Today 11 September 2026 marks the 25th Anniversary of one of the most horrible acts of terrorism that man has ever committed. Those who are old enough to remember the events of that tragic Tuesday morning in New York City, Washington DC (technically Arlington, VA) and in the middle of a field in rural Pennsylvania, can never forget the horrors of the day. Even those who were too young to remember have had their lives effected by the events. Today's children and those young adults who were born after that day have no idea what it was like. In the days that followed most Americans were glued to their TVs or radios getting whatever new information they could. Still in shock. Some families were awaiting verification of the fate of loved ones who worked in and around the World Trade Towers, or residents in the DC area that had family who worked in the Pentagon. Due to the grounding of all air traffic the skies were eerily silent.
Here is my recollection of the day as I recall what details I can remember after 25 years.
At the time my home was the house I grew up in located in Wheaton (Silver Spring), MD. I was working for a company that contracted to the government primarily in Navy Shipbuilding and design. Our office was one of several in Crystal City, VA (Arlington, VA), our company had 5 or 6 offices in Crystal City.
At the time I commuted via the subway system METRO, our office was next to the Crystal City station, which is two stops from The Pentagon stop on the blue and yellow lines. I had just arrived at the office around the time that news of the first plane hitting the World Trade Towers was breaking. A few people were searching the (then much slower) internet news sites like The Washington Post to get more info. Someone had a radio in their office and was listening to that for updates. Like most people that day upon hearing about the first plane it was thought to have been a tragic accident and references to an accident in 1945 where a plane hit the Empire State Building were being discussed. Talk about the plane was now just about the only thing happening. Most everyone was trying to get updates via internet. A few people were trying to call co-workers at one of the other offices. Connections were spotty even direct phone-to-phone.
In those days there were very few cell phones and the dial-up connections to the internet were land-lines not very fast compared to today's Wi-fi wireless/bluetooth internet. News of a second plane hitting the other tower came in and now everyone knew it was NO accident but an act of terrorism. Then the Pentagon got hit. When that happened we soon heard sirens from emergency vehicles screaming. Some people claimed that they had heard a low flying plane. I did not. There were rumors that it was The Capital that had been hit. As we now know the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania was thought to have been headed to DC to target The Capital.
At this time our office manager was tying to contact our main office to get advice on how to proceed under the conditions. Should it be business as usual or should we "duck and cover" that sort of thing. He was having difficulty reaching the main office due to the phone lines being tied up. Also of note on Tuesdays the upper management held weekly management staff meetings which was in progress. I found out later from someone who was a manager's assistant at the time that it was pretty much business as usual and they were in the meeting and continued with it. I'm not sure when they first heard about the attacks. She (the assistant) also commuted via subway at the time but she had to walk a couple miles to get to one of the other subway stations that remained open and had to cross one of the major bridges in DC. Anyway it was decided and suggested that we close up the office and go home for the day.
Our office was just a few yards via the Crystal City underground to the Metro Station. I forget which building it was but from the outside it is practically just across the street from the station. I think there was a slight crowd getting to the station. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I guess it was a bit busier than normal, even though by this time it was after the regular morning rush hour. The pedestrian traffic was still pretty crowded and rush hour like. After some waiting on the platform I got onto a Yellow Line train. The subway system seemed to be a little slower than normal with trains leaving platforms. As I said the Crystal City stop was just two stops from The Pentagon, the station between the two is Pentagon City (a shopping mall mostly or was). I recall progress between stations was slow and while the train was in the tunnels between stations it made a stop or two to wait for trains ahead to clear the next station. While waiting at the Pentagon City station the train was at the station for quite a while before moving onward. While waiting the operator mentioned delays due to trains clearing stations. I don't think there was any talk about the Pentagon station just yet. I think between Pentagon City station and The Pentagon station we once again had a long wait in the tunnel. Eventually the train got moving again but an announcement was made that the train would not be stopping at the Pentagon stop, just passing through.
So our Yellow line train eventually came out of it's tunnel after the Pentagon station to cross the Potomac on it's own bridge. When the train came out of the tunnel I recall looking over toward the Pentagon and seeing that huge black cloud of smoke billowing from the building. The subway however comes out of the ground on the side opposite from where the damage was so we didn't see the gaping hole in the building just a cloud of smoke. A very surreal site. The yellow line train I was on was either the last, or one of the last trains to pass though the Pentagon station before they closed the station, and a few others that day.
The rest of the ride to my stop which was the Wheaton station where I would park my car was uneventful. I got home safely. Oddly enough my mother first heard about the attacks from my Sister who lives in California. My sister was probably asking about my situation or if there was any word from me. I don't recall if I was able to or made an attempt to call home before leaving work, to tell my mom I was safe.
I probably should have made a post like this way back then to keep all the details fresh. It saddens me that some of those details are blurry or gone from my memory.
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