Twenty-five years later, many Montgomery County residents still remember exactly where they were when the world seemed to stop.
They remember being glued to their televisions, watching the attacks unfold in disbelief. They remember clear blue skies without an airplane in sight, quiet roads and long lines at gas stations. They remember a somber quietness that settled over the country and, in the days that followed, a sense of unity and patriotism that brought people together.
For those who lived through the attacks, the memories remain personal. For a growing generation of young adults, however, Sept. 11 is something they know only through history, photographs, videos and the stories of people who remember that day.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, including 2,977 victims at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks also had lasting health consequences for those exposed to the disaster and its aftermath, with thousands of responders and survivors later developing illnesses connected to their exposure.
For Jamie McCloud Basey, the events of Sept. 11 are tied to memories of her children.
She was home with her 9-month-old son when the attacks happened. After he woke from his morning nap, she and her family considered picking up her daughter from school.
They drove past the school but saw a police car sitting in the parking lot and decided to return home.
“I was glued to the TV,” Basey said.
Twenty-five years later, however, she said the day after the attacks is just as important to remember.
“What we need to remember is Sept. 12 and the love of our country,” Basey said.
Susan Berry McVay, a second-grade teacher at Southmont Schools, was teaching fourth grade when the attacks occurred. As a mother of a young child and expecting another, she said she immediately went into “protect mode.”
“I didn’t want my students to learn about it from me,” McVay said. “I wanted them to be safe at home with their families, who could share as much or as little as they wanted.”
McVay said continuing to teach while receiving updates about the attacks was difficult.
“To continue teaching as if nothing had happened was a virtually impossible task,” she said. “My heart ached for the victims and their families. I just wanted to get home to my family.”
She remembers the long lines for gas and the quiet skies in the days after the attacks.
“I remember how united the country felt afterwards, how so many emerged as heroes, and how trivial differences were put into perspective,” McVay said.
Gary Cox remembers seeing American flags everywhere the following day.
“The day after, you did not hardly see a car or truck on the road that did not have an American flag on it,” Cox said. “I miss that part of it, the uniting of this great country.”
Susie Smith Foster was in Columbus, Ohio, when the attacks happened. She and others left their hotel around noon to return home, listening to news reports on the radio.
“We noticed that there were no airplanes,” Foster said.
As they traveled west, Foster said they saw people lined up at gas stations, emergency vehicles heading east and flags at half-staff.
Once she returned home, her television remained on for three days.
“And still today when I hear Lee Greenwood sing ‘God Bless The USA,’ it takes me back to that day,” Foster said.
Foster said she hopes people remember the patriotism that followed the attacks.
“What we shouldn’t ever forget is how patriotic we were,” she said. “And how we should be celebrating every day we have been blessed with.”
For Janice DeWald Smith, one of the strangest parts of the days after the attacks was looking up and seeing an empty sky.
She called her mother after learning about the attacks to find out where her brother was because he was a pilot for a regional airline. Her brother was the last plane to land at Denver International Airport that day.
That night, DeWald Smith went outside to look at the sky. Her home is in the flight pattern for Indianapolis International Airport.
“It was eerily quiet,” she said. “So strange not to see any blinking lights for planes in the sky.”
Dustin Norman remembers the same silence.
“The planes weren’t flying, the skies were clear, nothing in sight,” Norman said.
Kathy Leafgreen was scheduled to work late that morning at Chase Bank on Main Street. She watched the attacks unfold on live television before leaving for work.
When she got to work, Leafgreen turned the lobby television to the news.
“The work atmosphere was so quiet,” Leafgreen said.
Tabitha Ann Poppaw was preparing to head to Ivy Tech when she learned about the attacks.
“I remember it felt like the world just stopped for a minute,” Poppaw said.
She decided not to go to school and stayed home with her mother, watching the news.
“It made me realize how vulnerable we are,” she said. “It was amazing to see how the country came together though.”
Erika Jones was in college when her roommate came running into their room.
“Roommate came running in the room and said turn on the TV. Bam, second plane,” Jones said.
Paula Hutson was working at Security Abstract when the attacks happened. She said employees continued working, but the impact of what was happening was impossible to ignore.
She, her sister and her boss’s wife watched the attacks on a small television when the second plane hit the tower.
“It was just unreal,” Hutson said.
Twenty-five years later, the details vary from person to person. Some remember where they were, others remember who they were with. Many remember the silence, the uncertainty and the empty skies. Above all for most, the unity that followed the attacks is just as memorable.
