Never Forget.

"Are you guys ready? Let's roll."

After reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Todd Beamer, a passenger aboard United 93 rallied his compatriots with those words in an assault against the terrorist-occupied cockpit of the Boeing 757.

It has been 10 years since Islamic fundamentalists flew three airliners, packed with people aboard, into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. It’s been 10 years since the heroism of those few aboard flight United 93 who stormed the cockpit, crashing the aircraft into the ground, preventing the terrorists from attacking one of their final targets, the Capitol or the White House. 

2976 died as a result of those attacks. Most of these people at work, waiting for the long day to end, so they could head home to their families, kick up their feet and spend time with their kids. They were sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts and friends.
Many of the passengers were settling in for a quiet, boring flight. Maybe they were off on a business trip, or to see family. They did not know that this would be their eternity flight. Their loved ones would never see them again.

Ten years ago, I was eating breakfast, ready to start another boring day at grade school. My parents turned on the television to check out the news. After the first tower was struck, all of the channels changed to newsfeeds. We watched live as the second aircraft flew into the South Tower. We watched as the news cameras showed disturbing videos of men and women jumping from the tower. We learned of United 93 and the attack on the Pentagon later. The phone lines were jammed. As it turns out, we lost a friend. A distant one, but a friend nevertheless.

It was truly a day of fear.

The attacks spawned a new generation of Americans. Suddenly, the defense of the nation fell to the shoulders of America’s youth. The attacks moved so many to join the military and to fight for what they, previously, had taken for granted.

We can never forget the heroes of 9/11. Those brave NYPD officers and firefighters who ran towards the dust, giving up everything to save whoever they could. They ran to the sound of the guns, not away. They would have been justified in attempting to escape the situation with other fleeing civilians. They had families too. They had wives and kids, but they nevertheless steeled themselves for the worst ran to save those who they could, so that they could return to their families and loved ones.

We can only pray to God that history will never repeat itself in this way. We can never forget these attacks, and those who died. We can never forget the heroes and the sacrifices they made to save others. We can never forget our military and their continued fight against terrorism and injustice and their defense of their nation.