Fifteen years later, staff and alumni remember 9/11
Carson Myers, Associate Writer
Where were you? It’s a simple question, but it carries a lot of weight when Americans talk to each other about Sep 11, 2001.
Many individuals have their whereabouts on that day etched in their minds. It’s usually the first thing that comes up in conversations about the tragedy. Country music star Alan Jackson even wrote a song about the date.
It was a day of uncertainty; sacrosanct national landmarks became vulnerable, countless lives were at risk and worst-case scenarios played out in the span of a day.
All anyone could do was stay grounded where they were and hope that they and their loved ones would remain safe. Six North Greenville University staff members and alumni recalled where they were on 9/11:
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“I was sitting at my desk at Florence Christian Academy in Florence, AL. I was office manager and I was doing routine work when the world turned upside down. A former teacher called and told me what had happened, so our office went online and watched the second building going down.”
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“I was attending a criminal justice conference in Houston, Texas when the planes struck the Twin Towers. Needless to say, the members of my team and I were horrified when we heard this news — our nation is forever changed due to 9/11.”
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“I was finishing getting dressed to come to work. I saw the second plane hit as I was talking to my dad on the phone. We had a staff meeting at 10:00 a.m. that day and we just sat there and watched as events unfolded. We were actually in the old student center conference room (now Foster Education Building) when the towers fell.”
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“I was in middle school at the time. Our band teacher turned the TV on when she found out what was happening. I didn’t know what was happening at first.”
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“I was teaching an international relations class at Bob Jones University. A student who was late to class stopped at my desk and said a plane hit the world trade center. I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t joking. The media center had a television, so I walked down the hall and there were people standing in the doorway watching the television. Everyone was mesmerized, then all of the sudden the second plane hit. I thought: ‘This is weird. This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen in America.’”
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“When the students came into [my] class, they were confused and upset. I ask everyone to take a seat before they got their instruments out because I wanted to talk to them. We talked and I explained that the goal of terrorism was to upset and change or habits and beliefs. It was a Tuesday and we had band practice and I was not going to allow terrorists to change our plans. I lead them in prayer and we read the 23rd psalm before we went outside for rehearsal. One thing that struck me that day was how blue the sky was.”
Fifteen years later, America is still recovering. Some wounds will never be healed.
However, visitors to New York City can see the spire of the One World Trade Center tower over the Manhattan skyline paying homage to all lives lost. The new building is a manifestation of America’s will to keep going.
Perhaps it was this same will to keep going that inspired the lyrics of Katherine Lee Bates’ freedom hymn, America the Beautiful:
Oh beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!
America, America! God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
