This is a reprint from a post I wrote in 2012 with a few edits. I can't believe it's been twenty-five years since that horrible day on September 11, 2001.
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| World Trade Center Wreckage Wikimedia Commons Public Domain |
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| Flag at Pentagon on September 12, 2001 Wikimedia Commons Public Domain |
“The unthinkable has happened!” Those are the words I wrote as I began writing about 9/11 in my journal. I can’t believe it’s really been twenty-five years now since it happened. Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers suggested we write a post recalling our memories of that horrific day.
I live on the West Coast. I was awake when 9/11 happened, getting ready for the day. The news was on our TV. An alert came on saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We thought it was just a terrible accident. But then the next plane crashed into the other tower. My husband saw it happen live on TV. Then we knew it was no accident. We were being attacked. We watched this all unfold as if mesmerized. I wrote in my journal that I felt like I was in a nightmare. I was in shock. I went through the motions of getting the kids to school but was gripped with fear of what had just happened.
Our five kids ranged in age back then from high school age down to elementary school. I remember taking my youngest kids to elementary school and as we were waiting out on the playground for the bell to ring, a strange and foreign thought ran through my mind. The vague thought of concern about planes that were in our skies that morning. We live not too far from an Air National Guard station. Also our city airport isn't too far away. I really wasn't too concerned about our little corner of the world, but still.
After coming home from taking the kids to school, I was of course glued to the television, watching the horrific and unbelievable events of the day taking place.
Then there was the void of airplanes in the sky in the coming days. That was very eerie.
Because we live close to an Air National Guard Fighter Wing, those planes kept flying, but no commercial planes were in the air. One of my sons, who was in elementary school at the time, woke up at 4:00 am on Wednesday morning. He woke me up and said he heard an airplane - he was scared. I told him that it was the military—that it was one of ours. I wrote in my journal, “Isn’t that pathetic that I would have to say those words to one of my children?”
Our world has changed since 9/11. Our sense of security has changed as well. We had the attack at Pearl Harbor, but that was a generation or two ago. Now our generation has it’s own attack on U.S. soil to remember.
I hope that we will always remember 9/11 and those who perished that day, as well as those who risked their lives trying to save others.
And I hope we remember those in the military, some who have made the ultimate sacrifice, who willingly serve so that we can enjoy freedom and safety.
Thanks for reading.
Jana
© 2026 Copyright by Jana Last
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