Editor’s Note: Some of following testimonials were originally published in the September 9, 2026 print issue of The Westford Villager with edits for brevity. Here, all testimonials are published in their entirety.
All testimonials were submitted either by readers or the Westford Museum and Historical Society. WestfordCAT expresses its sincere thanks to all for sharing these memories.
“Far from Home on September 11”
We were residents in Westford in 2001 and had been on a driving trip to the West Coast that September. We had reached Glasgow in Montana, not the other one. And, yet again, I had turned on the car radio when something about airplanes and towers and fires was on every station; I think there were two. As Roger and I listened, it became apparent in no time what we were hearing. We were well away from the East Coast where the tragedy was unfolding, but immediately we began to wonder if we and countless others were safe thousands of miles away. And closer to home, were our kids safe? Now I’m not a cuddly person, but I felt like a mother hen that day and wanted to gather my children around me and safely tuck them under my wings. The uncertainty of what was going on continued to nag at me, and I’m sure everybody else.
The next day we planned to cross the border into Canada. As we approached the crossing with the guards standing there on hyper alert and ready to begin their inspection, I said to Roger, OMG, my curling iron is loose in the trunk of the car. It was still too warm to put it in my suitcase. Make sure the guards realize that’s not the barrel of a gun they’re seeing!
And so we visited Lake Louise in the Banff National Park in Alberta on September 12, 2001, but the rest of the trip was constantly shrouded in a feeling of great uncertainty – what was going on back home? Would we even have a home to go back to?
Now 25 years later, the flock has expanded with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the house still stands, but that feeling of invincibility as a country is forever gone.
~ Marilyn & Roger
“9/11 Through a Parent’s Eyes”
High school-age kids at the time had an important perspective. Some of them joined the military as a result.
However, it was a life-altering event for younger kids too. My oldest was in third grade – one of Cub Scout’s dads was a Westford firefighter. He got a standing ovation at the first meeting after 9/11 from boys and parents.
I remember being out selling popcorn with Andrew and looking up to see no plane lights in the sky, except for the occasional C-130 heading from Westfield to the Middle East. As they graduated from Webelos to Boy Scouts, we took them to NYC to see Ground Zero. They saw Ten House – Engine 10 and Ladder 10, literally at the base of the twin towers. They were the first in. Engine 10 became a command post – every man lived. Ladder 10 began rescue – every man died.
The Abbott school messed up. In their PA announcement, they mentioned the plane bound for CA. Our scoutmaster was flying to CA that day. A different flight; he was still safely on the ground in Boston. But as far as his son was concerned, only one plane was going to CA and his dad was on it. The poor kid came apart.
I went to the [New England] Patriots game the first Sunday that the NFL played after 9/11. The only time the NY Jets were cheered in Foxborough! But I also remember everyone looking up whenever a small plane flew over. I went because a friend had tickets and one of his friends couldn’t go because his wife was afraid something would happen. Incidentally, that is the game where Drew Bledsoe was injured and this kid, Tom Brady, stepped in.
The Sunday after 9/11, our pastor pointed out the fighters in the sky, the anti-aircraft batteries around DC, extra security everywhere. And then he asked if we really felt safe? Would any of that ultimately protect us? It was a powerful sermon on where one places their trust and avoided the geopolitics entirely. Really good ministers saw this as a teaching moment during national sadness.
~ Scott
“Never Forget: A Personal Memory of 9/11”
When the events of 9/11/2001 occurred, I was at an all-day business meeting in Franklin, MA. It was to be a long meeting, and there were representatives from Canada present as well. I was running the meeting and had spent many hours preparing for it. No sooner had we begun than someone from the factory knocked on the door to tell us a plane had struck the WTC. I imagined it was a small plane and a minor accident and hoped everyone was ok. Soon after, there was another knock to say a second plane had hit the other tower and that they were passenger jets. I knew at that moment it was an attack. We stopped the meeting and went to find a TV that had cable access – although we had multiple screens in the building, we had no local channels. You have to remember that during this time I had a BlackBerry, and modern cell phones could show us what was going on.
When we saw the images, a sense of terror and fear went through the room. We didn’t know how many more attacks were to come, who was doing this or why. We all flew endlessly at that time, developing business everywhere, and it could have been us on those planes. We had to get everyone home – most of the attendees were in the US and since flights were being canceled everywhere, they all tried to rent cars and get going. The Canadian employees were in a really tough spot. We doubted we could get them home. We had an extra car in the factory and gave it to them, and they headed north.
It was a miracle that no one from my Company had been on any of those planes and that everyone got home by the end of the day.
When it came out it was an Al Qaeda attack, I immediately thought of the first attempt to destroy the WTC in the 90s with a large truck bomb. It was apparent that the level of their commitment to destroying us was all-consuming, and they would never stop unless we stopped them. But who, where, how? It was so uncertain. So scary – terrorists had succeeded in spreading terror.
The very first ray of hope, a demonstration of our resolve, came from the People of NYC. They simply refused to let this act disrupt them. The ensemble of the Producers defined this by insisting on performing Wednesday evening – they thought no one would come – but it was SRO. SNL went on that Saturday night. This all happened while smoke still rose from the remnants of the towers. You probably have a strong feeling about Rudy Giuliani, but during 9/11 he led from the front and was at the WTC when the 2nd tower went down. Attended hundreds of funerals and showed the world that the City was not beaten – it has woken up.
9/11 changed me forever. Linda and I went to the 9/11 Museum a few years ago. We had to leave after a short while. It was simply too much.
I am proud of our response to 9/11, but it is like fighting a virus with a baseball bat. The newer generations are not even told of the terror of that time. That leaves us open to more attacks. We have seen our enemies infiltrate and indoctrinate our own citizens to their cause. I don’t know how we will deal with this new attack. We must all Never Forget – Always Remember.
~ Barry
“Remembering September 11 at Westford Academy“
On the morning of 9/11, I went to school. I was a freshman at the Westford Academy then. I was later reminded that it was a bright and sunny day, but now I remember it as gloomy. The day was completely normal at first. It was so forgettable a day, well into my English class with Mr. Bramanti, that I can’t remember if that was my first class of the day!
Principal McGurk then came on the PA speaker about halfway through English. This was unusual, and maybe even unprecedented. He explained the situation as he knew it at the time: A plane struck one of the Twin Towers in New York, while another plane crashed into the Pentagon. It was surreal. Everything seemed to get quieter after that. There was a sense of disbelief, but we, of course, believed our principal. This act of transparency was likely a major reason why he was so popular with my class and others throughout our four years, despite him retiring the next year.
The school day slowly fell apart after the Principal’s announcement, while the day technically did continue for a while. What was happening — or happened — was the main thing really on our minds. We talked about it, but didn’t know how to talk about it, looking back. We had no frame of reference. Not long after lunch, everyone was just watching the news on their room’s TV. Teachers had basically stopped holding their class. And after that, I remember going to the larger lecture hall room with what felt like the entire school. Presumably, others were in the cafeteria or other rooms, but I was so glued to the TV like everyone else that I had no way of knowing. I do not know if I saw the second tower struck live. The footage of it all, however, was being played in a loop by that afternoon.
We eventually received word over the PA system that we were going to be sent home early, by about an hour or so, if I recall. It was basically as soon as the buses could get to the school. There was definite shell shock by that point. Can’t remember anyone talking to one another with any depth. There isn’t even a strong memory of the bus ride home.
By the time I was home, I was basically glued to the TV again. One silly detail that sticks in my head is the then-new Dell computer still boxed up next to the TV. We were probably going to start setting that computer up that night, but the attack delayed that setup for several days or more.
Can’t remember if we had any days off from school after the attack. However, the rest of the month did not feel “normal.” All of it overshadowed my time at Westford Academy to varying extents. Every time anyone came on the PA speaker randomly during the day, we assumed something horrible happened again. Luckily, for the 2005 class, they were normal announcements.
~ Jeff
“One Ray of Light from a Dark September”
Celebrating 25 years is a mixed blessing when it comes to 9/11 for me. I remember the day literally like it was yesterday, and with each remembrance, my eyes swell with tears uncontrollably and do not rest until all have fallen.
I awoke about 6:30 am on September 11, 2001, one week before the scheduled delivery of my first child. I had planned a day of happy decorating, sorting onesies, and making sure every blanket, sheet, and cloth was clean and soft. I was nervous and thoroughly excited about what was soon to come. Hopes, dreams, ambitions, goals – all nestled inside me, just waiting to arrive.
While mindlessly folding towels in my office, I had the news on my computer in the background. I remember walking out of my living room and into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, and when I walked back in, the screen had gone from typical day news to an endless video loop of a plane hitting one of the towers in New York. Initially – just shock, like “Dang! That’s a terrible accident…doesn’t happen very often.” I placed my water on my desk, set aside the folding basket, and sat down, watching with disbelief as the updates started rolling in: another plane, another location, another plane, more damage, more destruction… Pentagon, Pennsylvania…people crying, people frightened, people frantic.
I started to lose it, first thinking, “this can’t be happening here – not in the U.S.” Then I became “irrationally” frightened (blame the hormones, I guess). I have dozens of friends in New York City – I couldn’t reach them. I used to travel to the Pentagon regularly. What if I were still working at the job? What if the next target is Boston?
I called my sister in a panic. She and her husband were in the military. Maybe they could shed some light; settle my soul … but how could they? Military. First Responders. Volunteer support – all seeing this up close and personal while I was sitting “safely” in my home office watching it all unfold on television. Her response was quick: “Calm down. It’s awful. It’s bad. It’s unthinkable, and it’s likely to get worse before it’s over.” This was not comforting to me. How could it possibly get worse? The Towers collapse.
By this point, I remember literally screaming through the phone to my sister, “How can I bring a child into this God-awful world where people can do this to one another?” I asked her desperately. Her reply was simple and to the point. “The world is not God-awful, and there are far more good people in it that you’re not recognizing. You’re also not keeping in your heart that your soon-to-be baby boy is one of the people who’s going to grow up and make the world so much better.”
The following week after 9/11, I didn’t really calm down and went through serious bouts of sadness and confusion – much of which stays with me, knowing that something like this happened and could happen again.
My husband arrived home from work just after 3 pm. I was still sitting where I sat earlier in the day. I couldn’t move; only watch. Denial. Fury. Compassion. Fear…oh, the fear. He asked, “Why are you crying?” (I didn’t realize I was.)
25 years later. A blink, it seems. I have TWO amazing sons – both of which fill me with joy and are truly making the world a better place by simply being here. My September, 2001 baby, though, is VERY much involved in politics, current affairs, and diplomatic relations, hoping someday to complete his career engaged in conflict resolutions. It’s no surprise to me that whatever I felt then also touched his soul in my womb, forming part of who he is and what he stands for. One ray of light rising from a very dark, tumultuous time.
