Memories of Sept. 11

Click here to read Anthony Coate’s blog, “Where Were You On 9/11?”

The day after the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced, we asked our LOCAL readers to share where they were and what they had been doing the morning of Sept. 11. Here are some of the memories that day shared by our Facebook community:

Diane Zak: Working, my husband came in and told me and I watched in disbelief at the replays of the first tower strike and watched as the second one was hit. Very hard to work after that but finished the day sadly.

May 2 at 10:40am

Gergory B. Hulse: At Office by Hofstra…getting pHONE cALLS FROM TWO OF MY EMPLOYEES IN THE tOWERS.

May 2 at 10:41am

Theresa Gallo Colon: 7 11 getting coffee befor work when first plane hit, at work when second hit, went and picked my kids up from school n spent the rest of the day at home with them.

May 2 at 10:41am

‎Joe Johannemann: 8th grade sci class got picked up and didnt know why the school never told us what was happing

May 2 at 10:42am 



Pamela White Spatafora: At work, planted in front of tvs they had set up for us. What a horrible, horrible day.

May 2 at 10:43am

Stephen Husak: Sleeping. I worked till 4 a.m. came home and fell into bed. For some reason I woke up and turned the t.v. on. Just in time to watch the second plane crash.

May 2 at 10:44am

Amanda Pulvidente: 8th grade english class,school would only say that we were under attack by terrorist and they couldnt say anything else a bought it and not to talk a bought it in the halls.

May 2 at 10:44am

Peggy Richards: at work in east hampton – as dreadful as the truth is – the first reports were talking about 50,000 dead

May 2 at 10:45am

Jenny Grace: I was at work at a daycare center by MacArthur Airport. All of the sudden, parenst starting coming and frantically picking up their children. Noone in the center knew what was going on because we did not have the internet on the office computer or a radio or television. I went out to my car and every radio station was repoting the news. I got home and watched the tv. The telephone rang and it was my cousin, calling to tell us that a member of our family was missing. He was a firefighter. They found him six months later.

May 2 at 10:45am

Christine Montalbano: At Wal-Mart, in the greeting card section … an employee walked by and said a plane just flew into the WTC. Went to the electronics dept. and it was on every TV!

May 2 at 10:45am

Joseph Gilroy: Home and couldn’t belive what I was seeing. When the first tower came down I knew the world would never be the same

May 2 at 10:45am

Jennifer Raynor: In my 1st grade class that I was student teaching in in Newport, RI. The principal was standing at the door and I thought I was in trouble for something. She spoke with my cooperating teacher and we all went to the faculty room to watch the news.

May 2 at 10:46am

James Stevens: ‎557 west 148th street on my roof watching the buildings burn. Sugar Hill It was a gorgeous day and could see all the way downtown. Panic

May 2 at 10:46am

Randy Miller: I was on Church St. & Broadway, NYC

May 2 at 10:47am



James Redmond: At work in the flight path of MacArthur Airport. Our boss had us leave work to a near bye Hotle.

May 2 at 10:47am

Tracy L. Ferguson: at home with my then 5 mth old…watching in horror thinking is this really happening?…then picked my 3yr old up from her pre-school..calling all my family..crying..it was very numbing…felt like the end coming..

May 2 at 10:47am

Jason Wells: Usmc semper fi

May 2 at 10:47am

Emily Goode: I was with my 6th grade English class, in the computer room..our teachers told us something bad happened and something about the World Trade Center, but they didn’t tell us exactly what happened.

May 2 at 10:49am

Susan Jackson Cole: I had been back in the United States 3 weeks…my husband is a U.S.MARINE..we had just moved back from three years in Okinawa, Japan.The goverment lost our shipment and all we had in a 6 bedroom house was a bed and a tv. My daughter lauren just went to school and Paige was in kindergarden.We were watching PBS. My mother-in-law called and told me to turn on the news….KNOWING MY HUSBAND WAS IN THE PENTAGON……12 hours later my husband pulled up and kissed us….but so many were not so lucky…this has changed me forever…..

May 2 at 10:50am

Clayton Moultrie Jr.: School, French class….

May 2 at 10:51am



Christine Lessard: At work without a TV and only getting info from phone calls coming in….there was a panic in the air and I had to leave the office for a while and see the news firsthand.

May 2 at 10:52am

Tracey Crump: Home with a newborn….

May 2 at 10:56am



Diane Tucci: I was at work, had gotten engaged over the weekend, I was going to tell everybody, but the attacks started within a few minutes of the work day…I sat watching the tv’s with my ring buried in my pockets.. it was so small compared to the trajedy. I was also pregnant with my first. Scared to death to be bringing a child into what became an unstable world for us here on Long Island, in minutes, then years…

May 2 at 11:01am 



Fred Dawson: At work

May 2 at 11:03am

Marty Johnson II: I was at the light on westside hwy and canal st as the 1st plane flew over me, and I said, oh man they’re f’ed! ! Then as I followed the plane with my eyes it went right into the WTC Then later getting back in to get my brother out who was working WTC-7 at the time.

May 2 at 11:05am

Alyssa Robinkoff: I was in history class

May 2 at 11:09am

Diane Shields-Mendelsohn: at work.

May 2 at 11:12am



Tabitha McElreath: getting my son dressed and waiting for my mom and grandma to pick me up so we can go shopping. Had tv on and watched the 2nd plane as it hit the 2nd tower. Sad day!!!

May 2 at 11:13am 



Francine Worth Casey: OA meeting.

May 2 at 11:16am

Laura Hespos: Folding laundry while my 3 month old was sleeping. Had the volume muted on the television, and saw the first Tower that was hit in flames. Turned the volume up and watched in horror as the second plane hit….God Bless America and all those who lost their lives that day.

May 2 at 11:20am

Kathy Nugent-Hallock: sitting here at home Had tv on and watched the 2nd plane as it hit the 2nd tower with tears running down my face being 8 months pregnant and scared as all

May 2 at 11:26am

Joan Behrle: Watching Today Show. Called neighbor who informed me his brother was up at the top of one of the towers! They immediately left from NC to LI-

May 2 at 11:27am

Michelle Ryan Debay: Living in NYC -upper east side. It was surreal when they shut down all the bridges and the military convoys came up the FDR. We couldn’t even volunteer at the Red Cross, we would wait in line for hours to donate blood and they would run out of supplies, it was such a feeling of helplessness, the best we could do was download a list of materials to be donated and dropmthem at Giants stadium.

May 2 at 11:33am

Michelle Myers: In my midtown office. We could see the smoke from the first hit. After we realized what was happening we watched it in the firm’s conference room. The powers that be dithered for a while about closing the office, then we fled, me going against the crowd to get to home on 2nd Street on the Lower East Side. I have never forgotten the smell.

May 2 at 11:30am

Desiree Meier: I was in 2nd grade with mrs dorman in Riley ave school

May 2 at 11:34am

Jennifer Browne N: On my phone with my sister walking to my Psychology class, then looking around to see all the other students were having the same confused look on their faces, hearing what was going on.

May 2 at 11:40am

Linda Cozell: Working at the Jewelry Hospital. Shocked we put on the tv to watch…My daughter was in the city, yikes…

May 2 at 11:48am

Kyle Breitenbach: Kindergarten…..

May 2 at 11:49am

Mike Botula: Waking up in Contra Costa, CA when a friend called me and said, “turn your TV on, a plane just flew into the World Trade Center.” I snapped the hotel room set on just in time to see the second plane hit. I had been in NYC three weeks earlier at a conference. Many of my colleagues had visited the “Top of the World.” The proximity of 9/11 and our visit shook us all very badly.

May 2 at 11:57am

Carrie Lull LaCombe: Had just put my son on the bus and was getting ready to go to a class when my neighbor called and told me there had been a plane crash. Turned on the news and thought wow, the world trade center is on fire..but where’s the plane crash? Took a minute to put it together. I remember each event that followed being more incomprehensible than the last. Picked up the phone and tried to reach my brother on his cell, which he didn’t answer since he was kind of busy.

May 2 at 11:59am

April Hoyt Pokorny: Teaching 3 back-to-back 2nd grade classes. The teacher of one of the classes was called out of the class to the office (her cousin had been killed in the attack.) Students kept getting called out for early pickup by parents – I knew something was up, but had no idea what had happened until after the second tower was already down. When I came out of my classroom I asked the first person I saw what was going on. She said, “The twin towers are gone” and I didn’t know what she meant. Teachers were in the faculty room watching the replays. People were walking around the halls in complete shock. It was surreal and horrifying.

May 2 at 12:04pm

Cathie Shore Gallo: Driving to work and I heard it on the radio and thought it was a WBLI joke at first until the second plane hit!!

May 2 at 12:07pm

‎Matthew Graziano: 8th grade at gym getting picture taken alls I remember was a teacher coming in saying to my teacher WW3 I’s about to happen that terrorist just crashed a plane into the trade center. They got the tv out and wee all were watching the news in gym class and the school was put on lock down and my mom picked me up. Alls she said if were going to die were going to die together. Sad day and will never be forgotten!!

May 2 at 12:07pm

Bobby Hartmann: Doing dockwork down at Mattituck inlet…I was hung over from a crack run, I soon went to rehab, my roomate at rehab was on of the 12 firemen who walked out of the lone staircase at ground zero

May 2 at 12:08pm

‎Chris Joyce: 80 Tompkins st Cortland NY. first week of college.

May 2 at 12:16pm

Mark Norton: at work, watching the towers come down on tv 🙁

May 2 at 12:59pm

Natasha Phillips: In class@suffolk community college riverhead campus

May 2 at 1:15pm

Melissa Capobianco: In 9th grade history class…..I remember it like yesterday……Its still overwhelming to recall… (God Bless America)

May 2 at 1:36pm

Jason Hughes: Was in Florida just waking up for the day when the second plane hit my dad was at work in citibank bank building in queens

May 2 at 1:38pm

Tracey Zeh Grattan: Lower Manhattan-two blocks from WTC 🙁

May 2 at 1:38pm 



Deborah Zilnicki: At bostons logan airport waiting to board a flight to islip..was on plane and then deboarded..by authorities..then back to terminal.then had short amount of time to evacuate logan..hitched a ride with taxi to rent a car. Drove home to riverhead…never will forget…

May 2 at 1:48pm

Barbara Lipetz-Ferraiuolo: Putting my 9 month old son down for a nap, saw the first plane hit, thought it was a teriible accident, the saw the second one hit, I knew it wasnt a accident. My daughter ‘s first grade class and all the Southampton elementary students were taken in busses down to the ocean, we were not allowed to go pick them up!!! Later we found out that a very close friend of my husbands, Linda Grounland from Sag Harbor was on Flight 93. A very very Sad day!! God Bless America!!! And Rot in Hell Osama you Coward!!!!

May 2 at 2:08pm

Barbara J. Thomas: I heard that the 1st plane hit the WTC and thought it was a horrible accident. I was at work when my sister called to tell me about the second plane. She was hysterical. I was concerned about calming her down!

May 2 at 2:21pm

Tanya Zaleski-Doherty: I was driving to work and heard on radio that plane crashed into tower. Thought it was pilot error. Walked into work to see second plane crashing into other tower. It was at that point that I knew I was in Hell. I felt so afraid. Thought the world was going to come to an end.. honestly, was so afraid that every plane in the air had become a bomb. And although I didn’t know anyone in the towers personally and I was no where near NYC at that moment, I am still petrified to go into the city. When I went in March with my brother I had a good time but could not WAIT to get the hell out there.

May 2 at 5:09pm

Maureen Andrychowski: Headed down Roanoke Avenue with my friend Rosetta and we were both just speechless. Remember it like it was yesterday.

May 2 at 6:56pm

Matt Suprina: sitting in art class in 5th grade trying to figure out why the teachers looked frantic and some where crying

May 2 at 7:24pm

Desiree Caminiti: On CR@24 in Riverhead on my way to work….

May 2 at 7:26pm

Deborah Blasl Goroleski: Down in the office. When my dad called and said something about it and I didn’t know what he was talking about and he told me to turn on the TV..

May 2 at 7:37pm

Laura James: I was on my way to the bank and found out what had happened at the bank. It was a day I wll never forget. I had family on the 52 fool of one of the building that made it out ok. I also remembered they closed tanger down.

May 2 at 7:38pm

Celia Marszal Iannelli: I was living on Staten Island, and had just walked into the facility where I was employed. As I made my way past reception to my office, I noticed that my staff was standing around. I thought it was odd. They asked if I knew what happened…. Together we watched the second tower fall…………….We send everyone home…..

May 2 at 7:51pm

Brian Wilkinson: Work

May 2 at 8:10pm

Tyler Scott Person: I was in second grade at Riley Avenue…right after we sang the pledge our teacher was called out and a sub came in and was rather quiet about it all…then an hour later my mother came to pick me up and she was crying and so were a few other parents I saw standing in the lobby waiting to get their kids. I also saw the overhead TV on in the main office and remember seeing the building on fire, the second tower hadnt been hit yet, and I rememeber thinking “wow ive been in them before” and a few of the staff we’re in there and u could just see the shock on their faces…I went home and saw what happened…I wish I had paid more attention to it then when it did happen!!!! I didnt think much of it at the age of 8 but now I still cant fathom to think about it. it was a very sad day!!!

May 2 at 8:17pm

Jim Rheaume: watching it happen on tv at work… my heart dropped!!

May 2 at 8:30pm

Courtney Bugdin: in my 7th grade french class where my teacher brought in a radio and we listened to it as it was happening.

May 2 at 8:50pm

Linda Lorenz: Working and then starting first night of Nursing School and was in lock down very very scarey !!!!

May 2 at 9:27pm

Agnes Kramer: in a high school creative writing class in Ontario, Canada.. watched the second tower fall on tv. totally surreal.

May 2 at 10:13pm

Mimi Mott Johnson: I was only way to work in East Hampton with the car radio on but I was not really listening until I heard them say a plane hit one of the towers. I thought they were talking about a movie and then as I was parking my car at workI nheard them say another plane had hit the other tower and then I knew something bad was happening. I was questioned by everyone when I walked in to see if I had heard anything on the radio and I told them what I heard. We rigged up a TV with a radio antenna hanging out the window and we got to watch on TV in the conference room. My boss told the staff to only do what absolutely had to be done that day and then to go home. What an awful day unfolded. One Inwill never forget. Lost a neighbor (NYFD) and a young woman who I had worked for on a mortgage that was almost ready to close. So sad. She jumped from the burning towers holding the hand of a friend.

May 2 at 10:58pm

Andy McLoughlin: I was working an 8-4 shift with the County Park Police

May 2 at 11:09pm

Sandi Dodgen: AFTER LEAVING RIVERHEAD IN 1995, I WAS ROCKING MY LITTLE 9 MONTH OLD BABY GIRL, AND PRAYING FOR NYC AND ALL MY FRIENDS THERE.IT WAS AWFUL AND I COULDNT HELP BUT WORRY ABOUT MY BABYS GENERATION AND WHAT THEY MAY HAVE TO ENDURE. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR TROOPS.

May 2 at 11:11pm

Laura Lavelle: in my 4th grade class just as school was about to start…our teacher was pulled out of the classroom for a while and then came back in, telling us bits and pieces of what was going on, though we couldn’t really understand…about half an hour later, my mom picked me up and took me home where we spent the rest of the day both watching the news and getting on and off the phone with my aunt who’s husband, my uncle, is a volunteer fireman in NYC…thank god he made it out okay, though he had to dive and take cover under and ambulence in order to do so…justice is served.

May 2 at 11:42pm

Dennis J O’Connor: Just crossed the RR tracks on Tuckahoe Rd heading to a history class at Southampton College when I heard about it while listening to “All Things Considered” on NPR. Arrived, found a TV and set it up in Chancellor’s Hall lobby. Then the second plane hit.

May 3 at 6:54am

Sue Van Kurin Lessard: Working 8 to 4 at the Suffolk County Treasurer’s wondering why our computer system suddenly went down. I was told later that somehow our mainframe was tied into the WTC.

May 3 at 8:04am