I can't believe that it has been ten years since the 9-11 terrorist attacks on our country. It is hard to believe that ten years ago today, the world as we know it changed drastically. An unprecedented act of aggression was launched against our great nation.
It seems so odd to me that I lived during one of the most horrific, yet historical events in US history. I mean I know that history is made everyday, but I witnessed a huge historical event. My son will read about this in his history books and he will ask me where I was and what it was like. I never really thought about what I would tell him until the dawn of this ten year anniversary. I know I will tell him that our world changed on 9-11-01. I will explain that nothing like this had ever happened to our country before. It was an attack that came out of nowhere and took 3,000 lives. I will tell him that because of this terror attack new words and phrases became a normal part of our lives – terror alert, Ground Zero, war on terror, 9/11, Patriot Act, al-Qaida, Department of Homeland Security, Taliban. I will be able to tell him what it was like to be so afraid for the security of our country, so sad for all the people whose lives were lost or changed, and so proud that my fellow Americans looked beyond all the things that separate us and make us different to unite under a banner of red, white and blue. Everything else ceased to matter. People did everything they could to help each other out and American pride was evident on every car, house and face. We became truly proud to be Americans.
I will tell Matthew that particular Tuesday was just another ordinary day. I like many others can’t remember exactly what I did last week, but I remember exactly where I was on 9-11-01. I was in my graduate level genetics class listening to a lecture. Class was about half over when a student who was habitually late came in asking if we had heard that a hijacked plane had just crashed into one of the twin towers. The class erupted into talks of previous hijackings and speculation as to who would do such a thing. None of us had any idea of the terror we would watch on TV the rest of that morning. After the brief interruption the lecture resumed for about ten more minutes. For once, no one hung around after class. We all rushed out to tune in to the news. I walked 10 minutes across the brickyard to my office. By the time I reached the office I shared with fellow grad student Justin, another plane had crashed into the twin towers. Justin was tuned in to the little clock radio we had in the window sill and was staring at the breaking news on the computer screen. He told me what little he knew at that moment – a plane had been crashed into the first tower and as he was watching the live feed on that story he saw the second crash.
We began discussing the odds that this was an accident – pretty slim. But who would be crazy enough to hijack two commercial airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center’s twin towers. While we sat there in disbelief the news anchor announced the grounding of all commercial flights nationwide. Minutes after that, we hear that the Pentagon has been hit. It is pretty apparent that America is under attack. And then the unimaginable happens, the second tower hit begins to collapse.
Thank goodness I had no other classes that day. I was glued to the computer monitor. I like many Americans witnessed the collapse of part of the Pentagon, the crumbling of the other twin tower, and the joining of a nation. I will tell Matthew that as soon as his daddy got off of work he came to my apartment. We went out to KFC and really just reflected on the horror we had seen in the news, but the gratitude we had that the rest of the terror plan had not come to fruition. We were really thankful to be alive ourselves and to have each other.
This nation was wounded, but not defeated. Our country rose up tall out of the rubble.
We stood united and proud as a nation. While this awful thing destroyed lives and really hurt our country, some good did come of it. We were reminded of the things our nation was founded on – belief in God, faith, prayer. Those things got us through those very dark days. This nation once again turned back to God and got on her knees. Prayer and God were once again the center of our lives. We prayed prayers of mourning for those who perished, we prayed prayers of thanksgiving for those who were spared, we prayed prayers of healing for our broken nation, we prayed for strength and safety and miracles. I have no personal connection to that day, except as an American. And even though I don’t have that kind of story to share with Matthew, I am forever changed because of 9-11. The national anthem took on a whole new meaning to me. Before it was just a pretty song, now I can’t hear it without tearing up. Before I appreciated soldiers and their jobs, now I am truly grateful for their service and sacrifice. And I will never forget the sacrifice of soldiers, policemen, firemen, and normal civilians.
This event redefined the word hero. Heroes aren't comic book characters or actors on a movie screen. Real heroes are the firefighters who rushed into the twin towers, while others were running out; they are policemen who ran toward the devastation instead of away from it; they are average Joes who helped people evacuate; they are passengers who took back a hijacked plane all the while knowing they probably would die; they are soldiers who fight for our freedom every day; they are people who searched the rubble for days hoping to find survivors; they are parents who raise their children alone because of this one day in history; they are neighbors who waited in line for hours to give blood, money, food, anything they had. I will stand as a proud American in support of all those whose lives were changed that day. These will be the things that I tell Matthew when he begins to study this historical event in school. And I hope he learns what a great nation this country can be and that he is truly blessed to have been born here. I hope to raise a proud American.
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