On the 10th Anniversary of 9/11

I don't think that I ever realize how much I am effected by 9/11....still, until the images and stories start to be refreshed in my memory. I tend to avoid it because even though I was on the other side of the United States, In my heart, I might as well have been at the foot of those towers looking up. I think we all feel that way. Do I remember? I remember. I will never forget.

I remember the stories...
Two years ago I wrote this about some of my memories of that day http://clanhamilton.blogspot.com/2009/09/remembering-911.html . This year I actually started to watch some of the programing that was coming out prior to the anniversary. One of the programs was with President Bush as he described the day and his perspective. At the first sight of the plane flying into the towers I burst into tears. Still 10 years later and it just floods me with emotions and that few seconds in the documentary took me back 10 years and made it seem like it just happened. What I remember most and what usually makes me cry is the stories that come from that day...the story of the lost, the story of the survivors, and the story of just average people who acted and did extraordinary things. This program had not only the President telling his story but several key people also telling their story. Two people featured in the program were then Lt. Heather Penney and Col Marc Sassville. Col Sass, as he is called, mentioned something that shocked me and I did a little research to find out more. On that day, they were DC Air National Guard Pilots in the 121st Fighter Squadron and like everyone else had been told that a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center Tower. They turned on a TV and quickly realized with the second crash that they would be needed. Within minutes they were given the order to intercept flight 93 as it was heading towards Washington DC. However because they had to go the minute they were given the order and everything was happening at such a rapid pace they had to fly without first arming their F-16's. They knew walking to their planes that the rounds they had on their craft was not going to bring down a speeding 757...which left them both with one option. Col Sass looked at Lt. Penney and told her he was going to take out the cockpit with his airplane...Lt. Penney made the decision in that moment that she would use hers to take out the tail. With the head and the tail gone there would be no forward momentum and the cabin would just fall straight down. Hopefully saving thousands on the ground. They both hoped to eject but they also knew they had to be accurate to make this work which more then likely meant that they were not going to be coming home. The Passengers of Flight 93 however had a different plan...and after taking a vote, they decided to fight back and storm the cockpit. They not only saved the Capitol and countless lives on the ground, but also the lives of Col. Sass and Lt. Penney.


One of the stories that still haunts me was that of the wife and expectant mother that called Peter Jennings and was trying to find her husband. I wrote about her in my previous reflection on 9/11 and I remember what she said in detail. I have always wondered if he made it home to his wife and kids and then I ran in to a story about 11 year old twins that lost their father that day and were born 4 days after 9/11. It caught my attention and as I read it I became 95% sure that this was his wife and his children. I have emailed the story author to find out, but there are to many similarities and now 10 years later, I think I finally know the answer. I know now that he did not make it home.


I remember the images and the video...Being a photographer, I know the power a photograph can have, sometimes for generations. The images caught on 9/11 still make me catch my breath. The image of the body of Father Mychal Judge, first recorded death of 9/11, after being hit and killed by rubble, being carried by the NYFD firefighters. The fireball frozen as the plane hit the south tower, the 3 fireman raising the American Flag after the collapse. The dust covered men and women trying to flee. The Firemen and Police running in and then running back in. The men and women who chose to jump and fall to their death instead of burning. Then there was the video filmed that day by two brothers who were working on a NYFD documentary. The plane flying low over them and then the impact and the reactions of the fire fighters who immediately jumped on their engine and headed for the towers knowing they would be needed. Their faces and their fear but yet their willingness to go, simply because they were needed are etched on my heart. I've never been able to watch that documentary twice. The sounds, the scenes, all to much to process and I wasn't even there. I remember realizing that the thumping noise I kept hearing was actually people impacting the ground or vehicles as they jumped to their death and thinking how bad it had to have been on those upper floors to have made that choice. I will never forget the sound of the stillness after the collapse followed by the shrill sounds of the alarm that the firemen wore so that in case they were injured in a fire and laid still for more then the allowed time their fellow firefighters could find them and help them to safety. I'll never forget that sound...or when the sound finally stopped.

While reading articles the last few days I also visited the photo gallery of the things found during recovery for 9/11. It brought home to me how hard this must have been for those that did the searching and for those who waited for any word of their missing loved one. One worker said that they loaded 5 gallon buckets with debris and then searched through those for body fragments and anything else that they could maybe find. It's amazing to realize the care these men and women took in their search to find these small items for those who lost someone that day. It's also amazing to me to see what actually was found. That gallery can be seen here. It's worth the time to look through it and read their stories and to see the relics. http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44377182/displaymode/1247?beginSlide=1

9/11 is our Kennedy moment and we will never get the images out of our mind or our hearts. As we go about the day today, remembering where we were and what we were doing and trying to explain this anniversary to our children, remember to, Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. This is the section that our young soldiers are buried in who have fought and died since 9/11, trying to ensure that another 9/11 doesn't take place. We will never forget.