I Remeber Where.... Events

[Graueradler]

Sparked by the 24 years ago?! No way... thread. I don't remember where I was when that event happened but I do remember where I was when I became aware of the Kennedy assassination. I was on duty at one of the reactor plant control panels in the #4 engine room of the USS Enterprise alongside pier 12 and the Norfolk naval base. Got me to thinking that maybe we all have different "I remember where" events. What is yours?

 

[Bob Noel]

Four come to mind.

1) Apollo 11 landing - Family reunion in PA. I was 10 and had been
sick that day, but I got to watch the whole thing

2) Challenger - at home

3) Columbia - at the hangar working on my airplane

4) 9/11 - at home sick.

 

[DawnW]

9/11 - I was in a large conference with the executives of the multi-billion dollar privately held company for whom I worked (my first law job). When the president of the company broke the news to the room, some idiot piped up "what are the markets doing"? I was relieved when the president dismissed the question to talk about more pressing matters.

 

[Ghery]

Kennedy assassination - in class in the 6th grade. The whole school was called to the gym where we were told.

Apollo 11 - at the home of a Navy buddy of my dad's in Albuquerque while traveling home from Boston. Summer between my Junior and Senior years in high school.

9/11 - driving to work. Remember, we're 3 hours behind the east coast. And I had been up flying the night before getting night current.

 

[Teller1900]

9/11 - The TV coverage had just started as I was walking into school. We didn't have first hour AP English that day, so I didn't get to school until about 845 central. A friend of mine was waiting in the hall and told me to follow him. We didn't have second hour either, that day.

Columbia - Asleep in my dorm. I had a missed call from my dad and a few other people telling me to turn on my TV.

2/12/09 - I was at work, with probably the best crew I could have asked for on a night like that.

 

[AuntPeggy]

May 1, 1960 - U2 Incident over Russia - Walking home from High School listening to every aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base take to the air at the rate of about 1-2 a minute causing the rolling sound of thunder in a clear blue sky for hours.

November 22, 1963 - Assassination of John Kennedy - Coming back to work after lunch break, hearing the news from Walter Cronkite as I passed through the television department toward my own department.

July 24, 1969 - Apollo 11 landing on the moon - In a friend's home watching on their television because my own had stopped working that morning.

April 24, 1980 - Operation Eagle Claw (failed attempt to free Iranian hostages) - At home reading news dispatches online on The Source as the failure slowly unfolded.

January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - At work in Tulsa, watching on a TV smuggled in by a co-worker for the day. (Edit - Fixed the date.)

January 17, 1991 - Beginning of the Gulf War - At home ironing a dress to be worn to my son's wedding. He had enlisted a day or two after President Bush promised to deploy American forces against Iraq, and then proposed to his girl friend.

September 11, 2001 - World Trade Center attack - At work in my office in mid-town Manhattan on the 44th floor of JP Morgan Headquarters with windows facing toward the WTC towers, but unable to see them because of the MetLife Building blocking the view, listening to the NPR reports until the collapsing towers took out the radio transmitting antenna.

February 1, 2003 - Columbia disaster - I was at home.

 

[Pilawt]

November 22, 1963 - Assassination of John Kennedy - Leaving school to walk the three blocks home for lunch, I encountered my science teacher walking the other way with a transistor radio to his ear. (My first flying lesson was two days later, the day Oswald was shot.)

July 24, 1969 - Apollo 11 landing on the moon - Sitting in front of TV at home, taking these photos of the screen:

April 24, 1980 - Operation Eagle Claw (failed attempt to free Iranian hostages) - Listening to a Dodger game on the radio at home.

April 4, 1983 - Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - Driving to work.

January 17, 1991 - Beginning of the Gulf War - Driving home from work.

September 11, 2001 - World Trade Center attack - Dressing for work (it was early in the Pacific time zone) I heard the initial radio report of a "small twin-prop plane" hitting the tower, then turned on the TV.

February 1, 2003 - Columbia - Waking up to the news report on the clock radio.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Kennedy - Parents hadn't even met yet. Loooooong before I was born.

Challenger - Mrs. Backus' 5th grade art class.

9/11 - Had just awoken and was checking my e-mail. Saw some messages about a "small airplane" crashing into the WTC on a technical list I was on. I didn't know the gravity of the situation until I got to the one that said "They got the Pentagon." Only class I went to was EE 467, Wireless Communications. Spent most of the next couple of days glued to the TV.

Columbia - I was in my truck. Heard some CB chatter about it. Called my sister, a NASA engineer, to confirm. She was understandably pretty shell-shocked, even though it wasn't her crew.

 

[Mason]

JFK - An announcement was made over the P.A. system in my high school.
Moon Landing - I was watching on a B&W TV in the day room at the 8th Aerial Port Squadron, Ton Son Nhut RVN.
9/11 - I was at KSTL connecting on airline flights which never happened. Called my wife to drive 300 miles to come pick me up. saw one gas station on the way home with a posted price of $5 a gallon.