Windsor Residents Remember 9/11

Ten years ago Sunday, people just like you, moms and dads, teachers and professionals, Windsor residents, were starting their days just like any other day. Perhaps they enjoyed a cup of coffee or sat as the first meeting of the day had begun. But also just like you, their lives were forever changed as a series of events now forever known as 9/11 began to unfold.

"On Sept. 11, 2001, I was at work when the planes hit the towers," said Windsor stay-at-home mom, April Michaud. Michaud said that her colleague was on the phone with his police chief father. "I remember my co-worker shouting 'What? They did what?' as he heard his father recount the attacks," she said. "We weren't initially sure what to believe and I think a part of that [was we were] hoping he'd heard it wrong," she said.

Ann Walsh, who is well known in Windsor for her work in the SEND Hometown Windsor to the Troops program, was caught off guard, intially struck by disbelief as many Americans were.

"I am not a television person," she said, "but my husband had left the TV on and I saw this plane fly into a building," she said. "I initially thought it was a movie," she added. "From that point on, I, like the rest of America. [I] was glued to the television."

Assistant Town Manager Emily Moon was living in Colorado at the time. "As I drove, I listened to NPR's continuous coverage," she said.  "I remember the news stories were very vague at first, reporting that a small plane had perhaps accidentally crashed into one of the towers. As I got closer to work, the reporter's speech became more anxious and more incredulous as accounts of more buildings being struck with planes rolled into the newsroom," she said.

After the plane crashes had begun, Deb Whittemore, who was working in Public Relations and Marketing at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA at the time, said that the hospital went into Plan D - Disaster Mode.

"The hope was that as hundreds or thousands of people flooded into NYC hospitals, patients would be transferred up to Connecticut and Massachusetts hospitals," she said. 

"I remember being sent to the emergency command center where staff were set up to gather information, compile a list of volunteers, and monitor the situation.

"The phones kept ringing. People wanted to volunteer to go to New York, to give blood," she said.

But the attacks and worse continued to come flying across the newswaves around the world. 

"I pulled into my city hall's parking lot a few minutes before the first tower collapsed," said Moon. "I immediately thought about friends living in and who have [New York City] connections, and the city personnel that would be responding to the emergencies."

Americans were watching the television for any bit of information they could gather. "I remember the heavy feeling as we watched the second tower get hit, and both fall," said Michaud. 

Sadly, Baystate Medical Center lay quiet and would not be able to assist the injured. "The heartbreaking truth was that as the day wore on it became more and more apparent that medical assistance would not be needed," said Whittemore.

"I am sure like everyone intially [we thought] this was fiction," said Walsh. "However, this was reality and a terrible day for our country, but in particular those who died in the attack.

"Seeing the horrors of buildings with thousands inside just crumble was beyond the minds of the average Americans' scope," she recalled.

As time passed on the morning of September 11, it was hard to find updated information, said Michaud.

"I remember that once it was clear what was happening, TVs were brought into the cafeteria of this 700-person company and most of us spent the day watching the coverage," she remembered. 

For Americans in a digital age, it was quickly growing more clear that there would be an egregious loss of life.

"As the day progressed, all I could do was pray for those that had died, were dying, and all the thousands of lives that were being destroyed by the tragic news that someone in their family did not make it," said Walsh.

"I felt glued to the TV for that day and the next," said Michaud. "I just sat there afraid to look away because I thought something else would happen."

Kevin Doyle, currently a teacher at Glastonbury High School, was in Poland working on a business acquisition. "They were doing everything they could to thwart the deal and some of their tactics were pretty nasty and personal," said Doyle. The mood changed, though, once the attacks happened. 

"The spokesman said, "We want to speak to you today as Pole to American and put aside what has been happening here," Doyle recalled. Being an American representative, they felt they needed to share their sadness with him. "They then spoke with great ardor about what they thought about America and what it meant to them during their years in Communism," recalled Doyle. "There were handshakes and more condolences offered. Then the truce was over and we resumed our roles."

No matter where Americans were when they learned about the attacks, most wanted to do something. 

                    
"I will never forget the next day at the hospital's blood donor center," said Whittemore. "The lines to donate stretched down and around the halls. Employees, people off the street, even patients of all ages and walks of life waited for hours to donate. No one complained. [They] sat quietly in chairs set up down the hallways desperate to do something to make an unfathomable situation just a little bit better," she said.

Doyle said that as he was attempting to leave Warsaw, which was no easy task, he passed by the American embassy. "It was breathtaking in scope," he said. "The entire sidewalk and a lane of the street was filled with thousands of flowers, letters and candles. I had the taxi let me out," he said. "It was very moving."

"In reflection, it is beyond my scope of magination how any individuals can think of harming another like this and cause so much suffering in the world," said Walsh. "The outpouring of sympathy and real help, as well as memorials, to all who died and who helped make me proud to be an American," said Walsh.