Mike MilliganFounder and CEO, 1.oak Financial · Founder and CEO, 1.oak Financial

The Unforgettable Day of September 11, 2001

11 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this personal narrative, Mike Milligan recounts his experience on the morning of September 11, 2001. While shopping for paint at a Kmart for his newly purchased home, he learns of the attacks and rushes home, where he watches the World Trade Center towers collapse on television. The family spends the day idle, later attending church for prayer, feeling fear and uncertainty. Living two miles from the world’s largest naval base, they hear jets scrambling unusually low and fast, prompting a tense family discussion about whether to evacuate with their four‑year‑old son. Ultimately they stay, reflecting on the unique, unsettling nature of that day.

Chapters

25 years ago this morning, I was at Kmart, the paint section to be exact. I was picking out paint for the first home my wife and I had just purchased. I was on vacation that week because we were rehabbing the house. Carpet was ripped out. The whole house needed painting. I got the word of an attack that had started. I left the paint aisle. I ran to my car and ran home. I watched the towers come down on television. We did no work on the house that day. We sat and watched. That night, we went to church. We prayed. We were scared. We lived about 2 miles from the largest naval base in the world. We heard jets scrambling. They were flying lower than normal. They were flying faster than normal. My wife and I looked at each other with our 4-year-old son in the room, Zach, we tried to decide whether to pack the car and leave town. We hung tight. Guys, there's a one-of-a-kind story.