I went to work on September 11, 2001, preparing for my regular workload as a sports reporter in Newport News, Virginia, like any other day. There were papers to be filed. Appointments had to be scheduled.
Interviews needed to be set up. My weekly and monthly calendars had to be updated. It was a typical housekeeping day for me.
Most of my colleagues hadn’t quite made it in to work when I arrived at the office to do my due diligence. Everyone was on full-time stress mode the evening before, furiously pumping out stories to meet deadline.
Because sports reporters usually work into the wee hours of the morning after covering games, the workplace could be a ghost town the day after. While everyone else on my team was still recovering from their deadline hangover, I decided to come into the office to get a jump on things.
It was a perfect time for me to grab some lunch, take care of business and watch some Sports Center. There was nothing extraordinary going on until I turned on the television set and accidently turned the switch knob to CNN. What I saw was something surreal and unforgettable.
There was New York’s Twin Towers billowing with smoke coming from it as an enormous gaping hole plundered the famous landscape. At first, I didn’t what the heck I was looking at. Within seconds I knew. Looking like something that had been taken from a movie script, a jumbo jet went in headfirst into the building with the fierce determination of death.
What took place before my eyes was the worst terrorist act on American soil. Unapologetic bloodshed had arrived at America’s doorsteps courtesy of bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Innocent lives were lost that day because of hate.
The act of terror was now in living color for Americans. Paralyzing fear came to our backyard with no disclaimers or glorious announcements.
Like millions of other Americans who sat glued to their television sets watching all of this play out in real time, I was frozen in disbelief. Disbelief soon gave way to astonishment when I saw the Twin Towers crumble to the ground quicker than a Lego toy.
Of course, chaos was not too far behind. As my mind raced about what I had just witnessed, reporters rushed into the office with the tenacity and rush wave of a tsunami.
Phone lines were lit up. All reporters, regardless of beat, made their way to a special-held meeting by management on how we would report on this national tragedy.
The trail we took was to find out if there were local residents or relatives that involuntarily were part of this mass murder-suicide trip that went from the Twin Towers to the Pentagon to the outskirts of a small town in Pennsylvania.
We hit the streets like reporters do, trying to find any little thing that could connect the dots between Newport News to the areas directly affected by unforeseen the terrorist acts. In the middle of an event taking place, people act one way. People panic. When you’re smack middle in the fire it is hard to gauge how well someone can handle things.
That is what happened with America on 9/11. No one thought some militia group in another part of the world would have the audacity and the nerve to take on the United States of America. Yes, we were that cocky and arrogant as a nation. That notion changed twelve years ago.
What didn’t change was America’s resolve to fight through adversity and difficult times. There was a lot of anxiety of the faces of my co-workers as they set about interviewing locals. The Hampton Roads area, which is very close in proximity to Langley Air Force Base, was practically dumfounded by the turn of events happening.
There was a lot of anguish and uncertainty. You could see the pain on their faces.
People lost their children. Wives didn’t see their husbands come back home to them. Educators perished. Young kids were suddenly left without parents. First responders gave their lives to save others. For sure, no one knew how the nation and our leaders would respond.
But the thing about life is that after crying strength is gained. After sorrow, resolve steps in. That is what I saw more than anything the day after the terrorist attacks rocked out country. The day after, I saw that once cooler heads prevailed above the emotional fray, the character of this nation was displayed front and center.
This wasn’t about whether or not you were a Democrat or Republican. This was an American thing. People were hurting. Our country had been severely wounded. But somewhere, somehow, instead of bowing down to those perpetrators of deadly force, Americans rallied behind the red, white and blue flag and reminded itself that it would not allow these cowards take away who we are as a people.
There were a lot of people who immediately thought the world was coming to an end when the World Trade Center came under attack, including some reporters I worked with. People were deathly scared. However, as I went back to work the next day, there was a turnabout in change and attitude.
Fear had turned into a call to action. America doesn’t negotiate with terrorists. And what we saw in the aftermath of 9/11, was a coming together of Americans to show the world we would not bow down to extrememists. From the rural streets to New York and Washington, D.C., we saw America become America.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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