My experience of 9/11 was a bit different. I guess you could say I saw it through the eyes of Europe. My then husband and I were just finishing up a three week work/vacation in Amsterdam and were to fly home on 9/12. I had been out doing some final sightseeing and returned to our small hotel early afternoon. As I walked into the lobby the desk clerk answered the phone and immediately signaled for me to come over. My husband was calling from the office he was working at. All I remember him saying was "I'm not sure we'll be going home tomorrow I think American was just attacked and we might be at war." I didn't have a clue what he was talking about and simply said "Okay..." and handed the phone back to the desk clerk who must have known what was going on as he talked for a few moments to my husband, hung up, took me by the arm (I think I was standing there open-mouthed simply staring) and said they had a television on in the parlor would I like to go watch what was happening while he got me a drink. I sat in front of that TV in shock for over 4 hours.
That night we went out for a walk to get try and get our minds off the fact we could not reach our children who where back in the states because no phone lines were available. Nor could we reach a good friend whose husband was working in the wing of the Pentagon that was hit. We found ourselves walking in the direction of the US Embassy and when we reached it were stunned to see hundreds of people there placing flowers around the gates and standing with candles. Some like us were Americans wanting to feel a bit closer to home, not knowing when we would get back. Others were tourists from other parts of the world and most were residents of Amsterdam. That night though we were one people. All grieving for those who lost their lives.
The people of The Netherlands know the horrors of war and terror. What they experienced at the hands of Hitler will never be forgotten by them. I think this gave them a special compassion for us Americans who were in their midst on 9/11. Everywhere we went over the next week, as we waited for airports to reopen, the people just seemed to know we were American and they were so kind and caring. I will never forget it.
I will also never for get the flight home one week later. I have never been so terrified in my life. The tension on the plane was almost palpable as we were on one of the first flights back into Dulles Airport in Washington DC.
For a month or two after we returned, nightly we listened to the fighter jets fly over our home as they patrolled the skies of Washington DC and it's surrounding area.
Today ten years later I remember the lives lost. I give thanks that my friends husband had just walked out of the Pentagon 5 minutes before the plane hit and was in a construction trailer in the parking lot. He survived. Am I more afraid than I was pre-9/11. I don't think so. I am more vigilant, but I refuse to lie my life in fear of terrorists. To do so means they will have won.
Suzanne
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