Area residents recall emotions of terrorist attacks

In their words, Southeast Missouri residents (or former residents) remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and their reaction to events of that day.

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Wayne Wallingford

"I was living in West Chester, Pennsylvania, working for Taco Bell Corporation. I had a 16-state area. Usually, I just play music in the car, so the radio wasn't on. I got to the Taco Bell I was visiting and was greeted with, 'Did you hear the news?' We didn't have a TV in the restaurant so I went next door to a hotel and called my wife from there and told her to turn on the set. As I was talking to her and keeping an eye on the hotel TV, I saw another plane slanting its wings doing a turn into the building and thought, 'OK, this is not just some lost pilot. This is an attack on our country.' In fact, the one that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, wasn't too far from where I was that day. I've been there since to see the memorial."

— State Rep. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau

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Matt Lacy

"It was my last semester at SEMO and I was in [a] class, and the head of the department walked in the room and said, 'Something really strange just happened,' and then he told us about the first plane. About 20 minutes later, he came back and explained a second plane just hit the World Trade Center, so this is no accident. At that point, class was (immediately) dismissed. About 40 of us (students) gathered around a small TV in a student lounge to watch the coverage and I recall no one was talking. On the way home, I was driving down Broadway, and McDonald's, which was under construction back then, and they had unfurled a giant American flag, which was blowing in the breeze."

— Matt Lacy, assistant superintendent, Jackson School District

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Kenneth Haskin

"I clearly remember sitting at Mom and Dad's kitchen table in total shock. Honestly, we had a hard time believing the images we were seeing on television. It took a couple of hours for it to sink in. I recall Mom asking the question, 'Is this happening?' My dad replied, 'I believe we are under attack.' We later said a prayer for the fallen and continued to watch in horror."

— Kenneth Haskin, Cape Girardeau city manager

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Bob Fox

"It was a Tuesday and started out as a normal day at my dental office. We were busy as usual going about our regular routines. Little did we know that it would be one of the most tragic days in our country's history. We learned of the disaster from a patient, and like every American were both shocked and angry. This act by terrorists changed all of our lives forever. The way we live and think, how we travel and our relationships with the rest of the world. My prayers go to all of the victims' families and my thanks to those who serve or served in our armed forces who also sacrificed to protect our freedoms and American way of life."

— Bob Fox, Cape Girardeau mayor

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Stacy Kinder

"On that morning, I was at home with my 1-, 3-, and 5-year-olds, just getting everyone fed and dressed when my husband called from work and told me to turn on the news. Like everyone else, I was glued to the TV for hours, then days and weeks. ... It was like everything in the world stopped except for what was happening in Lower Manhattan. It was so inspiring seeing how New Yorkers helped each other. Later, I mostly remember the collective unity we had as one nation, rallying around those hurt and killed, and for our military members."

— Stacy Kinder, Ward 6 Cape Girardeau city councilwoman

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Trudy Lee

"Our family lived in Albuquerque [New Mexico]. I had a presentation at breakfast, an important meeting at lunch and a flight that afternoon to Los Angeles for a week of classes at the World Trade Center in Long Beach. Breakfast began as normal but, as the day progressed, plans changed rapidly and the morning's priorities became unimportant by the end of the day. Of course, all flights were canceled, and the world was quiet for a time. When air travel resumed, my first flight was two weeks later when I visited Cape Girardeau to interview for a position at SEMO."

— Trudy Lee, vice president of university advancement and executive director of Southeast Missouri University Foundation

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Carlos Vargas

"I was a faculty member at Kent State University, and was attending a meeting of a group referred to as the 'Assistant & Associate (A&A) Deans.' We were discussing a new policy that would standardize the credit received by students in certain courses across the university. Suddenly, a person said, a plane has flown into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The meeting quickly adjourned, and I went to my office where a TV was available to watch the news. It is there that we watched live the second aircraft flying into the second WTC tower. Even to this date, I feel so afraid when I think of those moments."

— Carlos Vargas, Southeast Missouri State University president

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Merideth Pobst

"I was a 20-year-old college student at Southeast Missouri State University. As a Mass Communication student, I was very in tune with the news and current events. I worked during college, so I always took early classes. Our speech professor let us leave class early. I left and called my mom, as that is what you do when any major life event happens -- to process what you have seen and heard. What we saw and heard was a moment in history; it was frightening. It was a specific time stamp on my life's events. I promised I would never forget."

— Merideth Pobst, Jackson School District chief marketing and communications director

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Kristen Tallent

"I was a senior at Mississippi State. Another student shared enough information to confuse me. Time was frozen as I stared up at a perfect Starkville sky. I knew where my mind was taking me. I dreaded it. An attack on American soil. Will I lose my dad? The thought may seem selfish but to a 20-something kid, it's where my mind went. It's the only thing I could think about with Dad being in the military. I called home. The sound of my mother's voice reassured me. Her words came easily, like a veteran wartime spouse [Vietnam]."

— Kristin Tallent, Cape Girardeau School District communications director

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Katrina Amos

"I was headed to my college English class. I remember standing in the hall with other students waiting for the previous class to exit when a student ran frantically down the hall saying the World Trade Center buildings were on fire. We all looked at each other confused and unsure of what to do. I became even more concerned when my English class ended up being canceled. Our professor apparently had ties to the WTC and left to check on loved ones. I was seven months pregnant at the time, and I was so anxious, I went home and tuned in to the news where I would find out hours later it was a terrorist attack. I can honestly say this was one of the most unsettling moments I'd experienced as a young adult."

— Katrina Amos, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport manager

George R. Luna, foreground, waited four hours to donate at the Osage Community Centre in the American Red Cross blood drive Sept. 12, 2001. Luna, a Marine for 13 years, went to the recruiting station to discuss rejoining in the wake of the attacks in New York and Washington. "I'm here if my country needs me," he said. "I came to give blood because it's what America needs."Southeast Missourian file

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Jay Knudtson

"I recall arriving as a young banker to my job at Boatmen's Bank on that fateful morning. Upon arriving, I noticed a bunch of my fellow associates were huddled around the lone TV watching the horror unfold right before our eyes. At first, we thought the planes crashing was an accident, but then it didn't take long to realize that something of epic proportion was happening. There was complete confusion and bewilderment amongst us. When it became clear we were being attacked, I vividly remember my emotions shifting to anger and retaliation as the world as we knew it would be changed forever."

— Jay Knudtson, former Cape Girardeau mayor

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Brian Gerau

"I was training in Springfield, Missouri, with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, We had just completed our Labor Day Telethon the week before. During the telethon, we worked closely with area firefighters to raise money. I had, and still have, a strong admiration for those firefighters. Watching the news as those heroes rushed into the Twin Towers broke my heart. Closer to home, my wife was pregnant with our first baby. It was extremely scary to be away from home during that time and it seemed the drive from Springfield took twice as long. I remember stopping to get gas in Buffalo, Missouri, and it was chaotic. People were jostling for positions at the pump for $6 gas. It was surreal."

— Brian Gerau, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO

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Dwain Hahs

"On 9/11, I was living in Rochester, New York, working at Bausch & Lamb Inc. We were conducting an executive meeting setting the preliminary budget for the coming year. During the meeting, the administrative assistant to the chairman came in and whispered in his ear. He then announced information about the attacks. We turned on the TV in the conference room and couldn't believe what was unfolding. My daughter's school closed for the day, and my son's college classes were canceled. We later found out the father of a student at my daughter's school was killed in one of the Twin Towers. He was one of 658 employees of Cantor Fitzgerald who lost their lives in the attack."

— Dwain Hahs, Jackson mayor

Kristin Tallent

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Dave Courvoisier

"It was a Tuesday, and that was a day I dedicated to volunteering at Clippard Elementary where two of my daughters attended. I was helping out in the computer room when I noticed more than the acceptable level of noise for class-time. Teachers were turning on the TVs in their classrooms so students could see the events of the morning unfolding. As a news anchor, I remember thinking first that it was not an 'accident' that planes were crashing into NYC skyscrapers, and secondly, how much more complicated my job was going to immediately become."

— Dave Courvoisier, former KFVS12 news anchor

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Ruth Ann Dickerson

"I was as shocked and devastated as the rest of the world. We had been in a briefing when we were updated and wanted to stay riveted to a television, but knew we had a job to do. The United States was in emergency response and locally we were getting as many units as possible on the streets and roads to watch for anything in our communities. The largest, most lasting memory of that day will always remain that of watching the planes crash into the buildings, watching first responders doing what all first responders do -- running toward the danger as others ran away. News reports of the devastation, knowing the lives that were lost or altered, cries for help and memories that cannot be erased with remain with all of us that witnessed the attack. My view was from the news reports, recordings and delayed information, so I cannot fathom what it was like to have been there. Many action plans and developments have occurred for first responders because of that day to assist us in being better prepared. We must never forget, prepare our future generations to remember, be prepared, and be ever vigilant."

— Ruth Ann Dickerson, Cape Girardeau County sheriff

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Mike Renick

"I was working the late afternoon/evening shift at the radio station, so I was at home when the attacks happened. I remember flipping through the TV news and coming across the horrific sights. I honestly didn't know if I was on the right channel or what was going on because it just seemed so unthinkable. It was like watching a movie. Unfortunately, one that was very real and would impact our country and the world forever. Even today, it's hard to believe that something like 9/11 happened in our country. The bravery of all the people involved, the first responders and our military will never be forgotten. In a time of deep despair, we did see the greatest part of the United States as people came together to rally around each other and our country."

— Mike Renick, River Radio operations manager

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Jim Limbaugh

"I remember it was a Tuesday morning, and I happened to be at our bank in Sikeston. A bit after 9 a.m. that morning, one of my colleagues came into the office and said, 'You should go down to the kitchen lounge and watch what is going on.' I did as she suggested, and I'll never forget the events that were unfolding on the television. It was absolutely surreal, this can't be happening in our country let alone New Your City! Had yet no idea of the events occurring at the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania. We watched in stunned silence for well over an hour. Our meetings were canceled, and I drove back to Cape to Benita's classroom at Jefferson school just to see if everything was OK. Contacted our kids to do the same. Again, stunned amazement. The two photos I'll never forget were the plane hitting the second Tower and the aid whispering in Bush 43's ear as he spoke to an elementary classroom somewhere in Florida. I went home glued to the TV well into the next morning. The one word that describes the day best for me is 'surreal.' I also think about 9/11 songs written by Toby Keith and Alan Jackson. They are priceless and created a ground swell of patriotism."

— Jim Limbaugh, Montgomery Bank executive vice president

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Elizabeth Shelton

"I was working from my home in Georgia, oblivious to everything until friends called, frantically asking me to turn on my television. They were at work and couldn't access live coverage. At first I didn't believe them and nearly hung up, thinking it was some kind of bizarre joke. Like everyone else, when I saw the images, I couldn't believe it. I had the volume turned up and was repeating what was being said on television when the second tower was hit. We sat in silence trying to digest it and had to hang up the phone. I had reservations to fly to Ireland for a 10-day trip beginning Sept. 17. My mother was worried sick and begged me not to go, but I figured air travel would never be safer. Mine was one of the first international flights to leave Hartsfield International Airport. As soon as anyone I met in the UK heard I was American, they wanted to hear 'my story,' where I was and if I knew anyone in the Towers. Although I had a good friend living in Manhattan and working near the World Trade Center, I did not lose anyone I loved that day, but like the rest of the world, I still grieved."

— Elizabeth Shelton, United Way of Southeast Missouri executive director

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Phil Penzel

"I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday. We all arrived at work as usual on a Tuesday morning, and I get a phone call from Cathy Maya, a former Missourian journalist. She said that a second plane flew into the other tower, but I initially didn't believe her as I thought it was a replay of the first, but when I finally did, she said I hung up on her. I was glued to the TV for the next several days. I have a good friend in New York that had retired from FDNY shortly before 9/11. He worked at the first responding station. Had he still been working, he would have typically been on call that day and would have been one of the first ones on the scene. When he heard what happened, he left his home immediately to assist and never came home for over a month. He slept in a nearby church when he could. His name is Greg Seminara and lives in Brooklyn. Because of people like him, I helped with the Jackson Fire Department's effort to create their own 9/11 memorial."

— Phil Penzel, Penzel Construction CEO

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"I was in 11th grade in Ms. Busch's English class. We got the news it had happened, and I was just in disbelief. I don't remember what happened immediately after that because I was so shocked, but up to that point I remember that day vividly."

— Kaleisha Walker, SERVPRO of Cape Girardeau & Scott Counties web marketing specialist