09/11/2026
Ed. Note: Details in this article were culled from the November 2001 QST
article, "9/11/01: `This is Not a Test' " by Rick Lindquist, N1RL, and Diane
Ortiz, K2DO. The original article is available here[1] (PDF).
Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, the United States came under
attack from al-Qaeda terrorists who hijacked passenger planes and flew them into
buildings in New York City and Washington, DC, as well as a field in western
Pennsylvania when passengers fought back. Communications infrastructure sagged
under the weight of destruction in some places and overwhelming usage in others.
Amateur radio operators answered the call, not only in New York and Washington,
but around the country, with ARES¿ (the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service¿)
and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) teams going on alert to
provide backup communications as needed.
In New York City, radio amateurs (also known as hams) took to the airwaves
within minutes of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and emergency nets were
active -- and busy -- for nearly two weeks afterward, with nearly 500 hams in
total responding to calls for volunteers. In the Washington, DC, area, more than
100 hams answered a call to support the Salvation Army's volunteer effort at the
Pentagon, which was active for a week after the attacks. Amateurs in western
Pennsylvania also supported the Salvation Army, providing three linked repeaters
for SATERN -- the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network -- to relay
messages between the plane crash site and the regional Salvation Army
headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Amateur radio received high praise from emergency response officials, including
Red Cross communications officer John MacInnes, who told then-ARRL President Jim
Haynie, W5JBP (SK), "We wouldn't be where we are today without the ham radio
operators." Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Gregory, N4NW, noted that
"amateur radio performed exactly as it was supposed to ... We responded to the
need to provide communications where none were available."
[1] https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/200120QST/QST20200120ARRL202021.pdf
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