The Voices of 9/11

The voices of 9/11. May we never become deaf to them.

“Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent... we are all over the
place. ... I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low. We are
flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. ... Oh my God, we
are way too low... Oh my God, we're “ -Flight attendant Madeline Amy
Sweeney, at the end of her phone call to a supervisor describing the
hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11.

"We're young men, we're not ready to die." – Kevin Cosgrove on the
105th floor of the South Tower moments before it collapsed.

"The floor is completely engulfed. We're on the floor, and we can't
breathe, and it's very, very, very hot… I'm going to die, I know it.
Please, God, no. It's so hot, I'm burning up." - Melissa Doi, 83rd
floor, South Tower

"Please do not give up, Melissa. Oh, my God. Melissa. Melissa.
Melissa." - 911 operator

“'Kris, there's been an explosion. We're trapped in a room. There's
smoke coming in. I don't know what's going to happen. I want you to
know my life has been so much better and richer because you were in
it.’ He said, ‘I love you’ and he said goodbye. I think he had been
crying, but he stayed strong for me.” - Kris McFarren, on a phone
call from her fiancée Bradley Vadas who died in the South Tower.

"Hi, this is the captain. I would like you all to remain seated.
There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport, and to
have our demands [INAUDIBLE]. Please remain quiet." - Hijacker aboard
United Flight 93 which crashed near Shanksville, Pa.

“Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” - Passenger Todd Beamer on Flight
93 as passengers stormed the cockpit to battle the hijackers.

“After his appearance with the workers at the site, President Bush
met privately with some of the victims' families. That was the most
gut-wrenching of all.... Not one person the president talked to
thought their missing relatives were dead. Not one.” - Ari Fleisher,
White House press secretary.

“I question, why not me, and leave my son? I mean, I would have
switched. ... I asked God in the beginning, ‘If you could give me
this one, I would appreciate it.’ But He had nothing to do with
this...He was fighting evil that day, like He does every day. -
Bernie Heeran, New York city firefighter who lost a son in the World
Trade Center.

“They say the planes hit the building somewhere in the 92nd to the
101st floor. It's terrible to think that 2,000 gallons of petrol
burned through the building, totally scorching my daughter to death.
Our son-in-law, Nurul, worked on the 93rd floor. We were hoping that
he might have just barely survived. I pray to Allah that if they
survive, let them both survive. If they have to die, let them both go
to Allah together. What was Allah's wish? My daughter and her husband
both went to Allah together.” - Sharif Choudhury, insurance agent.

“When I looked out that window, towards the Statue of Liberty, and I
saw that plane coming towards me, I was numb. This monstrous plane
looking at me, like, ‘I'm taking you.’ Part of the 82nd floor
collapsed. All of the walls were knocked flat. I was screaming!
Crying! And praying out loud, ‘Lord! Help me! Please! Send
somebody!’... I felt like this strange force came over me. This power
that I've never felt before. And I looked at this wall and I started
to hit and punch and kick. And I busted a little hole. And Brian
said, "I see your hand!" - Stanley Praimnath, loan officer.

“And I heard this, ‘Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
...Help! Help!’ And I was able to grab onto something, whether it was
his collar or we locked arms, I'm not sure, and then I lifted him
out. And we fell on a heap on the floor, and we introduced ourselves.
And he said, ‘Oh! Hallelujah! I'm Stanley!’ And I said, ‘My name is
Brian. We might be friends for life!’ And then I said, ‘Come on,
let's go. Let's get out of here.’ - Brian Clark, banker.

“I think God could have just ended this all. That's why I feel
strongly that I'm losing respect for Him. ..So I look at Him now as a
barbarian… and it's a sad situation. I think I am a good Christian,
but I have a different view and image of Him now and I can't replace
it with the old image.” - Tim Lynston, security guard

“I don't know how people could get through this without faith." -
Rosaleen Tallon who lost her brother in the Twin Towers attacks.

“Today, we gather to be reassured that God hears the lamenting and
bitter weeping of Mother America because so many of her children are
no more...Let us also pray for divine wisdom as our leaders consider
the necessary actions for national security...that as we act, we not
become the evil we deplore.” - Rev. Nathan Baxter, dean of Washington
National Cathedral.

"We will find those who did it. We will smoke them out of their
holes. We'll get them running, and we'll bring them to justice."
–President George Bush.

“Tonight I can report to the American people and the world that the
United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin
Laden...Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we
will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by
when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of
our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the
values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can
say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror:
Justice has been done.” – President Barack Obama.