Just like what everyone else is saying;
I was at work, one of our guys was up on the steel somewhere and had a radio. He came down and said a plane hit the building, and there are of course accidents that happen and are tragic. We thought it was that sort of thing. An accident.
It wasnt too long, he came down again and said a second plane hit the other building. Thats when we knew it wasnt right.
We had to keep working, we didnt otherwise have radios, we werent allowed because of the potential danger of not being able to hear whats going on around us with steel flying through the air and cranes being run as well as other equipment.
It wasnt until I was I headed home I even found out about the Pentagon and another plane in PA, which hadnt at that time been confirmed as being involved if I remember correctly. There were a lot of stories and rumors, even stories of our own fighter jets escorting non-responsive aircraft to the ground under threat of being destroyed in the air.
It was THE only thing on television. Its the sort of thing that creates an ominous feeling and sense of urgency, like "I have to get home, I have to make it home!" You just wanna know that your loved ones are ok. Sadly, many were not. 10's of thousands of lives directly affected. Millions more yet for a generation to come.
While we al have a story associated, my thoughts and prayers are constantly with the men and women who have served and are serving. An entiely volunteer military. They willingly place themselves in harms way because they believe in the principals and ideolagies that make America the greatest country on the planet.
I always wanted to serve. I tried to join the USMC right out of high school. The Recruiter came to the house to tell me personally they couldnt take me. I tried the AirForce after that. Then they told me the USMC already turned me down and they werent going to tell me any differently. After all that has happened since September 11th, 2001... Its constantly on my mind. I want to be there, I want to be along side the bravest men and women in the world. But I cant, so I will think of them always. They joined the US Armed Services at a very strange and uncertain time. Willingly.
I'll never forget 09-11-01, but more so, I'll never forget Americas fighting men and women!
