Week 12 - Historical Event - Sept 11th, Conner family

When I first saw this prompt, my mind went to the Civil War, WWII, and the like. After all - we do research our families - and most of that research is in the past.  But this time, I decided that this story needs to be told and be there for our younger generations to be able to read about a more recent historical event.

September 11th. If you use the year 1999, it was the year our daughter was married. So, a wonderful, fabulous memory.  But if you use the year 2001, it becomes a totally different memory.  

Where were you...???

I was at work. In a small office working at the local fairgrounds. When I was called by my younger daughter that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and I shared it with my boss, he sent me out to his camping trailer (that was stored there) and had me get his small television. Plugging it in on the counter, just in time to see the second plane hit the tower. We watched in awe, horror and grief as it all played out.

But the person in our family most affected was my husband, Dan. He was the General Manager for Northwest Airlines at the Grand Rapids, Michigan airport.  When his secretary/ticket agent Frank stuck his head into the office and said come to the breakroom and see what is happening, he along with all the other employees watched in horror. They were airplane people. People who lived and breathed jet fuel and the wonders of aviation. To see it so destroyed and the lives lost affected them. Affected them lots.

At a point in the coverage, Dan looked at the others and stated, 'air travel has just changed forever'.

As his phone began to ring, he headed back towards his office. All air travel had been suspended, and planes were being informed to land 'immediately'. If they did not, they would be forced down.  Planes began to descend onto the runways and ramp and passengers were released into the terminal. Many of the passengers were able to rent cars to get home, many were not, and some became friends as they drove together to different destinations. Buses were contracted to send passengers on to Detroit Metro, their final destination. All told eight extra Northwest flights landed in Grand Rapids. 

The biggest challenge was a 747-400 with 400 passengers on the airplane that was traveling from Bejing to Detroit Metro, and all passengers had to be held in a secured area until they could get Customs there to process them. They were held on the tarmac until the gate area was emptied. Then they were deplaned, and the security gate was lowered so that no one could leave the concourse. After Customs arrived and the passengers were cleared, they were boarded on buses to be taken to Detroit Metro.

Airport reps contacted the restaurant in the terminal and had them send food and drinks into the gate areas to hand out to all passengers from the various airlines. Pay telephones were available in the gate areas and portable podiums were brought in for agents to help answer questions for passengers. Cell phones were there, but not like it is today. Mainly businessmen had them. 

What had started as a normal day in the airline industry, became a day of tears of sorrow and tears of joy. 

That day is a distant memory for most, but if you are an airline employee who witnessed that event in American history, it is still a current memory and one that needs to be shared. And shared often - daily, weekly, monthly. We can never forget.

Barbie