...and that I promise.
With that said, I know there are going to be a million blog posts, tv shows remembering, news cast reminding. Unfortunately, despite all the attention it will get today, and a week before and after, it becomes forgotten about. It's sad. It's atrocious. It's disturbing. But most of all, it's unacceptable. Too many have forgotten about that day and the events that occured. More importantly, we have all become too complacent in our lives.
The day for me was rough, but no where near as bad as what the people of New York City, Washington DC, or Somerset had to endure. I remember everything in detail that day. The day started off with someone from work knocking on my door. At the time, I was active duty Air Force stationed in Alaska. I got in late that day because I was in Fairbanks all day. I got in about 1 or 2am and went straight to sleep. I got the knock about 9am when the first plane hit the tower. I was told "Get your stuff ready and head to the fire department ASAP...and while getting ready watch CNN!" I was just about finished getting ready as I was putting on my left boot...then I saw live the second plane hit. I don't think I even finished lacing up my boot. I grabbed my wallet and keys and ran. Arriving at work, I stood there in my uniform watching the TV is disbelief, waiting for my next task. What seemed like an eternity, was only 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes, I received briefings but it seemed to be all a blur...almost surreal. Security Forces came over and picked me up and we went to their building. Again, we were briefed and again it seemed like an eternity...this time it was only 5 minutes. I was issued my rifle, my battle gear, and then taken to a guard position and sat there. This time it wasn't 10 minutes, it wasn't 2 hours, it wasn't 5 hours. In the ready position, I was there for 15 hours observing, waiting, and praying. I never knew the towers fell until the early evening. I never knew that thousands were killed. All I knew was that there was an unaccounted plane in the sky, and they didn't know where. I heard the scream of two fighter jets scrambled in search of this missing plane. Appearently there was another unaccounted for in Alaska. We knew of this early into the day. But after the jets flew by, we never saw another thing in the sky. After being still for 15 hours, I was relieved to only go somewhere else. Guard duty at one of our buildings this time lasting 10 hours. At this point, I lost track of time, lost track of the day. I finally remember getting some sleep around 3pm on the 12th. Since my mind was racing, wondering what had all just happened. It seemed life for me was in vertigo. I was disoriented. I never really got to sleep. I laid down and closed my eyes. But the image of that plane making impact stained into my mind. Wondering things like, what were the people on the plane thinking, what were the people in the World Trade Center thinking that was floor level, that was above or below impact level, or even on ground level. What were the tourists thinking. What was the families and friennds thinking that knew someone that worked in the tower. Those endless thoughts spun like a tornado in my skull. Then I stared to think about my family and my friends. Wondered what they thought about what happened. Days after the 11th, I finally spoke with my parents to let know things were ok. I talked to my fiance', who I longed to talk to set my mind at ease a little. Our moments on the phone were quickly stressed, our disagreeing words grew into an argument and eventually led to the death of our relationship. It was over. My only true escape was gone, all my brother firefighters were gone, my fellow innocent Americans...gone. Finally on the evening of the 15th, I remember being outside sitting in the back of my truck, looking at the stars in the Alaskan sky. The events of the week flashed through my mind, but fadded away as I stare into space. Even though I was in complete exhaustion, depressed beyond belief...I still had a few things. Family. Friends. Freedom.
To this day, I've only told a few people this whole story...very few. But I felt it was time to part with this story that has been bottled up for so long. 7 years today. Even though I did not experience the tragedy that so many felt on that day, it was certainly a"rock bottom" time in my life. I end this posting with a couple of thoughts. Remember all the things we take for granted everyday. Remember all the innocent men and women that were lost that day. Remember to thank our Armed Service members and our Public Service members (Police, Medics, and Firefighters). And ultimately remember what happened that day and please, NEVER FORGET.
