9/11: Twenty years later
WE ASKED: Where were you during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and what was your reaction?
Patrick Murphy 45, East Bay
“I was an RCMP officer at the time, and I can remember being called out to work. I was stationed in the Annapolis Valley near the air force base, and I guess what stands out the most is just remembering the sheer amount of air traffic that flying out of (CFB) Greenwood at the time. Fighter jets were landing there were a couple of flights there and of course, I was home earlier in the day watching television and actually watching the towers go down. That was before I got called into work. So it was pretty scary, pretty surreal. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, how horrific is this, and if anything was coming our way?’ I think it was a bit of sheer terror and then you don’t know what else is happening.
Everything was developing so fast. I think that’s why all of our members got called in — we were concerned there could be possible attacks anywhere in Canada. Nobody knew at the time. It was just that absolute feeling of horror for what our neighbours down to the south were going through at the time, of course.”
Gary O’brien 74, Gardiner Mines
“I was at my house and my daughter called up. She was at work in Halifax and she asked if I could check the TV because she’d heard about a plane crash at the Twin Towers in New York. I checked it and one of the towers was burning at that time. All of a sudden another plane came along and hit the other tower. That’s when I knew something was wrong. (I was) just stunned. In a daze. Looking at the television you’re saying, ‘Is this real, or what?’then I was home for the rest of the day watching the television.”
Brad Nicholson 64, South Bar
“I exactly remember where I was. I was in Fort Mcmurray working for (Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.). It was mid-afternoon and we got word of it and it was devastating news — absolutely devastating … it made everybody stand still on the worksite when it was mentioned. It was a sad day in the history of all time. It will never be forgotten. I was sick to my stomach. I was overwhelmed with just the thought of somebody doing such a horrific thing like this and for so many innocent people to suffer.”
Harvey Hyson 74, New Waterford
“I was recovering from open-heart surgery and I couldn’t lay down to sleep so I was sitting in the Lay-z-boy, just waking up and our next-door neighbour called and she said ‘Harvey, you’ll never forget this birthday,’ because my birthday is Sept. 11, 1946. So my wife said, ‘He’s just happy to be home,’ and the neighbour said, ‘You have no idea what I’m talking about — turn on your television.’ So Linda hollered down to me to turn on the television, so I did, and I was just in time to see the second plane coming around and flying in. I thought it was a Bruce Willis movie or something. I was stunned, I guess. It was unbelievable.”
Ana 42, Calgary
(declined to provide
last name)
“I was in bed sleeping and I had no idea anything had happened until I walked into work and the radio was playing, which was not normal. I had a sister who was down in New Jersey at the time so I was just trying to scramble and try to figure out what was going on with her. I felt disbelief and a lot of grief for those who suffered, and tons of grief after the fact too, finding more about the first-responders because my dad is a firefighter.”