I Will Never Forget

Wow. It is really hard to believe that 9/11 was 11 years ago. I had a discussion a few days ago with co-workers about how weird it is that something still so fresh in our minds happened over a decade ago. 

It is crazy to think that my sisters and brother who are 16, 13, and 12 were barely talking let alone able to comprehend an event that has impacted my generation as much as it has.

I will never forget that day. Ironically, I was sitting in Mrs. Winneburg’s (Winnie-as we called her) American Government class when another teacher came in and told us to turn on the tv. We watched in horror as the second plane hit.  Even writing this, I have chills thinking about it.

At the time they had talked about a third plane hitting the Pentagon. That is when it became a personal matter. I had spoken with my Dad earlier that week and remembered him saying he would be in D.C. at some meetings at the Pentagon for a few days. I remember putting two and two together and panicking. Was he still there? What day was his meeting? Why didn’t I listen closer to what he was saying? Was he ok?

Back then, high school kids didn’t have cell phones (crazy, right?) so I went to the office and used the school phone to try and contact him. I got the busy signal over and over. I later learned it was because cell towers were down.  It several hours before I found out that he was safe at the airport and watched the plane hit.

I know the panic I felt after only a few hours of not knowing. I cannot fathom the panic and pain of those men and women in the towers that day. Or what their loved ones felt watching the Towers fall knowing their loved ones where inside.  I can't begin to understand the thoughts of the wives who talked to their husbands on Flight 93, knowing that would be the last time they spoke.

I salute our nation for standing behind the innocent 2,977 people killed that day. I salute those families who found the strength to go on. I salute our troops and their families for fighting this long, hard war. I salute the men on Flight 93 who said “Let’s Roll.”  I salute the men, women and dogs who spent weeks and months searching for survivors and victims at Ground Zero. I salute all of the unsung heroes from the tragedy of 9/11.

I will never forget.