WYRK Staff Remember 911 In Their Own Words

On this tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our country the staff of WYRK share their memories of that day that no American should ever forget.

Clay Moden

I can't believe it has been 10 years since the tragedy of September 11th. I remember that I was doing the show live at Northtown Dodge that morning and the showroom had tv's that we had asked to turn to CNN just so we could get the day's top stories. I recall there was BREAKING NEWS and it sounded as if some sort of plane had crashed into the Trade Towers.

My first thought was...how? How did the pilots not see that coming? It was a perfectly clear day both here and in NYC. Then I remember seeing what looked like a traffic plane flying close to the building and slammed directly into the Towers as well. I have to admit. I got very scared at that point. I remember thinking that we were under attack and what is next? Is a war about to start here at home?

I ,like most Americans, was glued to the news. Even 10 years later I still am sad just thinking about it but more than that I am mad that it even happened. My thoughts are with the families that lost loved ones everyday since. There is not much I can say other than, thank you to those people brave enough to have risked their lives on that day and each day since to protect and save the United States.

Dale Mussen

I was on vacation in Rhode Island. What a gorgeous day. Shelley and I went driving around Newport and just did some sightseeing. Stopped at a beautiful beach and sat there for a half hour looking out at the ocean and what struck me that day was how quiet everything was. There were very few people out. Very little traffic where we were driving.

We continued along the ocean drive and took some pictures. We never turned on the radio that morning so we had no idea what was going on. It was a little bit after 11 when we decided to have lunch and stopped at a Newport restaurant. There was a sign on the door saying they would be closing just after lunch so their employees could join their families. All of the TV sets were set to CNN and as we walked in we still had no idea what was going on. When we asked the waitress said, "you didn't hear what happened?" She went on to explain as the video of the collapsing World Trade Center came on the screen. It was one of the most frightening moments of my life to finally realize all of these world-shaking events had happened and I had no idea.

John LaMond

For me and probably most other Americans, that September day began like any other. I remember walking into the Rand Bldg. and hearing people talking about a passenger jet that had crashed into one of the twin towers. At that point, we were all thinking that it was just a horrible accident until we then heard about the second jet hitting the other tower. Then after that, hearing about the Pentagon being hit and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania going down. We had been hit by Middle-Eastern Terrorists. Suddenly, we knew that life would never be the same because of this. America had lost its innocense. I knew deep down that things would be different from now on. I have never felt so sad and so angry all at the same time.

Wendy Lynn

I had only lived in Buffalo for a year and I was planning a trip home to Michigan to see my family and friends. I remember waking up to my neighbor’s voices outside my window talking about the World Trade Center being hit by a planes. I turned on the TV and sure enough what my neighbors had said was true. I was scared at the site of the twin towers falling and I just kept thinking that I wanted to be with my family and friends in Michigan.

I made the drive listening to live coverage of the tragedy on the radio the whole way crying and feeling so alone. I remember the panic and all the people lining up to buy gas. It was the longest drive and the loneliest trip I’ve ever made. Being with family and the people I loved was my only thought and I was so happy to arrive in my hometown late that night. It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since that tragic day. We will never forget.

Brett Alan

I remember very clearly where I was the day that the World Trade Center was attacked. I was sitting in the studio running the board for The Breakfast Club. They were on their 30 towns in 30 days trip and were at Northtown Dodge. It seemed like a very normal morning. The sun was shining. Everything was going well with the show. I remember Dale was on vacation that day and it was Clay and CJ Lee doing the show. We were getting ready to play "Battle Of The Sexes." That was when Karen Vanee, who used to be on the air at WJYE (our sister station) peaked her head in the door of the YRK studio to tell me that a plane had "run into the World Trade Center." I really didn't think anything of it. I was picturing a small personal plane that had fallen off course and somehow managed to collide with the building.

I passed the message on to Clay and he was asking me more about it. Unfortunately we didn't have a computer in the studio at that time that was connected to the internet. So I didn't have much more info than that to pass on. So Clay turned to the television. That was when the second one hit. "Is that another one or are they running a replay?" I heard Clay say. Karen poked her head in a couple seconds later and said, "Another one just hit. I think we're under attack or something. They think it may be terrorists." Which to be honest didn't mean much to me at the time. There had never been a terrorist attack like that in my lifetime. There was the Lockerbie bomber. There was the guy that detonated a bomb at the base of the Twin Towers. But never a huge scale attack like this.

I stayed there a little bit longer that day. We switched over to CNN programming for the rest of the day on WYRK so that we could all be up with the latest news.

I still lived in Geneseo at the time so I headed back down the 90 on my way home. I remember passing tons of unmarked cars that were headed towards Buffalo. You could tell who the government workers were that day because they were all flying down the highway.

It was an incredibly scary day. It was new territory for all of us as we had never experienced an attack like that especially on our own soil. Hopefully it's something we'll never experience again.

Dean Sarago

I was getting ready for work and I had the television on (something I never do).
There it was, live footage of the first tower smoking and then in a blink of an eye the second plane hitting it. My heart sank, at the time my brother lived in New York City so he was my first thought, I just stood in my living room dumbfounded…numb.

Josh Mule

Who can forget that day? I was sitting at my grandparents house, in the living room, when the family yelled to turn on the television. The images are still quite vivid in my memory. It was very surreal, almost like you were watching a movie.

I'll never forget the ash covered faces, the sounds of multiple alarms ringing, those who jumped from windows because it was their only way out and the look of horror on the faces all of the people. I was consumed by the event for months and months after the fact. I still have numerous newspapers, magazines, DVD's etc.... I still am captivated by any documentaries on 9-11...the stories and the conspiracy stories. We all know what the end result was that day...and it was horrible and unbelievable, but will we ever find out the ultimate truth? Still, it is a day that will live in infamy and I, for one, will never forget it. R.I.P to those who were lost on that day.

Craig Matthews

I recall it was a beautiful September day, just like in New York City. I had the day off but my wife was working. My Dad had come over that morning to help me with a few house projects when suddenly the phone rang...my wife said I had better turn on the TV.
Needless to say that's all we did for the rest of the day...and the next and the next.
We also did alot of praying...for those "who knew" and those "who were waiting with hope".
Just writing this brings to mind and to my stomach the most sickening feeling I think I have ever had in my life...God bless the victims, their families and friends and this great land we call America...