Seven Years Ago: A Personal Reflection

We had just recently moved from San Diego to Bedford, NH. It was military move. Jean was on her last assignment; the final push towards retirement. The morning was typical for a New England fall day. The sun was shining. I believe that we were in the middle of the fall foliage season. Jean worked out of Hanscom AFB and had left early due to the normal congested road traffic down Route 3. My son Nick had caught the school bus as usual. My daughter Michelle was attending Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY. I was between jobs and had planned to unpack what remaining boxes that were left over from the move. This was a normal start to a normal day.

I was in the shower. The phone was ringing. Wrapping a towel around my body and tracking water on the bed room carpet I answered the phone. It was Jean. She asked me to turn on the bed room television set. She had heard that something was going on in New York City. I believe that I tuned into the Fox News Channel. I relayed to Jean what appeared to have been a plane that had crashed into one of the Twin towers. Jean said that she was hearing that an air liner may have accidentally crashed into one of the towers. Based upon what was being reported and the confusion on the ground it was difficult to tell exactly, but due to the flames and smoke coming out of the building something had appeared to have hit the building. I remember that it was around 9 a.m.

Then I saw it, a camera crew had a shot of both the towers. You could see the air liner streaking towards the intact tower. I watched dumbfounded as the plane slammed into the tower. I remember shouting into the phone to Jean, "Holy shit....a plane has just hit the tower....I'm seeing it on T.V.!" I don't remember whether I was watching a live feed or not, if so, I as well as countless millions of viewers had just witnessed mass murder. Jean then said that she was hearing that planes were being high jacked.

As this drama/tragedy/treachery unfolded, it became apparent that our country was under attack. Jean would call back and relay that she was hearing that the Pentagon had been struck. That was confirmed by a TV news report showing heavy smoke billowing out of one side of the Pentagon. Then it was reported that a plane over Pennsylvania had been high jacked and it's flight path appeared to show that it was heading towards the Washington D.C. area.

Both of the Twin Towers were burning. I was horrified to see what looked like people jumping from the top floors. Then the first Tower collapsed, soon to followed by the next. I, like all of the rest in the country, had a front row seat watching something surreal coming out of my television set. I have to admit, I cried.

The rest of the day was filled with more confusion. We obviously had been attacked, but by who? Rumors have a tendacy to appear like fog, and there was plenty of rumors. Strange individuals were reported to have been seen around the Quabon Reservoir, spurring panic that water supplies would be intentionally tainted. I remember filling up every available container with water. Michelle called. She was in tears. Her campus was in lock down. There was no way in hell that I could go and get her. Tarrytown was about a 4 to 5 hour drive from Bedford. I remember telling her to follow the instructions from her college's officials. I told her that everything was going to be alright. Yet, at the time, I didn't really believe my own attempt to comfort my daughter. I made a phone call to my mother back in Texas asking her, "Are you OK?" It sounds foolish now but relevant at that time.

I can sum up my feelings that coursed through my being: disbelief, anger, sorrow, fear, confused. My father-in-law would later tell me that 9/11/2001 captured the feelings that Americans felt after 12/7/1941. Yet somehow this was different. No country declared war on us. We were not at war. Seven years ago, on a beautiful Fall morning, I saw mass murder take place.


Added: Courtesy from Powerlineblog.com. Excerpts from Debra Burlingame whose brother was the pilot of American Flight 77 that struck the Pentagon.

There is a disturbing phenomenon creeping into the public debate about all things 9/11. Increasingly, Sept. 11 is compared to hurricanes, bridge collapses and other mechanical disasters or criminal acts that result in loss of life, with "body count" being the primary factor that keeps it in the top spot of "worst in the nation's history."

Misremembering is as dangerous as forgetting. If we must know one thing, it is that the Sept. 11 attacks were neither a natural disaster, nor the unfortunate result of human error. 9/11 wasn't the catastrophic equivalent of a 3,000-car pileup.

The attacks were not a random act of violence or insanity. They were a deliberate and brutal act of war committed by religious fanatics engaged in Islamic jihad against the United States, all non-Muslim people and any Muslim who wishes to live in a secular society. Worse, the people who perpetrated the attacks have explicitly told us that they are not done.

Sept. 11 is a date that comes and goes once a year, but "9/11" is with us every day. The body count keeps rising - Bali, Riyadh, Istanbul, Madrid, Beslan, London, Amman.
We now clearly know that the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was part of the holy war against America. When we previously dismissed this as a random attack by crazy men and declared ourselves lucky that "only six lives were lost," we effectively disarmed ourselves. Eight years later, six became 3,000. While the comparison to other "tragedies" may help us cope with what has befallen us, we must resist being glib and intellectually careless.

Our fellow human beings were not "lost" in 1993 or on 9/11. They were torn to pieces. We must not give the enemy any quarter. We must confront the reality of their acts.

Added: Ms. Burlingame touches on some key points. And it begs the question. Why do we forget. I have a theory that we in this country are so bombarded with horrendous news on a daily basis that some how we have become immune. By immune, I don't mean instant non-emotional detachment. I believe that it's a gradual process. Perhaps a modern psychological safety valve or filter. This process can be impacted by whether one was directly effected or indirectly effected by an event.

Being directly effected means that you were personally there or an immediate family member was involved with an event. Some 2800 people lost their lives on 9/11. How many were injured? How many were on the spot witness to the attacks. Counting family members and close friends, those directly effected by the attacks quickly multiply. The vast majority of these survivors can not forget. No rationale can provide comfort. Images are permanently seared into the mind.

The majority of the country watched the 9/11 horror unfold while viewing our televisions. We were indirectly effected (with some exceptions). We felt anger, confusion, fear and gilt. We did not lose a love one or close friend. This shock appears to dissipate over a period of time. Each passing year accelerates this "amnesia." We try to rationalize why this occurred. We are more susceptible to outside interpretations. We draw conclusions right or wrong.

Added: Here are the current results of 9/11:

The Bush administration was faced with the daunting task of stabilizing the attacks' effect on our nation's economy.

Whether you like or not, the Iraqi War and Afghanistan are the direct results of 9/11. Had 9/11 never occurred these wars would have never been waged.

Air line passengers are subjected to the most foolish and mundane searches before boarding a flight. Elderly passengers are subjected to humiliating searches in order that we not offend the ethnic and religious groups that actually fit the profile of the 9/11 high jackers.

TSA was formed for air line/air port security. Initially they were inept bungling bung holes. In my opinion, nothing has changed.

When the Bush administration decided to pursue military operations in Afghanistan, members of both parties in both Houses clamored for military action against Iraq. Esteem men and women of both Houses lambasted Bush's father for his "failure" to oust Saddam out of power during the Persian Gulf War. (This was even before Bush had planned for military operations in Iraq.)

We allow pseudo-intellectual idiots to foster conspiracy theories that make the outrageous claims that our government was responsible for 9/11. Said idiots have/are making a good living concocting this crap via the Internet, selling of books and appearing on any radio program that needs the boosting of their ratings.

George W. Bush is now the worlds most vilified leader even though he has kept this nation safe from further attacks. Through most of his administration, he has watched over a solid economy and prosecuted two wars. Perhaps his administration would have been different had 9/11 never occurred.

This list can go on. And if you disagree with the above, remember, anything that you change or add regarding the above list is still a direct result of 9/11.

Who piloted those planes to their final destinations?