With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 upon us and the current remembrances and news coverage going on, I can’t help but remember the circumstances surrounding that day and the weeks and months to follow.
On 9/11 I had recently celebrated my 1st anniversary and was working in the press office of a State Cabinet official in Harrisburg PA. Since we were the press office we had a TV in our office that was always on and we were constantly on our work computers checking the local news outlets and papers. I can clearly remember someone mentioning that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and the entire press office cramming into our boss’s office to watch the horror unfolding on live TV. I remember the horror we all felt as the second plane hit and word came that the Pentagon was hit and knowing then that war had come to American soil and yet, we didn’t even know who the enemy was.
I remember the fear as the Capitol complex where I worked was evacuated when reports of a hijacked plane flying over PA were broadcast over the news and the sadness I felt for all Americans as I walked home the two blocks to the apartment I shared with my husband.
A few months after 9/11 I had the honor and privilege to be able to visit Shanksville PA~where the courageous men and woman aboard Flight 93 fought back and crashed~ as part of my job. I remember being amazed that even though the site is often described as a field in the middle of nowhere it truly is just minutes away from town. A few seconds earlier and the outcome could have been much different with casualties on the ground. To stand in that location and to see where that airliner crashed into the ground and the personal memorials that families had put there in remembrance of their loved ones who died is a sight I will never forget.
Yesterday, the Flight 93 National Memorial opened its permanent display~the Viewing Center and the Wall of Names~ with more additions to the memorial to be made in coming years. Click here to donate to the Flight 93 National Memorial and honor those who fought that day to save countless other lives.
With the television coverage this past week, my son~who is 8~ is seeing images and hearing audio and video that up until now he has been shielded from. He is asking many questions and we are answering them and allowing him to view those videos and see those images. We must never forget what happened on that fateful day 10 years ago. We must never forget that in that dark hour of American history men and woman were already fighting back~high above the ground. And we must make sure that our children and grandchildren know how we felt and what we saw and how America changed that day.
God bless the men and women who died on September 11, 2011 and all the families that were affected that day.
Where were you on September 11. 2001? How will you make sure that your children know what happened that day? How will you make sure that future generations never forget?
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