My dear readers…9-11…we must
never forget! It’s hard to believe
it has been 15 years since the
attacks of September 11, 2001,
because that day remains fresh
in my memory.
Like others of you, I am sure you remember where you were when that awful attack on our country started.
It is a bit ironic, that I was working for Boeing in support of American Airlines at the old TWA Overhaul Base in Kansas City, when one of the American engineers entered my office.
It was early in the day and I was always the first to report to work with the others coming in just a bit later.
The Avionics engineer said to me….”Have you any news on the American airplane that just crashed in New York?” He assumed that Boeing would be the first to know of any crash…but of course, we were taken by surprise just like the rest of the country.
We didn’t know at the time what had happened and I immediately called my counterpart in the JFK, Boeing office and asked if they had any information on the crashed (thought to be American Airlines) Airplane. I was told they knew nothing…in fact, the day was beautiful and clear so weather would have not been a factor in an airplane incident. They did comment on the black smoke coming from downtown New York that could be clearly seen from JFK Airport Boeing office.
I switched on the office radio and heard the most devastating news as reporters did their commentary. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing freely down my cheeks as I heard of yet another crash and another and another!
It was horrifying.
I prayed.
I worked to get as much information as I could gather from many sources, doing my job but numb as the reports of the number of people dying escalated….and I prayed some more. I have tears running down my cheeks as I type this because the memories are so vivid.
The information began to come together as we learned that nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania lost their lives.
The words tumbled, one on top of the other….Terrorists! Hijacked American Airlines airplanes! The crash of an airplane in a rural field in Pennsylvania as passengers of Flight 93 stormed the flight deck in a heroic effort to save even more people on the ground. All, as a result of Osama bin Laden and his plan to destroy America.
Lives were changed that day…for not only those who died, but those who lost loved ones and the survivors who sustained injuries…all forever changed by the horrific actions of terrorists.
And in the small Boeing office in Kansas City….the four of us mourned.
There are now memorials in New York City, Stovstown, Pennsylvania, and near the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
The One World Trade Center, is now the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and it stands as a reminder of America’s resilience in the face of tragedy.
No, my friends….on this day, I shall never forget and you should not either.
It is so easy to become complacent of something that happened 15 years ago.
For some of us, the pain may be so great that this is a way for us to move on..to not get mired down in the muck of an unspeakable, horrific tragedy.
But for today, with our fellow Americans and friends, we must not be judgmental or political or even posturing.
Today we mourn as a nation.
I believe it was Winston Churchill who once said, when speaking about another tragedy… Pearl Harbor!
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
My friends, let us learn from our past and never fail to remember September 11th, 2001.
9-11…we must never forget.
God Bless America!!!
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