Ten years ago if I had said "September 11" to you, it wouldn't have meant anything. On September 11, 2001 that all changed. I was a senior at Harrison County High School and spent my mornings in the gym working with Coach Whitaker and Ms. Emery. A little before 9 AM that morning I was in Coach Whitkaer's office by the gym. CNN was covering a fire at the World Trade Center's North Tower. Just a few minutes after learning a plane had crashed into the building, the second plane flew into the South Tower. Mr. Barr, the principal, had stopped by to ask me about our Senior class meeting that was scheduled later that morning to talk about our class trip to New York City the following spring. He joined us in the office watching the news coverage. By this time Ms. Emery was in there as well. We all watched in silence, our eyes were fixated on the screen. After flipping back and forth between a couple of stations, CNN stated the plane crashes may have been the act of terrorism. That's the moment when our country, our way of life, were forever changed. This was the day that the words "terrorism," "Osama bin Laden," "Al-Qaeda" were introduced to our vocabulary. This was the day our country came under attack and thousands of innocent lives were lost.
Throughout the day we watched the news coverage in every class. Instead of discussing our class trip to New York City in our meeting, we began discussing other options. We learned about the plane crashing into the Pentagon, the towers collapsing, and the fourth plane crashing in rural Pennsylvania. The White House and Capitol were evacuated, as well as the United Nations buildings in New York. All air traffic in the United States was grounded.
We've all seen countless pictures and videos of the planes crashing, people leaping from the top floors of the towers, the buildings collapsing, and the chaos that ensued on the ground. Those images are still fresh in my mind.
The course of this great country changed that day. I know I'll never forget the chain of events and the different emotions that I felt; I was shocked, scared, angry, and confused. Millions of lives were impacted. It's important for every American to always remember the thousands of people that lost their lives that day, and to keep their friends and families in our hearts as they continue to cope with this tragedy nine years later. I am proud to be an American. I thank God every day for those who serve and protect our country. And whether or not you agree with the military efforts our country is involved in, it is your duty as an American to support our troops. God bless the United States of America.
It's a day I will never forget as well. Lots of emotioms that day and in the days since. Very well said Brad!
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day.....not much else matters except God and family. I too am a proud American and hope that we can stand together in the face of all this negativity and what seems to be an assault on our way of life still to this day nine years later.
No matter what your politics are.....this is the USA and we should start acting like it instead of worring so much about being so politically correct!