9-11-2010

By Semperpapa

It is the 9th anniversary of one of the worst days in American History. The 9th anniversary of the day that has changed the United States in a manner that few could even imagine.

At 08:46 Flight 11 with 85 innocent people on board, was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center followed at 09:03 by Flight 175 crashing into the South Tower with 63 innocent people.
At 09:37, Flight 77 with 62 people on board crashed full speed into the outer ring of the Pentagon.
At 10:02, Flight 93 with 38 innocent people on it crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers, alerted by family members of what had happened in New York and Virginia, attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the terrorists. They were only 20 minutes away from their intended target in Washington.

Subsequently, the Twin Towers collapsed and the casualty toll of that day was just shy of 3,000.

These are the facts, well known by everyone in America, and the only reason I mentioned them is because while they are known facts, they appear to have been somewhat forgotten.
That September 11 2001 is one of those days people will always remember where they were, just like the day Elvis died or the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, but what seems to have been forgotten is the horror and rage that the events unfolding in front of our eyes sparked.

In the hours following the attack, details begun to appear of the magnitude of the tragedy that had been trusted upon all of us. While the people directly affected had been those in New York, Virginia and Shanksville, the families of those who had been murdered and the families of the firefighters and police officers and EMTs who had perished in their attempt to save others, the repercussion of that day is domain of all Americans, from Maine to Hawaii from Alaska to Florida.

I too must admit that the thought of 9-11 is not as present in my daily routine the way it was for the first few months following the attack, but I also did not lose any loved one that day, still it has remained personal never the less, as the strength of our country is based on the unity among its people, especially during times of National peril.
Just as the country united following the attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the country united following 9-11-01, except that such unity was not strong enough to see this chapter of American history to full completion, thanks to the injection of politics into what should have been solely an issue of National security.

For a long time, following that faithful day, turning on the News in the morning has been an anxious moment as the memory of that simple routine that morning made me hold my breath for few seconds only to be reassured that the world was still there as I left it the night before.

This anniversary, though, has an even more incisive significance for me, as I reflect upon the events of the last twelve months.
A year ago at this time, my Marine son had just begun his pre-deployment training in view of his deployment to Afghanistan, definitely a time when the anxiety of a Military family begins its crescendo into the controlled frenzy that the deployment represents.
A year later, my son safely back to his wife and kids, this anniversary is taking an even deeper meaning.
Every year, it appears that I take a new look at the murderous event under a different light, and this year is not different.
Probably because of the recent personal dealings with my son’s deployment, my thoughts have been focusing more on the horrible consequences of that day as they relate to the sacrifice in blood that the events of a beautiful day in September has cost the American people.
I have been thinking of the names of some of those Heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of our Nation, for the defense of our way of life.

Anzack; Bravo; Klasno; Noble; Karol; Hall; Garcia; Whittle; Alexeev; Scusa; my son’s friends Centanni, Cottle and Qi.
Just some of the names of the over 5,000 KIAs that our Nation has suffered since that day, with the majority of these young men and women having been just happy high school students in September 2001, but having been touched by the events so profoundly to take the step, to sign the contract to protect and defend their beloved country. And they fulfilled their contract!

This anniversary has also been marred by recent events that while not at all connected to the attacks, have succeeded in deterring the attention of the American people from the true significance of what we should memorialize, replacing it with side issues that should be left for any other day. Specifically, I am referring to the projected mosque near the site of the Twin Towers and the histrionics of the so-called pastor in Florida who wants to burn the Quran.
All the nonsense regarding imam Faisal and Rev. Jones are nothing more than an open insult to the memory of those who died on September 11 2001 and those who died afterward on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. It is an insult to their families and an insult to the thousands of troops who have returned home with indelible scars, both visible and invisible. And it is an insult to all American people who are seeing their Country hijacked all over again for personal agenda sake.

This day, Patriot Day, should be free of any politics and instead dedicated to remind the American people that the fight is not over, that the threats to our lives are still there, that our American Best is still paying in blood for the decision to take our fight to the enemy after they had taken it to our shores.

The images and sounds of that day still haunt me.
Human beings falling to their death, exercising their last measure of control by choosing that over burning alive.
Survivors and emergency personnel covered in blood and dust stumbling out of the smoke shocked into a zombie like state.
Recording of phone conversations of individuals on the airplanes as they spoke with their loved ones for the last time.
The sound of terror from the man in one of the tower as he spoke with the dispatcher right at the moment the tower begun to collapse.

If this Nation has any hope to endure as a country, the significance of 9-11-01 cannot ever be forgotten. We have learned to stand together in those days, but we have strayed from that lesson chasing political, racial and religious ideologies that ultimately will be meaningless without the freedoms that only a Nation like the United States guarantees its people.

Just my thoughts!