By: Anna Noles and Hannah Allen, Panther Press Reporters
On September 11, 2001, over 2,000 people died in the attack at the Twin Towers. In New York City, 343 firefighters, 71 police officers, and 8 EMS paramedics lost their lives. The first plane hit at 8:46 a.m, and most people thought it was an accident until the second plane hit at 9:03 a.m. Since many of Collinsville’s staff remember that day, we asked a few teachers what they remember about that day.
Trent Thrash (Middle/HS English Language Arts)
Mr. Thrash was in kindergarten at Fyffe. All of his teachers were talking and crying. He had no idea what was going on. When he got home, all of the TV channels were talking about it (even his cartoon channels). When he got to 1st grade, they produced a play named “God Bless America” about it, and he was finally mature enough to understand.
Bradley Crawford (CHS Principal)
Mr. Crawford was attending the University of Alabama during this time. On his way to school, he heard the TV man on the radio, so he knew something was up. He was preparing to go to his first class when the first plane struck. All of his classes got canceled that day besides his terrorism class. When he went to his terrorism class the second plant hit.
While in class, he and the other students tried to guess the reason for the attack. They were being filmed while this happened for TV since the teacher was an expert in terrorism. All activities and events on campus were paused for a few weeks while everyone processed what had happened.
Mr. Crawford also offered interesting information. “That wasn’t the first time they tried to mess with the towers. They had a stolen UHaul truck and put fertilizer in the back to blow it up. Instead of blowing up the towers they blew up the truck and a couple people were hurt.”
Scott Cole (HS History)
Mr. Cole was working at Honda in Lincoln (near Talladega). He was sitting in the breakroom watching TV when the first plane hit. Everyone crowded around the room to watch. They had no idea what was going on until the second plane hit. That’s when they knew we had been attacked. With Honda being such a big company, they all looked out the windows scared they would get attacked.
But it wasn’t just worry for their own building; nearby stands Anniston Army Depot. This location conducts chemical weapon disposal and has an incinerator on their campus. This made the city a target, and workers feared they wouldn’t make it home.
Amy Robertson (Second Grade Teacher)
Mrs. Robertson was at home when her grandmother called her to tell her. She turned on the TV to see everything. She was scared as it didn’t seem real. At this time, she was a college student and a substitute teacher. The next day, the school was very quiet and everyone was shocked.
Bo Williams ( Middle School Geography/History)
Mr. Williams was in 5th grade at Plainview. He went to P.E and came back as the first tower had been hit. Some teachers let them watch it live, some didn’t. He had no idea how the world would change after that.
Kyndahl Fife (Middle School English Language Arts)
Mrs. Fife was in 8th grade. She saw teachers running around with TVs on carts trying to get them to work. She felt unsettled because she didn’t get what was wrong. When she got home, she turned on the news and saw what happened. She now feels so much respect and honor for our country.
Erin Brown (Language Acquisition Coach)
Mrs. Brown was a college student but was babysitting at the time. She went to visit her mom at the doctor's office where she worked. She saw the first crash on TV. She felt unsafe, and this event made her watch TV constantly.
Sources:
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/10/20/number-of-fdny-deaths-from-9-11-related-illnesses-may-soon-surpass-number-of-those-who-died-that-day#:~:text=On%20Sept.,the%20devastating%20impacts%20that%20day.
https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2022/9/where-were-you-on-9-11