On September 11, 2001, I was three years old, in a kindergarten in Atlanta, Georgia. The school closed at lunchtime with many of the children’s parents being evacuated employees from the nearby Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My family went home and watched the news like many others. But I don’t remember any of this. I don’t remember […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Connor Murray, 7, Vienna, Austria
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I walked to my elementary school in Vienna, Austria, like most other school days; accompanied by my father, Director of the University of Illinois’s Austria-Illinois Exchange Program, and my neighbors/closest friends. I was in 2nd grade. After school, I knew I was in for a treat as I […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Cameron Lopez, 11, Reston, Virginia
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I walked into my 6th-grade classroom at 9:00 AM to find our teacher glued to the television, silently watching as black smoke billowed from the World Trade Center. Instead of her usual warm welcome, Ms. DeLaVerne stoically instructed us to “take our seats.” As an 11-year-old, my thoughts were simple […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: John Isaacs, 50s, Washington, D.C.
On September 11, 2001, I was working at the Center’s sister organization, the Council for a Livable World. Our office was in the Methodist Building across from the Supreme Court with the Capitol a very short distance away. In those ancient times, I would watch the Senate and House on TV, and when the bells rang for […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: John Erath, 30s, Arlington, Virginia
On September 11, 2001, at 9 AM, we had a staff meeting as normal for a Tuesday. It was a warm, late summer day with an endless blue sky in Arlington, VA that morning with no hint that we would always remember the day. I worked in the Pentagon. One of our support staff came […]
