Where I was 9/11/01

I attended a wedding today at the city center in the town that I live in.  After walking out, I saw a couple of people walking around in this field of grass covered with American flags.  As I looked at them, you could see the stress in their face as they looked down at the flags, each with a name card next to it.  From where I was standing and what I was doing I did not realize what the sea of flags was for.  It was not until I got a better view when I returned to my car in the parking garage next door.  There were thousands of flags lined up in two columns, in the shape of the twin towers.  It was then that I remembered, the anguish on those individuals faces, we had all felt it that day.

Although I was still in high school when it happened, I knew then that I was seeing history happen before my eyes. I can recall the confusion I was feeling as a 16 year old kid, not as knowledgeable about world affairs as I am today.

My initial reaction of the first plane, thinking it was just an accident. Besides, a small plane had once hit the Empire State Building in the 1940s.

The realization when the second plane hit, this was no accident.

The pentagon getting hit, I realized this was an act of war....a war that my brother and I would very likely be sent off to fight in as the generation before me in Vietnam & Korea, and the generation before that in World War II.  Was this going to be another war for my generation?

After learning it was terrorism, I was confused. Why would someone attack us like this? After seeing the videos of Palestinians dancing in the streets and celebrating, I was confused about how could they hate us this much?

The only thing the evil people who committed this shameful act of mass murder accomplished was to bring the full and undivided attention of the United States on their pitiful organization for years to come. I can recall watching the news for hours until I fell asleep that day.

Let us never forget what we saw, what we thought, what we felt that day.
Let us never forget why all of a sudden, we  WANTED to hang an American flag on our house. Why it felt so important for us to fly our flags. Why we couldn't turn off the news. Why watching this newscast was different from all the other news stories in the past. How painful it was to watch this happen to our fellow man. How our emotions raged with anger, sadness, confusion, and aggression. How for once in a long time our country felt united as one, with one goal, with one motivation. How we all as Americans were feeling the same thing, thinking the same thing, and sharing the same experience.

We say we will never forget. Please, let us never forget what it felt like as well. God Bless America, I love my country.



Remember.
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/9-11-the-25-most-powerful-photos-1315611364-slideshow/25-most-powerful-photos-photo-1315610966.html

-Jason

Feel free to share your memories and feelings from that day.