Friday, September 11, 2015

...I remember


…you know how there are certain dates ya just don’t forget…..events that are just ingrained into your memory….like  your birthday…anniversary..birth of a child..etc…..what about life changing dates in history……like JFK being shot……atomic bomb……Burger King & Mc D’s merging their burgers…lol…..my point is that just like a song….a specific date can never be forgotten….of course there are many dates that hold a special place in my heart ….dates that changed my life forever…they will never be forgotten………one of which is 9/11/2001…….

 

…..those affected by the events on that September morning will live forever in my heart……9/11/201 was a day that forever changed the future of America….the events of the day shook us to the core & forced as …as a country to see the rest of the world as either a friend or a foe…….I remember that morning so well….it was a sunny warm fall morning at the bus stop on Ft Belvoir, VA…..My daughter has just gotten on the bus & I was on my way to the USO to do my volunteer work as usual…..but I saw one of the house inspectors at an empty house in our loop & went to chat w/ him……he told me some plan hit the world trade center…..he laughed because he at that time thought it was just some joker who didn’t know how to operate his prop plane……little did he or any of us know what was happening…….

 

….I walked into the USO to see & hear horror….disbelief….and fear…..the plane had just hit the Pentagon…I ….along w/ many sat in silence in the rec room at the USO watching this horrific acts of terrorism play out on national TV…..seems like only minutes but hours passed….all non-essential personnel were being sent home…schools released the kids & stores closed…..I picked up my daughter at the grade school on base….my son’s school was off base….took hours for him to get home….traffic everywhere in the district was at a standstill…..

 

 

…our base was on lock down….if you left you weren’t getting back on base…I really never even considered leaving base…..my family wanted us to come home…..that was never even a consideration…..My hubby got on a plane that morning at Dullas heading to Moscow……it would be 3 days before I got a call from one of his friends at the embassy…he was him & would contact us when the phone lines were open again….so there I was…living on a military base…14 miles from the Pentagon……fighter jets were flying low over base to protect the black oops…..2 kids…..1 dog….2 cats…..no phone….no internet….no hubby……on that day I understood for the first time what it truly meant to be a military family…and a Army wife.

 

…I will never forget that September morning that started out like any other crisp fall morning…..a day that turned to horror…..nor will I forget the days & weeks that followed…..life changed that day…..no only for me & my family but for everyone.  We lost two people from our base that day at the Pentagon…..our base commander’s husband  & a soldier who left two small children…….

 

…..in the days & weeks that followed our base soldiers were tasked with the cleanup at the Pentagon….the military families came together like never before….supporting & comforting each other through a time of grief & healing.  Now 14 years later folks still remember & will never forget.

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