GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's been 21 years since the deadliest attack on U.S. soil.
Many people told WFMY they remember it like it was yesterday.
Kristen Hall said she was in sixth-grade shop class and remembers every detail of that moment.
Curtis Allred said he was in computer class.
People in downtown Greensboro near the 9/11 memorial shared their stories about where they were when the U.S. was attacked.
It's a day that many say will never be forgotten.
"It was just pandemonium," Robert Schroder said. "I was home at the time I was scheduled to go in the afternoon shift when I turned on the television in the morning the first plane had already hit the first tower."
Members of the Al-Qaida Muslim militant group gained control of planes that hit the world trade center's twin towers and the Pentagon.
"It was just silence everything stopped everywhere around the world," Alexis Greene said. “We had just moved from Greensboro back to Aiken, South Carolina. I was at my mom‘s house with my one-year-old. We were putting her a new riding toy together and all of a sudden, the news came on and everything stopped. All of the channels went straight there and I got a call and my mom was like, 'are you watching the news."
Joshua Bachelor, an active military member said he was in high school. "All in all it was a pretty heartbreaking moment for me."
Navy veteran Al Hodgin said he was mad and confused when he saw what was happening.
"When it happened I was part-time down at the News & Record and my boss man told me they were jumping out of buildings I remember that well," Hodgin said.
Many others were also in disbelief.
Amy Gandee was working at a preschool and said she, along with the other employees, had to stay strong from the children. "I just couldn't believe this was happening here in our country on our soil and our land and just wondering what was going on how do we protect the children."
Some say they had family in New York City they were worried about.
"It was just a lot of chaos a lot of chaos everybody trying to reach different family members," Greene said.
Robin Finberg said she was an assistant principal at the time of the attack. "We had a lot of families who were very concerned at that moment in time. So we started to see a lot more kids being checked out of school,“ she continued, "it became very real, real quick.“
Former Kernersville police officer Sean Houle said this event inspired him in the sixth grade to become a first responder.
Officer Houle was shot on February 21 last year while on duty.
Every year on 9/11, he said he listens to the New York City Fire Deparmtents radio traffic from that day, back in 2001.
"I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t shed tears when I watch and listen to certain things it’s hard especially when I relate it to things that I’ve been through and especially the most recent event that I’ve been through it’s hard because you hear these firefighters on the other end of the radio and where I’ve been through a lot of things that I’ve been the person on the other end of the radio I know the angst I know what they are feeling," Houle said.
He said it's important to remember all those lost and all those impacted.
"We determined collectively we are not going to be a victim of these 9/11 attacks we are going to be survivors of it and I think being part of a survivor of this is carrying on the memory of those lost that day," Houle said.
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