Remembering 9/11: A New Series

Every Friday, the editors of the Ballston-Virginia Square Patch and the Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn Patch will be talking to Arlingtonians about what they remember, what they experienced and what this 10-year milestone means to them.

Patch blogger Justine Whelan remembers the ground shaking when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

I was 9 years old in the fourth grade at St. Thomas More in Arlington. There were so many students with parents in the military because of how close it was to the Pentagon and military bases. We were doing jumping jacks outside in gym class when the ground shook. There was so much thick black smoke that was billowing into the sky it looked unreal, like a movie scene or something. Someone from the office came running outside and pulled our gym teacher aside, who then quickly ushered us in. 

The whole school gathered in the cafeteria, which was underground. The lights were off, and with all the smoke in the sky, it felt so dark. Being a Catholic school, we stood along the walls as the beads of a living rosary, saying prayers over and over again. We didn't know why, though, no one would tell us. We knew something was very wrong though when "beads" started getting pulled out to go home.

I looked over my shoulder at a group of teachers openly crying. I later found out they had sons or husbands at the Pentagon. More and more kids were getting pulled, and more and more kids were looking like they finally realized the gravity of what was going on. 

My mom came for me. They just kept showing the same footage on the news. I'd never heard of terrorism before - 9/11 was the first time I was truly conscious of hatred in the world; hatred for someone else, and the fact that someone could hate us so much as to bring us all to our knees.

If you are interested in contributing to the "Remembering 9/11" conversation in the coming weeks and months, email us at lauren.sausser@patch.com or abigail@patch.com. We look forward to hearing your stories.