It’s been 13 years now. The longer it’s been, the closer I become to that day. I remember it all so vividly, events unfolding on the TV screen and as I made my way from my quarters on base to my Squadron, as the staff assembled. Granted, we didn’t know much, but it was obvious whatever did happen was going to involve us, so my mind was on the tasks at hand.
Now, I can remember. Now, I can grieve.
Please join me in remembering those we lost on September 11th, 2001 and over these ensuing 13 years.
“OneWorldTradeCenter” by Joe Mabel – Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
We’ve rebuilt the structures they destroyed but we’ll never be able to replace the lives they took. America is a resilient, vibrant nation. But, we’re in danger of ignoring what a dangerous place this world is. The threat isn’t gone. We must remain vigilant. We must never allow another tragedy to befall our people.
I continued serving for several years after that day, retiring, working in industry. Over time I began to process the tragedy. I’ve dealt with it little more each year as I grow further and further the events.
One thing has remained.
I will Never Forget and I will Never Forgive.
Totally Agree!
To be a kid then and a man now, you really find out what is out there. It’s a dangerous thought; to not remember and to settle back down to, what is essentially, the relaxed mind of a child- that real dangers no long exist. We can’t allow the prospect of danger cause us to be paranoid for a short amount of time, which our nation was in the early 2000’s. Just to be alert to what is going on, and to not ignore the signs.
Vigilant, not paranoid. Always, not afterwards.
http://youtu.be/J7jlmdqMu7Y?t=1m51s
*Tears run down my eyes*
I remember watching the news as I got ready to head to a business meeting. Saw the first plane hit the tower. Then saw the 2nd. All I could think of was my dad was flying that day. I could not remember if it was from CA to NY or the other way around. And my uncle worked in the towers (he was in the UK that day). As I watched the towers falls, all I could think of was the people there, my friends in the city. My city was hurt, but not down.
For many Americans the world got a lot smaller that day. Ideologies that they’d heard minimally about all of a sudden kicked in their door. A non-uniformed fighting force they thought was on the other side of the world was now in their living room, present on their streets, and forevermore would constantly be in the back of their mind as a direct threat to their life. There will never be any going back to the naïve bliss of September 10, 2001.
I was sitting in a test in 7th grade. The teacher told us that the computers were no longer allowed to be used. I was sitting next to a girl who’s father worked in the pentagon. We were pretty close. Since we both had family in the military. Both worked in the pentagon. We were called into the principles office and they had our dad’s on the phone. We had no idea of what had happened. We kept asking but all they would tell us is that they were both ok. I still had no idea what happened until my mom pulled me from school at noon crying. That’s when I found out. Next thing I know I’m in the 75th ready to jump outta airplanes and break $hit.
Oh yeah and on the 10 yr anniversary I was in Afghanistan. My how the family doesn’t change.