Lest We Forget

[WanderingBlues]

With the 10th anniversary of 9-11 upon us, I'd like to invite those who wish to, to post a reflection, a memory, a prayer so that we can all remember.


I remember being alert toned back to our police station and seeing a bunch of usually wise-assed cops sitting in stunned silence around a TV. I remember one of the guys saying to the cops and firemen on TV, "Don't go in. don't do it..." My Sarge, who has since passed on, turned and said, "No, that's exactly what we do....."

By the time I made it home that day, my wife was already quilting a blanket for families of 9-11. With several of her friend's help, she eventually sent 305 of those hand made works of love.

To all who loss someone that day, and to those who still stand to lose in defending our freedoms, Bless you and yours.

[Bakoguy]

Well documented.
All of us are capable of heroic deeds to save ourselves and our loved ones. A special few are capable of these deeds daily for persons they have never known.
We should never forget the terrible cost of losing the innocent and those "special people".
The memory of "what they do" has made us better and more committed. If they are forgotten the world is a lessor place and we are doomed.

[beachbum]

God bless America! I happened to be at the computer that morning and watched in horror as it unfolded. A friend works across the water in NJ and was telling me what he saw that day. It's a day I will never forget. For those of you that protect us now, you have my support and gratitude. Thanks for posting this, Curtis.

[lucfish]

I was getting some hardware for a job when the second plane hit the tower. I couldn't believe it, I still have some trouble coming to grips with it. I thought of my son who I knew was graduating from the navy boot camp in a week and I was going to fly there to watch. Didn't know if I would be able to get there with all the planes in the US grounded and all military installations on lockdown. Fast foward 5 days or so and I was on one of the first planes back in the air to Chicago. There were 15 people in a plane that held 100's and O'hare was a ghost town, but I got to see my boy. He is still in the navy serving this great country.

My boy at graduation about a week after 9-11



Patrick and I at his graduation


And yes, I'm a proud papa

[1mocast]

I was on a train going to work when the first plane hit at about 6am PST. I had my headphones on listened while the announcer was getting interviews with people who witness this tragic accident. Then the second plane hit. It was no longer an accident.

Never forget...

[RSetina]

Thank your son for Sherry and myself for helping to protect us and our nation. It's much appreciated. My brother, Sherry's father and her brother all served in the navy.

I remember getting ready for work and turned on the tv to watch the news. The first plane had already hit and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A short time later the second plane hit and then we knew what was happening. A day we'll never forget.

[duckdog]

You could sit on my Granny's stoop in Brooklyn and see the Twin Towers, you just looked down the street and there they were. She just sat there that day and watched it all. She was 93 at the time, she's 103 now and it still breaks her heart. The neighborhood that she lives in was full of people that either worked at the trade center or had children or other relatives that did, she was attending funerals every week for months. For her and her friends it was VERY personal.
I don't know if enough people really keep it where it should be, in how we see the world , it should be at the front of our consciousness . I fear that alot of people have fallen back asleep, a sept. 10th. attitude . I know that the people in our military remember and thankyou for that and all that you have done for the rest of us.

The people that knocked those buildings down , hit Washington and crashed the plane in Penn. were telling us for years that they were going to hit us. People like them are STILL telling us that they are going to hit us, and yet we tie the hands of our military and intelligence agency's and even threaten them with criminal charges for doing their jobs. How badly has the threat of prosecution paralyzed the CIA ?
Iraq and the STAN were like jihadist fly paper and they flocked there to fight, but it's a fight that they can't win unless politicians give them a hand ! Some people here in the states were afraid of radicalizing them, but I think in the last 10 years we have had a whole generation of young men who have served and to some extent have been radicalized themselves.
By that I mean that they went to that part of the world and lived it, they are not fooled by the world that the P.C media shows us, they see it for what it is and the jihadist's for who they are and are willing to take them at their word when they say that they want to destroy us. Then they are willing to stand in the gap for those who do not see or will not listen. GOD BLESS THEM.

I'm sorry for the rant. I just think that the feeling that you had on Sept. 12, 2001 should be bubbling just under the surface , within easy reach of your awareness , ready to filter what you see and hear. Because when people tell you that they want to destroy you-- sometimes they mean it ! NEVER FORGET !

Mike

[CopperDropper]

Like so many, I was getting ready for work and catching up on the news. I found it hard to believe that the first strike was an accident but like everyone else, I couldn't imagine somebody would do that on purpose either. I was watching as the second plane struck and knew we were dealing with a profound event that was going to change our lives forever.

I was still working as a Detective Supervisor at the PD and knew that I was supposed to be showing up for work but at the moment I really didn't care. What I was watching and feeling with the rest of America was so much more important. I never even called in. I figured they could call me if they needed me, and they never did. I stayed glued to the TV well after the attack on the Pentagon and crash in PA.

When I finally went in to work everyone was glued to the TV and commenting amongst themselves similar to the scenario presented by WanderingBlues. We all had so much respect for the Police Officers, Firefighters, military personnel and civilians alike that took part in that day's activities. There were so many heroes that rose to the occasion that day. Way too many paid the ultimate price and we also knew that way too many were going to suffer the rest of their lives with the "why not me?" question.

We certainly have made profound changes since that terrible day, but I am also afraid that we as Americans are often too quick to forget. During my PO days I was fortunate to attend a presentation by LTC (Ret.) Dave Grossman who was giving his famous talk on “Sheep, Wolves & Sheepdogs.” I am afraid that even after the terrible events of 9/11 we still have way too many sheep in our midst. We need to keep a wary eye out for the wolves, and should the situation arise I pray that there are enough sheepdogs present to handle the threat. We sure saw a bunch of sheepdogs on 9/11 and they are proudly wearing our uniforms today.

God Bless America and like duckdog said, NEVER FORGET!

Gary

[Benny]

On Monday September 11, 2001 I was in the penthouse suite of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas with my girlfriend Brigitte. She was still asleep when I first turn on the television, I kept the volume really low so that I would not wake her. I seen that one of the Twin Towers was on fire. Not knowing it had been struck by an airplane I thought it was just a massive fire in the building. As I watch, Brigitte awakes and says to turn up the volume. I tell her that the building is on fire and then we hear that a plane crashed into the building. As we continue to watch Good Morning America the second plane hits the other tower. In horror tears start to roll down my face, as I say we are being attacked Brigitte says we need to call our parents. Sure enough everyone is glued to the television set watching with great sadness, were glad that everyone is safe. We continue to watch and hear that all aircraft were grounded, it was an eerie feeling not hearing or seeing the planes land at the Las Vegas airport, the Mandalay bay Hotel is right next to the airport. Brigitte an I decide to cut our vacation short and headed for home to be with our family.

I will never forget this horrifying day as long as I'm alive. The people that died at the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and the United Airlines flight which crashed at Pennsylvania will always be remembered. We will never forget!

[Artin]

That morning I was driving between job sites. I heard it on the radio in my car and went straight home to watch it on tv. I was in disbelief. I didn't answer my phone or return any phone calls for an hour or so as I watched the news. Just horrified.

I gathered my self and cussed out loud the bastards who did this their families and friends....
Then I called my foreman and told him to shut the job down and go home in mourning for all the people who lost their lives in this tragic tragic event that did not have to happen to all those innocent people.

I will never forget. To this day I cuss out all those involved, their families and friends. I will never apologize for doing that.

Artin

[Dry Fly Rie]

10 years ago I was beginning my sophomore year in college. I got up for my 8:00 AM class and sleepily stumbled down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I didn't have a TV in my dorm room, so I had no idea what was unfolding on the East Coast. I grabbed my bowl of cereal, and not being a morning person, I sat by myself in the corner of the dining room. There was a big TV mounted behind me, but I had purposely sat with my back to it because it was always set to MTV showing lame reality shows re-runs and for some reason the volume was perpetually broken. I was about half-way through my cereal when I noticed that there seemed to be a group of people staring at me. I thought they were weird, and in my still groggy state, it never occurred to me that they were looking past me at the TV.

A few minutes later, the crowd of onlookers had multiplied and there were people just standing there staring in my direction. As I looked up with milk dribbling off my chin, I realized everyone was staring silently at the TV behind me. I noticed one girl in particular whom I recognized as living on my floor. Her eyes were bright red and there were tears flowing down her cheeks. In what seemed like slow motion, I turned around to see what had everyone transfixed. My eyes locked onto the screen and within 30 seconds, the second tower came crashing down.

I was terrified, I was heart-broken, and as I think back to it now, I was changed. Never in my life had I even contemplated the idea of not being safe while on American soil. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, and I just couldn't seem to move from my seat. I spent the rest of the day in a fog and couldn't wrap my mind around what was happening. As the body count rose and the images and sound bytes of the events poured in I felt intense sadness for what the terrorists had done and for what they had taken from us.

I am eternally grateful for all of the heroes that rose to the occasion on that day and in the days that followed. The human spirit is an amazingly powerful thing. This is never more true than when we see that power wielded in the face of such horrific events.

[briansII]

We had just gotten off the river, and the camp manager/outfitter said he would like everyone to gather by the boat dock. This was to be our last day of the trip, and I just assumed this was a group meeting to express his appreciation for being there. Once everyone was gathered around, Brad started to tell us what had happened. I had a smile come across my face, because I though this was a joke he told all his groups on the day before they left. The look on Brad's face quickly wiped that smile off my face. Even though I didn't believe what I was hearing, his look and tone quickly changed the mood of the group. I could see tears well up in his eyes. On my left, I could hear Eric quietly say, "my brother inlaw works in the Twin Towers".

After the group talk, I was numb. Once it started to sink in, and we talked, I think we all realized we needed to talk to our families back home. The only problem was, we were in the Alaskan wilderness. Our only connection to civilization was a satellite phone. One satellite phone. I pretty much pace until it was my turn to use the phone. When it was my turn, I told my wife I would be home ASAP. She said not to, because I was in the safest place I could be.

All flights grounded. Brad, the manager said we could all stay and fish, gratis, until flights resumed. We found out some guides were stranded at spike camps, waiting to be picked up by bush planes. They were not sure they had enough food to get them by. Brad sent a boat up river to look for them.

No question, I had to get home. A handful of us decided to leave as soon as a flight could reach the camp. A late push of silvers came up. The rest stayed, and had some of the best fishing of the trip. I didn't know what to expect once we landed in the town of Dillingham. It looked normal, except for a jammed packed airport. It was hunting season, and there were rifle cases all over the airport. It turned surreal once we hit the Anchorage airport. Absolutely wall to wall people. It was eerily quiet, with again, many rifle cases. I remembered thinking, if terrorist were to try something here, there was enough firepower to send them packing.

It took us over a day 1/2 to get from Anchorage to California. Our little group from camp ended up splitting up into 2s and 3s. I was with my buddy from home, and Eric from AZ. One the last flight home, I sat next to Eric and we made a connection. I found out later his brother in-law was late for work that day, and wasn't in the building when they were hit. He lost many co workers and friends that day. I still try and keep contact with Eric.

I hear my daughter playing with her Barbies in her bedroom. "Lest we not forget". The stakes are much too high. God Bless the men and women who keep us safe.

briansII