I was asked to contribute to the 10 year memorial article on 9/11 for our local paper. This is what I remember and how it has impacted my life since that day.
My mom called me that morning and told me to turn on the TV. The 2nd tower had just been hit and I sat in stunned silence watching the rest of the day of horror unfold on my screen. In my grief, I saw a country come together in a way that I haven't experienced before or probably will again. I watched the president speak later, vowing to fight against terrorism and I wrote in my journal that night that I believed that fight would never end. That America would always remember this day and never be the same. It has continued to impact my life as I became a military spouse and learned so much about Homeland Security and what the Coast Guard is doing as a part of that. We were stationed just down the road from a military cemetery in Massachusetts and we've seen the real cost of the war on terrorism in the lines of cars filled with mourners. I've walked the halls of Walter Reed overcome with emotion at just what we've sacrificed to keep the fight away from our own shores. In our worst recession in years, America is still so blessed we don't even notice a war that has lasted far too long, unless you hear an occasional news update. 10 years later, I believe the first part of my journal entry was very correct; the fight will never end. The second part, I'm not so sure. I fear America may have already forgotten that brutal day in the midst of her own issues at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment