WW III

[Ijineda]

On September 11th, 2001 the third world war started. nothing much more to say, where have you been on this day?

I was on a beach in france, not far away from bordeaux, digging a hole in the sand to search shelter from the wind. In the news they said more than 100.000 people were killed and I was kinda waiting for armageddon to come.  ;)
So what were you doing?

[H]

Agonizing a few hundred miles north in a war of my own. That news didn't help it a bit.

:'(

[expat]

Would you believe that I had to google the date:o We are so use to it being called nothing but 911 it did not click.

What was I doing, a "C" Check on an ATR 42-500.

Matt

[gryshnak]

I was at work, taking news reports from journalists on the scene and transferring it to TV and newspaper desks as fast as we could.  We had a big screen on the wall with live coverage all day, and saw each tower as it fell.  Reporters were ringing us from all over the world, I spent an hour talking with Robert Fisk of The Independent while he was in mid-Atlantic, using the on-board phone, as their flight had been turned back because the whole US airspace was closed.  Nobody really knew what was happening and everyone was scrambling to be the first with any new information.  I barely had time to send one-line emails to my wife to let her know what was happening, typically: "Second tower just fell, estimated death toll 10,000".  (In fact the reported death toll fell over time, finally settling on 2,752)

Around 6pm I took a break and went to the pub around the corner for a meal, and the same footage was being shown on the pub TV (and pretty much every TV in the country).  I worked till midnight that night, it was a very long shift.

Many myths, and quite a few lies, are still told about the events of that day.

[ChuckMajik]

I can't say I agree with the 11th being the start of WWIII.
And to avoid any political discussion I'll leave it at that.

But I will answer your question.
I was eating a bowl of cereal in my undies,
when I decided to turn the TV on and watch the news.

First thing I see... Flight 175 crashing into the south tower.
Absolute shock, I just could not believe what I had just witnessed.

[Drake_TigerClaw]

I was in school. We didnt know it had happened for a while and then when we did it was the big thing on TV. Someone had accedently hit the WTC with a plane. It was on and off for a while, other news was seemingly more important. And then back to the buning tower, then some other news.

And then I was sitting in science class and they cut back to the tower for a minute and I saw this dot come around the back of everything. I remember thinking "Thats an odd place for a plane to be." And then the second impact hit. In the span of about ten seconds a wave of understanding washed over me, then the class, then the news media. "Oh my, we are under attack." There was a lot of not knowing what exactly to do. Atlanta is a big city but it's not world famous for much so we werent terribly worried here but otherwise we were all confused. Then the pentagon was hit, and then the other went down.

I was just sort of numb all day, and I remember predicting Afganastan having something to do with it because they were the first on TV saying "We didnt do it." Otherwise I just really was numb. Flaming doom had befallen lots of people in my country, I guess I just dont know how to properly react to that.

[beefhole]

I would also strongly disagree with 9/11 being the start of WWIII, and wish to avoid it like Steve-o.

I was at school, in math class.  Our fire alarm rang at almost the exact time the first plane hit the towers, and we learned of the news when we reentered.  I watched the tv when I got home, transfixed for hours.  There was an air of excitement then (I was in middle school)-these days, when my friends and I speak of the wars we'll be fighting in several years, the conversations carry a more solemn tone.

[RichieB16]

I was in bed sleeping when the attack first began.  A few minutes after it hit, my father came in the room and told me that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center.  I turned on CNN to see what was going on (I figured it had been some kind of terrible accident).  I turned the TV on just in time to see the second plane hit.  I asked my father what had just happened and he said "a war has started."

I got up out of bed and got into the shower, by the time I got out one of the towers had fallen.  I got dressed, tied my tie, and went to school.  When I got there, one of my friends told me that both towers had apparently collapsed.  

Being in high school, they tried to keep the day as normal as possible without telling us much.  Although, I was in a US History class at the time and in that class our teacher allowed us to watch the news because it was history.

[flyboy 28]

Hm. I was in my science class I believe. Didn't know much about it throughout the day until I got home. I was only 12 and the school didn't want to have to break the news I guess.

[dcunning30]

Whether you believe it's the start of WWIII or not, is simply a matter of scope.

[igs942]

I was installing digital boxes for NTL customers. Had just connected a box up as the second plane hit. For a few seconds I thought it might be a film preview, thinking it looked really realistic....then I saw the word 'Live' in the corner of the screen and felt quite sick.

[Brett_Henderson]

I think 9/11 being called the beginning of WWIII is a fair statement.  It's also a fair comparison to Pearl Harbor. A war was(is) going on and that event thrust us deeply into it.

I was at my brother's home..   His daughter was born that day. His wife was in such shock.. she thought it was a hoax.. A modern, "War of the Worlds"..

[expat]

I think 9/11 being called the beginning of WWIII is a fair statement.  It's also a fair comparison to Pearl Harbor. A war was(is) going on and that event thrust us deeply into it.

I was at my brother's home..   His daughter was born that day. His wife was in such shock.. she thought it was a hoax.. A modern, "War of the Worlds"..

For it to be called a war, does not a declaration of war have to be made, otherwise it is just a conflict. An example, the Faulklands is referred to as the Faulklands War, but as no declaration of war was ever made between England and Argentina, it is the Faulklands Conflict. Just a though in this day of crossing T's and dotting i's.
Matt

[Brett_Henderson]

Good point..

But it's tough to declare war against a nationless, radical religious movement. Terrorists don't have a country to declare war against.

[dcunning30]

A paradign shift has occurred on what we call war and how nations participate in such a war.