Reported by Angelo Saco
September 11, 2001, will remain a day that won’t be forgotten by those who lived through it.
Although the tragedy was shared by a nation and the world, each person has a different memory.
Stephen Perce teaches Spanish and is a military veteran. He remembers that day starting normally as he went about his routine to refueling his car at the local gas station. On his way to the gas station, he overheard his radio blurting out that a plane has crashed in New York. At first, Pierce did not care much, assuming it was an awful accident.
Arriving at the gas station, he soon saw televisions broadcasting the horrible events. His world came to a halt, as well as those around him.
Mr. Otley, was working for CBS-Newspath when it happened. “I was taking in satellite feeds for our affiliates and watched the story go from bad to horrible. Seeing the live feeds and cleaning them up for air is what I did all day long. It was horribly grotesque, and pathetic, cowardly, move. I’ll also always remember President Bush’s inspiring address to the nation that evening”, said Mr. Otley.
Christopher Mifflin teaches history. He was a senior in college. Mifflin was in an activity group at the college’s mall that day, setting up booths for recruiting when the news broke.
“Things were going normal until everybody’s phones lit up giving off alarms and the TVs were broadcasting the towers burning, “said Mifflin. He watched a normally busy mall turn still and silent with shock and fear. His classes were canceled and Mr. Mifflin went home to try and make sense of the unthinkable.
Veteran teacher and military man, Mr. Michael Schwarze was on active duty on a fateful day. He was in Dallas. Within hours he was en-route to the Pentagon and then taking on the responsibility of escorting Saudi officials to safety. Mr. Schwarze was the keynote speaker at our Patriot’s Day Memorial Ceremony. He remembers that day well. “On September 11,
I was in Dallas Texas on a 96-hour weekend pass to visit my son. I was preparing to fly back to Wash DC on an 1100 flight to Dulles. At 7:55 in the morning, I received an INMARSAT phone call from DC headquarters to proceed to Joint Reserve Base Ft Worth to board a C-141 to fly back to the East coast – Dover AFB. I arrived in the DC area at 1530”, said Mr. Scharzwe.
The twentieth anniversary of this monumental day brought reflection and new awareness to the campus.