Almost every generation has its “I’ll always remember where I was when that happened” moment.
Maybe it’s the horror of Pearl Harbor passed down by our grandparents or parents; the shock when John F. Kennedy was shot; or some other major event in our lives. However, for me and many Americans, one such event was Sept. 11, 2001 — the attacks on America.
I was attending an educational conference in Washington, D.C., with Richard Cohee and Bobby Deal. It was a clear Tuesday morning across the northeastern United States. Having checked out of our hotel, we were waiting for our cab when Bobby’s telephone rang.
His wife was calling to inform him that a plane had struck a building in New York City. Briefly discussing the situation, we assumed during the short
cab ride that the plane was maybe a “traffic spotter” or possibly a sightseeing helicopter.
At Reagan National Airport, we quickly passed through security and went to our gate area, where we watched a monitor showing live coverage of the fire on the upper floors of the World Trade Center North Tower. The monitor showed a passenger plane approaching and crashing into the South Tower. As this situation unfolded, we opted for an earlier flight to Jacksonville.
I approached the gate agent to discuss changing flights when the telephone rang. The agent answered, exclaimed, “Oh no!” hung up quickly, and said to me, “A plane just crashed into the Pentagon.” Almost simultaneously, the announcement was made: “This concourse is closing, return to the ticket lobby.”
Back in the ticket lobby, we waited on a bench with our carry-ons, and loud sounds came from the ticketing area. A scene much like a movie unfolded: Hundreds of would-be passengers running toward the exit, shouting, arms waving, stumbling and some falling. A nearby police officer informed us the airport was closing because an unidentified plane was flying toward Washington.
At the cab waiting area, we found many cabs but no drivers, except one. This driver was desperately attempting to get his cab out of the line of abandoned cabs. Immediately, we got into the cab and went to the Crystal City Business District to rent a car. “No cars for rent” was the hand-lettered sign on the door.
Requesting the driver take us to Richmond, Va., where the Pension Fund had several investment managers, he responded that the car wouldn’t make it to Richmond. We urged him to try. As we drove, stopping for a traffic signal near the Pentagon, we observed civilians and military members walking in the street; many bloody, some holding makeshift bandages to their injuries.
The cab soon overheated; we stopped to refill the radiator, called our office on a pay telephone, asked our staff to check on trains — no service south of New York. We then called one of our managers in Richmond, asking about a rental car, and inform them we were arriving soon, but no rental cars were available.
However, an employee coming back from a business trip was turning in a rental car. They offered the car and their employee to drive us to Jacksonville; I called our office and asked the building services manager to meet us at the South Carolina border. We met, transferred to the other vehicle, and sped home. Joyful reunions filled our homes around 3 a.m.
There were 2,977 innocent people who died that day. The death toll continues to rise, as cancer strikes thousands of first responders and civilians who worked in the debris during cleanup of the World Trade Center site. Over 9,000 brave service members died, and hundreds of thousands suffered injuries in the War on Terror and associated military operations.
In December 2001, Public Law 107‑89 designated Sept. 11 as Patriot Day, and in 2009, P.L. 111‑13 established the National Day of Service and Remembrance, to honor the individuals who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Please stop on Sept. 11 at 8:46 a.m., and remember what occurred 9,131 days ago. America and the world changed that day. I will always remember 9/11, and as a country, we can never forget.
John Keane is a former deputy sheriff, firefighter, public safety governmental affairs officer and executive director of the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund.
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: I was in DC on 9/11. Every detail will stay with me forever | Opinion
