Remember our fighting heroes. Never forget our fallen heroes.
Posted on 09/11/2007 5:48:57 AM PDT by originalbuckeye
Six years ago, I turned on my television and saw the sickening image of an airplane flying directly into the south tower of the World Trade Center. I did not know that at precisely that moment, somewhere in the skies over the Ohio-Kentucky border, my brother was fighting for his life in the cockpit of his commercial airliner. It would be another 35 minutes before his plane crashed into the Pentagon's west side.
Though the term "9/11 family member" had not yet become part of the Sept. 11 lexicon, my first thought upon seeing the plane turn and slam into the World Trade Center was of the pilots in the flight deck and the added sorrow that their families would have to live with for the rest of their lives, seeing this video.
Until I was notified of my brother's fate, I was no different from everyone else that morning, horrified and overwhelmed by the shocking scene unfolding in lower Manhattan. After learning that people were jumping from the towers, I believe I began to depersonalize what I was seeing.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Remember our fighting heroes. Never forget our fallen heroes.
Amen.
I wrote the following poem the day after 9/11. May God continue to bless our great country and the men and women who are fighting to protect us.
_______________________________________________________
THE DAY LIBERTY CRIED
By Erick J Seidel
She was there when it all began,
They arrived in boats from foreign lands,
She was moved to behold their new-found pride,
But she held her tears, she never cried.
She saluted her beloved sons,
As they boarded ships and manned their guns,
To defend her name despite the cost,
She still calls the names of the sons she lost.
In war and peace she held her post,
Torch in hand, steadfast, composed,
Until the day horror filled her eyes,
That Autumn day when Liberty cried.
She squinted at every piercing scream,
Each broken home, each shattered dream.
The twisted metal and choking smoke,
Eyes welled with tears, she sobbed, she broke.
With head bowed low to God she wailed,
“I let them down, my name has failed.”
With trembling knees about to give,
Questioning her very will to live.
As her tired shoulder lowered the flame,
She heard someone call out her name.
Across the bay along the shores,
Rose a chorus from past and present wars.
And in that moment of awkward shame,
Her eyes transfixed upon her flame.
For in it burns the hope for all,
Who claim her as their privileged call.
With new found strength and hope restored,
She raised herself and her flaming sword.
To show the world that they might see,
That freedom will forever be.
For the evil of men who thrive on fear,
Can cause a wound, can produce a tear.
But they will never destroy that sacred name,
For when Liberty cried, it fueled her flame.
Thank you. I did share it with some friends and on FreeRep. It ended up finding its way to a few online 9/11 tributes and published in a few small papers, magazines.
I toyed with the idea of seeing if anyone wanted to use it to possibly create a poster, print or something that could be sold and all the proceeds going to 9/11 victims’ families, families of fallen soldiers, etc... But I never did anything.
I wish I was musical. I think parts of it could be made into a song.
If you have any thoughts or ideas I am open to it.
By the way, I’m a U of M fan. ( yes, still :-) ) It’s good to know that the truly important values unite all good Americans...even Buckeyes and Wolverines!
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