September 12, 2001

Allen

September 11, 2001 is a day that will forever live in the memories of all Americans who witnessed the attacks on our homeland that Tuesday morning. We all watched in horror the events unfolding before our eyes on TV and we listened intently to the radio as more and more news surfaced. We knew what we were witnessing would result in the deaths of many people, but the casualty counts were rumors and estimates at that point. We knew we were under attack, but we weren't exactly sure by whom. Many of us prayed for our nation as we went to bed that night, still reeling from the events of the day. We had been changed as a nation in a few short hours, and we would never be the same.

September 12, 2001 was a day unlike any other I have experienced before or since. I moved like a zombie into the shower, absently made coffee, and sat in my easy chair to catch the latest news on the attacks. Rumors of anthrax attacks, possible water poisoning, and various other threats flooded the airwaves. None of it was confirmed, but the reports held the nation in a state of constant panic. Skipping work was not an option for me, so I saddled up and made the 27-mile journey to my office. There were several oddities already becoming apparent that morning, and the day grew more bizarre by the hour. Here are just a few memories that still haunt me to this day:

1. Nothing was in the air the next morning. Even the birds seemed afraid to fly. I live in the final approach area to Detroit Metro Airport, so there are always jets streaking across the sky, one right after another. Not on that day.The sky was clear. No planes, no distant jet whines, not even many birds flying around.

 

1. The sky above Washtenaw County was criss-crossed with jet trails. As I approached Ann Arbor pondering the absence of anything airborne, I noticed this oddity. Something had been in the sky approximately 10,000 feet above the city, crossing back and forth. I knew it had to be military in nature, because all other aircraft were grounded. I laughed to myself and mumbled, "Maybe this chemtrail thing is real after all!" I still have no idea if they were looking for someone or guarding the airspace, but I often wonder about the reason for the criss-cross pattern.

 

1. A small Piper airplane was nearly shot down in the skies over Ann Arbor. My friend and I sat in the sales room. It was quiet. The phone hardly rang because most people were glued to the news or had simply stayed home to be with their families that day. Suddenly, we heard the roar of a single-prop plane. On any other day, it would have been background noise as our office was less than a half mile from the Ann Arbor airport, but not that day. We knew it was not supposed to be flying. Just as we began mentioning the trouble the pilot was risking, our voices were drowned out by the deafening roar of military fighter jets. We scrambled outside to see what was happening. The small Piper was attempting to land at the Ann Arbor airport, but two military jets were on its tail, one making threatening passes at it as the other attempted to fly slow enough to trail it. The message was obvious: "Do as we say or you are finished." As the second jet flew a circle and came at it for a third time, my friend shouted, "I think we are about to see a plane get shot down!" The Piper finally pulled its nose up, turned around, and headed straight back towards Canada with both fighters on its tail. We later heard rumors that the plane had FBI agents returning from Canada without permission to be in U.S. airspace. We heard one report of it on a local radio station that afternoon, then silence… like it never happened. Many friends of mine remember the scene clearly, but I cannot find a single article about this incident in any archives.

The days following September 12th were filled with more strange events like spotting the unmistakable shapes of five or more  B52s flying at high altitudes heading east, or the number of strange aircraft flying low and slow over different areas. Our lives had changed for good on September 11, 2001. But it really did not sink in until the next day.