1. Mike Doll's career summary is partly about 9/11 - see People Careers C-F page. 
2. Eric Taipale was in his New York apartment from where he could see the Twin Towers get hit.  His dad, Harvey Taipale was in DC, near the Pentagon when it was hit.  Since Harvey did not have a car, he found Joel Melohn who had a rental car.  They drove non-stop back to MN.  They saw a commotion in Pennsylvania near where the plane went down.  The only direct impact on Harvey and Joel, was that Joel got a ticket when coming through Wisconsin.
3.  Chuck Halls, got grounded in Pittsburgh, on the way home.  There were no hotels nor rental cars.  He took a taxi (about $200) to get to Indiana where he could get a hotel/car.
4. Paul Roselle - The following is what Les Bruchal and I experienced while traveling on September 11, 2001: 

     Les and I were traveling to visit a supplier in New York.  While enroute and nearing our destination during the morning of 9/11/01, our pilot came on the intercom system and announce that he had good news and bad news and which would we like to hear first.  The pilot announced that the entire eastern seaboard's airspace had been shut down and that we were going to be put into a holding pattern while trying to get authorization to return to another airport to land, but we weren't to worry because we had enough fuel to be in a holding pattern for quite a while.  We got to decide which was the good news and what was the bad news.  I commented to the person seated next to me that it was odd that the eastern seaboard's airspace was shut down because the weather was good and that we build a lot of the air traffic control equipment and the pilot's statement didn't make sense.
     Within a short period of time the pilot came back on the intercom to announce that we'd been denied access to return to Detroit (NWA'S closest hub).  Moments later the pilot announced that "we'd been ordered out of the sky" and we were attempting to land in Montreal.  At this time everyone was starting to shout out information on what was happening in the world outside the plane in which we were locked.  People were shouting out that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center - the Twin Towers.  About this time everyone on the plane was trying to use the credit card phones on the plane (remember when the phones were still on the planes?) to contact people on the ground to see what was going on and get more information. The pilot indicated that we'd been granted authorization to land in Montreal.  The only problem was that our original flight plan did not authorize us to leave US airspace and travel into Canadian airspace and it would take us quite a while to clear Security and get into Customs.
     We landed in Montreal but we couldn't pull up to a gate so we taxied near a gate and were allowed to crack the door to get some fresh air into the aircraft because we were going to be there for a long time.  We were sitting in First Class due to our frequent flyer status so we were talking to the stewardesses and then the pilot opened the cockpit door and turned on the on-board AM radio.  We listened in disbelief and lived what was going on in the nation that day.  People were trying the credit card phones trying to contact family and friend to let them know they were okay but the circuits were overloaded and many calls would not go through.  We listened in horror to the AM radio and people shouting out what information they were getting on their cellular phone (people who had them because they were not as popular then as they are now-a-days).
     Another plane hit the World Trade Center, another plane hit the Pentagon, speculation was running rampant on the a plane was on the way to the White House.  Little did we know what was about to transpire enroute to the plane in Pennsylvania. Eventually we were able to get through to work on the credit card telephone to let them know we were okay and could we get messages to our families that we were okay.  We spoke with Terry Houle and Rene Yates who indicated that we were the last two LMCO people they were trying to locate on that day.  I think both Les and I would really like to thank everyone again who was concerned about our safety and who were concerned about our families back home. I don't think either of us can say enough about the people in our groups who were concerned about us.
     Eventually after many hours on the ground in Montreal we allowed to approach the gate but had to wait for the authorities to "greet our plane and allow us to disembark".  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police greeted our plane in urban combat fatigues with full riot gear and weapons drawn.  Everyone had to exit the plane and hand their carry on luggage and brief cases to the Mounties who hand searched the contents and then we were all asked to step forward and we were physically searched.  When we were finished with the search we were handed our bags and allowed to proceed through Customs.  We first had to clear Canadian customs and then the US Customs.  Luckily, I had my Passport in my briefcase; for some reason I'd put it in there the day before the trip because I thought it would come in handy if I ever needed it. Little did I know how much time it would save me that day and give proof of my US Citizenship.
     Les and I cleared Customs, and the NWA agents at the gate where we'd arrived indicated they were not going to be giving vouchers for hotels (yet).  Being seasoned corporate travelers we headed to the NWA counter at the main terminal.  By the time we got into the main terminal the airlines were giving out vouchers and we had to get a ride to the hotel.  At this time we knew the FAA had shut down the entire airspace in the US and were not sure how long it was going to take to return to the states and whether or not we'd get to New York to the supplier we were suppose to visit.  The ride to the hotel was memorable: because of the vouchers we got from the airline the cabs outside were fighting over everyone's business.  The cab driver we got was arguing with the other drivers telling them they were stealing from him and taking money from his family.  Les and I were not sure what was going to transpire between the drivers.  Finally, our driver got us out of the Montreal Airport and began heading to the hotel.  The freeway were jammed up due to traffic and the cab driver was speeding along side the traffic on the shoulder of the roadway over the ribbed surfaces indicating your were going off of the freeway onto the median. Les and I thought the cab driver was preparing for the Montreal Grand Prix.  After a very interesting and hair raising experience with the cab ride we got to the hotel.
     Approximately eight hours from the start of the terrorist attacks, we were able to see the actual television coverage when we got to the hotel.  It was hard to comprehend what we were watching on television.  Les and I sat in disbelief at the footage being shown on the televisions.  We were sitting outside at the hotel near the airport in Montreal and it seemed really strange to not see any planes in the air or landing or taking off.  It was really strange and it didn't seem right what was going on with no planes being in the air or allowed to fly at all.  Les and I were speaking to other people who were stranded in Montreal like we were.  People were trying to get rentals and drive across the border to get back into the US. Everyone was wondering how we were going to get home.  We saw on the news that the lines trying to get across the border were miles long and we found out later that no one was getting across the border.  We sat it out in the hotel speaking to work and family while we waited out the outcome of how we were going to get back to the US.  We waited three days until the airspace was opened up in North America by the FAA.  We caught one of the first flights out of Montreal back into the US.  We had to get to the airport several hours in advance of the flight.  The airport official would not tell us what time the plane was going to take off and what we were going to have to go through to be allowed to leave Montreal.  Basically we had to go back through an extensive screening process.  Once through security check we were transferred to a large holding area in the airport and then escorted by security to the gate to board the plane to return to MSP.  We never got to New York to visit the supplier we were suppose to visit.
Several months later on another trip I landed in Newark at nighttime, and they had ground zero lit up with the two spot lights shining up into the sky which highlighting where the WTC Twin Towers had been.  Everyone was really quiet when we landed because we had a very good view along the river as we landed.  I've though about what transpired that day and what I'd seen out the window that evening.  I'll remember 9/11/01 for as long as I am alive.  I think there are many other people through out the world who think about what happened on this day as well.  I've also driven past the monument for the flight in Pennsylvania near one of our major subcontractor in Johnstown, PA as have other people in our work group.  We've all looked at the photo's people have brought back from the crash site and thought about what happened to the people on this flight.  I've read about the other accounts of what happened on this day while we were in the air enroute to New York to visit our supplier.  My perspective is different because while the events transpired we were seated in the plane and couldn't get off.

{Editor's Note: Norm Mineta was the Secretary of Transportation who gave the FAA order to bring all airliners down after the 9/11/01 attack on the US.  Some of us who've met him know two other things about Norm - 1) He was an LMCO employee before becoming Secretary of Transportation and 2) He was an innocent resident of an internment camp after the 12/7/41 attack on the US.  See Tom Brokow's "The Greatest Generation book." [lab]}