September 11, 2001

[Jon]

I wanted to post this since last night, but wanted to make sure I was of stable mind before I did so. It's been 8 years and I still don't have words to describe what's in my heart and my soul regarding all the thousands of people including the first responders that lost their lives.

I'll never forget, we'll never forget, America will never forget.

I thank those that gave up their lives to save others. Thank you, and may God be with you always.

[Jolynnco]

I am grateful to all those who survived, suffered, sacrificed, and passed away on 9/11 it is true it is so hard to find those words to express our sorrow or our gratitude

[Crashdown mommy]

Here is a poem I wrote not long after 911

War....

God Bless America "WAR" WAR As I sit here and think, of all the lives that have been lost. In this terrible act of one man. I think of all those that are on call to go out to fight. Those enlisted men and woman. All those waiting to hear if there is to be a draft. All the pain and suffering that is already going on. All the pain and suffering that will persist with this WAR. All the families already torn apart by these terrible plane crashes, fallen buildings There is so much lose already and there will be so very much more. So many husbands, wives, children, aunts, uncles and friends have already died. And so many more husbands, wives, children, aunts, uncles and friends will die because of one man. For there is no color that shall be spared. There is no American that has not been touched. We must wish all our men and woman Gods speed as they go off to this war. We can not smile as they go out the door, for we know that they may not return. We have shed many tears and will shed many more. As our men and woman go off to war................. God Bless

[Mshalo6]

I will never forget. The pain of that day will always be there. God Bless the USA

[GuessGirl]

I can't believe it's been 8 years. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

[Heather]

This day is always hard for me. I havent posted sooner because with what is happening in the world today there is so much for me to wrap my head around.

I still remember the signs on the highway....ALL ENTRY INTO NYC SHUT DOWN. I still remember the terror I felt watching the coverage. I still remember trying to call my (now) boyfriend, (then) best friend who lived in DC...not knowing if he was still alive. I still remember the numbing fear the first time a plane flew overhead, thinking will it crash somewhere?

I remember picking my brother up from high school, his grief and fear which led him to join the army and fight this evil.

I still remember everything...when so many Americans have forgotten....

An ode to that day...

Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait

A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying,
"Lets sit, lets chat"

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear...
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankee twang from the Hyannisport shore.

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day

"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not."

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me!"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell
But not alone.

"Look! Blackman, whiteman, brownman, yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44.

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you.
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
five thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHmdbf-1veE

I've been there with the soldiers, who've gone away to war. And you can bet that they remember, just what they're fighting for.
They do...

[Heather]

SOrry for the double post, but I just read this, and really wanted to share.

- Thoughts from a Marine -

I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

Now I know why.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

Now I know why.

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.

I will not be manipulated.

I will not pretend to understand.

I will not forget.

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected -- to show deference."

I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly, "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.

I will not be influenced by so called, "antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of expression to chant anti-American obscenities.

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines.

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told the Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?

There is no compromise possible with such people, no “meeting of minds,” no “point of understanding” with such terror. Just a choice: “Defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"

I will force myself to:

-- hear the weeping

-- feel the helplessness

-- imagine the terror

-- sense the panic

-- smell the burning flesh

-- experience the loss

-- remember the hatred.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

Now I know.

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.) Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.