Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

25 years after 9/11, Chicagoans reflect on how that day changed their lives

suntimes.com · 3dShare

Dion McGill had been in the Illinois Army National Guard for just 11 months when America was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. The morning after his 22nd birthday, McGill's sister alerted him to the news. McGill, who lives in Englewood and is now 41, had taken that day off. They turned on the TV and saw news broadcasts just before watching a second plane hit the World Trade Center towers in New York City. There were later reports that a third plane struck the Pentagon and another crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. “You could feel the seismic shift almost immediately,” he said. “Obviously, the world is different. You just don't know how different.” McGill had signed up for the Guard for tuition assistance after running out of money while a student at Western Illinois University before eventually dropping out. “I thought I would fill sandbags if there was flooding, maybe help a lady or two across the street,” he said. McGill completed basic training shortly before 9/11, but h

First report: Retired NYPD Officer Recalls 9/11: I Heard Someone Say, ‘It’s Coming Down. Run’ — newsbusters.org, 5d