Retired Master Chief Musician Dave Miles: The Concert Band was in rehearsal working on a clarinet piece that did not use euphoniums, so I was working in the Concert Band office area. A lot of people were around the television in the old lounge, and I watched for a while. After the plane hit the second tower, I interrupted Lt. Kessler and told him we did not need to rehearse anymore and that he should come in and look at the TV. Miles was the Navy Band’s senior enlisted leader.
Chief Musician Laura Grantier: Sept. 11, 2001 was [my daughter] Jolie's first day of daycare [at Bolling Air Force Base]. She was six weeks old. It was my first day back from maternity leave. After the attacks, I was upset because we couldn't leave the Navy Yard. The phone lines were down and I couldn’t reach my daycare provider to see if Jolie was okay. I was terrified. When we were finally allowed to leave, it took me hours to drive over to Bolling to pick her up. The guards wouldn't let me drive on the base so I had to park my car and walk one mile with my stroller to the daycare center to retrieve her. I remember seeing black smoke rising up from the Pentagon and the [absence of] jet engine sounds from National Airport. It was a surreal and eerie feeling. I also remember the sky was so blue, not a cloud in the sky, just a brilliant fall morning.Grantier plays clarinet in the Concert Band.
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