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Fading Away
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since 2001-03-14
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Lynchburg, Virginia

0 posted 2001-09-11 04:58 PM


ACTS OF WAR

"In the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, three hijacked planes slammed into the Pentagon and New York's landmark World Trade Center on Tuesday, demolishing the two 110-story towers that symbolize U.S. financial might.

Horrific scenes of terrified people fleeing the mayhem flashed across TV screens as the mighty twin towers located near the tip of Manhattan imploded one at a time, sending a massive plume of dust and smoke billowing over the city.

No death toll was immediately available but officials feared the number could climb into the thousands, as 40,000 people alone worked in the steel and glass Trade Center.

New York officials said hundreds of firefighters and police may have perished trying to save others.

The attacks presented President Bush with the sternest test of his eight-month presidency. He cut short a trip to Florida and flew to a Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, after stopping briefly in Louisiana where he vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

The attacks, which involved the hijacking of four commercial planes -- two from Boston, one each from Newark and Dulles, outside Washington -- brought normal life across the United States to a standstill, turning the major cities of the nation into eerie ghost towns.

All financial markets were closed, millions of workers sent home early, all flights around the nation were canceled and all airports shut in an unprecedented move. Markets were to remain closed on Wednesday.

KAMIKAZE ATTACK ON PENTAGON

It began shortly before 9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT) when the first plane (carrying 92 people) slammed into the north tower in the heart of New York's financial district, opening a massive hole near the top. With TV stations showing the scene live, a second plane (carrying 54 people) followed 15 minutes later, scoring a direct hit on the south tower.

Minutes later came the report of a third kamikaze attack (carrying 63 people) on the Pentagon, home of the Defense Department in North Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington. That building, too, burst into flames.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was in the building and tried to assist the victims before being evacuated.

Then came the deadliest blow of all as first one and then the second of New York's twin towers collapsed in a burst of smoke, fire and metal and a mighty roar.

Not knowing if more was on the way, authorities evacuated key landmarks like the White House, the fire-damaged Pentagon, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the CIA building and the Walt Disney theme parks. All baseball games were cancelled.

It was the worst attack on American soil since Japanese war planes bombed the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, killing 2,280 soldiers and 68 civilians and forcing the United States into World War Two.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told CNN, "This is comparable to Pearl Harbor and we must have the same response and the people who did it must have the same end as the people who attacked Pearl Harbor."

Lawmakers called it an act of war which the United States must avenge. No group took immediate responsibility for the attack but suspicions centered on an implacable U.S. enemy -- exiled Saudi Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), whose followers were held responsible for murderous attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa.

266 ABOARD FOUR HIJACKED PLANES

There were a total of 266 people on board the day's four hijacked planes -- two that crashed into the twin towers, one that slammed into the Pentagon and a fourth that crashed in a wooded area near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

But it could be days or weeks before the total death toll becomes clear.

"I wouldn't want to say what the death toll could be. It will be a horrible number. I saw people dropping out of windows," a shaken New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told ABC News, adding that 200 firefighters were missing.

"I looked outside and saw a big chunk of the World Trade Center missing," said Verizon employee Ellen Leon. "Fifteen minutes later I saw people jumping out of the building. Bodies were flying out. I don't know if they were already dead or if they were just going to die."

The attacks triggered scenes of panic, disbelief and heroism in the largest U.S. city, where police and firefighters risked their lives to save people from the 110-story twin towers before its 200,000 tons of steel frame came smashing down, covering lower Manhattan in a shower of soot.

"It's nuts, there is debris and dust everywhere, and it looks as though a volcano erupted down there," said Michael DeVita, who was working on the 84th floor of World Trade Center Building No. 2 when the first plane hit Building No. 1.

Hospitals in New York were overwhelmed as a black cloud billowed into the blue skies over Manhattan where the city skyline had been dramatically and permanently altered.

HEAD-TO-TOE BURNS

"Hundreds of people are burned from head to toe," said Dr. Steven Stern at St. Vincent's Hospital in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of lower Manhattan. Rescue workers used commuter ferries to carry victims across the Hudson River to safety in Hoboken, New Jersey, where the scene resembled a war zone, with victims laid out on stretchers, limping on crutches, and others walking without a shirt and with their pants torn.

Dozens looked shellshocked and were weeping in nearby streets. The thick plume of smoke rising from what used to be the World Trade Center was clearly visible in the background.

Bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey were closed, making it impossible for parents to return home and pick up their children from school.

Bush vowed to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice as he stopped in Louisiana to talk to the nation. "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts," the president said.

Bush had begun his day in Florida prepared to speak about education but quickly changed his plans when the news of the attacks emerged.

With a military jet at each wingtip, Bush's Air Force One aircraft rushed to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and was immediately surrounded by soldiers bearing automatic weapons and dressed in camouflage fatigues and helmets.

He was on the ground there only briefly before heading for Nebraska, landing at Offutt, a base with a key role in strategic nuclear planning under its U.S. Strategic Command.

Disaster relief agencies said they were working with the military to rush thousands of pints of blood to New York City and Washington to treat an untold number of injuries from aerial hijack attacks in those cities.

NOT SINCE PEARL HARBOR

"We have not seen an attack like this, certainly not since Pearl Harbor," said Adm. Robert Natter, commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, which was dispatching ships and aircraft for air defense to Washington and possibly New York.

As international flights were diverted to Canada, authorities shut down all flights in the United States.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned the attack but some Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories and in Lebanon celebrated.

Bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire and Islamic militant, believed to be in Afghanistan, was blamed for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in which 224 people died."

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/t       s/imdf11092001131513a.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/t       s/imdf11092001135957a.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/t       s/imdf11092001140638a.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/t       s/imdf11092001142335a.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yaho       o.com/h/p/ap/20010911/us/1000238924terrorism_attacks_pentagon_wx108.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailyn       ews.yahoo.com/h/p/ap/20010911/us/1000238637terrorism_attacks_pentagon_attacks_wx109.html

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/ts/mdf50529.       html

I want to ask now for your prayers.  I live only miles from Washington DC.  Words cannot express my fear and pain right now.  One of my closest friends was on a school trip to New York City this week.  They were going to tour the World Trade Center this morning at 9:00am.  I haven't heard anything.  My close uncle works in World Trade Center -- North Tower on the 92nd floor.  I have yet to hear anything from him.  My sister and grandfather work in the Pentagon.  My grandfather is critically injured, and word on my sister has not yet been heard.  Please.. Please send up your prayers now.  This is a desperate plea.  We need them...

I'm scared.

http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20010911/ts/mdf50585.       html

The president said:
"Freedom of this country has been attacked by a faceless coward.  Freedom is what we will protect ... Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

Let's hope so.

Prayers.. Please pray.



If going to church makes you a Christian, then sitting in a garage makes you a car.

[This message has been edited by Fading Away (edited 09-11-2001).]

© Copyright 2001 Jennifer Floyd - All Rights Reserved
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
1 posted 2001-09-11 05:13 PM



You, and all of us, are in my prayers....

Charisma
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since 2000-09-30
Posts 5906
lost in blue pages
2 posted 2001-09-11 05:30 PM


you and yours are all in my prayers.

Charisma

doreen peri
Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812
Virginia
3 posted 2001-09-11 05:37 PM


my sincere prayers from my heart...... ...!!!!!

this.... all this... so very tragic.... thank you for posting this thread....

i am grieving for the country, the world, and all who have suffered.... what will happen next is anyone's guess... we must be strong

angel_2401
Member
since 2001-06-12
Posts 131
Cincinnati, OH
4 posted 2001-09-11 05:38 PM


I'm praying for everyone...

I post because I'm bored, I'm bored because I am. ~~*I'm Matt's Princess!!!*~~

Janet Marie
Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554

5 posted 2001-09-11 06:04 PM


God Bless you and keep you.........

Acies
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Member Rara Avis
since 2000-06-07
Posts 7665
Twilight Zone
6 posted 2001-09-11 06:05 PM


This is definitely a very sad day.  My prayers go to all the victims and their families.  

hi Sweets, Lizzy, Kris, Ina, Allysa, Erica, Minna, Kit, Kamie, Javi, Jenn, Sharon, Nan, Cawlee, Cherish, Ashley, Sara, Justine, Leah, Jess, Kimmie, Ma

cherish
Senior Member
since 2001-03-25
Posts 1639
swimming in fairy floss...........
7 posted 2001-09-11 09:37 PM


MAIRE..... ....marie.....im going to pray for your uncle and friend and sister and grandparents... awwwwwww darling, lets just hope they're all ok. lets just hope you get the news of thier being safe soon. keep us updated on your friends and family sweets. im here for you...*holds you tight*

a
D    E           R S     I TY   can BE WARPED
  R     A    E          L
            M         EA
                      R    

Spice
Senior Member
since 2001-04-13
Posts 1266
Resting in my cardboard box.
8 posted 2001-09-11 11:05 PM


Marie, Sweetie, thats horrible...You, your family, and your friends are all on my thoughts and prayers. *hugs*
anonymousfemale
Member Elite
since 2000-02-02
Posts 2797
Limbo
9 posted 2001-09-11 11:12 PM


Oh marie! *huge hugs*
I will keep you and your family in my thoughts at this time. I sincerely hope that they are alright. *hugs*

"Kelly's my Hero!" "No, Kelly's your heroine." "Kelly has heroin??" "What?"

Elizabeth
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Moderator
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since 1999-06-07
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Minnesota
10 posted 2001-09-11 11:37 PM


Marie, God bless you and your family......we'll all be thinking of you.
1slick_lady
Member Ascendant
since 2000-12-22
Posts 6088
standing on a shadow's lace
11 posted 2001-09-11 11:57 PM


you and your family are in our prayers...helen
Marge Tindal
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Florida's Foreverly Shores
12 posted 2001-09-12 06:53 AM


FadingAway~
We all must join hands in prayer.
*Hugs*
~*Marge*~

~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~
                                   noles1@totcon.com            

Carolina
Member
since 2001-08-17
Posts 224
Myrtle Beach, SC
13 posted 2001-09-12 11:12 AM


My family's hearts and prayers go out to yours.  I pray that you find comfort, strength and courage throughout the hours and days.  

Live today as if it's your last.  Love today as if it's your first.   Lisa

Fading Away
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since 2001-03-14
Posts 3131
Lynchburg, Virginia
14 posted 2001-09-12 09:29 PM


Thank you all so very much for your words of support and sympathy.  I showed them to my family, and we were all touched so very deeply.  You have no idea how much they have meant to us.  Just keep praying.

Right now, my uncle, who is not only very close to my family, but my Godfather, is still missing in the rubble of what's left of the World Trade Center.  None of his friends have seen him, and currently have no recollection as to if he left safely.  It looks as though that will probably not be the case.  My grandfather is in the hospital with burn injuries.  He's in critical condition, and is supposed to recover.  We are still waiting for word on my sister.  She's still missing somewhere in or near the Pentagon.  I can't tell anyone the fear and hope that runs through our heads every time the phone rings.  She is only 21 years old.  We are still anxious in anticipation.  My very close and dear friend who treavelled to New York City this week, although shaken and scared, is fine, as is the rest of her class.  They were on their way to the World Trade Center when the first plane hit.  Moments earlier, and things would have been completely different.

Keep praying.  Attend prayer vigils, if you can.  Give blood.  Do anything.  My deepest sympathy goes to the victims' families.

God bless you all...

--Marie

If going to church makes you a Christian, then sitting in a garage makes you a car.

[This message has been edited by Fading Away (edited 09-12-2001).]

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