thing. In my heart, I thought it was the right thing to do at that time, knowing my voice was probably a little bigger or louder than some of my other teammates. At that time, I had to step up and say what I felt.

The next night, I had a friend call me, and asked me to go down to Ground Zero. The police commissioner, I guess, requested if I could do that. I went down there on Saturday and walked around to visit the rescue workers. I saw some things I wish I had never seen. It's hard to erase from my memory, just the destruction, the disaster, the dust, the debris, the metal beams that were twisted and bent. It was hard to believe.

I've never been in a war zone, but if I could describe a war zone, that was it. I remember walking down to Ground Zero. It was surrounded by the military. They were standing shoulder to shoulder with rifles, not letting anybody in. It was surreal.

Walking around the outskirts, all the store windows were broken. It was desolate, nobody was there. It was like a ghost town. It was eerie. That's probably the best word to describe it -- eerie.

We played the following weekend in New England. As usual, I took the first bus to the stadium to get there early. Near my locker, as you walk into the shower and bathroom area, there was a poster and it had head shots of rescue workers who had lost their lives at Ground Zero.

I'm just looking, going through it, and I see an old high school teammate of mine -- Ronald Kloepfer. He was a year ahead of me (at Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York). He was a great teammate, a good friend to everybody in our school. It was more than a week later and I hadn't heard; nobody told me, so I was punched in the gut at that moment.

All of a sudden, you have to get your mind ready to play a football game. As my livelihood, it was always so important, but that day -- the week after 9/11 and finding out about my teammate -- it wasn't as important. That entire game is a blur.

I remember getting chills being on the sideline during the national anthem, watching the Andruzzi brothers on the field -- (Joe, a Patriots offensive lineman, and his three brothers, all New York City fire fighters). I got to meet those guys in 2018, when they opened the sports section of the 9/11 museum in Manhattan. They're a pretty cool family. One of the good things coming out of this was getting to meet those guys and hearing their experiences and what they went through on 9/11.

My lasting impressions of 9/11 are burned into my mind and soul. I do have one tangible reminder.

When I made that first trip to Ground Zero, right after 9/11, I picked up a piece of granite or stone from the rubble. I brought it in, mentioned it to the team and put it in my locker, a reminder of what took place and to appreciate what we have.

Eventually, I broke it into three pieces and gave a piece to each of my kids. It's a symbol of what can happen and what people can accomplish when they come together, people stepping up to help others, strangers helping strangers.

The original stone wasn't that big, probably as big as my hand, but it holds so much meaning. That will never change.

[southparkcpa]

19 hours ago, freestater said:

I'm watching a documentary on CBS about the intelligence community leading up to the attack. I really can't believe how its affecting me. 20 years on, and I'm crying like the day it happened. Its amazing how some things can get seared into your mind, your soul. I can only imagine its much like those who remember Pearl Harbor or the assassination of John F. Kennedy. 20 years. Simply unreal. 

me too brother.   We have a HUGE rally tonite for JETS game tomorrow and feels inappropriate.  I will take the MIke tonite and ask for a moment of silence.  

[southparkcpa]

4 hours ago, Mark78 said:

Went to Manhattan and went downtown a week after it happened; one of the saddest things I ever encountered.  There were posters up everywhere of loved ones and friends who were missing and just hoping they made it out alive; broke my heart.  We need to make sure as a nation that something like this never happens again!  

 

1 hour ago, Jet Nut said:

Going around Trinity Church on both the Broadway and Vescey sides of the church, seeing all the pictures of the missing, the flowers, the cards from all over the world combined with that smell that I can still smell and taste created the absolute worst memories.  

Until I had the names of those that I knew who perished that day.  

I drove up from Charlotte late September.  I had to see it.  So many memories as a young college grad, fist job in tower one, 1983.    Almost 3 weeks later and it still had a strong burn smell. Streets covered in ash, people crying etc….  

[win4ever]

There's a lot of things that get deemed "unforgettable" these days or you'll remember where you were when it happened that gets glorified in the moment and then forgotten.  

9/11 will never be part of that.  I still remember exactly where I was, all the rumors before finding out, and the aftermath of living in NY.  My dad had gotten a job right near the WTC (it was part of the blocked off zone, which eventually led the company to move) and me being paranoid that he was caught up in it.  Thankfully, he had not gone into work that day because we had just gotten back from vacation, and it was my second day of high school, so we hadn't fully set a schedule yet on transportation.  

I remember the idiot kids making up rumors of atomic bombs from Russia, which in the days before widespread cell phone usage meant I didn't have confirmation.  I still remember my Math teacher saying "The world changed today, and right now there are no airplanes in US airspace" but he wasn't allowed to tell us what happened.  

I remember the aftermath, and just feeling so sad.  We had our lawyer's office there, although the lawyer made it out.  However. we have no idea about his secretary who was super sweet that was always there in the morning, and we didn't really remember her full name.  My dad used to save the visitor stickers to both World Trade Centers for some odd reason because we used to go there all the time (either for lawyer or when people visited), and I remember looking at it afterwards and just feeling sad.  The structure itself, can be rebuilt, but the amount of people that died for no reason.  

As of Indian decent, I remember being scared afterwards from the stories of racism across the country because people couldn't tell apart cultures or that innocent people getting harassed for no reason.  That's probably the one thing I loved about NY, because I didn't face an iota of racism in HS after that (I mean we had usual banter but that was more back and forth that everyone faces).   However, there were plenty of relatives that got their life turned upside down in Southern states afterwards.

 I remember driving to Toronto a couple months later and seeing American flags everywhere.   

I remember the story of Flight 93 vividly, and how heroic they were in the face of almost certain death.  To the point that I watch Air Crash Investigation and flight videos to know how to at least keep a plane stable in an emergency.  I've wanted to get a pilot license but never had the time (nor really the extra cash flow) to do it, but that ordeal always has stayed with me.  

I remember it vividly enough that I can't bring myself to watch documentaries about it, even though I love documentaries.  It's just too close to home.