Community Corner

Roswell Remembers 9/11: People 'Were Covered with a Brownish Dust'

William Beck recalls how Manhattan looked from across the river in Brooklyn.

EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of Patch's coverage and commemoration, we are putting together images and human interest stories about how that tragic date has affected us all.

What follows are the thoughts and memories of William Beck, a resident of Brooklyn during Sept. 11, 2001. Beck, who is now a Roswell resident, posted his recollections of the moment he heard about the attacks on the Roswell Patch Facebook page.

"I lived in [New York City] on 9/11, in Brooklyn. I worked nights at that time and had just gotten home, when my mother-in-law called and said: 'Turn on the television, they're blowing the place up.' The city was going unusually crazy with police cars, but my wife wouldn't let me out of the house. Finally, in the afternoon I went out and walked down to the [Brooklyn Heights] Promenade. People who had gotten over the bridges and walked back looked like they had been near a volcano. When I got to the waterfront, the lower half of Manhattan was engulfed in smoke. It was horrible. The place burned for months. It haunts me to this day."

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Were you in New York at the time? Did you have family or friends who were affected? Do you know of anyone who was deployed to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan?

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If your life was in some way changed by the events of 9/11, we're asking for photos or personal accounts to share with our readers. What are your memories of that day that changed your life here in Roswell?

Please send a photo and your story by e-mail to Christine Foster.


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