Never Forget

When those towers fell, when the plane hit the Pentagon, and when those brave passengers rose up to fight the hijackers on United 93, Islamic fundamentalists struck not only at a country, but at hearts and injected fear into those who'd never felt it before on such a level.

2996 innocent men and women dead at the hands of these creatures we so generously award the title of man, though we know them to be no better than animals.

Too often, the peace and relative tranquility we assume to be an everyday part of our lives is ignored and left to the presumption that it will never be challenged and that our days will go on as usual. When these challenges come, we are devastated but imbued with the realization and knowledge that such peace is always threatened at the hands of those who live their lives along a very distorted code, preaching a gospel of violence, hatred and authoritarianism.

A new generation of Americans rose up to the challenge. As one author put it, they were essentially condemned to the dregs of society, the ones who'd go nowhere with the advent of the internet, computer boom, etc. But, these young men and women stood up and proved everyone wrong, immediately taking the burden of national defense upon their young shoulders, striving to give their everything for their country in it's time of need. 

Thank God that such men and women lived. Pray for the eternal rest of those who died on this day, especially those first-responders who rushed through the dust and charred metal to help, too many of whom gave their lives to save others, while everyone else fled the fiery fate their fellow citizen had met moments earlier.

Pray that such an attack never occurs again, and that those responsible in any way shape or form for this and any related violence carried out upon the innocent are stopped by whatever means necessary.

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.