NEW YORK–Every generation has it’s “Where were you?” moment. For many Americans 30 and older, it’s September 11, 2001, to be forever known as 9/11, when terrorists struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and caused the crash of United Airlines flight 93 in Shanksville, Penn., that many believe was being flown to a target in Washington.
More than 3,000 people were killed on a day that marked the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Flights were grounded. Transportation was halted. And rumors of more attacks spread across a panicked country. People from around the world joined Americans from Maine to Hawaii, Florida to Alaska, in staring at television screens in shocked disbelief.
One credit union, XCEL FCU, was located inside the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, while PenFed FCU operated a branch inside the Pentagon. In both cases, employees escaped unharmed. XCEL, which had been chartered to serve the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, eventually relocated its offices to the Garden State.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, CUToday.info asked readers to share their “Where were you?” moments. Their stories are below.CUToday.info Cooperator in Chief Frank J. Diekmann shares his story here.
Inside the Pentagon on the Day of the Attack
I was in the Pentagon on 9/11; the building shook and moved when the plane hit.
I lost friends. In fact, if it had been a year earlier, I would have perished as the plane hit the building on the second level just below the third level office on the E ring where at the time I was Military Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for International Affairs. Everyone in my former office perished that day.
Lucky for me, I had moved to the fifth floor. The roof above my office at the time of the attack smoldered for the next three months.
Thank goodness on 9/11 someone called my wife, Faye, to tell her they had seen me and that I was safe. Faye got that call about 1 p.m. that afternoon. My cell phone didn’t work to contact anyone—the system was overwhelmed that day. Faye had already taken our daughter Courtney out of school, and they were home listening for anything.
My office on 9/11 was in a large Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility where we stored classified files. After we secured all of our classified files, I ended up going out the eighth corridor exit with so many others running out of the Pentagon.
I worked my way around to the tunnel between Pentagon City and the north parking lot at the Pentagon. I relieved a couple of military officers there who were denying access to the tunnel to the Pentagon to keep onlookers out. Emergency teams and other responders didn’t need their help then. I was working in the tunnel until about 9 p.m. that night when Pentagon Force Protection Officers relieved me.
I didn’t get home until about 10:30 p.m. It was an awful day—but people pulled together to help our nation recover.
Bill Siegert, Board Member
PenFed Credit Union
McLean, Va.
Changing ‘Thoughts on Life’
I was working at Educational Systems FCU in Bladensburg, Md., as their CFO at the time of the 9/11 tragedy. I remember watching and wondering what was going on because a week or so earlier a small plane had accidenatly run into a NYC skyscraper.
My boss at the time was just getting ready to come into work and I told her she’d better turn on CNN. We closed the credit union early and I hitched a ride with another of the employees of the credit union back into D.C. As we came into D.C. there was a nonstop line of cars leaving the District.
Interestingly 9/11 was one of the major events that precipitated major changes in my life. A good friend of mine lost his brother in the towers and it made me realize how short life was. At the end of 2001 I decided to live life to its fullest and the summer of 2002 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. That, in turn, led me to another CFO position and then to becoming the CEO of DOCFCU.
I wonder how many other people changed their thoughts on life because of this horrific tragedy.
Evan Clark, President/CEO
Department of Commerce FCU
Washington, D.C.
‘How Could Something Like
This Be Happening?’
I remember sitting at my desk at the credit union and answering the phone. It was my mother, whose voice sounded a little shaken. She told me that a plane had crashed in one of the Twin Towers in New York City. It was "breaking news" on TV.
I looked over at my boss and told her. Since we had no radio, TV or Internet in our small office, we could only wonder what had happened. At first, we both thought that it was probably an "accident." But then I got another call from my mother, who stated that another plane crashed into the second tower.
My mother was listening to the TV and relaying the information to us the rest of the morning. We heard that the Pentagon was hit by a plane. We heard that a plane turned around over the state of Ohio, which is where our credit union is located, and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. How many more plane crashes would occur and where would they happen? I began to panic.
I immediately wanted to pull my children out of school. I tried calling my husband at his work. I remember the constant busy signal on the phone. Lots of scenarios began swirling in my head! I thought that a plane might crash into the power plant, which was only 10 miles away from the credit union. A plane could crash on our site–our SEG is an oil additives manufacturing facility.
The rest of the day, my boss and I would get information from our members who came into the office. Everyone was stunned and afraid. How could something like this be happening in the U.S.?
When I got home, I turned on the TV and watched in disbelief. I was so glad to see my children get off the bus and my husband's car pull into the driveway. September 11, 2001. I will always remember.
Beth Patla, CEO
L.E.O. Credit Union
Painesville, Ohio
'We Were All Americans & United'
‘Do I Need to Join the Army
for a Second Time?’
I was driving to work. It was beautiful outside, a crisp morning. I was driving to another branch in Albemarle N.C., from my office near High Point, N.C. I was crossing a bridge over a lake and marveling at how blue the sky was, when I heard on the radio there was breaking news from New York City.
The report said a small airplane had flown into one of the twin towers and they were going to a live report in a few minutes. I slowed down my speed to get the story. That was when breaking news was really breaking news. News radio rarely went off the scheduled program. I thought to myself how much damage could a Cessna do to one of the twin towers?
Listening to the live report, it seemed like the plane was not a small plane at all. A few minutes after they had gone live, the second plane struck. I started thinking this has to be planned, who would hate America so bad to kill what I thought was going to be 10,000 Americans?
Worried About Young Recruits
Then I asked myself if I needed to go to the Army recruiting center and start in-processing for the Army a second time. I was stunned. I was worried about the young men and women who now would be going in harm’s way, for my sake, and the rest of us Americans. I told myself I was too old to join the Army, but many proud young men and women did, and thank God for them. They keep further attacks off our shores for 20 years.
I think America changed that day. We were suddenly and brutally attacked, when we did not even know we were at war with anyone. It was my generation’s Pearl Harbor. America was going to war, again, and some of our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Coast Guardsmen would not return alive.
Never Forget!
Steve Foley, President & CEO
Bragg Mutual FCU
Fayetteville, N.C.
A Former Congressman Turned
CUNA CEO Recalls Events in DC, Visiting Ground Zero
I remember it was one of the most beautiful days possible in Washington, D.C. The sky was completely clear, it was the perfect temperature.
My wife, Karen, and I drove to work together and heard on the radio coming into Washington, D.C. that a plane had hit a building in New York, what turned out to be the first plane. I was chairman of the House Budget Committee at the time and flipped on the news as I prepared for the day’s hearing. That’s when I saw the live feed and, like many others, watched the second plane hit the building.
As soon as that happened it didn’t take rocket science to know we were under attack. I went from my office to the Democratic Cloakroom to tell the Ranking Member, then-Rep. John Spratt, that we were going to have to cancel the hearing.
And as I was walking over I saw a cloud of smoke on the horizon. I didn’t know what building it was; of course, it turned out to be the Pentagon.
It's a moment I can’t forget: no noise, no sound, just this cloud. And you knew this thing was still going on.
We didn’t know what was going to happen but we all assumed buildings on Capitol Hill would be on some kind of target list, so I called my office and some others and told them to evacuate.
A Memorable Week
Nobody could get to their cars; everything was locking down. So, my staff and I went to one of their apartments a few blocks from Capitol Hill where we thought we would be safe. That’s where we watched the towers collapse and the rest of the day unfold.
The rest of that week was certainly memorable, too, as House and Senate Leadership began to assess what actions—military, financial, and so many others—we needed to take to keep our country moving forward.
And within a few days, I was part of a delegation that went to the World Trade Center in New York. Even that many days later I’ll never forget the debris was still “snowing” down, fires were still burning, and there was an unforgettable smell in the air.
I was a firefighter in Iowa—those images of firefighters rushing in while everyone was running out will always stick with me. As will seeing Ground Zero firsthand.
As I’m sure a lot of people felt, that infamous day caused me to take stock and appreciate all that I have. And it continues to serve as a reminder ever year just how precious my life—and our country—is.
Jim Nussle, President & CEO
CUNA
Washington, D.C.
Setting Up a TV in the Branch
I was actually working in a credit union branch in Hickory, N.C., and that morning one of our tellers, who was off that day, happened to call in and say, “Go turn on the television. There’s been a plane crash in the twin towers!”
We had a small television in our employee break room, so I immediately ran in there, turned it on, and was just floored by what I saw. I ran up to the teller line and told others what I saw and I asked our VP/branch manager if it would be OK to move the TV out into the lobby.
I moved it into the middle of the branch, where most people could see and hear it. We were all just in awe of what we saw. Some of us cried and kept shaking our heads, saying, “I this real?” “How did this happen?” “What is this?”
We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing. We actually kept the TV out in the branch for several days so that employees and members who came in could see it. We put a few chairs around it, so if someone wanted to sit for a minute, they could do that, too.
‘Eerily Quiet’
It really was eerily quiet that day, and in the coming days in our branch. I think we were all at a loss at what to say, which in our office wasn’t the norm for sure!
Even though we continued with “business as usual,” I think we were all changed from that point on.
It is hard to believe it’s been 20 years. You always hear people say they remember where they were when they heard devastating news. This is definitely imprinted on my brain and I’ll always remember this moment.
LeeAnna Lott, Senior Membership Development Officer,
Local Government FCU
Clemmons, N.C.
Radio Listeners 'Looking for Answers'
Watching the Twin Tower Attacks
As They Happened
I was directly across from the Twin Towers that fateful morning. Having flown in the night before with a team of my consultants, we were setting up to present our brand assessment to the executives of a company located in a high-rise office in the Meadowlands in New Jersey, across the Hudson river from New York, with a beautiful sunny view of the World Trade Center buildings.
Just after we arrived someone mentioned that there was a fire in one of the towers. You could see black smoke coming from the top of the North Tower. One person mentioned that they had heard on the news that a small plane accidentaly crashed into the building. As we watched the smoke get more intense we noticed a commercial airplane coming from the right, flying very low. I thought to myself, boy that plane had better gain altitude or it is likely to hit a building or something.
Moments later, we saw the second plane hit the side of the South Tower. A ball of flames accompanied the impact. Immediately, there were screams and cries of horror from the people standing by me who had just witnessed the crash. It was shear pandemonium. At that point, it was still unclear what was happening or what we were in the midst of witnessing.
A Note is Passed
Shortly after that, we proceeded to the board room and started the meeting to present our findings to the company executives who had flown in from around the world to hear our assessment of their brand. Not five minutes into the presentation, the CEO’s executive assistant came into the room with a note that the CEO first read to himself and then shared with the rest of us—the Pentagon had just been attacked.
With such unbelievable news combined with what we had just witnessed on the other side of the river, the CEO decided the distraction was too great and ended the meeting so we could figure out how we would regroup. He and I went into his office to discuss the options.
As we were weighing our options for what to do, we watched in horror as the two towers were now fully engulfed with smoke and burning rapidly. As we discussed plans, I could see what looked like small parts of the building falling off. I later discovered that what I thought were pieces of the building falling were actually people jumping from the building to their certain deaths. The first tower then fell.
I was in near shock and honestly felt as if I was in a dream—that I would wake up and realize that none of this was real. Unfortunately, that was not the case. As the CEO and I discussed arranging another meeting, the second tower fell. At that point, I told him I was going to gather my team and we would get on the road while we could—there was clearly some kind of attack going on and no one knew what else might happen.
Packing Up & Driving Home
My team and I packed up, loaded into a minivan we had rented at the airport the night before and started driving back to Atlanta, where we all lived. Shortly after we left, the New Jersey turnpike was closed. As we drove away, we looked back to see what appeared like a cloud from a nuclear explosion—all of the dust and debris reaching up into the sky.
Our drive back to Atlanta took 13.5 hours and was mostly silent as we all were reflecting on what had just happened that morning. It was a very emotional time for me, since 30 days earlier I was on one of the very same flights that was used to attack the towers (the Boston to San Francisco flight). I could have just as easily been on one of those planes.
It took me several days before I could watch the video replays of the second plane exploding into the South Tower and the buildings collapsing.
I will never forget the horror as long as I live.
Alan Bergstrom, VP-Marketing & Business Development
Aux CUSO
Lakewood, Colo.
Aircraft Ordered to the Ground
With No Idea Why
I was on a flight early a.m. on 9/11 heading to our small branch in Schaumburg, Ill. I never made it to my destination since all air traffic was grounded. In the midst of landing, us passengers had no idea why we were diverted to land at the airport in Cincinnati. After sitting quietly in our seats with very poor cell phone reception, some people had started saying there’s been a plane crash at the World Trade Center. No immediate thoughts were terrorists by anyone.
Shortly after we were escorted off the plane into the airport, people were surrounding the TV monitors throughout the airport to learn there were two planes that crashed. At that point the world basically stopped as I cringed in disbelief, not knowing what my next move would be. We were told we needed to exit the airport; we followed through remained outside. By this time, I waited and waited to get cell reception and couldn’t.
Next, I started wondering where I might find transportation and a hotel. Finally, I was able to jump in a shuttle with others that took us to the nearest hotel, where I was able to get checked in and get to my room. But still couldn’t even make a landline phone call out. When I finally did, I called my husband to let him know where I was and that I was safe. I was temporarily stranded: no flights, rental cars or other public transportation available. My husband was my hero as he drove from Maryland to Ohio overnight to come pick me up.
It was a very scary time of feeling very alone and vulnerable. Later the next morning we drove home; it was the most solemn and deserted eight-hour ride to yearn and reunite with our young children. Something I will never forget during such a horrific time that our nation faced a loss of fellow Americans, and real heroes, our first responders.
Dorothy Spilker, VP/COO
First Eagle Credit Union
Owings Mills, Md.
The Experience Inside a
House Office Building
Like so many others, I remember more about Sept. 11, 2001, than I do about any day last week. It was a beautiful day – crisp air, blue skies. I was working for Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) on the fifth floor of the Longworth House Office Building (in Washington) when I received an AOL instant message from my girlfriend, who worked in the Senate, telling me to turn on the TV because a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
We turned on the TV in the office to see the now-infamous footage of a plane hitting one of the twin towers, but soon learned that it wasn’t a replay; a second plane had hit the South Tower. Shortly after, when the third plane hit the Pentagon, we were stunned to see the smoke from our office windows, which faced south and west.
This is around the time that rumors began to circulate of a fourth plane targeting the Capitol. We were evacuated through a revolving door that no one bothered to open fully, and outside the door was a Capitol Police officer who told us only to “run.” And that’s what we did, for blocks. I spent the rest of the day with my colleagues at a nearby restaurant watching the news reports, trying to get a cell phone line, and wondering what in the world had just happened.
One Piece of Normalcy
Meetings for that day and the remainder of the week were canceled as lawmakers focused on leading the country through the attacks and air travel came to a halt. Interestingly, though, the California credit unions were already in town (and frankly, stranded). They reached out to see if they could still meet with me. Eager for some normalcy, I welcomed them enthusiastically.
Ryan Donovan, Chief Advocacy Officer
CUNA
Washington, D.C.
‘It’s Still Unbelievable’
I’m currently the CEO of Solidarity Community FCU in Kokomo, Ind., but before this I spent my entire credit union career (since I was a teen) in Texas. On 09/11/2001, I was working as a member service representative and a backup to the tellers.
One of my coworkers walked in and said there’s something going on in New York City with some plane that crashed. We assumed it was an accident. We turned on our large tube TV that we used for training and were glued to the TV in utter shock and awe and sadness and a whole bunch of other mixed emotions. It forever changed our world for sure. I was 23-years-old then, and I wanted to be an MSR forever at that point!
I remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember where I was sitting. I remember who I was speaking with. I remember my coworker walking in and telling us. And I even remember what she was wearing. I remember our branch manager wheeling out the TV on the stand with the VCR.
It always reminds me of the song that talks about “where were you when the world stopped turning.” It’s still unbelievable.
Melissa Domingues, President/CEO
Solidarity Community FCU
Kokomo, Ind.
Literally Running to the Pentagon,
Where CU Had Branch
On Sept. 11, 2001, at 9:37 AM, the third plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the Pentagon. From our office in Alexandria, Va., we could see the smoke more than seven miles away. Immediately our team knew we had to be there for our PenFed employees at our branch inside the Pentagon. But we couldn’t drive or take public transit. We had to quickly cover those seven-plus miles on foot.
As we ran toward the Pentagon, I’ll never forget what we saw. In the aftermath of the attacks, we saw the best of America – the selflessness and courage of the American people, moving toward the burning Pentagon building to help others survive. In spite of overwhelming fear and anger, Americans rose to the situation and lifted each other up. Heroes rallied to our defense. Military service members and first responders from police and fire departments across our community bravely went into harm’s way. Citizens showed their pride by displaying American flags.
Fortunately, all of our branch employees were safe and accounted for.
On the afternoon of Sept. 11, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld assured Americans, “The Pentagon is functioning. It will be in business tomorrow.”
We were proud to reopen our Pentagon branch on Sept. 12, 2001, just one day after the attacks – so that we could serve those in the Pentagon who were working to defend all of us.
In the days that followed, the PenFed Credit Union Board of Directors and executive team ramped up the PenFed Foundation. Over these past 20 years, the PenFed Foundation has delivered nearly $40 million of financial support to more than 150,000 veterans, active-duty service members, families and caregivers.
Every day of every year, we honor the military heroes and first responders whose courage inspires us to this day. Each and every day, we serve the military members, police officers, and firefighters who answer the call to defend our nation and protect our way of life.
James Schenck, President/CEO
PenFed Credit Union
Tysons, Va.
Everyone Left the Building
and Joined in Prayer
I was a branch manager of the then MACO Credit Union in Marietta, Ga., just north of Atlanta. We often would look at the morning news to see the weather and any traffic delays. Then they showed the tragic events in New York City. We didn’t know those were commercial airliners hitting the towers, but rather, thought they were foreign military planes.
Our branch was located within about two miles from Dobbins Air Force base so our staff was very concerned if any kind of bombings would take place at the nearby military installation. Thankfully, that did not happen.
The next day there was an official time of prayer that was held. I can’t remember if that was a state-wide moment or something declared by President Bush or the federal government. I believe it was held in the mid-morning on a sunny day and that moment of prayer was the most vivid memory I have. I remember it being so unusual for us to ask everyone in the credit union (members and employees) to leave the building. We gathered in a circle around the front flag pole and silently prayed for a minute. Most of us held hands with complete strangers, other than they were members.
We were all of various ages, education levels, and appearances. All so very different. Yet we were all Americans, hurting, together, equally. All trying to make sense of what happened and figure out how to move forward.
Bobby Michael, President/CEO
All In Credit Union
Dothan, Ala.
No, Howard Stern Wasn’t Joking:
An Exit Meeting is Interrupted
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was driving to Auburn, Mass. to attend an NCUA exit meeting as a director of the Central Credit Union Fund. The Central Fund was the nation’s first corporate credit union, founded in 1934, the same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act.
I arrived at the conference center’s parking lot at just about 9 a.m. and was listening to the Howard Stern Show on my car radio. Before shutting off the radio Stern exclaimed, “A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center,” and he proceeded to tell of the late-breaking horrific news. Thinking that Stern’s remarks were just another Shock Jock exploit, I turned off the radio and headed inside for the exit meeting with NCUA’s corporate credit union specialist team and my fellow board members.
En route to the conference room, I shook my head wondering why Stern would make such a disturbing public statement. It reminded me of the incident of Orson Wells when he infamously announced on his 1938 radio broadcast that Martians had invaded the U.S., causing a nationwide panic. Just another sick public hoax to boost ratings with Stern’s modern-day version of Wells The War of the Worlds, is what I surmised.
‘Everyone Packed Up and Left’
The meeting had barely opened, with introductions being made, when the Central Fund’s general counsel blurted, “My wife just texted me, planes have crashed into the World Trade Towers!” A quick check online revealed that this was not a radio publicity stunt but an actual national disaster in the making.
Everyone quickly packed up and left the meeting room without further discussion, the fear of the unknown was palpable and yet unspeakable. I learned later that night that our NCUA visitors would be stranded at the airport for days, away from their loved ones, awaiting the FAA to allow limited continuation of domestic flights.
As I drove away from the conference center in a trance-like state I fumbled with the radio dial. The airwaves were inundated with numerous news reports confirming the surreal truth that continued to unfold in our nation’s capital and in a Pennsylvania field. I remember driving onto the Massachusetts Turnpike, Boston bound, thinking I had to get to my credit union’s headquarters to ensure the safety of my staff. I phoned my second-in-charge and instructed him to close our lobbies and send all employees home to be with their families. I then called my family and thanked God when I heard my kids’ voices, safely at home with their mom.
As I drove the hour into Boston I remember feeling as though everything stood still, eerily quiet on the typically bumper-to-bump highway commute, the toll booths were empty of their collectors, the scene reminiscent of a zombie apocalypse.
Roland Draper, CEO
Somerville Municipal FCU
Somerville, Mass.
The View From NCUA
I was at my desk at NCUA on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. My wife called to tell me to turn on the TV in my office right away. She said a plane had flown directly into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I tuned into the Today Show just after a jet hit the second tower. Shortly after that, as I looked out onto Alexandria, Va. and DC from my office window, I could see a huge plume of black smoke from just beyond the airport. I would find out later that it was the Pentagon.
It became clear that these were not lost planes, but we still didn’t know that for the first time since Pearl Harbor, this country was facing an attack on our soil.
Chairman Dennis Dollar and I were the only NCUA Board members in the office as our fellow Board member, Yolanda Wheat, was back in Missouri. Dennis and I agreed that although no one knew the extent of the attacks, we understood that in a time of crisis our employees would want to be safe with their loved ones at home. We immediately let the staff know that they should go home and that we would monitor the situation.
A Somber Moment
Just before the light of Sept. 12th appeared, my wife and I hopped in our minivan and headed down to the Pentagon to assess the damage. I don’t know what made us do that – most likely it was a combination of curiosity and a chance to pay our respects. It was a somber moment. The building was still smoldering and the military presence around was on high alert.
On Thursday, Sept. 13th, there was a regularly scheduled board meeting and the board decided to move forward and hold the meeting. Dennis and I were at the board table and Yolanda joined via speakerphone. It was a surreal experience to be debating supervisory issues while the country was grappling with what had happened just 48 hours earlier.
Today, 20 years later, it’s obvious that the American way of life was dramatically changed by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day and families were altered forever. In light of America’s recent withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is evident that this was and remains a complex topic and I continue to wonder if our questions will ever be answered.
Geoff Bacino, Partner
Bacino & Associates
Alexandria, Va.
'Where is This Leading To?'