Ilse Wagner, 82, on Tuesday afternoon sits in her living room with her Pekingese dog Liebling, which is German for "darling," and her book "Refugee: Memories Of War," which she wrote about fleeing with her sisters to western Germany as World War II was ending. Wagner was visiting Czechoslovakia on 9/11.
It was a moment frozen in time.
To previous generations, it was the moment they heard about Pearl Harbor being attacked or the second they learned that President John Kennedy had been assassinated.
But today's generations will never forget when they heard that New York City's Twin Towers had been attacked.
Work came to a halt. Schools were quiet. Traffic slowed.
The day will be marked with observances throughout the world on Sunday, 10 years to the day from when the tragedy occurred.
Several people responded to the Havre Daily News' request for recollections about that terrible morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
Havre resident Ilse Wagner was in a hotel room while visiting her native Czechoslovakia, on a tour with other World War II-era refugees.
She was surprised when she heard a fellow refugee on the tour pound on her hotel room door.
"Anschlag on America," he yelled. "Anschlag on America."
"Attack on America, attack on America."
"I turned on the German CNN Channel and watched horrified as the second plane flew into the tower," she recalls. "It made me sick to me stomach. It reminded me of the Second World War."
Later that day, she received a call from her son, Pete, who lives in Bozeman.
"Stay where you are, Mother," he advised. "You are safer there. Do you need any money?"
She had no choice but to take her son's advice. Planes in and out of the United States were halted. She couldn't return to the United States.
Six members of the tour offered to put Ilse up for the duration, realizing that she could not return to America.
"They were refugees from World War II as I was. I was not only homeless, but countryless.
"I was stranded," she said.
She was unable to return to Germany for a while, but eventually a seat was found on a plane to Mallorca, the Balearic Islands, a vacation spot between France and Algeria.
"From there, I was still unable to connect by plane to Dusseldorf Airport in Germany," she said, "I decided to fly there after eight days and found a seat on a plane to Canada.
"From there I took a bus to the U. S.A.
"Not my usual world vacation. It was great to be back in Havre, Montana, U.S. A," she said. "I felt like kissing the ground."
"I am happy to be able to see my children, grandchildren and the rest of my family and friends," she concluded.
For many people, Sept. 11, 2001, started out as a normal day. Not for Jackie Trotchie. She was in the hospital to have a lump removed from her breast.
"It was early morning, and I was in the prep room waiting for the surgeon to remove a lump in my breast," she said.
"The nurses were scurrying back and forth, in and out of my room saying 'be happy,' 'stay positive,' and then they would quickly shuffle out the door and down the hall, whispering as they left.
"After several minutes, I heard the man next to me telling his wife someone had just blown down the Twin Towers. Twin Towers?
"Next thing I know, I was done with the surgery and the lump was benign. Happy day for me," she said.
"I remember coming home September 11, 2001, at about 7:15 a. m. after working a night shift in the BNSF switching yard," recalled David Johnson.
"I was working a swing shift at the time so I had to double back for the afternoon shift at 3 p. m. I would usually turn the TV on just to unwind. That morning the first thing I saw being telecast was that one of the Twin Towers had been struck by a plane.
"The news people were trying to figure out how big or small the plane was that impacted the tower. After all, how could a large plane fly into the airspace of a large metropolitan city the size of New York? And on a clear day, mind you!
"By now, this has totally got my full attention as I was watching these events unfold. A black smoky plume was wafting out of the building as helicopters hovered around where the plane had impacted. Downtown Manhattan was now abuzz with curiosity.
"And then as I sat in my easy chair I witnessed the unthinkable: The other tower was hit by a large plane right before my eyes.
"I remember seeing it impact with a terrible force.
"I remember just sitting there in shock and coming to the realization that this was a planned attack," he said.
"I was thinking that the people on the top floors of those buildings were probably going to die mainly from smoke inhalation and fire and some were dead from the impact of the planes.
"And to actually witness people jumping to their deaths is something I'll never forget.
"By this time I believe it had been reported that the Pentagon had also been struck. I remember just sitting in my chair numb to what had happened, especially when the Twin Towers finally came down that Tuesday morning on September 11, 2001."
While most people will commemorate the decade anniversary on Sunday, Leeann Church will celebrate another anniversary. She and her husband have been married for 29 years.
"It was about a month before my wedding," recalled Lana Dramstad. "I was sleeping in a bit, being a little lazy about getting up and getting ready for work.
"My fiance came in and told me I had to get up and see what was on the TV.
"I remember not really comprehending... what I was seeing," she said.
"I remember being absolutely glued to the TV and being late for work," she said.
"And as I was driving to work I remember being struck by the contrast between what a beautiful fall day it was and the absolute ugliness of what was happening."
Melody Rose Bernard-Whitford clearly remembers the events of Sept. 11.
"I remember getting off the late shift and had just snuggled into bed when my husband came running into the bedroom yelling, 'Mel, they're bombing us.' I too was glued to the TV for the rest of the day, calling into work sick just so I could watch the news updates.
"Sad... sad day," she said.
My mom was on her way to work listening to the radio. When she heard the Breakfast Flakes, a radio show in Billings, talking about it. If you have ever listened to this show it is quite comical. Mark and Paul joke about everything. My mom thought they were joking, until someone else was talking about it too.