September 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Confusion, fear, shock and despair filled the hearts of the American people upon hearing the news. Ten years later, the citizens of the United States recall the memories of that day and pay tribute to the lives lost. As part of that tribute, three UNCW students shared their stories with “The Seahawk” about their memories of September 11, 2001.

Kyle Clemmer recounts being in Miss Cooper’s fourth grade class in Silver Spring, Va.,only five miles outside of Washington, D.C.

“The teachers were out in the hallway talking to each other. When I asked what was going on, the teachers would ignore my question and keep going in and out of the classroom,” said Clemmer.

 Clemmer was left in the dark about the plane crashes in New York and Washington, D.C.

“The whole school had to be evacuated. I went to my best friend’s grandmother’s home and didn’t get to see my parents until 7 p.m. That was when I first heard of the plane crashes,” said Clemmer.

 Clemmer recounts a fellow classmate’s father who worked in the Pentagon where Flight 77 crashed. Fortunately, the classmate’s father took a sick leave that day and was safe from the life-threatening events.

In the months to follow, Clemmer and his fellow students were ordered to bring in canned goods for survival kits. “We even had to bring duct tape and were shown how to tape off the windows in the event another attack happened. The survival kits were put into the school’s basement. There were so many boxes,” said Clemmer.

The following week Clemmer’s school did weekly bomb drills because during the aftermath of Sept. 11, the administration thought that a nuclear bomb had been detonated.

Jeff Hughes had a similar experience with his teachers, except he was in his eighth grade homeroom in Freehold, N.J., about 45 minutes away from New York City. Teachers at Hughes’ school told their students if they had parents working in New York City, they were free to go home.

“Eventually we were told of the planes hitting the World Trade Center, and everyone went home,” said Hughes.

Hughes’ neighbor, who worked in the Empire State building, told him that a friend in the army had advised her to leave as soon as possible because all modes of transportation from the island would be shut down and blocked off.

“Most people don’t know this but once the bridges and tunnels were closed, civilians who owned boats were ferrying people across the Hudson. They would drop off the people somewhere in New Jersey and go back to the New York side and pick up more people,” said Hughes.

After the events of Sept. 11, Hughes’ family went to Sandy Hook, a peninsula in New Jersey where  Manhattan’s skyline was visible.

“Usually you can see the skyline, but after 9/11, you could barely make out the skyline because a cloud covered the entire area,” said Hughes.

 UNCW student Aaron Ricketson had the same experience many grade school children had across the country. He was in his fifth grade science class in Savannah, Ga., when he first started to hear the news. “Our guidance counselor Ms. Tate turned the television on as they were showing the recordings of the planes hitting. I can remember it perfectly,” said Ricketson.

“The Seahawk” asked each student of their plans for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. Clemmer plans to attend “We Remember: UNCW” Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. on Hoggard Lawn to take an aerial photo of students forming the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Hughes will be watching news coverage and may get involved with some of the activities on campus. Ricketson will be wearing red, white and blue and will be praying for the families affected by Sept. 11.