September 11, 2001 fell on a Tuesday and I heard the news about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center tower on the radio at home. While The Lioness and I were getting ready for work I turned on the television set and saw the second plane crash into the other tower.
By the time that I got to work to start my 7 AM shift at the Golden Gate Bridge a knot had formed in my stomach and a realization had crept in that things were never going to be the same again.
Meanwhile, three time zones and 3,000 miles to the East, a pair of armed fighter jets from Otis Air National Guard Base Massachusetts were sent to defend New York City.
Seventeen years later, here on the West coast, I had the opportunity to touch and explore a piece of history from that fateful Tuesday morning. The first jet to respond from Otis is on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.
The 9/11 “First Responder” F-15A Eagle #77-102 has been restored to the condition and markings it wore on 9/11/2001 when it was flown by Lt. Col Duffy on combat air patrol missions to clear the New York City airspace. —PCAM website
My thanks go out to our first responders and the men and women of the armed forces on 9-11-01 and to those who are serving today. My hope is that you have the tools to accomplish the tasks ahead of you.
9/11 will be a day that no American will ever forget.
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Not our generation, Jose, but at some point in the future—50 years down the line—I would imagine that it will be one of those, “Oh, yeah. That’s today” commemorations.
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Very true.
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Beautiful capture, impressive subject. We can all remember the exact moment we learned of it and the moments thereafter as we watched the horror unfold. I lived in NJ at the time and we lost so many who commuted daily to the city. Our son lived and worked there and had a dentist appt uptown that morning that kept him out of the area. Life can be so odd sometimes. Here’s to those who rushed in as others were rushing out
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What a day, for sure. One of the towmen at the bridge had a son who was honeymooning in NYC at the time. He and his bride were scheduled to go on a tour of the WTC that morning. 5 hours after the collapse of the towers we found out that they newlyweds overslept and missed their tour group. That put a very happy/sad note to the workday. Happy that they missed it, sad that so many others died.
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Amazing! Sometimes it’s just not your turn to go !
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Agreed.
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I MUST see that plane. Thank you for sharing this.
I had to teach an evening class in San Francisco. I prayed the school would cancel classes, but it didn’t. I still had to teach that night.
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You are welcome. As difficult as that day was, some sense of normality was necessary. Thanks for being an example for your students.
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I’d lost track of what day it is. A good thing that we are healing. A bad thing that should never be forgotten. Thank you. Very interesting piece of history
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Thanks, Carol. The PCAM is a photographer’s paradise.
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Paradise finally! Thanks. Did you hear about the worlds biggest plane taking off from Oakland? Off to take emergency supplies to Hawaii
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I missed that news item. Thanks for the tip, I will look for it.
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There is a really neat YouTube video of this you would like.
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I remember seeing the pictures before I went to the office too. It was a day that changed everything. I didn’t know they got that airplane. I’ll have to take a trip up there to see it.
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Thanks for your comments, Andrew. Check the website for days/times for the museum. It is very low-key and well-worth a trip north. If you don’t mind crowds, there is an airshow the weekend after next.
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