24th Anniversary, where were you?
- Thread starter jkernitzki
- Start date
- Watchers 13
I was home, still in my pajamas about to take a shower. I didn't have the TV on. My mom called me all upset asking me if I knew what was going on, I said no, she told me were being attacked and to turn on the TV, I was in such shock watching it unfold on TV! 
I was still sleeping Work 2nd shift and stay up late at Night 3-4 am when My Sister called and told me what happened.
- First Name
- Danny
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2024
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 174
- Reaction score
- 193
- Location
- Payson, AZ
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Ford Bronco Sport
I remember lying in bed waiting to get up for work when my wife came in and told me that a plane hit the WTC. I asked her what kind of plane she said she thought it was a Cessna; I was working as an aircraft mechanic at LASAR in Lakeport, CA and found out it was a little bigger than a Cessna. We had a TV at work, and we all watched in horror. I was also the check pilot and couldn't test fly any of the AC we were working on. Mooney Service Center.
- First Name
- Bill
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2021
- Threads
- 6
- Messages
- 692
- Reaction score
- 1,466
- Location
- San Gabriel Valley, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 21 Bronco Sport Badlands, 66 Tiger
Was on my way to work, stopped for some smokes. When I got back in the car the news of the first plane hit the radio. Hot footed it to work so I could get more coverage. Was really sad and mad that I was too old and screwed up to re-enlist that day.
Sorry, this is lengthy but I think some will find it interesting:
I was in the Hilton hotel in downtown Anchorage and with the time difference I was sound asleep. I was there because at the time I was the team photographer for the St. Louis Blues hockey team and we were holding training camp on Alaska. Our NHL security rep is a close friend as well and he called my room phone to wake me up and simply said "Get up and turn on the TV." We quickly got together and he notified the coaches and team executives. We got everyone - players, staff, etc. - gathered in the lobby bar and watched things unfold on the TVs in near-total silence.
Later in the morning the Anchorage Police came in and said they were evacuating the building and we all had to get out. I snuck away and went back to my room to grab my cameras to document what clearly was a seminal moment. They took us across the street to an open parking lot and finally told our security rep (a police investigator in his full time job) that there was an. inbound Korean Air cargo jet that was failing to communicate with ATC in Anchorage, so there was suspicion it might have been hijacked, and the Hilton is (or at least was at that time) the tallest building in Anchorage, so a presumptive target. I told my friend that if a plane was going to hit that building I thought being across the corner with a full compliment of people, including dozens of NHL player was closer that we ought to be. He agreed and we moved four more blocks away. Jets from Elmendorf forced the plane to divert and land in Whitehorse, Yukon. Turns out there were three pilots on board so they could take turns sleeping and the only one who spoke english was asleep.At least that was what we were told after they let us back into the hotel.
We were stuck in ANC for several days because of the airspace closures. All any of us wanted to do was get back to our families in St. Louis. Training camp was somber and odd feeling. The San Jose Sharks we supposed to fly up for exhibition games; canceled due to flight restrictions, so they just played inter-squad games. They refunded all tickets and turned the games into fundraisers – admission was for a donation to the Red Cross.
This was supposed to be a "team bonding" trip, and it was certainly that, in a way no one could have ever imagined. Never Forget.
I was in the Hilton hotel in downtown Anchorage and with the time difference I was sound asleep. I was there because at the time I was the team photographer for the St. Louis Blues hockey team and we were holding training camp on Alaska. Our NHL security rep is a close friend as well and he called my room phone to wake me up and simply said "Get up and turn on the TV." We quickly got together and he notified the coaches and team executives. We got everyone - players, staff, etc. - gathered in the lobby bar and watched things unfold on the TVs in near-total silence.
Later in the morning the Anchorage Police came in and said they were evacuating the building and we all had to get out. I snuck away and went back to my room to grab my cameras to document what clearly was a seminal moment. They took us across the street to an open parking lot and finally told our security rep (a police investigator in his full time job) that there was an. inbound Korean Air cargo jet that was failing to communicate with ATC in Anchorage, so there was suspicion it might have been hijacked, and the Hilton is (or at least was at that time) the tallest building in Anchorage, so a presumptive target. I told my friend that if a plane was going to hit that building I thought being across the corner with a full compliment of people, including dozens of NHL player was closer that we ought to be. He agreed and we moved four more blocks away. Jets from Elmendorf forced the plane to divert and land in Whitehorse, Yukon. Turns out there were three pilots on board so they could take turns sleeping and the only one who spoke english was asleep.At least that was what we were told after they let us back into the hotel.
We were stuck in ANC for several days because of the airspace closures. All any of us wanted to do was get back to our families in St. Louis. Training camp was somber and odd feeling. The San Jose Sharks we supposed to fly up for exhibition games; canceled due to flight restrictions, so they just played inter-squad games. They refunded all tickets and turned the games into fundraisers – admission was for a donation to the Red Cross.
This was supposed to be a "team bonding" trip, and it was certainly that, in a way no one could have ever imagined. Never Forget.
Sponsored