Actually I don’t believe Americans ever knew about all of the generosity that was given by the Newfoundlanders (and across Canada and Europe ) . When thanking the world, Canada was not mentioned by the US. I vividly remember that.
Thank you Canada for your service to the tragedy. This from an Ohioan.❤ Not all of us were ignorant to your contribution to your cousins to the south. Bless you.
@@catharinesnyder2504 so true. I don’t know how many here read a comment I left always back that in appreciation of the Canadians, the folks on one of the planes and others, joined in to present a scholarship for future grads in Canada. I only heard or rather read about it much after. We’re all of the human race, I just wish now and always we can still carry on as such.
As an American, the kindness of the people of Newfoundland, and Canada as a whole, on that fateful day always warms my heart. It shows me that maybe, just maybe, the world isn’t as bad as I think it is. That human kindness, and love, can truly prevail. If any Newfies or any other Canadian sees this: Thank you.
As a Canadian, we’re all on this North American chunk of rock together. It’s our duties and love for each other that makes us strong as a whole. I’m pretty sure you would do the same for us. Let’s hope we don’t have to witness such a tragedy again. 😊👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
I think you might not realize how much Canadians know about 9/11. We watched it live just like Americans. We were glued to our TVs and news shows for weeks and months afterwards, just like Americans. We knew people who were in the buildings or in New York on the day. It affected us as it affected people all across the US. We all remember where we were on that day. And flying and security changed just as much for us as it did for America after 9/11 because our countries are so interconnected. In general, Canadians are very in tune with the news out of the US even if Americans don't usually know what's happening in Canada.
YES! I actually left work when an attack was reported on the radio and came home to watch the news coverage on TV. I remember crying at the loss and the sheer magnitude of what had happened. Seeing the video is actually making me tear up right now.
I was in college at the time and my first class was late morning. So I woke up and was going to watch Maury, the news was on showing the towers after the first plane hit. And then I watched as the secons plane hit live on air.. Chills and everyone at school was talking about it.
My mother was supposed to get on a flight from Toronto to Montreal during that time, and my dad, who was her friend's friend, picked her up and drove her there since the planes were down. So I actually associate 9/11 with my parents getting together.
I like that CDN Prime Minister Mackenzie King and declaration of war on Japan after Pearl Harbour, before USA and then saying that it was OK as USA was having a busy day. Always wondered, what if USA had surrendered...
@@TL-kr6seCanada didn’t declare war on Japan because of Pearl Harbor though. Several hours earlier Hong Kong was attacked (edit: by air). There were nearly 2000 Canadian defenders there at the time, and the next morning the Japanese invaded.
Thank you thank you Tyler ❤ from Canada for acknowledging Canada and who we are. My husband was a long-haul trucker traveling Canada and the USA from NFL to Washington and Florida to Alaska. I sometimes rode with him and was amazed at weather maps on TV at US truck stops. Home in Manitoba our TV channels' weather maps crossed the border into Minnesota and North Dakota or more and we were told we might be affected by a 'Colorado Low'. In the US nothing existed north of the 49th parallel. I cried watching this video. You are a rare and precious American. A neighbor to be treasured. May God protect your country in the up coming election. 🙏
I remember watching a US American weather person saying that an east coast hurricane would make landfall over the border into Canada, so it wouldn’t affect anyone. Hello! There are people here!
As a Canadian, this is my biggest frustration with most Americans. They have no clue what happens outside their own country. When this happened I and I’m sure every other Canadian was so damned proud that day that we could help our neighbours this way. And from the US? Crickets. You are right. This was barely acknowledged apart from those directly affected. I know the US was understandably focused on New York. But after the fact, it would have been nice that Canada stepped up and help our friends. And that Gander in particular deserves praise.
On the flipside, Boston helped out Halifax in 1917 after the Halifax Explosion and Nova Scotia has sent a huge Christmas tree every year since as a thank you and to honor the bond between the two cities. The tree leaving on a truck is a very celebrated and televised event to this day.
@@m1sterpunch as much as the OP wants to pat themselves on the back for things they never did your point is valid. But I think it also has to do with the times. People and or countries in the 19th century had much more respect for diplomacy then happens today.
It both saddens and angers me that the majority of American are not aware of how often we have their backs. I wish they were more like you Tyler, willing to learn about what makes our countries relationship so special.😊
Theres so many things Canada has done for the US and never get recognised. Im so mad that a lot of people from our southern neighbors know nothing about we have done
@@vickyjohnson1121 It goes both ways. The only reason Canada is able to afford our mediocre but expensive universal healthcare system, along with all of our other massive redistribution programs is because we don't have to spend any significant amount of taxpayer money on our defence. We are under the American umbrella for that.. courtesy the American taxpayer. And instead of showing appreciation for it, many canadians, mostly on the left, look down on our southern neighbours for not being as "caring" towards their fellow citizens. This hypocrisy is rarely called out.. mostly because Americans barely notice us up here since we are relatively so much smaller in population.
As a Canadian who has traveled across Canada, there was never a question that the people in Gander would be standing there with open arms to help. That's who Canadians are and we are proud to be Canadians.
that’s who newfoundlanders are* no offence, the rest of canada can’t even compare to NL and how we treat EVERYONE like family. saying “that’s who canadians are” is just a slap in the face to NL for that day.
As an Albertan, I had the honour of going to the Gander Airport last year. A place that speaks so much......gave me goosebumps when I read: On the first day, we had 7,000 strangers. On the Third day we had 7,000 friends. On the fifth day, we had 7,000 family members. This is the epitome of being Canadian.
I lived in Gander at the time. We were as shocked and horrified as everyone else watching the news that morning, but as soon as word spread that thousands of people were going to be coming into our town in need of food, shelter, and comfort basically everyone just rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Company's here unannounced and you didn't plan for it, but they're distraught and in need, so we just do what we do. Find them beds, cook them food, and try to make this tough time as comfortable as possible. This is what we do for our own people when tragedy strikes, so it was just a matter of scale. I don't mean to lionize my own people, but this is one thing that Newfoundlanders do right: when someone's in trouble, you rally around and help, no questions asked. There'll be time for talking about how and why when you've got a warm bed and a hot meal.
Thanks for talking about that day. My heart stopped for a moment when I heard the news of 9-11. I felt so much for my American brothers and sisters South of the border. I can't even describe it to this day. I was so proud of my countrymen in Gander when watching the news that evening. I was so annoyed when Bush came on the news and thanked America's Best Friend and Allie Mexico. He still has not apologized. Anyway, there is a play called "Come From Away". That's how Newfoundlanders describe outside visitors. It tells the story of how the folks of our newest Provence welcomed a whole new bunch of friends and adopted family for an unexpected, but welcome visit. This is the essence of being Canadian. Keep a stuff your lip and just deal with what's in front of you. Take what you have and make it work. Also, your friends are your friends, and that requires your best effort.
I'm Canadian, from the Atlantic provinces. The people of Gander & the neighboring communities are Angels. What they did for the stranded passengers went above & beyond just the bare necessities. It's a shame more people don't know about what they did. Thankfully, the Hit Broadway show 'Come From Away' help spread this remarkable story. There's a documentary about it, "You Are Here: A Come from Away Story" 2018, focusing on the events of 9/11, the Newfoundlanders, some of the passengers & the week they spent there. Irene Sankoff & David Hein writing the musical & finishing in New York on Broadway.
I was going to mentioned Come From Away as its such a remarkable musical about this situation and yet even it hasn't gotten to most Americans that its based on true events and people. Thank you for bringing it up!
Thank you for your comment. While the story told here by Tom Brokaw was good and introduced people to the topic with sensitivity, it didn't go nearly far enough. The documentary "You Are Here: A Come From Away Story", produced in 2018, was brilliantly done! I can't recommend it enough! (Edited to correct a typo in the spelling of Tom Brokaw's name.)
My blood still boils when I think of Bush's speech. He thanked everyone and their dogs but not the country that helped the US the most. If that's not taking Canada for granted, I don't know what is!
You have every right to be upset by that. As an American, I did know about Gander as I had read a book about it, but most Americans have no idea. We owe Canada our undying gratitude and I certainly feel that for Canada. We should build a monument to Canada, and to Gander specifically, in NYC and DC! American presidents frequently count the UK and France as our closest allies and that always pisses me off! The truth is that Canada and Mexico are our closest allies (figuratively and literally), in fact Canada and Mexico are our siblings, that's how close and dependent we are to each other. Sure, there are differences and fights sometimes, but we are each other's closest most steadfast allies. We (Americans) should not ever forget that.
Our Canadian brothers had our backs on 9/11 and Americans who know about their generousity will never forget it. We ♥️ our Northern neighbors normally, but in our greatest hour of need they really stepped up to help out above & beyond.
That's what a lot of people don't know- pretty much all air traffic heading back and forth from England and other places during WW2, probably took off from Gander heading east, or landed there for fuel, going Westbound.
Canada has done much over the years to help and never said much but generously and bravely helped. Very little recognition ever given, but, we know and that's what we do. That's Canada.
A lot of the people who DID land in Gander do know how important it was and remember it. A lot of them still make trips to Newfoundland to today to thank people there.
Thank you! I used to work up in big oil, in northern Alberta, and we got a bunch of Americans to come up to work cuz we were short of workers. Some of the nicest workers ever! They did VERY KIND acts towards us as well. Thank you!!
You'll not be disappointed by the rest of this doc. 150+ planes landed under Gander ATC control. Not all landed at Gander itself. Btw, Gander was an alternative landing strip for the space shuttle. WW2 Allied aircraft departed Gander for Europe after topping up.
We wondered how long it would take to cover this amazing story, and its message of what good neighbourliness really means. As I was flying from Canada to the UK as the terrorist attack took place, my aeroplane was diverted to Hamburg as UK airspace was also closed. We knew nothing until the flight landed, having assumed there was some huge issue with the weather. Hamburg's authorities also welcomed us and treated us well for three days. The world appeared to forget their differences during the 9/11 crisis. A great message for Christmastide.
@@BarkerVancity I wasn't there, but have EU and UK friends and family. I was told that all travel systems were backed up for days with ppl trying to reach their destinations.
@@BarkerVancity I don’t believe you’re quite grasping what it meant for so many planes to be rerouted and grounded. How many displaced people would be attempting that same thing… Also, the government reactions globally, but especially of western countries thinking they may be next, and the immediate increase in security protocols worldwide-closed borders, halts to other transportation: busses, trains, etc. Plus, the kind of backlog and traffic jams that all creates. Also,, technology was very different in 2001. Booking tickets required an in-person presence or a phone call. Phone lines were also being jammed suddenly.
You have every right to be upset by that. As an American, I did know about Gander as I had read a book about it, but most Americans have no idea. We owe Canada our undying gratitude and I certainly feel that for Canada. We should build a monument to Canada, and to Gander specifically, in NYC and DC! American presidents frequently count the UK and France as our closest allies and that always pisses me off! The truth is that Canada and Mexico are our closest allies (figuratively and literally), in fact Canada and Mexico are our siblings, that's how close and dependent we are to each other. Sure, there are differences and fights sometimes, but we are each other's closest most steadfast allies. We (Americans) should not ever forget that.
@@BarkerVancity no one knew the situation would there be more attacks, where, who was responsible, was this the beginning of WW3, everyone stayed where they were and waited.
My dad, a police officer in Canada was golfing with his officers on 9/11. He remembers going to the clubhouse after 9 holes and seeing the first tower getting hit. After hole 12 they were all called in to head to the airport. Every plane in Ontario and Northern USA came to land in our city and my dad and the other officers had to search them for bombs and weapons. He told me the scariest part was going into the planes not knowing who or what was on board the plane.
I hate to bring this up but I believe the only way your dad, or anyone else, would have been able to see the first plane hit was to have been in that area of New York City. There were no cameras aimed at the Tower. The breaking news began after the plane had hit. There were two French brothers making a documentary about NY firefighters and one brother followed the firefighters to a call about a gas leak. They were filming when a low flying plane went over their heads and the guy followed the plane with his camera. That is the image we were to see many times afterwards, although I could not tell you just when we first saw that image on TV.
My dad was rcmp in a border city and spent the next 2 days figuring out what they were going to do for border crossing security to avoid any potential incidents on the bridge. It effected so much here
My grandmother took an American family in for the week! Obviously bad circumstances that got them there, but she was still glad to have company for a cup of tea and blueberry grunt.
Even as a Canadian, I knew none of this until the live musical "COME FROM AWAY" took Canada by storm like 10 years ago. It was the first ever live theater production I ever saw. I was so moved by the story and music that I immediately purchased the "Come From Away" album on iTunes WHILE I was still in the theater (after the show finished). Heart-wrenching, but it gives detailed experiences of actual passengers and Gander citizens who were involved. I had no idea about Gander's role after 9/11 until that musical.
Same here. And omg there are so many songs and parts of that show I will rewatch over and over . The pray and the somewhere in the middle of nowhere such special songs ..
@@violetwolf2001 I was 10 years old when 9/11 happened, glued to the news, morning and afterschool, for weeks. That is when my obsession with geopolitics and statecraft began. I did not hear a lick of Newfoundland in the Toronto news. Perhaps there were daytime new stories about it when I was at school but I didn't see anything in the early mornings or during the evenings on CBC, CTV, nor US news (CNN). I'm in Toronto, maybe the local news presents differently in different regions of Canada. I'm super glad I know about it now. Makes me so proud of my country and my fellow Canadians.
You need to go see the play “Come From Away” which is all about this event in Gander, to fully appreciate what the people of Gander did for strangers. They are the best of Canada in every way. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are the friendliest of us for sure. I’m so proud to be Canadian.
As a Canadian on the east coast, not Newfoundland, it is gratifying to watch as you learn about what happened outside your country,on that beautiful September morning. In our province we too opened up our schools and community centres and used school buses to transport travellers around to other communities in order to house these displaced people till the skies reopened and they could return to their homes. I live near a military training base and barracks were emptied and military buses deployed to carry disoriented travellers to places where they could be housed . As east coast people, we do whatever it takes to help people in difficulty. We are all neighbours. Just the way it is.
God bless and love from Newfoundland. ❤ we will always have your back if you need us. We know America will be there for us. It is as natural as the air we breathe.
My Uncle was an air traffic controller in Calgary during this. One of there plains that was heading for new york at the time had input the wrong callsign. They wern't answering the radio. Two F-16s pulled up beside them before my uncle called the US department of defense and explaned the situation. He saved 400 people and none of them even knew.
And it wasn’t just Gander. Planes landed all across Canada. The planes on the west coast landed here in Vancouver. And we had no idea if the planes landing has terrorists.
I was home that day in Vancouver and watched it live as it happened. As soon as airports opened, I flew to Halifax for a conference. It was a surreal time.
I think Gander is used as the example because of how small the town was. Their population doubled in one day! I remember the planes landing in Vancouver and the people just went to hotels because we had them to spare. Gander didn’t have that option and residents had to open their homes.
I believe the 167 planes referred to were the ones over the Atlantic that mostly because of insufficient fuel, couldn’t turn back to Europe. The way I understand it, Gander air traffic control oversees traffic as it approaches North America. The air traffic control in larger city airports looks after traffic in their local areas. While Gander is a small town of 10,000 people, it does have a disproportionately large airport. It is a result of use as a refuelling and staging point for Transatlantic flights in WW2 and later when aircraft didn’t yet have the flying range to do a nonstop flight from major European to North American cities. There were flights in the air all over Canada and approaching all the coasts that were heading to US destinations. They were diverted to airports across Canada. Of the 167 coming across the Atlantic, 38 were diverted to Gander airport. The remaining 119 of them went to other Newfoundland and Maritime airports. These other airports would have been in areas of urban development better able to handle accommodating the stranded passengers. Gander on the other had received planes that almost doubled the local population. That is one reason why their response is notable above the praiseworthy response all across Canada.
The biggest difference is that Greater Vancouver is FAR more equipped to take in that number of stranded passengers for a few days. In Gander, there were almost as many stranded passengers as there were locals to look after them.
As an American who found out about this story in 2009(8 years old), I want to extend my gratitude to our Canadian brethren, thank you for what you did for us that fateful day, at for all you’ve done for us, I know a lot of us are ignorant to what you’ve done, but, just know that this American, mainly a Maryland citizen, very much appreciates you guys! 🇺🇸❤️🇨🇦
Our only neighbour lost 3000 citizens, there's hundreds of planes full of people that need somewhere to go. Our marintine provinces where miracle workers on September 11th.
Well, this is one American who knows what Gander (and Newfoundland and Canada) did for the US that time. And I appreciate it and thank you. The people of Gander are amazing.
I'm a Newfoundlander and remember this day very well. I was 21 and living in St. John's, the capitol city. When the plane people came to Gander, many landed in St. John's as well. We donated blankets, clothes and toiletries to the local schools and hotels where the plane people were staying. I worked at McDonald's then and remember making many meals for us to bring to the school across the street to help feed them a meal. We were glued to our TVs too. The musical, "Come From Away," is all about this story and highlights many of the amazing people who you meet in the documentary. :)
I was sitting in the McDonald’s drive thru on Torbay Rd watching the planes come in one after the other. I had just flown in from NYC the night before. I too was 21 that day:)
I live in Gander!! Let's go, been asking you to react to this for a while now, it's such a beautiful story in so many ways. My grandfather was working for like 24/7 delivering fuel to the planes as he drive an oil and gas hauler.
Thank you both! I was an adult on 9/11, and sadly this is the first I've ever even heard of Gander and what all of you did for the people of the world at that time. There aren't enough words to thank all of you!
There were versions of this that happened all across Canada that day. Also MANY (thousands) of our firefighters, paramedics etc from all over the country DROVE all the way to help with search and recovery!! We also lost citizens that day 😢
As a Canadian with young men. I actually had to get my 12 year old, counseling. I was watching when he got up for school and came to my room. We both watched the second plane hit. Trust me, it changed our Canadian lives. 😢
We sent search and rescue personal. We sent fire fighters. We sent aid money and more. We hosted Americans who could not get home because of the closed borders. We did a lot that Americans don't seem to know. Sadly, even today, a lot of Americans don't know what all we did because the president at the time to chose to lump us in with the 'rest of the world' instead of thanking us individually.
Let me tell you a story about a time when America had our back. Have you heard of the 1998 ice storm in Québec? Millions without power in the middle of january. I live close to the border and I have seen the hundreds if not thousands of American crews in their trucks coming over to help us restore our grid. They sent the cavalry and they sent it fast. Don't think less of our brothers down south because they seem to not care. They do. Honestly, I firmly believe that if some unguided soul attacked Canada with force of arms, the entire world would have our backs.
@@rundownaxe A well written defense. I should be clearer. There are many great Americans. Sadly, at times, we get lumped in with the rest of the world.
This is an incredible story. So incredible that a musical was written about it. This makes my heart swell , send shivers through me and tears to shed with such pride. Shows what being a Canadian means!
The musical is called 'Come From Away' -- a touching and lively reflection on the generosity and openness of Newfoundlanders. I've seen it three times now and it never fails to make me proud of my fellow Canadians!
I was a 30 year old American on 9/11. So a full ass adult able to understand things. I was also a mom, busy trying to comfort young kids, and lived on the other side of the country. So when I learned about this about a month ago, I thought it was just me that missed this story I’m so sorry it has taken us so long to hear about this.
As a Canadian, the Gander story is well known. Newfoundlanders - actually all East coasters have a reputation for incredible hospitality and being helpful to each other. I knew a friend who told me that a long time ago when he was a broke student (pre computers!), took a summer job selling encyclopaedias door to door In Newfoundland. As you can imagine he didn't make a lot of money, and often had to sleep in his car, BUT he never went hungry. If he timed a visit anywhere around lunch or dinner, he was often invited in to eat! He said they were some of the most generous people he ever met. I have also heard that many of the people who were stranded there, have since come back to visit Gander and the people that became close friends during that scary time. ** This documentary also brought my attention the INCREDIBLE job those air traffic controllers did to get all those planes landed down AND parked safely in a very short period of time. I hope they were somehow recognized for their amazing skill. Also the comments reminded me that LOTS of other Canadian airports were taking on planes from everywhere something Canadians don't talk about much. Of course Gander sticks out because the residents were pretty much outnumbered by the stranded passengers and they somehow did an outstanding job of hosting everyone at a moment's notice. It's a great story and I can't wait for Part 2.
Newfoundland was a special case. In the rest of the country, when planes were diverted there, the American passsengers could get on busses and trains and travel home. But since Nfld. is an island, there was no place for the people to go. They had to shelter in place there. And the people of Gander, may God bless them forever, rose to the occasion in a rare show of compassion. There are two more stories that should be told. The first is that not all people stayed in shelters in schools and churches, because so many families simply showed up at the shelters and said they had beds in their home for x number of people and they simply took whole families home with them. And the story that moves me even more is that children went through their own toys and chose special things to give to the children who had landed so they would have something to play with and call their own while their world disintegrated around them.
I remember reading a story, when it was time for the passengers to leave Gander, there was a gentleman from Kenya, they couldn’t locate him, turns out he was taken hunting by some gracious Newfoundlanders, no doubt an experience he will never forget.
We emigrated from the UK when I was a kid, and the first place we lived in Canada was Port-Au-Basques. My Mum had some serious culture shock, because she had come from post-war Salford (a very modest income area of Manchester), where people were polite and friendly, but generally kept to themselves. The day we moved into our little house, a lady came to the door with fresh cinnamon rolls, and Mum thought she was a door-to-door sales person, so she opened the door and said "No thank you, I haven't got any money." and shut it again. 😂 That same week, Mum went to the butchers and asked for a joint. The man handed her a slip of paper with a phone number on it, much to her surprise. She asked him "Don't you have any here? I thought this was the best place to get a nice joint of beef!" He blushed and asked for the paper back. The other customers were all chuckling at them. To be fair, she was only 24 at the time. These are her favourite memories of NFLD.😊
Not only did Gander help out but hospitals in along the border of Canada helped out with the burn victims b/c the hospitals in NY were overwhelmed. I live in Toronto near a hospital and for days + days we heard helicopters coming in with burn victims, landing on the roofs of the hospitals. For a number of months Canadians could not get a hospital room when needed, we were put in beds in the halls of the hospitals but no on complained as they knew so many needed extensive help. Hospital staff work around the clock, got worn out, haven't heard any one mention that. When our prime minister at the time said no to sending our military into Iraq as there wasn't enough evidence that the attack came from there US companies punished us. Many companies ramped down + closed departments that were in Canada + many jobs were lost. I know this as I worked for an American company at the time and our department, that had the best figures of all similar departments through out the world, was closed within 3 months. That was our thanks
Yes I remember that&guess what WE were correct There were no weapons of mass destruction there Yet we endured the relentless verbal attacks on us As well as France,the US wanted to start calling French fries Freedom fries
The reason Gander (rightly) gets so much attention is because of the number of people they took in relative to their population, and the amazing effort made by residents of the town and region to provide for so many. Contrast it with, for example, Toronto - where despite threats from the government, there was gouging on hotel rooms, cabs, etc and many were left stranded at the airport for days.
@@keithosmond5730 I remember. I lived in St John's and went to Gander for a while. What was done and the degree at which residents welcomed the passengers is incredible. My comment was made to inform the typical americam about the level at which canada helped on that day. It is saddening to see USA forget so quickly.
@@attiliobarcados8178 I grew up in Gander; knew many of the people portrayed in Come From Away. I am very proud of my home town. At the time, I lived in the GTA. Domestic flights were also all grounded, and stranded Canadians in Toronto were not well looked after at all. The second day, my then wife got a call from her mother; a cousin my wife had never met was stranded at the airport; could we put him up? We went to the airport; it was packed with people who had nowhere to go; no one was looking after them. We figured we'd never find him, but as we walked in through the door, a guy walked past who looked just like some of my wife's other cousins, so we called out his name - and sure enough, it was him! We took him back to our place to eat, shower and sleep - but the next day he insisted on going back because he had bonded with the others from his flight and felt guilty for having "abandoned" them.
@@janharvey2210you’re right I worked at Pearson at the time. That morning I just got off of my night shift for Canada 3000. I returned to work to help. The streets were so quiet. Seeing people in their cars with a stunned look on their faces. It was so un surreal like I was in a twilight zone. There were boxes and boxes of pizza delivered but the airport wouldn’t let them in the building. Sighting terrorism.
There were numerous places in Canada that these planes were directed to land. One place was a small northern Ontario town call North Bay, population at the time was about 3500. Because of the air force base there, the runway was large enough to land these big planes. I'm glad that Gander was recognized for their amazing actions in an incredibly unprecedented tragedy and threat.
it's not just the air force base: west of North Bay, the Transcanada runs extremely straight and is unusually wide for north-country highway. that's because it can be used as an emergency runway.
Tyler, several Canadians died in the attack on 9-11. Many more of us (Fire Fighters, Police, Paramedics, Steel Workers & even with our search & recovery dogs) went down to New York to assist in the search & recovery efforts. To many Canadians it was a call to arms to help our American neighbors and we didn't question it. Ottawa, Canada's Capital, has a monument to the many Canadians who were lost on that terrible day.
I have been a subscriber of yours for a while now . As a Canadian I thoroughly enjoy your videos but I gotta tell you . I have waited for you to react to this exact documentary for a long time . This is probably one of the most amazing examples of the Canadian/American relationship. Yes there were many other Nationalities involved in Gander but most endearing and lasting moments were bonded between Canadians and Americans. What Gander achieved during the 5 or 6 days the sky's were closed over North America I'm not going to spoil it for but you have barely touched the tip of the iceberg on the humanity and truly 1 of a kind historical moments for Canada . Really looking forward to reacting to the rest of this story . Have a great day my brother to the South .
We all should remember that there were 17 Canadian airports in total that became safe havens on September 11. Aside from Gander, 4 other locations answered the call in Newfoundland and Labrador. From tiny Deer Lake who took in 1 air craft, Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay who took in 7 to St John's who took in 21. Halifax welcomed 7,300 people off 47 airplanes. Moncton also became a safe place. It would be expected that Quebec and Ontario did their share. Other cities did their share including Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. Flights coming across the Pacific Landed at Vancouver: 34 airplanes carrying 8500 people found refuge. Whitehorse welcomed 2 and even Yellowknife had one plane land there. In total 238 planes were diverted from US air space. What I find somewhat sad (and a little insulting) a few days after the attack, George Bush is on national TV, thanking the world for their help to his country. Canada who did the most was not even mentioned.
Gander is a little town, but it has a large airport because in the bad old days, transatlantic flights would land there to refuel. It's also a CFB. It was also a major military Air base Most of the flights coming over to the US from Europe would have been landed in Gander because of that (and also because no one wanted strange planes flying too deep into the country for fear they would be hijacked and crashed into one of our cities). That said, many flights from Asia landed in Vancouver, and a few that were heading over the poles were landed in Yellowknife and Edmonton. All these other places are fairly large cities with hotels that were used to put the people on the flights up in. The Gander landings were special because they're such a small town, and they don't have hotel space or excess food/lots of restaurants/medical services for people. Thankfully, there's no better, kinder people in Canada than Newfies - if I was in a situation where I needed help, I'd know it would be OK if there were Newfies nearby.
Also Winnipeg took in planes....we ran out of hotel rooms & accommodations. They bused passengers to Gimli & Brandon. Many planes landed one after another.
Please don’t take this the wrong way Tyler. But of the dozens of Americans I’ve met in my 55 years. The vast majority of them are arrogant towards Canada 🇨🇦
Was not at all surprised to learn of Newfoundland and Labradors helping hands on 9/11. To our American brothers and sisters in their time of great need and uncertainty we were there in every little way we could b. It was a humanitarian need that had to b fulfilled and we were happy to b able to participate. That is how Canadians and particularly Newfoundland and labradorians have survived for hundreds of years by neighbors helping neighbors weather across the fence neighbors or across the ocean neighbors that is the people we are and are proud to be this kind of people. So glad we could do what we could, there was little time to do lots. Lot to see the remainder of this documentary probably saw it all at some point but not for a long time.
@@oscarcollett8645.... Many of us know, and have been proclaiming our gratitude since that morning. I myself, have never received a condolence from anyone ....and never expected one. I wrote a letter of gratitude, which I'm sure was not read by anyone here. And this breaks my heart, as I never heard such animosity for all of us. I'm sorry to hear that we are so poorly thought of.
I work and live in a tourist town in Canada. (150 year-round residents, many 100s of tourists in-season) We host many American fishers, campers, and holiday makers. I have yet to meet a bad American tourist, and in fact, I now have a bestie who visits from Seattle each year. They are kind, funny, generous folk, for the most part, even the Trump voters. 😂😂😂
I'm from Newfoundland. We gave food, shelter, clothes, and shared our culture and music with these poor passengers. This is typical for Canadians in any crisis.
I think this is one of your best videos ever. The air traffic controllers must have almost been having strokes. That is crazy. The fact that they could land them all and find room, is incredible.
It was the last day of work for me before my wedding, which was on Sat, Sept 15, 2001. It hit us Canadians hard as well. The US and Canada are just so intertwined. Because the flights were grounded in North America, I had a bridesmaid who could not get to my wedding, and a groomsman who managed to get one of the first flights back up and arrived within minutes of the wedding. We flew out to our honeymoon a few days later, and as we were leaving Toronto, the Air Canada pilot came on the intercom and thanked us passengers for “having the courage to step on a plane today”. Have to admit that many Canadians were a bit offended when a few days after 9/11, Bush got on TV and thanked “our closest friends, the UK”, and never said a word about your neighbours to the north and what they had done in Gander earlier that week😔 Made me so angry to see young Americans (part of the pro-Palestine protest movement), posting tik tok videos a couple of weeks ago praising Bin Laden. They have no clue just how terrifying that day was.
My wedding was Sept 16th, I feel you. My aunt and uncle managed to get a flight but I had several people who couldn't make it, include a close friend trying to return from Sweden. I remember sitting watching with my husband as it unfolded. There were clips I saw that day in real time that I've never seen shown again, they're still burned in my mind. I know Americans feel that attack from a patriotic perspective, but they really underestimate how 9/11 impacted Canadians too - it offended our humanity, it happened to all of us.
I loved this show. I am a Canadian and could tell you the exact second the planes hit the towers. All telecommunications were taken off the air except the news from New York. Most Canadians were concerned about what was happening to our neighbours. It still makes me mad to this day that Bush ignored the help that the Canadians did for the Americans. Where did he think all these planes in the air were going to go. Yes I too will remember all these stories as I worked for National Defence at the time and we all of a sudden had thousands of extra people to take care of. This is just what Canadians do best is step up to the situation Thank you again for this show.
most people don't realize how many aircraft are in the sky at any given point, and when the American skies were a No-Go zone, they had to land somewhere... and for those coming from various countries, their fuel was low, they had no ability to double back, and few airports that could handle the massive aircraft that frequently handle those flights... Gander stepped up, and that tiny little place became EVERYTHING to those people, and for days later, they fed, housed and cared for THOUSANDS of people who had nothing and no one else. Bless them.
In addition to all the wonderful comments and references to Come From Away, I am just going to copy and paste the following you may not know, too: "9 Wing is located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gander and is under the operational command of 1 Canadian Air Division. Among its many roles, 9 Wing Gander is responsible for providing search and rescue services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador as well as north-eastern Quebec." Our Air Force has had a strong military presence in Gander so that would have been a big help, as well. So grateful you are publishing this video. I will watch part 2 now. Thank you, Tyler!
I am norwegian and I did know about Gander. In the time of need prople can be amazing. Everyone in Gander stepped up to the task. Helping unknown people, letting them into they're home, giving them cloth, food, comfort, someone to talk to. That little Town, so so many people. Humanity can be imensely beautiful.
thrre were multiple airports in Canada that took aircraft. Hamilton airport in ontario completely ran out of ramp space due to diversions. I came in on a day off to help handle the arrivals...this is a day I will never forget.
I'm Canadian. I still remember that date. Our RCAF F-18 authorized for supersonic and flying over my school on my way to school. We spent the entire morning watching the news at school and were then sent home. My dad was an airline pilot and he was scheduled to work that morning. He was grounded along with many flight crews. We opened our doors to stranded flight crews and passengers for a shower and a mattress. I remember going to the airport and see all the aircraft stagnant on the field.
Thank you my brother, 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Of course you had to pre-watch it to even know to make a video about it, but I could tell you were genuinely getting emotional about Gander, and that's pretty telling for having watched this at least once, probably several times already. I do remember watching documentaries about Gander 20 years ago, they also cover most of the traffic come from Europe to the East Coast in the north. Thank you my brother, the US has always been there for us Canadians, we will always be there for you too.. ❤️🇺🇸🇨🇦
As a Canadian who was a flight attendant prior to 9/11. We used to fly into Gander, and each time, they were the most friendly I've ever met, they would give us ice cream each time. So I'm not remotely surprised about how awesome they were. East Coasters are like that... in 1998 Nova Scotia supported victims and families of Swissair flight that crashed. They all have a small town mentality of help your neighbour.
Firstly Tyler thank you for your wonderful, informative channel on my country. Being a native Newfoundlander, the generosity of it's people during this dark time in history did not surprise me. To me, Canada's response, especially Newfoundland, is one of my proudest moments as a Canadian. To me, this diversion of air traffic & how it was handled, proves good will prevail over evil & we should never lose hope. The musical, Come From Away, that opened on Broadway March 2017 was written based on Gander during 911 & it's main characters are in this documentary. It still runs to this day throughout the world. You should also check out the made for TV movie, Diverted, based on Gander during 911. Over the last few years, there have been some tense political moments between our countries. We need people like you to remind us, on both sides of the border, first & foremost we ARE allies. We have the longest, most peaceful border in the world and I for one want this to remain. Again, thank you and keep up the good work.
Gander was far from the only place in Canada that took in flights bound for the US that day…it was certainly a special story, no doubt there! but, for instance, my hometown of Moncton also took in over 2000 passengers and flight crew….
Exactly, here in Halifax we actually took the most planes of any Canadian airport, 40 planes, 8000 people but unlike Gander which is an amazing story here in Halifax our infrastructure was more equipped to handle it, it's just amazing what Gander pulled off and it's just such a heartwarming story during such a tragic time.
I would say 99.99% of people in the U.S. speak very well of Canadians. We know how much nicer y'all are than most of us. The ones of us that were adults know every ally was there for us. We don't know everything that every country did. I imagine the terrible President we had didn't even know. I am so sorry President Bush didn't specifically thank Canada. I would be very angry also, especially a very small town like Gander. We are very thankful for all of the help and kindness. 🇺🇲❤️🇨🇦
Canadian here. I have a cousin that worked in the second tower. She went on holidays September 10th. My dad's, mom was American. I was even blessed enough to have driven between the Twin Towers. 911 shook me to the core. I remember groups of us gathering together, just to pray for our American brothers and sisters. We joined together too. This brings up sooooo much emotions.
The Gander Airport at one time, was the biggest airport in the world! On September 19th 2001, my parents went to Newfie for a vacation. It was my Mother's first time EVER on a plane and she refused to change her plans.
And I also made that decision, flying LA to Lima, Peru within a week of 9/11. One fascinating note, a local Peruvian newspaper dated before 9/11 had a story describing Middle Eastern terrorists as the worst people in the world.
As a Canadian, i think, as others have noted, many Americans don't actually know how Canadians are always ready to help our American neighbors when there is an emergency. we are effected as much as any other person, and we also know exactly where we were and what we were doing on that day. Personally I am proud that we as a country are always willing to help when it is needed and I love how Canadians step up and how ready they are to do it. Thank you Tyler for taking the time to learn all you can about Canada. I wish more of you would take the time to do it. Keep up the good work
I never realized how much coordination and emergency management had to be handled in the air during that tragic day, in NY! Very impressive! I can't wait to see the continuation of that documentary with you commenting it, Tyler! Even though I am a Canadian, you help me discover amazing things about my country! And I thank you for that!☺
I was on the other coast, in Vancouver, when this happened. The metal shop my partner and I owned was under the approach path of the Vancouver airport. We watched jet after jet, some escorted by fighters, coming in to land. We soon gave up trying to work, and drove out to a road next to the airport to see all the aircraft lined up on the ground. A cop eventually came and told us to go away.
I’m on the island, and was in Nanaimo under the flight path for YVR, there were a number of military jets cruising up and down along the island, acting like a screen before airliners were allowed to do the final approach - you can’t see markings when they are very far away, but I imagine there were some US fighters from Seattle bases along with Canadians from CFB Comox? They are always around, but normally fly further off the coast as part of NORAD.
Canada rocks! The fear of the unknown didn’t prevent them from helping the innocent. Just went to the play ‘Come from away’ and what Gander folks did for the folks on these planes was absolutely amazing. I am so Proud to be a Canadian 🇨🇦
As a Canadian I’ll never forget that day. I was at work in my dump truck in Ottawa Canada listening to the all news talk radio station when the planes struck the towers and later visited our US Embassy to place flowers from my family on the fence that surrounded it. As it turned out I even met my Uncle and his wife at the time doing the same thing because he actually lived in Ottawa while I live in a small town about 30 minutes away. It was a very emotional time for many Canadians because of our close relationship with our American neighbours. So many of us felt so helpless for them. It’s times like these that remind us all of just how close and interconnected we truly are with the United States. Lest we forget 😢 🇨🇦❤ 🇺🇸
Thanks man for learning about this.... I remember vividly the day this happened, and I remember the response Canada had. I was just seven years old, and was eating breakfast on my third day of Second grade, when my Mom screamed at my Dad from the upper floor of our house to turn the TV on to the news RIGHT NOW. as soon as my Dad did so, I saw the second plane strike the WTC... That is a sight I will NEVER forget. Then, I hear that operation Yellow Ribbon was in full effect, and my Dad was happy to hear that we were aiding in the efforts. Canada is always there to lend a hand, and Gander showed that perfectly.
It wasn't just Gander - it was Cornerbrook as well which is dead center (from N to S) on the west coast of Newfoundland. Bear in mind that Newfoundland proper is an island off the W coast of North America while Labrador is on the extreme E coast of Quebec. To be sure Corner Brook has an unusually large airport for a town of 18000 (during the Cold War it was a major US Air Force base used for refueling planes from the US Europe before jet ranges became long enough not to require mid trip refueling) When the USAF closed the air force base they converted it into the Corner Brook Municipal Airport. We were told that roughly 100 jets spent 2 weeks in Corner Brook Sept 2001 (we were there in 2005) and Gander hosted even more. As for live videos of 9-11, I saw live video of the Challenger burning up on landing in January 1986 a full 15 years before 9/11. All sorts of things get live video post WW2... One other thing about 9-11 most Americans don't know is that the decision to close all North American airspace was made by the commander of NORAD that day - who on 9/11 was a Canadian air force colonel. He did it without seeking first presidential approval in advance but when President Bush got the word he sanctioned the closure and after the initial crisis was over welcomed the officer to the White House for an official thank you for keeping his nerve and doing what had to be done extremely quickly.
Watching this with you brings tears to my eyes. I remember 9/11 has if it was only yesterday. I live only 80 km away from Gander. I was working down on our beach that day, and it was such a beautiful one. We were use to seeing a scattered airplane in the sky, but not that day. Up above were dozens of airplanes just going around in circles We immediately knew right away there was something wrong , so we all took of home to watch the news, but sadly we found out about the attack on the twin towers. I will never forget the outpouring of generosity from Gander and all the surrounding communities including our town Musgrave Hr. It was the one time I can honestly say that I was proud to be a Newfoundlander.
@dawnnoble8186 kind of. Alice, and then my grandfather Bobby after, were raised by her uncle by marriage RG Winsor over in Wesleyville. Bobby was born a Miles (Herring Neck) but was raised a Winsor and took the name legally later on. Tom Winsors crowd are related to RG
Canada could sure use some help right now. Over 10% of the population relies on food banks regularly, and 22% used a food bank at least once this past year. Rents have nearly doubled in the past 5 years, homelessness up 50%. Drug abuse and overdoses up 80%. 6 million people out of 40 don't have a family doctor.
I’m a Newfoundlander no longer living there. I remember 9-11 very well. The small town of Gander and the surrounding towns opened their homes and provided food and necessities to all these stranded travelers. The population of Gander tripled +. FYI there is a show on Broadway that tells about the friendships created by this tragedy. The show is Come From Away. You definitely need to do more coverage of this documentary. I’m sure most Americans have no idea how this tiny town opened its doors to people from all over the world. Newfoundland is Canada’s poorest province but the one with the biggest heart and one full of people with great generosity. People that live simple lives. People that will do whatever they can to help a stranger. And people that came to the aid of the USA in their greatest time of need. Think about the size of the US and the population of the US compared to the population of Canada in its entirety let alone a small town with a population of 10,000. What these citizens of Gander and the surrounding towns did was a blessing to so many.
What a horrific day that was. It’s good to know that when it comes down to it, Canadians & Americans are there for each other in times of tragedy. Canada airspace was also closed. It was eerie not hearing any planes in the sky above that day. You must find the play Come From Away & see it.
That's not true and don't kid yourself. As an American, during 9/11 we had our hands full. BTW, what do you think the world would be like if the US didn't enter WW2? You'd be speaking German. Ungrateful.
@@deborahasher176 I don't know what WW2 has to do with this. My point was that we (most of the rest of the world), know what is going on in America and many Americans can't even find other countries on a map. Gander did a great job and we were aware of this a couple of weeks later. By the way, Australians could have ended up speaking Japanese after the war, not German, LOL
In 1986, I was a Junior in High School when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded. I was in Algebra II, just after lunch and a person from the front office came and opened the door to whisper to our teacher about what had happened. He immediately turned on our AV equipment so we could see in real time what was happening and didn’t “sugar coat” what was going on!! Sally Ride died that day!! She was the first teacher to be accepted to go into space!! As an American teenage girl, I was devastated! Still am…That teacher, in real life, sucked at his actual job!! But, I have huge respect for him on that specific day!!!
Check out the musical, Come From Away. It's a story about how the town of Gander hosted almost 7 thousand stranded passengers. I have not seen it on stage, but have watched the video. It gives me goosebumps.
You should check out the musical, Come from Away. It’s about this event. It’s touching and wonderful. It ran on Broadway and is touring around both Canada and the US now.
I remember while watching tv that an emergency broadcast came on of this horrific attack. Thankful and so proud of my neighbors standing up to help however they could. All doors were open for shelter, food and necessities to all passengers and crew's. Victims will never be forgotten. May they rest in peace.
Thank you for sharing this. It was a sad, and tragic day, but it is nice to remember that amongst the horrors of the day, the goodness of people from Nfld, and around the world showed the best of humanity. Thanks for being a caring, and sharing the story. As a Canadian with lots of friends, and relatives on the east coast, and in Nfld, I could not be prouder of their actions, on that day.
It wasn't 167 planes landed solely in Gander, it was 167 planes landed BY Gander Air Traffic Control at not only Gander but also several other airports around Newfoundland and the other maritime provinces .
I'm from Stephenville. Was in Gander last week. They got 86 cm of snow last Wednesday and Thursday. Most people around here are more than willing to help anyone in time of need. Nice to see this is still circulating and new people are learning of our shared history. As sad and beautiful as history can be. Cheers from Canada Tyler and thanks for the content.
The support of Gander is an amazing story of kindness. This story is now a play called "Come from Away". It won a Tony award on broadway. I saw the play here in Toronto. It made me laugh and cry.
I'm a Newfoundlander, and this touches me in so many ways. I'll never forget 9/11, and yes this is how we are. It has never changed, we will always help people in need. We took in planes all over our island, including in our Capitol city St John's, and Gander ❤
I was born an hour and a half away from gander. I was almost 6 years old during the attacks but I vividly remember where I was and also watching it on TV. Its such the Newfoundland way to help complete strangers that are in need and we are proud to do it. We don't ask for anything in return, a thank you is plenty! We need more of this is the world today
I’m Canadian and I still remember where I was when it came on the news what had taken place. It still brings me to tears thinking of 9/11. Listening to this has me crying.
I am amazed how protected you where in school. I was in grade 9 and our home room teacher came in, and flipped the news on as it was happening. We watched the towers fall, in real time. I am from Alberta by the way.
Actually I don’t believe Americans ever knew about all of the generosity that was given by the Newfoundlanders (and across Canada and Europe ) . When thanking the world, Canada was not mentioned by the US. I vividly remember that.
Exactly, I remember that as well, President Bush at the time never even mentioned it!
Ya, just like that stupid movie Argo, where they minimized what Canadians did for the Iran hostages.
as a canadian i didn't even know about it until about a year ago and is why i moved to NL
The US blamed Canada. In media and in Washington.
@@adrianmcgrath1984 Blamed Canada for what? The Iran hostage situation?
Thank you Canada for your service to the tragedy. This from an Ohioan.❤ Not all of us were ignorant to your contribution to your cousins to the south. Bless you.
Thank you for the kind comment. Much appreciated! - Canada xoxoxo
Thanks buddy .
Many of us up hete have American family and friends. We love you guys. You're very friendly. 🇨🇦🇺🇲
From Pennsylvania, we were very aware of what was happening in Canada. So much appreciation for what you did.
@@catharinesnyder2504 so true. I don’t know how many here read a comment I left always back that in appreciation of the Canadians, the folks on one of the planes and others, joined in to present a scholarship for future grads in Canada. I only heard or rather read about it much after.
We’re all of the human race, I just wish now and always we can still carry on as such.
As an American, the kindness of the people of Newfoundland, and Canada as a whole, on that fateful day always warms my heart. It shows me that maybe, just maybe, the world isn’t as bad as I think it is. That human kindness, and love, can truly prevail. If any Newfies or any other Canadian sees this: Thank you.
Thank you dear neighbor. -Canada
Thank u
As a Canadian, we’re all on this North American chunk of rock together. It’s our duties and love for each other that makes us strong as a whole. I’m pretty sure you would do the same for us. Let’s hope we don’t have to witness such a tragedy again. 😊👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
As a Canadian I just want to say thank you for your kind words.
@@nancydecoste2215 & I too as a proud Canadian!!
I think you might not realize how much Canadians know about 9/11. We watched it live just like Americans. We were glued to our TVs and news shows for weeks and months afterwards, just like Americans. We knew people who were in the buildings or in New York on the day. It affected us as it affected people all across the US. We all remember where we were on that day. And flying and security changed just as much for us as it did for America after 9/11 because our countries are so interconnected. In general, Canadians are very in tune with the news out of the US even if Americans don't usually know what's happening in Canada.
YES! I actually left work when an attack was reported on the radio and came home to watch the news coverage on TV. I remember crying at the loss and the sheer magnitude of what had happened. Seeing the video is actually making me tear up right now.
I was in college at the time and my first class was late morning. So I woke up and was going to watch Maury, the news was on showing the towers after the first plane hit. And then I watched as the secons plane hit live on air.. Chills and everyone at school was talking about it.
My mother was supposed to get on a flight from Toronto to Montreal during that time, and my dad, who was her friend's friend, picked her up and drove her there since the planes were down. So I actually associate 9/11 with my parents getting together.
Yes not to mention many places in Canada are geographically closer to NYC than most parts of the USA are
First day of grade 12 for me. Fuck….. what a day to remember eh? Rip victims!
Canada was there for America on 9/11. Canada was there for America during the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran. Canada was there for America on D-Day.
Yes and the movie Argo portrayed the story as America saving the hostages, not Canada.😡
Canada was well involved in World War Two long before the USA exhausted all reasons to show up.
I like that CDN Prime Minister Mackenzie King and declaration of war on Japan after Pearl Harbour, before USA and then saying that it was OK as USA was having a busy day. Always wondered, what if USA had surrendered...
@@TL-kr6seCanada didn’t declare war on Japan because of Pearl Harbor though. Several hours earlier Hong Kong was attacked (edit: by air). There were nearly 2000 Canadian defenders there at the time, and the next morning the Japanese invaded.
D-Day had nothing to do with the Americans other than as fellow Allied participants. Canada and the Allies were there for France and Europe.
Thank you thank you Tyler ❤ from Canada for acknowledging Canada and who we are. My husband was a long-haul trucker traveling Canada and the USA from NFL to Washington and Florida to Alaska. I sometimes rode with him and was amazed at weather maps on TV at US truck stops. Home in Manitoba our TV channels' weather maps crossed the border into Minnesota and North Dakota or more and we were told we might be affected by a 'Colorado Low'. In the US nothing existed north of the 49th parallel. I cried watching this video. You are a rare and precious American. A neighbor to be treasured. May God protect your country in the up coming election. 🙏
I remember watching a US American weather person saying that an east coast hurricane would make landfall over the border into Canada, so it wouldn’t affect anyone. Hello! There are people here!
The Broadway play was the subject of the Gander folks and what they did on 9/11.
Called "Come from away " I believe won Tony awards..
It was amazing.
As a Canadian, this is my biggest frustration with most Americans. They have no clue what happens outside their own country. When this happened I and I’m sure every other Canadian was so damned proud that day that we could help our neighbours this way. And from the US? Crickets. You are right. This was barely acknowledged apart from those directly affected. I know the US was understandably focused on New York. But after the fact, it would have been nice that Canada stepped up and help our friends. And that Gander in particular deserves praise.
On the flipside, Boston helped out Halifax in 1917 after the Halifax Explosion and Nova Scotia has sent a huge Christmas tree every year since as a thank you and to honor the bond between the two cities. The tree leaving on a truck is a very celebrated and televised event to this day.
Hey now, it wasn't crickets. USA blamed Canada for allowing terrorists to get into the states through Canada which didn't happen
@@m1sterpunch as much as the OP wants to pat themselves on the back for things they never did your point is valid. But I think it also has to do with the times. People and or countries in the 19th century had much more respect for diplomacy then happens today.
@steve2070 well, apparently ONE country and it's people have less respect for diplomacy.
Don't assume the rest of the world follows suit.
it is somewhat ironic when someone assumes you assume something. and btw wtf is "ONE Country"?
It both saddens and angers me that the majority of American are not aware of how often we have their backs. I wish they were more like you Tyler, willing to learn about what makes our countries relationship so special.😊
Agreed. So many Americans just disregard us as a useless country, even after proving them wrong countless times.
Theres so many things Canada has done for the US and never get recognised. Im so mad that a lot of people from our southern neighbors know nothing about we have done
When it comes to America, it's all about them. Shame on them for not knowing this or our role in getting hostages out of Iran. I could go on.
@@vickyjohnson1121 It goes both ways. The only reason Canada is able to afford our mediocre but expensive universal healthcare system, along with all of our other massive redistribution programs is because we don't have to spend any significant amount of taxpayer money on our defence. We are under the American umbrella for that.. courtesy the American taxpayer. And instead of showing appreciation for it, many canadians, mostly on the left, look down on our southern neighbours for not being as "caring" towards their fellow citizens. This hypocrisy is rarely called out.. mostly because Americans barely notice us up here since we are relatively so much smaller in population.
I have to agree, we're (American and Canadian) just caught up in our own worlds getting by day to day. @@MK-fc2hn
As a Canadian who has traveled across Canada, there was never a question that the people in Gander would be standing there with open arms to help.
That's who Canadians are and we are proud to be Canadians.
Old stock Canadians.
@@zamar2158 Extra Old Stock, in stubby bottles
So very true!!
NB to NFLD, the east coast has open arms. Very few like us left in the world
that’s who newfoundlanders are* no offence, the rest of canada can’t even compare to NL and how we treat EVERYONE like family. saying “that’s who canadians are” is just a slap in the face to NL for that day.
As an Albertan, I had the honour of going to the Gander Airport last year. A place that speaks so much......gave me goosebumps when I read: On the first day, we had 7,000 strangers. On the Third day we had 7,000 friends. On the fifth day, we had 7,000 family members. This is the epitome of being Canadian.
That just gave me tears - what a beautiful line. It is indeed the epitome of being Canadian!
Well that line hit me right in the feels. ooof.
Love this💕
Thank you for sharing ❤️
And tears. 😢
I lived in Gander at the time. We were as shocked and horrified as everyone else watching the news that morning, but as soon as word spread that thousands of people were going to be coming into our town in need of food, shelter, and comfort basically everyone just rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Company's here unannounced and you didn't plan for it, but they're distraught and in need, so we just do what we do. Find them beds, cook them food, and try to make this tough time as comfortable as possible. This is what we do for our own people when tragedy strikes, so it was just a matter of scale. I don't mean to lionize my own people, but this is one thing that Newfoundlanders do right: when someone's in trouble, you rally around and help, no questions asked. There'll be time for talking about how and why when you've got a warm bed and a hot meal.
I saw a documentary on this. Your town really stepped up. Thank you
I think the rest of Canada all know the best of our country resides in Newfoundland, and my heart is full of love and respect for you all ❤
Thanks for talking about that day. My heart stopped for a moment when I heard the news of 9-11. I felt so much for my American brothers and sisters South of the border. I can't even describe it to this day.
I was so proud of my countrymen in Gander when watching the news that evening.
I was so annoyed when Bush came on the news and thanked America's Best Friend and Allie Mexico.
He still has not apologized.
Anyway, there is a play called "Come From Away". That's how Newfoundlanders describe outside visitors.
It tells the story of how the folks of our newest Provence welcomed a whole new bunch of friends and adopted family for an unexpected, but welcome visit.
This is the essence of being Canadian. Keep a stuff your lip and just deal with what's in front of you.
Take what you have and make it work.
Also, your friends are your friends, and that requires your best effort.
Bless you Newfies, so often showing the rest of us that we can be more as Canadians than we often believe.
We Canadians know that Maritimers àre the salt of the earth.
Thank you Canada! Your empathy and integrity will never be forgotten!❤
I'm Canadian, from the Atlantic provinces. The people of Gander & the neighboring communities are Angels. What they did for the stranded passengers went above & beyond just the bare necessities. It's a shame more people don't know about what they did.
Thankfully, the Hit Broadway show 'Come From Away' help spread this remarkable story. There's a documentary about it, "You Are Here: A Come from Away Story" 2018, focusing on the events of 9/11, the Newfoundlanders, some of the passengers & the week they spent there. Irene Sankoff & David Hein writing the musical & finishing in New York on Broadway.
* angels
@@personincognito3989 I didn't even notice. Must have been auto-fill or something. I just corrected it. Thanks.
I was going to mentioned Come From Away as its such a remarkable musical about this situation and yet even it hasn't gotten to most Americans that its based on true events and people. Thank you for bringing it up!
David was a student of mine when he was sixteen, attending my theatre studio. He performed in his first musical there.
Thank you for your comment. While the story told here by Tom Brokaw was good and introduced people to the topic with sensitivity, it didn't go nearly far enough. The documentary "You Are Here: A Come From Away Story", produced in 2018, was brilliantly done! I can't recommend it enough!
(Edited to correct a typo in the spelling of Tom Brokaw's name.)
My blood still boils when I think of Bush's speech. He thanked everyone and their dogs but not the country that helped the US the most. If that's not taking Canada for granted, I don't know what is!
They were too busy blaming Canada for the terrorists getting into the states from Canada
The Americans who mattered in that situation were the ones who landed at Gander. And they did not forget...
Couldn’t expect much from Bush. We all remember his serious limitations. Nuff said for now.
We don't need to be thanked.
You have every right to be upset by that. As an American, I did know about Gander as I had read a book about it, but most Americans have no idea. We owe Canada our undying gratitude and I certainly feel that for Canada. We should build a monument to Canada, and to Gander specifically, in NYC and DC!
American presidents frequently count the UK and France as our closest allies and that always pisses me off! The truth is that Canada and Mexico are our closest allies (figuratively and literally), in fact Canada and Mexico are our siblings, that's how close and dependent we are to each other. Sure, there are differences and fights sometimes, but we are each other's closest most steadfast allies. We (Americans) should not ever forget that.
Our Canadian brothers had our backs on 9/11 and Americans who know about their generousity will never forget it.
We ♥️ our Northern neighbors normally, but in our greatest hour of need they really stepped up to help out above & beyond.
Gander's airport was the largest on the planet in 1940 and played a crucial role in ferrying aircraft from North America to Britain during the WWII.
It was a emergency landing strip for the Shuttle as was Goose Bay en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_abort_modes#Emergency_landing_sites
Gander was known as the crossroads of the world at one time. Not so much any more. But it does have it's place in history
That's what a lot of people don't know- pretty much all air traffic heading back and forth from England and other places during WW2, probably took off from Gander heading east, or landed there for fuel, going Westbound.
@@thezoomguys385 not all
Canada has done much over the years to help and never said much but generously and bravely helped. Very little recognition ever given, but, we know and that's what we do. That's Canada.
A lot of the people who DID land in Gander do know how important it was and remember it. A lot of them still make trips to Newfoundland to today to thank people there.
I'm in B.C., never travel anywhere.....my bucket list is visiting Newfoundland. Thank you for reminding me
God bless you Canada. Thanks for being such good neighbors. We don’t deserve you.
Thank you! I used to work up in big oil, in northern Alberta, and we got a bunch of Americans to come up to work cuz we were short of workers. Some of the nicest workers ever! They did VERY KIND acts towards us as well. Thank you!!
jwichman9, absolutely agree ❤️
No, you don't deserve us.
@@2Sugarbears Ya know what I tried to say something nice and you come back with this? Piss off!!
@@2Sugarbears Tried to be nice and you come back with this? Screw you.
You'll not be disappointed by the rest of this doc. 150+ planes landed under Gander ATC control. Not all landed at Gander itself. Btw, Gander was an alternative landing strip for the space shuttle. WW2 Allied aircraft departed Gander for Europe after topping up.
We wondered how long it would take to cover this amazing story, and its message of what good neighbourliness really means. As I was flying from Canada to the UK as the terrorist attack took place, my aeroplane was diverted to Hamburg as UK airspace was also closed. We knew nothing until the flight landed, having assumed there was some huge issue with the weather. Hamburg's authorities also welcomed us and treated us well for three days. The world appeared to forget their differences during the 9/11 crisis. A great message for Christmastide.
couldnt you just take a train or something from Germany? i thought europe was more connected, where you wouldnt be stranded for 3 days
@@BarkerVancity I wasn't there, but have EU and UK friends and family.
I was told that all travel systems were backed up for days with ppl trying to reach their destinations.
@@BarkerVancity I don’t believe you’re quite grasping what it meant for so many planes to be rerouted and grounded. How many displaced people would be attempting that same thing…
Also, the government reactions globally, but especially of western countries thinking they may be next, and the immediate increase in security protocols worldwide-closed borders, halts to other transportation: busses, trains, etc. Plus, the kind of backlog and traffic jams that all creates.
Also,, technology was very different in 2001. Booking tickets required an in-person presence or a phone call. Phone lines were also being jammed suddenly.
You have every right to be upset by that. As an American, I did know about Gander as I had read a book about it, but most Americans have no idea. We owe Canada our undying gratitude and I certainly feel that for Canada. We should build a monument to Canada, and to Gander specifically, in NYC and DC!
American presidents frequently count the UK and France as our closest allies and that always pisses me off! The truth is that Canada and Mexico are our closest allies (figuratively and literally), in fact Canada and Mexico are our siblings, that's how close and dependent we are to each other. Sure, there are differences and fights sometimes, but we are each other's closest most steadfast allies. We (Americans) should not ever forget that.
@@BarkerVancity no one knew the situation would there be more attacks, where, who was responsible, was this the beginning of WW3, everyone stayed where they were and waited.
I am from gander, and every year we remember 911 and the braveness of every one involved (the good people)
My dad, a police officer in Canada was golfing with his officers on 9/11. He remembers going to the clubhouse after 9 holes and seeing the first tower getting hit. After hole 12 they were all called in to head to the airport. Every plane in Ontario and Northern USA came to land in our city and my dad and the other officers had to search them for bombs and weapons. He told me the scariest part was going into the planes not knowing who or what was on board the plane.
What city did you live in?
I hate to bring this up but I believe the only way your dad, or anyone else, would have been able to see the first plane hit was to have been in that area of New York City. There were no cameras aimed at the Tower. The breaking news began after the plane had hit. There were two French brothers making a documentary about NY firefighters and one brother followed the firefighters to a call about a gas leak. They were filming when a low flying plane went over their heads and the guy followed the plane with his camera. That is the image we were to see many times afterwards, although I could not tell you just when we first saw that image on TV.
My dad was rcmp in a border city and spent the next 2 days figuring out what they were going to do for border crossing security to avoid any potential incidents on the bridge. It effected so much here
@@shiwashere Were you from Windsor?
There was another incident that happened there a plane carrying a legendary Airborne Unit crashed there killing everyone onboard.
My grandmother took an American family in for the week! Obviously bad circumstances that got them there, but she was still glad to have company for a cup of tea and blueberry grunt.
❤️🥰
Bless her!!!😊
Even as a Canadian, I knew none of this until the live musical "COME FROM AWAY" took Canada by storm like 10 years ago. It was the first ever live theater production I ever saw. I was so moved by the story and music that I immediately purchased the "Come From Away" album on iTunes WHILE I was still in the theater (after the show finished). Heart-wrenching, but it gives detailed experiences of actual passengers and Gander citizens who were involved. I had no idea about Gander's role after 9/11 until that musical.
Same here. And omg there are so many songs and parts of that show I will rewatch over and over . The pray and the somewhere in the middle of nowhere such special songs ..
That musical is one of my favourites! It shows how good can come from even the most awful times❤
It’s running again in Toronto right now! I’ve seen it multiple times. It’s so moving.
It was all over the news in Canada
@@violetwolf2001 I was 10 years old when 9/11 happened, glued to the news, morning and afterschool, for weeks. That is when my obsession with geopolitics and statecraft began. I did not hear a lick of Newfoundland in the Toronto news. Perhaps there were daytime new stories about it when I was at school but I didn't see anything in the early mornings or during the evenings on CBC, CTV, nor US news (CNN). I'm in Toronto, maybe the local news presents differently in different regions of Canada. I'm super glad I know about it now. Makes me so proud of my country and my fellow Canadians.
You need to go see the play “Come From Away” which is all about this event in Gander, to fully appreciate what the people of Gander did for strangers. They are the best of Canada in every way. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are the friendliest of us for sure. I’m so proud to be Canadian.
As one of the characters says . How do I tell my family that I was so much better in this little town of love .
As a Canadian on the east coast, not Newfoundland, it is gratifying to watch as you learn about what happened outside your country,on that beautiful September morning. In our province we too opened up our schools and community centres and used school buses to transport travellers around to other communities in order to house these displaced people till the skies reopened and they could return to their homes. I live near a military training base and barracks were emptied and military buses deployed to carry disoriented travellers to places where they could be housed . As east coast people, we do whatever it takes to help people in difficulty. We are all neighbours. Just the way it is.
Just wanna say that I love you canadians, thank you for all the help you guys did - love from washingtonians
The feeling is mutual! -Canada
God bless and love from Newfoundland. ❤ we will always have your back if you need us. We know America will be there for us. It is as natural as the air we breathe.
God bless you neighbor…when you are in need we got you! (From thunder by Ontario)
My Uncle was an air traffic controller in Calgary during this.
One of there plains that was heading for new york at the time had input the wrong callsign.
They wern't answering the radio.
Two F-16s pulled up beside them before my uncle called the US department of defense and explaned the situation.
He saved 400 people and none of them even knew.
Wow! Just wow
@@carolmclean8513 yeah ... "there plains" really got me too.
Wow!❤
@@davidbroadfoot1864lol
I heard about this at the time.. scary
And it wasn’t just Gander. Planes landed all across Canada. The planes on the west coast landed here in Vancouver. And we had no idea if the planes landing has terrorists.
I was home that day in Vancouver and watched it live as it happened. As soon as airports opened, I flew to Halifax for a conference. It was a surreal time.
I think Gander is used as the example because of how small the town was. Their population doubled in one day! I remember the planes landing in Vancouver and the people just went to hotels because we had them to spare. Gander didn’t have that option and residents had to open their homes.
North Vancouver I lived in. Dad was supposed to fly out that day from yvr, but slept in…
I believe the 167 planes referred to were the ones over the Atlantic that mostly because of insufficient fuel, couldn’t turn back to Europe. The way I understand it, Gander air traffic control oversees traffic as it approaches North America. The air traffic control in larger city airports looks after traffic in their local areas. While Gander is a small town of 10,000 people, it does have a disproportionately large airport. It is a result of use as a refuelling and staging point for Transatlantic flights in WW2 and later when aircraft didn’t yet have the flying range to do a nonstop flight from major European to North American cities. There were flights in the air all over Canada and approaching all the coasts that were heading to US destinations. They were diverted to airports across Canada. Of the 167 coming across the Atlantic, 38 were diverted to Gander airport. The remaining 119 of them went to other Newfoundland and Maritime airports. These other airports would have been in areas of urban development better able to handle accommodating the stranded passengers. Gander on the other had received planes that almost doubled the local population. That is one reason why their response is notable above the praiseworthy response all across Canada.
The biggest difference is that Greater Vancouver is FAR more equipped to take in that number of stranded passengers for a few days. In Gander, there were almost as many stranded passengers as there were locals to look after them.
As an American who found out about this story in 2009(8 years old), I want to extend my gratitude to our Canadian brethren, thank you for what you did for us that fateful day, at for all you’ve done for us, I know a lot of us are ignorant to what you’ve done, but, just know that this American, mainly a Maryland citizen, very much appreciates you guys! 🇺🇸❤️🇨🇦
God bless Canada for their generosity and compassion on that tragic day. As an American I would like to say THANK YOU! ❤️
❤ 🇨🇦 we got you!
Anytime dear neighbor!
Our only neighbour lost 3000 citizens, there's hundreds of planes full of people that need somewhere to go. Our marintine provinces where miracle workers on September 11th.
Thank you❤
You are welcome from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 🤗 💖 🇨🇦
I’m from Newfoundland, born and raised. Thanks for talking about this!
Well, this is one American who knows what Gander (and Newfoundland and Canada) did for the US that time. And I appreciate it and thank you. The people of Gander are amazing.
I'm a Newfoundlander and remember this day very well. I was 21 and living in St. John's, the capitol city. When the plane people came to Gander, many landed in St. John's as well. We donated blankets, clothes and toiletries to the local schools and hotels where the plane people were staying. I worked at McDonald's then and remember making many meals for us to bring to the school across the street to help feed them a meal. We were glued to our TVs too. The musical, "Come From Away," is all about this story and highlights many of the amazing people who you meet in the documentary. :)
I was sitting in the McDonald’s drive thru on Torbay Rd watching the planes come in one after the other. I had just flown in from NYC the night before. I too was 21 that day:)
Is St. John's the call went out to the people to house some of the passengers in their own homes and they stepped up and did it.
I live in Gander!! Let's go, been asking you to react to this for a while now, it's such a beautiful story in so many ways. My grandfather was working for like 24/7 delivering fuel to the planes as he drive an oil and gas hauler.
Cool. I'm in Gander too
Thank you both! I was an adult on 9/11, and sadly this is the first I've ever even heard of Gander and what all of you did for the people of the world at that time. There aren't enough words to thank all of you!
Kind of mind blowing for people who don’t know. We rock up here 😊
Maple syrup for life bud!❤❤ (from Thunder Bay :Ontario)
There were versions of this that happened all across Canada that day. Also MANY (thousands) of our firefighters, paramedics etc from all over the country DROVE all the way to help with search and recovery!! We also lost citizens that day 😢
We lost 24 Canadians
A close friend of mine, Canadian, was killed in one of the towers, his widow still deeply grieves, along with their children.
@@margaretr5701 my condolences. It was a horrific event that deeply affected people around the world. 😢
I'm glad your interested in our Canadian history, we need more like you Tyler
As a Canadian with young men. I actually had to get my 12 year old, counseling. I was watching when he got up for school and came to my room. We both watched the second plane hit.
Trust me, it changed our Canadian lives. 😢
We sent search and rescue personal. We sent fire fighters. We sent aid money and more. We hosted Americans who could not get home because of the closed borders. We did a lot that Americans don't seem to know. Sadly, even today, a lot of Americans don't know what all we did because the president at the time to chose to lump us in with the 'rest of the world' instead of thanking us individually.
Let me tell you a story about a time when America had our back. Have you heard of the 1998 ice storm in Québec? Millions without power in the middle of january. I live close to the border and I have seen the hundreds if not thousands of American crews in their trucks coming over to help us restore our grid. They sent the cavalry and they sent it fast.
Don't think less of our brothers down south because they seem to not care. They do. Honestly, I firmly believe that if some unguided soul attacked Canada with force of arms, the entire world would have our backs.
@@rundownaxe A well written defense. I should be clearer. There are many great Americans. Sadly, at times, we get lumped in with the rest of the world.
This is an incredible story. So incredible that a musical was written about it. This makes my heart swell , send shivers through me and tears to shed with such pride. Shows what being a Canadian means!
The musical is called 'Come From Away' -- a touching and lively reflection on the generosity and openness of Newfoundlanders. I've seen it three times now and it never fails to make me proud of my fellow Canadians!
I saw the musical. It was heart-wrenching. I cried throughout the entire musical.
I was a 30 year old American on 9/11. So a full ass adult able to understand things. I was also a mom, busy trying to comfort young kids, and lived on the other side of the country. So when I learned about this about a month ago, I thought it was just me that missed this story I’m so sorry it has taken us so long to hear about this.
As a Canadian, the Gander story is well known. Newfoundlanders - actually all East coasters have a reputation for incredible hospitality and being helpful to each other. I knew a friend who told me that a long time ago when he was a broke student (pre computers!), took a summer job selling encyclopaedias door to door In Newfoundland. As you can imagine he didn't make a lot of money, and often had to sleep in his car, BUT he never went hungry. If he timed a visit anywhere around lunch or dinner, he was often invited in to eat! He said they were some of the most generous people he ever met. I have also heard that many of the people who were stranded there, have since come back to visit Gander and the people that became close friends during that scary time. ** This documentary also brought my attention the INCREDIBLE job those air traffic controllers did to get all those planes landed down AND parked safely in a very short period of time. I hope they were somehow recognized for their amazing skill. Also the comments reminded me that LOTS of other Canadian airports were taking on planes from everywhere something Canadians don't talk about much. Of course Gander sticks out because the residents were pretty much outnumbered by the stranded passengers and they somehow did an outstanding job of hosting everyone at a moment's notice. It's a great story and I can't wait for Part 2.
This is exactly what I experienced in Halifax when this happened.
@@Oldmanflyfishing that is wonderful. There are so many good people in this world.
Newfoundland was a special case. In the rest of the country, when planes were diverted there, the American passsengers could get on busses and trains and travel home. But since Nfld. is an island, there was no place for the people to go. They had to shelter in place there. And the people of Gander, may God bless them forever, rose to the occasion in a rare show of compassion. There are two more stories that should be told. The first is that not all people stayed in shelters in schools and churches, because so many families simply showed up at the shelters and said they had beds in their home for x number of people and they simply took whole families home with them. And the story that moves me even more is that children went through their own toys and chose special things to give to the children who had landed so they would have something to play with and call their own while their world disintegrated around them.
I remember reading a story, when it was time for the passengers to leave Gander, there was a gentleman from Kenya, they couldn’t locate him, turns out he was taken hunting by some gracious Newfoundlanders, no doubt an experience he will never forget.
We emigrated from the UK when I was a kid, and the first place we lived in Canada was Port-Au-Basques.
My Mum had some serious culture shock, because she had come from post-war Salford (a very modest income area of Manchester), where people were polite and friendly, but generally kept to themselves.
The day we moved into our little house, a lady came to the door with fresh cinnamon rolls, and Mum thought she was a door-to-door sales person, so she opened the door and said "No thank you, I haven't got any money." and shut it again. 😂
That same week, Mum went to the butchers and asked for a joint. The man handed her a slip of paper with a phone number on it, much to her surprise. She asked him "Don't you have any here? I thought this was the best place to get a nice joint of beef!"
He blushed and asked for the paper back. The other customers were all chuckling at them.
To be fair, she was only 24 at the time. These are her favourite memories of NFLD.😊
Not only did Gander help out but hospitals in along the border of Canada helped out with the burn victims b/c the hospitals in NY were overwhelmed. I live in Toronto near a hospital and for days + days we heard helicopters coming in with burn victims, landing on the roofs of the hospitals. For a number of months Canadians could not get a hospital room when needed, we were put in beds in the halls of the hospitals but no on complained as they knew so many needed extensive help. Hospital staff work around the clock, got worn out, haven't heard any one mention that.
When our prime minister at the time said no to sending our military into Iraq as there wasn't enough evidence that the attack came from there US companies punished us. Many companies ramped down + closed departments that were in Canada + many jobs were lost. I know this as I worked for an American company at the time and our department, that had the best figures of all similar departments through out the world, was closed within 3 months. That was our thanks
Yes I remember that&guess what WE were correct There were no weapons of mass destruction there Yet we endured the relentless verbal attacks on us As well as France,the US wanted to start calling French fries Freedom fries
Thanks for sharing about the hospitals! Many Americans took their guidance from Bush Jr and he was the worst president the US will ever have!!!
Gander was not the only town to open its airport, all airports were opened all across Canada
The reason Gander (rightly) gets so much attention is because of the number of people they took in relative to their population, and the amazing effort made by residents of the town and region to provide for so many.
Contrast it with, for example, Toronto - where despite threats from the government, there was gouging on hotel rooms, cabs, etc and many were left stranded at the airport for days.
@@keithosmond5730 I remember. I lived in St John's and went to Gander for a while. What was done and the degree at which residents welcomed the passengers is incredible. My comment was made to inform the typical americam about the level at which canada helped on that day. It is saddening to see USA forget so quickly.
@@attiliobarcados8178 I grew up in Gander; knew many of the people portrayed in Come From Away. I am very proud of my home town.
At the time, I lived in the GTA. Domestic flights were also all grounded, and stranded Canadians in Toronto were not well looked after at all. The second day, my then wife got a call from her mother; a cousin my wife had never met was stranded at the airport; could we put him up?
We went to the airport; it was packed with people who had nowhere to go; no one was looking after them. We figured we'd never find him, but as we walked in through the door, a guy walked past who looked just like some of my wife's other cousins, so we called out his name - and sure enough, it was him!
We took him back to our place to eat, shower and sleep - but the next day he insisted on going back because he had bonded with the others from his flight and felt guilty for having "abandoned" them.
Not in Toronto. I lived near Pearson International Airport at the time and remember how quiet it was without planes going over my house.
@@janharvey2210you’re right I worked at Pearson at the time. That morning I just got off of my night shift for Canada 3000. I returned to work to help. The streets were so quiet. Seeing people in their cars with a stunned look on their faces. It was so un surreal like I was in a twilight zone. There were boxes and boxes of pizza delivered but the airport wouldn’t let them in the building. Sighting terrorism.
There were numerous places in Canada that these planes were directed to land. One place was a small northern Ontario town call North Bay, population at the time was about 3500. Because of the air force base there, the runway was large enough to land these big planes. I'm glad that Gander was recognized for their amazing actions in an incredibly unprecedented tragedy and threat.
it's not just the air force base: west of North Bay, the Transcanada runs extremely straight and is unusually wide for north-country highway. that's because it can be used as an emergency runway.
Tyler, several Canadians died in the attack on 9-11. Many more of us (Fire Fighters, Police, Paramedics, Steel Workers & even with our search & recovery dogs) went down to New York to assist in the search & recovery efforts. To many Canadians it was a call to arms to help our American neighbors and we didn't question it. Ottawa, Canada's Capital, has a monument to the many Canadians who were lost on that terrible day.
I have been a subscriber of yours for a while now . As a Canadian I thoroughly enjoy your videos but I gotta tell you . I have waited for you to react to this exact documentary for a long time . This is probably one of the most amazing examples of the Canadian/American relationship. Yes there were many other Nationalities involved in Gander but most endearing and lasting moments were bonded between Canadians and Americans. What Gander achieved during the 5 or 6 days the sky's were closed over North America I'm not going to spoil it for but you have barely touched the tip of the iceberg on the humanity and truly 1 of a kind historical moments for Canada . Really looking forward to reacting to the rest of this story . Have a great day my brother to the South .
We all should remember that there were 17 Canadian airports in total that became safe havens on September 11.
Aside from Gander, 4 other locations answered the call in Newfoundland and Labrador. From tiny Deer Lake who took in 1 air craft, Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay who took in 7 to St John's who took in 21. Halifax welcomed 7,300 people off 47 airplanes. Moncton also became a safe place. It would be expected that Quebec and Ontario did their share. Other cities did their share including Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. Flights coming across the Pacific Landed at Vancouver: 34 airplanes carrying 8500 people found refuge. Whitehorse welcomed 2 and even Yellowknife had one plane land there. In total 238 planes were diverted from US air space.
What I find somewhat sad (and a little insulting) a few days after the attack, George Bush is on national TV, thanking the world for their help to his country. Canada who did the most was not even mentioned.
Gander is a little town, but it has a large airport because in the bad old days, transatlantic flights would land there to refuel. It's also a CFB. It was also a major military Air base Most of the flights coming over to the US from Europe would have been landed in Gander because of that (and also because no one wanted strange planes flying too deep into the country for fear they would be hijacked and crashed into one of our cities). That said, many flights from Asia landed in Vancouver, and a few that were heading over the poles were landed in Yellowknife and Edmonton. All these other places are fairly large cities with hotels that were used to put the people on the flights up in. The Gander landings were special because they're such a small town, and they don't have hotel space or excess food/lots of restaurants/medical services for people. Thankfully, there's no better, kinder people in Canada than Newfies - if I was in a situation where I needed help, I'd know it would be OK if there were Newfies nearby.
Also Winnipeg took in planes....we ran out of hotel rooms & accommodations. They bused passengers to Gimli & Brandon. Many planes landed one after another.
Please don’t take this the wrong way Tyler. But of the dozens of Americans I’ve met in my 55 years. The vast majority of them are arrogant towards Canada 🇨🇦
Was not at all surprised to learn of Newfoundland and Labradors helping hands on 9/11. To our American brothers and sisters in their time of great need and uncertainty we were there in every little way we could b.
It was a humanitarian need that had to b fulfilled and we were happy to b able to participate.
That is how Canadians and particularly Newfoundland and labradorians have survived for hundreds of years by neighbors helping neighbors weather across the fence neighbors or across the ocean neighbors that is the people we are and are proud to be this kind of people.
So glad we could do what we could, there was little time to do lots.
Lot to see the remainder of this documentary probably saw it all at some point but not for a long time.
@@oscarcollett8645.... Many of us know, and have been proclaiming our gratitude since that morning.
I myself, have never received a condolence from anyone ....and never expected one.
I wrote a letter of gratitude, which I'm sure was not read by anyone here.
And this breaks my heart, as I never heard such animosity for all of us.
I'm sorry to hear that we are so poorly thought of.
I work and live in a tourist town in Canada.
(150 year-round residents, many 100s of tourists in-season)
We host many American fishers, campers, and holiday makers.
I have yet to meet a bad American tourist, and in fact, I now have a bestie who visits from Seattle each year.
They are kind, funny, generous folk, for the most part, even the Trump voters. 😂😂😂
I'm from Newfoundland. We gave food, shelter, clothes, and shared our culture and music with these poor passengers. This is typical for Canadians in any crisis.
I think this is one of your best videos ever. The air traffic controllers must have almost been having strokes. That is crazy. The fact that they could land them all and find room, is incredible.
It was the last day of work for me before my wedding, which was on Sat, Sept 15, 2001. It hit us Canadians hard as well. The US and Canada are just so intertwined.
Because the flights were grounded in North America, I had a bridesmaid who could not get to my wedding, and a groomsman who managed to get one of the first flights back up and arrived within minutes of the wedding. We flew out to our honeymoon a few days later, and as we were leaving Toronto, the Air Canada pilot came on the intercom and thanked us passengers for “having the courage to step on a plane today”.
Have to admit that many Canadians were a bit offended when a few days after 9/11, Bush got on TV and thanked “our closest friends, the UK”, and never said a word about your neighbours to the north and what they had done in Gander earlier that week😔
Made me so angry to see young Americans (part of the pro-Palestine protest movement), posting tik tok videos a couple of weeks ago praising Bin Laden. They have no clue just how terrifying that day was.
Well written and true. Amen.
My wedding was Sept 16th, I feel you. My aunt and uncle managed to get a flight but I had several people who couldn't make it, include a close friend trying to return from Sweden.
I remember sitting watching with my husband as it unfolded. There were clips I saw that day in real time that I've never seen shown again, they're still burned in my mind. I know Americans feel that attack from a patriotic perspective, but they really underestimate how 9/11 impacted Canadians too - it offended our humanity, it happened to all of us.
@@JuliesWorldCrochet a horrible week to have a wedding, but the weather was absolutely gorgeous here in Ottawa that weekend, so that was a positive.
I loved this show. I am a Canadian and could tell you the exact second the planes hit the towers. All telecommunications were taken off the air except the news from New York. Most Canadians were concerned about what was happening to our neighbours. It still makes me mad to this day that Bush ignored the help that the Canadians did for the Americans. Where did he think all these planes in the air were going to go.
Yes I too will remember all these stories as I worked for National Defence at the time and we all of a sudden had thousands of extra people to take care of.
This is just what Canadians do best is step up to the situation
Thank you again for this show.
most people don't realize how many aircraft are in the sky at any given point, and when the American skies were a No-Go zone, they had to land somewhere... and for those coming from various countries, their fuel was low, they had no ability to double back, and few airports that could handle the massive aircraft that frequently handle those flights... Gander stepped up, and that tiny little place became EVERYTHING to those people, and for days later, they fed, housed and cared for THOUSANDS of people who had nothing and no one else. Bless them.
In addition to all the wonderful comments and references to Come From Away, I am just going to copy and paste the following you may not know, too:
"9 Wing is located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gander and is under the operational command of 1 Canadian Air Division. Among its many roles, 9 Wing Gander is responsible for providing search and rescue services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador as well as north-eastern Quebec."
Our Air Force has had a strong military presence in Gander so that would have been a big help, as well.
So grateful you are publishing this video.
I will watch part 2 now.
Thank you, Tyler!
It blows my mind that in 2023 there are still Americans unaware of this story.
I am norwegian and I did know about Gander. In the time of need prople can be amazing. Everyone in Gander stepped up to the task. Helping unknown people, letting them into they're home, giving them cloth, food, comfort, someone to talk to. That little Town, so so many people. Humanity can be imensely beautiful.
thrre were multiple airports in Canada that took aircraft. Hamilton airport in ontario completely ran out of ramp space due to diversions. I came in on a day off to help handle the arrivals...this is a day I will never forget.
I'm Canadian. I still remember that date. Our RCAF F-18 authorized for supersonic and flying over my school on my way to school. We spent the entire morning watching the news at school and were then sent home. My dad was an airline pilot and he was scheduled to work that morning. He was grounded along with many flight crews. We opened our doors to stranded flight crews and passengers for a shower and a mattress. I remember going to the airport and see all the aircraft stagnant on the field.
Bro, there has been a very long-running and mega-popular Broadway show that is about this exact story. "Come from Away"
Thank you my brother, 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Of course you had to pre-watch it to even know to make a video about it, but I could tell you were genuinely getting emotional about Gander, and that's pretty telling for having watched this at least once, probably several times already. I do remember watching documentaries about Gander 20 years ago, they also cover most of the traffic come from Europe to the East Coast in the north.
Thank you my brother, the US has always been there for us Canadians, we will always be there for you too.. ❤️🇺🇸🇨🇦
Canadians are always willing to help, no matter the situation!
As a Canadian who was a flight attendant prior to 9/11. We used to fly into Gander, and each time, they were the most friendly I've ever met, they would give us ice cream each time. So I'm not remotely surprised about how awesome they were. East Coasters are like that... in 1998 Nova Scotia supported victims and families of Swissair flight that crashed. They all have a small town mentality of help your neighbour.
Firstly Tyler thank you for your wonderful, informative channel on my country. Being a native Newfoundlander, the generosity of it's people during this dark time in history did not surprise me. To me, Canada's response, especially Newfoundland, is one of my proudest moments as a Canadian. To me, this diversion of air traffic & how it was handled, proves good will prevail over evil & we should never lose hope. The musical, Come From Away, that opened on Broadway March 2017 was written based on Gander during 911 & it's main characters are in this documentary. It still runs to this day throughout the world. You should also check out the made for TV movie, Diverted, based on Gander during 911. Over the last few years, there have been some tense political moments between our countries. We need people like you to remind us, on both sides of the border, first & foremost we ARE allies. We have the longest, most peaceful border in the world and I for one want this to remain. Again, thank you and keep up the good work.
Gander was far from the only place in Canada that took in flights bound for the US that day…it was certainly a special story, no doubt there! but, for instance, my hometown of Moncton also took in over 2000 passengers and flight crew….
Exactly, here in Halifax we actually took the most planes of any Canadian airport, 40 planes, 8000 people but unlike Gander which is an amazing story here in Halifax our infrastructure was more equipped to handle it, it's just amazing what Gander pulled off and it's just such a heartwarming story during such a tragic time.
@@julesb1970Yes. I’m from Newfoundland and lived in NS for about 10 years. I take great pride in both.
I would say 99.99% of people in the U.S. speak very well of Canadians. We know how much nicer y'all are than most of us. The ones of us that were adults know every ally was there for us. We don't know everything that every country did. I imagine the terrible President we had didn't even know. I am so sorry President Bush didn't specifically thank Canada. I would be very angry also, especially a very small town like Gander. We are very thankful for all of the help and kindness. 🇺🇲❤️🇨🇦
Canadian here. I have a cousin that worked in the second tower. She went on holidays September 10th. My dad's, mom was American. I was even blessed enough to have driven between the Twin Towers. 911 shook me to the core. I remember groups of us gathering together, just to pray for our American brothers and sisters. We joined together too. This brings up sooooo much emotions.
The Gander Airport at one time, was the biggest airport in the world!
On September 19th 2001, my parents went to Newfie for a vacation. It was my Mother's first time EVER on a plane and she refused to change her plans.
Not exactly. Longest runways, not largest airport
And I also made that decision, flying LA to Lima, Peru within a week of 9/11. One fascinating note, a local Peruvian newspaper dated before 9/11 had a story describing Middle Eastern terrorists as the worst people in the world.
Thank you Tyler for showing us how Newfoundland was involved at 911 attacks.❤❤❤❤❤❤ ❤❤❤
As a Canadian, i think, as others have noted, many Americans don't actually know how Canadians are always ready to help our American neighbors when there is an emergency. we are effected as much as any other person, and we also know exactly where we were and what we were doing on that day. Personally I am proud that we as a country are always willing to help when it is needed and I love how Canadians step up and how ready they are to do it. Thank you Tyler for taking the time to learn all you can about Canada. I wish more of you would take the time to do it. Keep up the good work
It makes me proud as a Canadian that we were able to help. I knew about this but not in detail. Thank you for showing it. 🇨🇦
The stage musical "Come From Away" captures what happened in Gander very well. Highly recommended.
I never realized how much coordination and emergency management had to be handled in the air during that tragic day, in NY! Very impressive! I can't wait to see the continuation of that documentary with you commenting it, Tyler! Even though I am a Canadian, you help me discover amazing things about my country! And I thank you for that!☺
I was on the other coast, in Vancouver, when this happened. The metal shop my partner and I owned was under the approach path of the Vancouver airport. We watched jet after jet, some escorted by fighters, coming in to land. We soon gave up trying to work, and drove out to a road next to the airport to see all the aircraft lined up on the ground. A cop eventually came and told us to go away.
I’m on the island, and was in Nanaimo under the flight path for YVR, there were a number of military jets cruising up and down along the island, acting like a screen before airliners were allowed to do the final approach - you can’t see markings when they are very far away, but I imagine there were some US fighters from Seattle bases along with Canadians from CFB Comox? They are always around, but normally fly further off the coast as part of NORAD.
There is still a lot you have not said on this so scary .
Yes, you are correct. I remember that we saw at least one F-15 Eagle. Definitely not Canadian.@@adrianmcgrath1984
Canada rocks! The fear of the unknown didn’t prevent them from helping the innocent. Just went to the play ‘Come from away’ and what Gander folks did for the folks on these planes was absolutely amazing. I am so Proud to be a Canadian 🇨🇦
As a Canadian I’ll never forget that day. I was at work in my dump truck in Ottawa Canada listening to the all news talk radio station when the planes struck the towers and later visited our US Embassy to place flowers from my family on the fence that surrounded it. As it turned out I even met my Uncle and his wife at the time doing the same thing because he actually lived in Ottawa while I live in a small town about 30 minutes away. It was a very emotional time for many Canadians because of our close relationship with our American neighbours. So many of us felt so helpless for them. It’s times like these that remind us all of just how close and interconnected we truly are with the United States. Lest we forget 😢 🇨🇦❤ 🇺🇸
Thanks man for learning about this.... I remember vividly the day this happened, and I remember the response Canada had. I was just seven years old, and was eating breakfast on my third day of Second grade, when my Mom screamed at my Dad from the upper floor of our house to turn the TV on to the news RIGHT NOW. as soon as my Dad did so, I saw the second plane strike the WTC... That is a sight I will NEVER forget. Then, I hear that operation Yellow Ribbon was in full effect, and my Dad was happy to hear that we were aiding in the efforts. Canada is always there to lend a hand, and Gander showed that perfectly.
Dear Hayden, Thank you SOooo much for your kind words. Much appreciated dear neighbor! With warm neighborly hugs! - Canada
@@scafgal7242 appreciate the warm words, friend, but I actually AM Canadian 🇨🇦.... Lol...
It wasn't just Gander - it was Cornerbrook as well which is dead center (from N to S) on the west coast of Newfoundland. Bear in mind that Newfoundland proper is an island off the W coast of North America while Labrador is on the extreme E coast of Quebec. To be sure Corner Brook has an unusually large airport for a town of 18000 (during the Cold War it was a major US Air Force base used for refueling planes from the US Europe before jet ranges became long enough not to require mid trip refueling) When the USAF closed the air force base they converted it into the Corner Brook Municipal Airport. We were told that roughly 100 jets spent 2 weeks in Corner Brook Sept 2001 (we were there in 2005) and Gander hosted even more.
As for live videos of 9-11, I saw live video of the Challenger burning up on landing in January 1986 a full 15 years before 9/11. All sorts of things get live video post WW2...
One other thing about 9-11 most Americans don't know is that the decision to close all North American airspace was made by the commander of NORAD that day - who on 9/11 was a Canadian air force colonel. He did it without seeking first presidential approval in advance but when President Bush got the word he sanctioned the closure and after the initial crisis was over welcomed the officer to the White House for an official thank you for keeping his nerve and doing what had to be done extremely quickly.
Watching this with you brings tears to my eyes. I remember 9/11 has if it was only yesterday. I live only 80 km away from Gander. I was working down on our beach that day, and it was such a beautiful one. We were use to seeing a scattered airplane in the sky, but not that day. Up above were dozens of airplanes just going around in circles We immediately knew right away there was something wrong , so we all took of home to watch the news, but sadly we found out about the attack on the twin towers. I will never forget the outpouring of generosity from Gander and all the surrounding communities including our town Musgrave Hr. It was the one time I can honestly say that I was proud to be a Newfoundlander.
Hey my great grandmother was from Musgrave Harbour. Alice Mouland
Cool, my grandfather was Walter Cuff, and also my father was Duke Mouland. Small world hey.@@MrSavagemaster
@dawnnoble8186 Yeah, Dad's crowd are Windsors from Wesleyville and Nan's are Vincents from Newtown, it is a small world
Right on, any relations with the big store Windsor and SON's, I think that is what it was called.@@MrSavagemaster
@dawnnoble8186 kind of. Alice, and then my grandfather Bobby after, were raised by her uncle by marriage RG Winsor over in Wesleyville. Bobby was born a Miles (Herring Neck) but was raised a Winsor and took the name legally later on. Tom Winsors crowd are related to RG
Tyler, don’t you know by now that helping is what Canada does? ❤️
Canada could sure use some help right now. Over 10% of the population relies on food banks regularly, and 22% used a food bank at least once this past year. Rents have nearly doubled in the past 5 years, homelessness up 50%. Drug abuse and overdoses up 80%. 6 million people out of 40 don't have a family doctor.
@@noseboop4354
I am very interested in your saying. Can you provide a source? Or sources? Cheers.
I’m a Newfoundlander no longer living there. I remember 9-11 very well. The small town of Gander and the surrounding towns opened their homes and provided food and necessities to all these stranded travelers. The population of Gander tripled +. FYI there is a show on Broadway that tells about the friendships created by this tragedy. The show is Come From Away. You definitely need to do more coverage of this documentary. I’m sure most Americans have no idea how this tiny town opened its doors to people from all over the world. Newfoundland is Canada’s poorest province but the one with the biggest heart and one full of people with great generosity. People that live simple lives. People that will do whatever they can to help a stranger. And people that came to the aid of the USA in their greatest time of need. Think about the size of the US and the population of the US compared to the population of Canada in its entirety let alone a small town with a population of 10,000. What these citizens of Gander and the surrounding towns did was a blessing to so many.
What a horrific day that was. It’s good to know that when it comes down to it, Canadians & Americans are there for each other in times of tragedy. Canada airspace was also closed. It was eerie not hearing any planes in the sky above that day. You must find the play Come From Away & see it.
I live in Australia and I knew this story not long after it happened, it seems most Americans just don't know much of anything if it's not in America.
That's not true and don't kid yourself. As an American, during 9/11 we had our hands full. BTW, what do you think the world would be like if the US didn't enter WW2? You'd be speaking German. Ungrateful.
@@deborahasher176 I don't know what WW2 has to do with this. My point was that we (most of the rest of the world), know what is going on in America and many Americans can't even find other countries on a map. Gander did a great job and we were aware of this a couple of weeks later. By the way, Australians could have ended up speaking Japanese after the war, not German, LOL
In 1986, I was a Junior in High School when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded. I was in Algebra II, just after lunch and a person from the front office came and opened the door to whisper to our teacher about what had happened. He immediately turned on our AV equipment so we could see in real time what was happening and didn’t “sugar coat” what was going on!! Sally Ride died that day!! She was the first teacher to be accepted to go into space!! As an American teenage girl, I was devastated! Still am…That teacher, in real life, sucked at his actual job!! But, I have huge respect for him on that specific day!!!
Check out the musical, Come From Away. It's a story about how the town of Gander hosted almost 7 thousand stranded passengers. I have not seen it on stage, but have watched the video. It gives me goosebumps.
9-11 was HUGE to this Canadian...I saw the second plane LIVE...Holy cow! Canadians care big time... I'm glad you are educating all of us.
You should check out the musical, Come from Away. It’s about this event. It’s touching and wonderful. It ran on Broadway and is touring around both Canada and the US now.
It is an amazing production!
I remember while watching tv that an emergency broadcast came on of this horrific attack. Thankful and so proud of my neighbors standing up to help however they could. All doors were open for shelter, food and necessities to all passengers and crew's. Victims will never be forgotten. May they rest in peace.
Thank you for sharing this. It was a sad, and tragic day, but it is nice to remember that amongst the horrors of the day, the goodness of people from Nfld, and around the world showed the best of humanity. Thanks for being a caring, and sharing the story. As a Canadian with lots of friends, and relatives on the east coast, and in Nfld, I could not be prouder of their actions, on that day.
It wasn't 167 planes landed solely in Gander, it was 167 planes landed BY Gander Air Traffic Control at not only Gander but also several other airports around Newfoundland and the other maritime provinces .
I'm from Stephenville. Was in Gander last week. They got 86 cm of snow last Wednesday and Thursday. Most people around here are more than willing to help anyone in time of need. Nice to see this is still circulating and new people are learning of our shared history. As sad and beautiful as history can be. Cheers from Canada Tyler and thanks for the content.
The support of Gander is an amazing story of kindness. This story is now a play called "Come from Away". It won a Tony award on broadway. I saw the play here in Toronto. It made me laugh and cry.
I'm a Newfoundlander, and this touches me in so many ways. I'll never forget 9/11, and yes this is how we are. It has never changed, we will always help people in need. We took in planes all over our island, including in our Capitol city St John's, and Gander ❤
I was born an hour and a half away from gander. I was almost 6 years old during the attacks but I vividly remember where I was and also watching it on TV. Its such the Newfoundland way to help complete strangers that are in need and we are proud to do it. We don't ask for anything in return, a thank you is plenty! We need more of this is the world today
I’m Canadian and I still remember where I was when it came on the news what had taken place. It still brings me to tears thinking of 9/11. Listening to this has me crying.
I am amazed how protected you where in school. I was in grade 9 and our home room teacher came in, and flipped the news on as it was happening. We watched the towers fall, in real time. I am from Alberta by the way.
The thing that must be noticed is that in an extremely uncertain situation, it was a" NO BRAINER" as to whether we step up. I am so grateful...natch!