What were you doing?
September 11, 2001, started like any other day. I woke up, showered, had breakfast, and went to school. At this point I hadn’t realized what had happened. When several teachers were scurrying about the hallway, all trying to find a TV to bring into their classrooms, I learned what had transpired. I wanted to hear more news as information was relayed to the country, but only got enough information to know that 2 planes had hit the World Trade Center buildings, it was chaos, and there were supposedly more planes with targets. But my classmates and I would not be able to sit and watch the news. On this day, we were taking the ASVAB.
ASVAB
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is a multi-part test required before you can join the military. It will help determine the military job skills you are qualified to do, as well as any signing bonuses you may qualify for. With a bit of irony, our school had scheduled my class to take the ASVAB on 9/11. We took a military qualifying test while the rest of the school watched news of the attacks.
National Guard
I had already been thinking of joining the National Guard, and 6 weeks later I enlisted. My mother was less than enthused but agreed to let me join. I did split training, which means I went through basic training after my junior year, and returned after my senior year to complete my first Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Later that fall, the night before Thanksgiving back in 2003, I received the call that we were being sent to Iraq, where I spent a year.
Share With Us
That’s a brief look at what I was doing on 9/11 when I found out what was happening, and what transpired for me in the months and years to come. Please visit the comments below and share where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news.
I was getting ready to leave for a staff meeting at the church I serve and had clicked on the Weather Channel to see the forecast. The meteorologists were announcing that all air traffic had been grounded. I was only half listening as I gathered my things and headed out the door. The first tower had collapsed by the time I arrived at church as the pastor and secretary were frantically trying to get the television tuned in to a channel carrying the story as the church doesn’t have cable. The picture came into focus as the second tower fell down. The telephone was ringing as we prayed for the people involved in the horrific pictures we were seeing on television. I remember driving past the Capitol in Bismarck and seeing the entrances barricaded. People packed churches that Sunday seeking reassurance that in the midst of the terror and uncertainty God our constant comforter and ruler.