Morning Sentinel | Sunday, September 11, 2011

WE REMEMBER A3

The one thing 9/11 brought to us was the sense that its good to be an American. It brought us closer together as a nation. I hope we dont forget that. But most importantly, we cant forget there are people out there that want to cause us harm. We have to be vigilant. We have to be respectful, but we have to be vigilant. We have to honor those that are on the firing lines, the police, our firemen, our military,we have to honor those people. Everyday, I thank God Im an American. GOV. PAUL LEPAGE, 62, AUGUSTA

I was at home and watching the news when I saw the planes hit. It was unbelievable I didnt think that could happen in the United States. ... The attack left the country in bad shape and we are not as protected as we need to be.
ROBERT RIOUX, 84, WINSLOW, DISABLED U.S. NAVY VETERAN

BARLOW

MORRISSEY

LAMANTEER

HANCOCK

I was at a dental office and thats when it all happened. We heard it on the radio; we were crowded around the front desk. Thats when we all heard it and silence. I was thinking of all those people and thankful we were safe here. I had friends who were thankfully out of the city, in Connecticut.
HEATHER BARLOW, 34, WINSLOW, FITNESS AND DANCE INSTRUCTOR

I was working at AJs Pawn Shop in Norridgewock, and of course the TV was on ... Thats when I saw the planes crashing ... It took a bit to register what was going on ... I dont really know what to think. Was it real? Was it conspiracy? Did we handle it right?
LLOYD ROSS, 44, NORRIDGEWOCK, BUSINESS OWNER

TV when I saw the flash with what was going on. It kind of scared me, because I got relatives and friends who lived down there; my sisters and brothers work in New York. We saw the second plane come in live. I was trying to figure out what was going on nobody really knew. I started calling my mom to find out if she knew anything and I couldnt get a hold of my sisters because their phones were busy or no answers, so it was kind of scary at first.
DAVID LAMANTEER SR., 48, WATERVILLE, SELF-EMPLOYED

I was home from school that day and turned on the TV and thats all that was on every channel. I dont think I really understood it until I got to school the next day. My brother had talked about going into the Army and I thought about how many people would have to go overseas and fight.
AMY ARSENAULT, 23, FAIRFIELD, SALES CLERK

I worked at LL Bean at the time, at the contact center in Waterville, and we started getting calls from the reps saying a plane hit the trade center. Then, we heard other reps saying that another plane had hit the trade center. We really felt like we were in a war, under attack. The feeling of the United States being under attack on our own soil was very frightening to me. We ended up closing the call center and everybody went home to their loved ones.
NORMA MORRISSEY, 60, WINSLOW, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

I was doing a little remodeling job, and the guy working for me, his wife called him and said a plane just hit the first tower ... Im a news buff so I knew of al-Qaida. That was pretty much the first thing I thought of ... We dont sit isolated any more. Evil can spread through the world. Until then we were protected.
TIM HANCOCK, 47, SKOWHEGAN, BUSINESS OWNER

I was fixing the twins bed in front of the

I feel bad for all those families. I continue to feel bad. Some things in life you expect to be safe sending your kids to school, going to work.
PAULA GRIFFIN, 46, EAST MADISON, SELF-EMPLOYED

We were at our camp on Shin Pond and my son Mark called from Virginia and said to turn on radio. We went to a neighbors camp and watched the attack on television. We were glued to the set and saw the second jet attack and I was stunned. We gasped when the Trade Center collapsed. I think we felt vulnerable and still do.
GLORIA MCELROY, 80, UNITY, HOMEMAKER

I was at home watching the first attack being replayed when I saw the second one strike. It blew my mind and I was in shock. I called people to see if they saw it. America is supposed to be untouchable and I realized then what a couple terrorists can do. I thought it was good that President Bush went after them. It opened peoples eyes that we cant be too comfortable.
MARK EVANS, 30, BELGRADE, ROOFER

VIOLETTE

LACASSE

BLODGETT

MCGREEHAN

I was building a house in Sidney and the next door neighbor came over. At first I did not think it was a terrorist attack, I thought a plane had (accidentally) gone into a tower. Who would think of such a thing? When I got home, it was beyond terrible.
BILL DAVIS, 69, OAKLAND, RETIRED CONTRACTOR

I was in the fifth grade at Benton Elementary School when I saw it on television. I was very confused and did not understand the whole impact of the event. I got real scared on the bus ride home when the older kids talked about it. I became nervous about flying and being in large crowds because bad things can happen. It is good the government stepped in and has taken more steps in intelligence work. I feel safer.
ERICA VIOLETTE, 20, FAIRFIELD, RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE

I was a plumber. We were building the new Maine State Prison down in Warren. I was on some scaffolding and some of the guys came flying in and said Hey, the World Trade Center is being bombed. It was pretty jaw-dropping. I dont take things for granted as much as I used to. In an instant, any of this stuff can happen.
RONNIE BLODGETT, 38, SKOWHEGAN, POLICE OFFICER

I was in fourth grade and we all went into the library and watched TV. I was confused; I didnt understand what was going on. (When I got home), my mom talked to us about it and explained it more.
ALISA FITZPATRICK, 19, CLINTON, WAITRESS

I was working right here when I heard about it. My wife called me from school and said a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. At first I thought it was an accident; obviously when I saw the next one, it was no accident. Today it means we have a lot less freedoms because the government has a lot more access to all our information.
DICK LACASSE, 57, SKOWHEGAN, BUSINESS OWNER

I was just leaving a friends house and I had the radio on and I heard one of the towers had been hit and I said, Oh, my God. It really just astounded me. I went home and, you know what I wanted to do? I wanted to join the military, right then and there. I was absolutely furious. I just was devastated. I had worked on tower two. I was an ironworker. I did four months there.
HOWARD MCGREEHAN, 64, OAKLAND, CASHIER AND VIETNAM VETERAN

I looked at the TV and it was crazy. It didnt seem real ... It makes you think more when youre in congested areas with lots of people.
DALE CLARK, 38, ANSON, PLANT MANAGER

I was just out of high school, in Norridgewock helping a buddy clearing some brush. My wife drove up and said You wont believe it, but the trade centers just been hit by a plane. We turned on the TV. Total shock. It makes you have a different outlook; especially being a firefighter. You take a lot of things for granted.
DARYL WYMAN, 29, SKOWHEGAN, FIREFIGHTER

ROBERTSON

HUDGELL

HARMON

SCHRADER

MORRISON

I was at the Bingham Area Heath Center. It all came over the radio; it was not believable. My first thought was where will I put my sons safely so they dont have to go to war. It made me very sad that we couldnt be peaceful in the world. (Post-traumatic stress disorder) in a whole other generation of young people. We have not done well by our Vietnam veterans and Im afraid we will not do well by our Iraq and our Afghanistan veterans. Cynthia Robertson, 68, Skowhegan, physician I was living in England and I had just flown back from South Africa at the time. I turned on the TV and I remember this feeling of shock because my fiance worked for a company in America. I called him to make sure he was all right and phoned my mom to talk about it. I felt like a little kid, talking to my mother and saying is this real? Gemma Hudgell, 34, Solon, archeologist I was a sophomore in high school. I found out from a fellow classmate who was kind of a jokester and thought it was a joke at first. Then an announcement was made about the twin towers being hit by planes and everybody rushed to the computers, and people were freaking out trying to find out about people they knew in New York City. Stephanie Harmon, 26, Farmington, nonprofit staff member I was home and had the TV on actually watching CNN. I was pregnant and remember thinking it was scary thing. At first I thought it was an accident but when the second plane hit I was worried that more and more places would be hit. I think for awhile more people were courteous; people have since gone on with their lives. Michelle Schrader, 31, Clinton, dairy farm worker I was living in Vermont at the time and I had two young children. My husband was traveling on a business trip in Portland, Ore., so he was stranded there and had to drive crosscountry with the person he worked with back to Vermont, and they did it in like 37 hours. I was home with my children and I had the TV on. My brother worked in Maryland, just a little ways from the Pentagon, so we all were stressed it hit close to home. I was scared and I just wanted to get my family all home with me. Wendy Morrison, 38, Winslow

At first it didnt feel real. After everything happened, our teachers had us write a letter to our parents, saying everything that happened and how it affected us. I think we were let out early to be with our families.
KIM HUNT, 21, OAKLAND, BAKER

I was in science class and I remember somebody had walked through the hallway and said, The world is ending and they were getting bombed somewhere. We were in junior high. It was really bad. It had a lot of effect on my boyfriends family theyre firefighters.
CHELSEY BOULETTE, 22, OAKLAND, RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE

I was camping in Parkman and I was listening to the news and they said something about an explosion. I turned on the TV and they were playing the planes flying into the twin towers over and over again and I thought this is not real. I just sat there crying. I finally realized how we are as a country.
SHANNON DORR, 42, FARMINGTON, COMPUTER REPAIR TECHNICIAN