Diane Swonk was in the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in the World Trade Center when the first plane hit.
"At first, we thought it was an explosion," said Swonk, an Evanston resident who was at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001. "We thought we were under attack."
She was right. What she didn't know, however, was that the whole country was under attack. From the Twin Towers in New York to the Pentagon in suburban Washington to rural Pennsylvania.
"That day left a scar on my heart, and I never want that scar to go away. It's a part of me," she said.
Swonk, who recently retired as senior economist at Bank One, remembers the little things as much as the big picture.
She remembers how the crystal chandeliers in the Marriott ballroom were chiming from the moment the first plane hit.
She remembers the shower of papers swirling and falling around the Marriott building. And she remembers thinking of her two children -- and her resolve to stay alive for them.
"I remember thinking that my children were not going to grow up without me," Swonk said.
On Saturday, survivors like Swonk and hundreds of Chicago area residents gathered to remember the day three years ago that the United States came under attack. From the far north suburbs to Chicago's downtown, events and memorials were held to remember the nearly 3,000 who died.
Among the other area events:
*Mayor Daley participated in the laying of a wreath at a memorial at Daley Center Plaza.
*Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn presided over a memorial event at the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago.
*The Chicago Fire Department sounded sirens for 11 seconds at all 100 firehouses.
*Gov. Blagojevich issued a proclamation designating Saturday as Patriot Day in Illinois. The proclamation instructed state offices to fly flags at half-staff and asked citizens to observe a moment of silence.
*The Exchange Club of Waukegan recently dedicated a public display of 300 American flags -- one for every 10 victims --that will be flying on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.
Hundreds of people gathered along Naperville's Riverwalk area Saturday to take part in a ceremony remembering resident Dan Shanower, a Navy commander and Naperville native who died in the attack on the Pentagon, and all the other victims.
A half-dozen survivors of 9/11, including Swonk, spoke of the day and how they have dealt with the memory since 2001.
Survivor Joe Dittmar, who walked down 105 flights of stairs in the Two World Trade Center building right before the second plane hit, said the events of 2001 have led him to see things differently.
"Since Sept. 11, 2001, my whole sense of importance has changed, and I know now more than ever that there are no guarantees in life," said Dittmar, who was one of only seven people who survived a meeting on the 105th floor with 53 other colleagues. "I know now that every day is important and that life is too short. You must cherish every moment."
