With Sept. 11, 2011 marking 10 years today, we asked you to go back to that day and share with us how you first became aware of the attacks and what you recalled most vividly about that day.
      And so you did. You sent us your memories via mail, email, blogs and one was even dropped off. Also, we videotaped the memories of four local residents and Herald Studio Statesboro producer Matt Bankhead put together a video that is very moving. Please go to our website and check that out.
      September 11, 2001 is a day no American will ever forget. And, more importantly, we never should.

Watching events unfold in Ireland; worrying about family back home

         September 11, 2011 was very emotional day for me and my family.
      My name is Sally Anne Deal and I am married to Mike Deal and we have three boys.
      Back in 2011, my dad and I were going to Ireland for a 14-day trip throughout the country side, staying in bed and breakfast inns along the way. A couple friend of my dad's traveled with us.
      Due to scheduling conflicts, my dad and I flew Atlanta from Savannah, while the other couple flew to New York City from Savannah.
      I had never been away from my husband and boys for such an extended time frame, so I was already very hesitant.
      The eight-hour flight over was fine. We arrived in Limerick and went straight to our hotel to rest.
      I woke up and went down stairs to the lobby to find my dad and his friends around the TV watching live as 9/11 was happening!
      It was horrific, here I was in another country, away from my family, and scared to death.
      I immediately started trying to call my husband and could not get through due to the huge amount of telephone calls.
      In the mean time, our boys were in school, Coy was 13, Bert was 10 and Jake was 8 years old. They flipped out in school! Nobody understood why until they said their mom was on her way to Ireland and might be in NYC. The boys didn't understand I had flown out of Atlanta, while the other couple flew out of New York.
      They were scared to death and my husband had to go get them from school.
In Ireland
      Back in Ireland, we sat there and watched in horror as the 9/11 events unfolded. The worst part being I could not contact my family for several days because all phone lines were congested.
      The people of Ireland were more than gracious! They were truly wonderful! As soon as we spoke, they realized we were Americans and started praying with us for the safety of our country. We went to church many times over our trip, praying for the safety of our family and friends back home.
      On our trip home, many people complained about the "inconvenience" of the luggage searches, etc. I honestly thought-throw it open in the middle of the airport if you want to, just check everyone's liggage!
      An Alan Jackson song really does summarize our 9/11 experience. We did stop and pray for our loved ones!
      "Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers?"
      YES WE DID!
Sally Anne Deal
Deputy Clerk
Bulloch County Probate Court

A coming of age event for young people

      On the morning of September 11, 2001, I arrived at work at 7:30 a.m., balancing my gas station cappuccino and a briefcase. As media relations officer for Penn State Erie, I started my day by skimming several papers and checking the web sites for CNN and the national news channels.
      I was well into deadline work on a history piece for Penn State's university-wide newspaper when my phone rang at 8:56 a.m. I answered with my usual "This is Loretta," and heard my friend Peggy on the other end.
      Her husband, home sick on that day, was watching CNN, and he had just called to tell her that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
      I logged on to CNN and watched in disbelief when the video appeared. I was barely logged on when they announced the second plane colliding with the second tower. I stepped out of my office to share the news with the rest of the staff, and we gathered in the director's office to watch what we could on TV, shocked to learn of the attack on the Pentagon and the collapse of the towers.
      We were unnerved by the crash of Flight 93 near Pittsburgh, because many of us had friends and relatives in that area.
      My phone started ringing before noon.
      I spent the rest of the day connecting Penn State faculty experts on global politics, international law, aircraft structure, Middle East, terrorism, civil engineering, and more with the local and regional news reporters looking for ways to localize this massive story.
      We all ate takeout for lunch and dinner, and the day didn't end easily.
      The search for background on how the World Trade Center was built, the sudden growing interest in Middle East politics, and the quest for explanations kept everyone at the university busy for weeks.
      From a professional perspective, I gained new respect for the knowledge my faculty colleagues could provide, and I learned how hard it is to feed a 24/7 news cycle.
      I learned about our students, too; this was a coming-of-age event for them, and many were undone by the sudden insecurity and fear of the U.S. being attacked.
      Looking back, the 9/11 attacks not only expanded my professional skills, it also made me proud to be an American. I know our nation is stronger than any other, and we can respond to and recover from any attack.
      But I sure hope this kind of attack never happens again.
Loretta Brandon
Statesboro

Happy to have a chance to say ‘I love you’ again

      I was sitting on the floor of the wellness center near my office, waiting, with some of the other ladies, for our yoga class to begin. The people at the wellness center always played music from a Christian music station over the speaker system, and I was humming along.
      An announcer from the station interrupted the music with the announcement that a plane had just crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. My first thought was that it was a terrible accident, that there must have been a mechanical malfunction. Our instructor arrived then, and we began the class, but before too long, the announcer came on again, saying that another jetliner had crashed into the south tower.
      Everyone in the class released her pose and sank to the floor, looking back and forth at other members. "I've got to go," I told the instructor, and I hurried to the locker room to change into my street clothes.
      I worked for a company called Galileo International in Atlanta. Galileo owned and operated United Airlines' computer reservations system, "Apollo," and my office was the Help Desk for every travel agent in the United States that uses United's system. Most of the people in my office were former United employees, and a few of the women were former United flight attendants who had had to give up their wings when they married, back when flight attendants were forbidden to marry.
No calls at a travel agency
      When I walked into the building, I heard the TV in the lunchroom playing loudly. I made my way there and saw almost every employee on duty huddled around the TV, silent except for the occasional sniffle. I saw two of the former flight attendants, their faces bleak and horrified, their arms around each other.
      I was a supervisor then, and I pulled one of my employees aside and told him to try to get a few people back upstairs and on the phones, but when I got upstairs myself, the office was strangely quiet, and there were no lights on the phones indicating customers were waiting. I spotted my manager, and she told me that the flights were tentatively identified, and that most likely the travel agents who had booked passengers on those flights knew who the victims were.
       I went to my cubicle and called my husband, who answered on the first ring. "Rick", I said, "do you know what is happening?" "Yes", he replied. "I was just going to call you."
      I suddenly realized there were tears running down my face, and I told my husband, "I just needed to hear your voice." "I know," he said.
      "Well," I said, "I need to call Jill (our daughter) and my mother." "Yeah", he responded, "I need to call my folks and my brother. I love you, Hon. Take care of yourself." "I love you, too", I replied, and we hung up.
      My next thought was, "And I'm so thankful this will not be the last time I get to tell you that."
Elaine Chambers
Statesboro

 ‘I never believed this could happen in the USA’

      On September 11, 2001, I was working for USDA, Farmers Home Administration in the Federal Building on N. Main Street in Statesboro.
      The first I heard of the disaster was when my dad, Walter Barry, called me to say a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. He thought it was an accident caused by a small plane and the building seemed secure. I told everyone in the office about the "accident" and they were shocked.
      A while later, I have no memory of how much later, my dad called again to say another plane had hit the other tower. We agreed this could not be an accident.
      We had no TV in the building, but someone on the front side of the Federal Building brought one to their office and many of the employees in the building were there in shifts for most of the day.
      I had the awful feeling that this must be what it is like when your country is invaded. I was very fearful, especially when the towers collapsed.
      I never believed this could happen in the USA.
Suzanne B. Warner
Statesboro

Watching tragedy unfold at World Trade Center sent me back in time

      September 11, 2001 - I was at home in small town Georgia recovering from a near fatal accident. As usual I had the TV on while enjoying my breakfast. A news bulletin interrupted regular programming. The announcement was about a plane crashing into Tower One of our World Trade Center. As the horrendous incident progressed and Tower One was going down in New York, my mind quickly slipped back to 1972......a happier time.
      I was 30 years old, living on Long Island. As a successful salesman for 3M Co., I commuted by train every day to my office on the west side of Manhattan in an area known as "Hells Kitchen." After I checked in at the office, I walked to the subway and boarded the "E" train which would take me to the financial district. My sales were concentrated on brokerage firms, banks and various other financial institutions within the Wall Street district.
      When the incredible World Trade Center was completed, so many of my accounts relocated to either Tower One or Tower Two, and I experienced "opening day" with them in the World Trade Center.

Back in time
      At the very moment I witnessed Tower One's collapse on the news, I felt a deep and personal devastation. I was once again on the "E" train ... that same train that is forever entombed in the station about seven stories below what was once the Twin Towers; I was once again calling on my accounts on various floors of The Twin Towers; I was once again riding one of the express elevators to meet clients for lunch in Windows on the World, an extraordinary restaurant located beyond the 110th floor.
      Sometimes we would be lucky enough to get window seats where we would watch helicopters and small aircraft flying below us. The timed rotation of the restaurant offered a view beyond description and all the while returning you to where you originally entered and sat down. What an unforgettable experience!
      I was once again enjoying the laughter with friends and business acquaintances.
      I continued to watch the devastation unfold. There is no way to describe my feelings ... there is nothing I can say that could compare with the unimaginable pain and suffering of so many families affected by this terrible tragedy.
      As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I often reflect on my connection with the Twin Towers. I will never forget.
Tom Osborne
Millen

Nightmare on TV proves to be reality

      I was at my quarterly check up with Dr. Joseph Hand when I heard his nurses in the hall saying there was a plane accident at the World Trade Center. Dr. Hand's cell phone went off and he excused himself into the next room to take the call which was from his wife. He reappeared stunned and apologizing for the call.
      I was confused about the bits and pieces of verbal news being shared between his employees and other patients. Upon arriving home, the TV captivated my full attention as I sat stunned and staring at something I was certain was a movie, a mistake, anything but what I was watching ... until the nightmare was proven a reality.
      A few days later, I was at Pets and People in Statesboro when a young man I knew called out to me. He was proudly driving a pickup truck with a huge rebel flag waving from the bed of the truck.
      I was instantly angry at the sight. I walked up to him and cordially greeted him before stating, "You have the wrong flag up. Our country has just been attacked! If you want to wave a flag, wave the U.S. Flag. We need unity not division!"
      I will never forget that day and the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Ina June Price Olvey
Statesboro

A ‘tense and crazy’ travel day to Chicago

      I was on my way to a family reunion in Madison, Wisc., when I first heard about what happened on 9/11.
      I left Savannah Sunday 9-9-11, spent Monday in Washington and left late that afternoon to continue my trip. I arrived in Chicago 9 a.m. Tuesday, 9/11 aboard Amtrak. I had heard nothing about it on the train.
      Events didn't sink in until I got into Union Station and was able to see TV broadcasts. After a few minutes I went straight up to the shuttle bus location to go to Rockford, Ill. While I was waiting, people who had come into downtown Chicago earlier were coming back to try and leave on a shuttle bus. It was very tense and crazy.
      Union Station is just a few blocks from the Sears Tower so there was fear that something might happen there as well. I was able to able to get out of downtown Chicago, but the bus was detoured from its regular route and directed to O'Hare   Airport to see if it could pick up anyone who was stranded.
      On the way some of the riders were trying to contact family members who they were scheduled to meet in downtown Chicago that day, to tell them to turn back.
       I was able to get to the family reunion but my plans to fly back to Savannah a week later changed. I came back on Amtrak. There were a number of family members who were not able to get to the reunion.
Gary Witte
Statesboro