Saturday, September 11, 2021

20 Years On From 9/11

Every few years, I end up writing about the day of September 11th 2001. I often find myself repeating things, but - seeing as it's the twentieth anniversary of that day - I'll once again write about my memory of that day and more.

I happened to have a day off work on September 11th 2001. I was spending the day in a chat room on MIRC where fans of Tommy Boyd - who was, at that time, a presenter on Talk Sport radio - would converge.

Talk Sport was playing on my radio. That was where I first heard the news. I immediately came downstairs and told my mother what I had heard. We then switched the TV over to one of the news channels. I remember standing in front of my TV as the building has smoke pouring out of it. My seven-month old nephew was there in the room as well. He was laying on one of those soft, spongy, rests you place them on when you're changing them. I always remember him looking up at me and I pulled one of my funny faces at him to make him giggle. I always think back to how weird that was for me to do something funny while something serious was going on the screen in front of me.

I didn't see the second plane hitting the other tower. My mum did. She yelled up to me as soon as she saw it, so I came back downstairs.

'This isn't an accident now,' I told her. I initially thought it was after seeing what the first plane had done.

The rest of the day was spent either watching bits from the TV, but I mainly listened to the coverage on Talk Sport. 

In the years following that day, I have found myself interested in the documentaries that have been produced. It's always interesting to hear the stories from the brave people who survived the attacks. It's even more intriguing to hear the stories about those who did not make it.

I watched a new documentary last night. It was on BBC iPlayer. Its title is Surviving 9/11 and interviewed people who there that day. The near-ninety minute documentary also spoke with family of those who did not survive the attacks. 

The partner of the pilot of Flight 93 had something to say which struck something with me. In the documentary, she mentioned that everybody remembers the story that the passengers teamed up to take on the terrorists. Their actions prevented the plane from reaching its target. Whenever the story is told, one name is rarely mentioned - the pilot who was more than likely killed by the terrorists before they took control of his cockpit. She has a strong, and valid, point. 

LeRoy Homer Jr is his name.

They say that that was the day which changed the world as we know it. Sure did.

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