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.

Cruising in Alaska, the Twin Towers crumble

      Just as I will never forget where I was when John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated, John Glenn was rocketed into space, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, and the Challenger shuttle exploded, I will also never forget where I was when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked on September 11, 2001.
      My husband and I, along with three other couples, had just completed the first week of a two-week tour/cruise adventure in Alaska. We boarded our cruise ship at Seward on Sept. 8 and spent the first two days at sea enjoying the ship's atmosphere and the magnificent scenery.
      My husband is an early riser, so we awoke on the morning of Sept. 11 earlier than our travel companions and turned on the ship's news. We expected to see a proposed agenda for the day but instead found ourselves watching Sheppard Smith on Fox News announcing that the Twin Towers in New York City had been attacked by two airplanes that had flown into them, the Pentagon had also been attacked, and a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.
      My husband immediately ran into the hall and knocked on the doors of our traveling companions waking them up with the terrible news that our nation was under attack.
Care, concern on the ship
      We were impressed with the care and concern exhibited by the ship's staff during that day and the days following.   Passengers from areas near New York and Washington were allowed to call their families using the ship's communications at no charge.
      Crew members who were from other countries expressed their sympathy and concern whenever they were in contact with American tourists. The normal party atmosphere of a cruise ship became much more subdued. Additional worship services were scheduled.
      We continued with our scheduled cruise activities because there was nothing else to do. In every place that we visited during that week, television sets had been brought into businesses and were all tuned into one of the 24 hour news networks.
      Because all flights were cancelled over the United States, we found ourselves stranded in Canada at the end of our tour. We witnessed memorial ceremonies that were organized at the community level honoring the victims of 9/11. It was very impressive to see dignitaries in formal attire conducting solemn ceremonies dedicated to victims of a tragedy in another country.
      We returned home with a renewed awareness of what it means to be an American, an increased appreciation of the sacrifices our policemen, soldiers, and firefighters make every day, and gratitude to God that we are able to call this great country our home.
Pat Long
Statesboro

9/11 taught me to never take freedom for granted

      I remember quite distinctly the morning of September 11, 2001. As mayor of Sylvania, I had been invited to visit a special education class at the Screven County Elementary School at 8 a.m. to speak about "Building a Community."
      I went armed with "streets" and multiple pictures that included police and fire departments, McDonald's, parks, schools, churches, residential housing, recreation fields and all sorts of businesses!
      Our mission in building a community was to place everything in exactly the right spot, and to plan which would fare better on Main Street or a less busy street. My big question to the class was, "What would you like to place first?" To my amazement, they all joined together saying, "the church!" We continued until we had, in our opinion, everything perfectly placed!
      My day had begun with a great start and afterwards, I went to work at the local bank where I was employed as a loan officer. I noticed when I entered, there was a television set in the loan department which was unusual.
      I had someone waiting for me in my office so I really did not give it a second thought. Immediately after entering my office however, I received a telephone call asking if I knew a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers. I had hardly hung up the telephone, when I received another call telling me the other Tower had been struck by another plane. I remember the chill that went over me as I realized that the second hit was not an accident. My next thought was, "What next?"
      I will never forget that day. I remember thinking that it was impossible for America to be attacked! I found out all too soon, that it was not only possible but a profound reality. That event taught me a great lesson to never take freedom for granted! America with her faults is still, without any doubt, the greatest nation in the world and I thank God that I am an American!
Margaret D. Evans
Mayor, City of Sylvania

A deserted Atlanta showed gravity of 9/11

      Like most people, my memories of Sept. 11, 2001 are etched in my mind as if it happened yesterday.
      I left Statesboro early that morning for a meeting in Atlanta. I stopped in Forsyth to get something to drink, and that was when I first found out that this, in fact, would be no ordinary day.
      When I got back in my car I tuned my radio to WSB 750 in Atlanta so I could listen to traffic reports. It was only then that I first began to find out what had happened. As I listened to the radio, which by then was actually audio from WSB TV, I heard that the towers at the World Trade Center were on fire, but there was so much chaos going on that is was hard to really put things together.
      I called a friend in Statesboro, and they told me about the two planes hitting the Twin Towers. As I neared Atlanta, I remember the electronic signs over I-75 reading that all airports had been closed "Due to a National Emergency."
      Hearing what I was listening to on the radio, talking to my friend, and then seeing these signs all made me feel very uneasy about continuing on to my meeting. I called the office we were meeting at, and the receptionist said that we would still meet. As I continued driving in, the first tower collapsed, and I truly could not believe what I was hearing.
      As I got to where my meeting was being held, thousands of people were leaving downtown Atlanta and making their way home. I, on the other hand, was about to go into a meeting.

Meeting in Peachtree Towers
            The fact that this meeting was in Peachtree Towers, a building that has some 50 floors, did not make me feel any more comfortable. Before my meeting started, I was able to get in touch with my wife at school and talk with her. As we talked, I could sense the fear and worry in her voice, which only made me want to be in Statesboro and out of Atlanta that much more.
      After the meeting finished, I quickly made my way to my car. It was shortly after 3 p.m., and downtown Atlanta was empty! As I pulled onto I-75 South, I found myself to be one of very few cars on the interstate. Anyone who is familiar with Atlanta traffic knows just how strange a situation that was! As I approached the airport, I saw a single airplane in the air, a military plane, and that was it for air traffic! That, too, was an uncommon sight. I listened to continuing reports of what had transpired while I was in my meeting, and still could not believe what I was hearing.
      It was only when I stopped in Macon did I finally get a visual of what had happened. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had already printed a special edition with some photos of the day's events. I bought a copy and sat in my car, and started praying not only for those directly impacted but our nation as a whole.
      I then started towards home, knowing that I could not get there fast enough! Once I got home, I held my wife and our 2 year old daughter, in my arms, and sat down.
      Then and only then, as my eyes filled with tears, did I finally watch and see the tragedy that had struck our nation that morning, some 10-12 hours after the first tower was hit.
Bob Olliff
Statesboro