Posted on 09/11/2010 4:52:13 AM PDT by txradioguy
“I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon” – President George W. Bush September 14, 2001
It's probably the single most defining moment in my life. To this day, nine years later, the guy with the terminal case of can’t remember squat, remembers every little detail of what I was doing, thinking and saying on Tuesday September 11, 2001. And nine years down the road it does not get easier to remember what I was doing that morning or how those events have affected me.
It still seems like only yesterday that I saw nearly 3,000 men women and children from all walks of life disappear live on television. I remember very clearly seeing the second plane hit the Trade Center Towers. I remember the looks on the faces of the people in the barbershop where I was getting my hair into regulation for a possible deployment, their eyes darting between the images on the TV and me.
Nine years on and the emotions I felt on that day are still with me just like they were on that day, as I believe they are with most of America.
I think after 9/11 I had a clearer understanding of why people of my parent’s generation to this day have such clear memories of where they were and what they were doing when Kennedy was shot. Or why my grandparent’s generation that remembers where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
To me 9/11 means is day I officially grew up. As I said, it put things into perspective for me. It made me realize what and who was important in my life. And it showed me in very clear terms how easily those things that are precious to you can be taken in an instant.
I will never forget the moving words of the President that night in his address to the country. To this day I remember members of congress political affiliation tossed aside in an impromptu singing of “God Bless America”.
While the people inside the beltway and the chattering class in the media have turned what happened on 9/11 into a political football and analyzed ad nauseum every minute detail of everything that happened that day and every day since, I think most people in our country don’t care about that stuff.
Like me they simply recall horrific events that killed innocent Americans and they want the people who orchestrated this atrocity to pay. And they stand behind the 1.5 million of us wearing the uniform who swore an oath to defend what Ronald Reagan called “the last and greatest bastion of freedom”.
The events that unfolded before my eyes that day are the reason I decided to leave the National Guard and return to active duty. Like the young men and women that filled the recruiting stations in the days after the towers came down, I knew it was something I had to do.
And now nine years after the attacks and seven years after returning to active duty I am in Afghanistan.
I will never forget the moving words of the President that night in his address to the country. To this day I remember members of congress political affiliation tossed aside in an impromptu singing of “God Bless America”.
While the people inside the beltway and the chattering class in the media have turned what happened on 9/11 into a political football and analyzed ad nauseum every minute detail of everything that happened that day and every day since, I think most people in our country don’t care about that stuff.
Like me they simply recall horrific events that killed innocent Americans and they want the people who orchestrated this atrocity to pay. And they stand behind the 1.5 million of us wearing the uniform who swore an oath to defend what Ronald Reagan called “the last and greatest bastion of freedom”.
They remember the lights of their downtown office buildings being completely dark, probably like me, for the first time in their lives. They remember law enforcement vehicles parked in front of schools as added protection against possible further attacks. And many, like me, remember not being able to sleep that night for even a minute.
But for all its tragedy and sadness, 9/11 showed that what made America great in generations past, is still there in all of us today. People lining up to give blood, retired firefighters, policemen and soldiers all rushing to the scene. Diners and fast food places making thousands of meals for first responders and volunteers. None of them had been told or ordered, they just knew they had to do it. America responded to a tough situation like it always had, with resolve and determination, love and kindness for friends and strangers alike. Everything that makes our country great was put on display that day and in the days following.
Last year, on September 10th, I sat down with my son and showed him the videos on YouTube of what happened on September 11, 2001. He was only 4 at the time it all happened and had no clue what was going on. I wanted him to know why I get tend emotional around this time of year. I wanted him to know why I do what I do.
The kid who normally has a short attention span for what his dad wants him to watch, didn't take his eyes off my computer monitor for a solid 35 minutes that night.
We will not tire, we will not falter.
And most importantly, we will not forget.
*PING*
BTTT
*PING*
BTTT
I seen to have somehow repeated a couple of paragraphs when I posted this. Can you please correct my lack of computer skills? Thank you.
I thought I was going crazy for a second. Its ok. Good post.
Thanks for the ping, TX! Stay safe, friend!
Well said. Thank you and God bless you and yours for your service.
Meant to say:
Well said. Thank you for your service, and God bless you and yours.
Here is a BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL that says it all.......I'm crying now.....
Ping!
This txradioguy is going to put me out of a job. Wait...Obama did that already. LOL!
Good stuff, txradioguy!
They are getting hard to parody aren’t they?
This whole administration is difficult to parody. There are still ways to parody idiots...I mean Democrats.
did you like my idea of a Greens Jobs Initiatve??
Where Obama plans to create a million golf course jobs by playing everyday all over the country?
B U M P
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