The News Journal asked our readers to share how they first heard about the 9-11-01 attacks, as well as their thoughts. These are some of their responses:

Thomas Breckel: “It was a Tuesday morning and I was about to start a session on lighting options to enhance the presence of a trade show booth. As I stood in the back of the room waiting for my cue to start my presentation, the UPS driver made a delivery and was commenting on how messed-up the situation is in New York.

“Over the next few heart-wrenching hours watching the attacks unfold in real-time on TV, I knew I was not where I felt I needed to be at that moment. A short time later I was back in uniform and on my first of many deployments to that part of the world.

Kindra Kempke Carpenter: “I was in the Army at the time and was stationed in Connecticut. I was a vet tech and took care of the soldiers’ family pets and military working dogs. We were running a vaccine clinic in Rhode Island and our clients just stopped coming in. We walked down the hall to an office where a TV was on and saw that the first plane had hit, then the second, and then we heard about the Pentagon. I immediately thought we were at war.

“We packed up all of our stuff for the day since the base was on lockdown from anyone coming onto the base. We made our way back to our home base and stopped for lunch at Wendy’s. People were asking us if were on our way down to NYC since we were in uniform. Once we finally got back to our post we just watched the TV for updates and waited to hear from our higher-ups. My mom called, scared that I was going to deploy. Our unit was discussing sending our dogs down to ground zero to help with the searches.

“It was a day I’ll never forget, the sadness of it all, but also how many people came together to help each other out. I was prepared to fight for our country that day and I’m still honored to have served our country even in times of uncertainty.

Bev Mossbarger: “I was at the Lebanon, Ohio racetrack putting sand on the horse track; my friend and fellow trucker Nels and I started talking on our CB’s after hearing it on the radio. We went to the horse barns to try to find a TV. The horror we saw was unimaginable. We talk of it today, remembering that time.”

Sarah Newton: I was a freshman in second period, and didn’t hear about until third period. My mom came and got me from school. We never miss it — it’s recognized in my house every year, and my kids know about it as well.“