Like anybody who fancies themselves as a writer, a journalist, or blogger, I wanted to do my own commemoration to those who perished on the first day of the "War on Terror". It was only the second time there had been an act of war on the United States, and no, Pearl Harbor wasn't the first. Hawaii wasn't a state in 1941. The first was the War of 1812 when the British tried to take back what we took from them.
I originally wanted to do a "I wonder what it felt like" story starting with what it felt like to be looking out over New York Harbor with the Varrezano Bay Bridge slightly to the right, Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty straight ahead and a beautiful blue skied September morning. Then in the distance, a small blur getting bigger until the nose of a 767 was at eye level.
I also wondered what if felt like for those on the obliterated floors, hanging out the windows knowing they were trapped and had only two options: burn to death in the inferno or jump to their death. Most took the latter. Some believe that suicide is a mortal sin. In this case, I don't think it was. I believe God Understood.
I wondered, as well, how police and firemen found the courage to rush into buildings where survivors were rushing out. Between their oxygen equipment and their firefighting tools, each fireman was carrying 100 pounds on their backs and having to climb the stairs, floor by floor. Nobody knows how many lives were saved by their unselfish dedication to their mission, knowing this was an impossible task. Some policemen and firemen came in on their day off to help, and lost their lives. One of those members of the Transit Authority Police was George Howard. 9/11 was his day off. He lost his life in the collapse but his shield survived. His mother presented his shield to President Bush and he showed it proudly as he addressed the nation.
Some firefighters brought survivors down many flights of stairs to the lobby and safety, then turned around and went back to save more. A World Trade Center security guard stood over a man who was dying, and when offered the path to safety, he chose to stay and comfort the man and in turn, became one of the dying.
There were other stories of heroism and self sacrifice. Whatever people previously thought about New Yorkers and their not caring about anybody but themselves became a swell of compassion and unity. We were all New Yorkers on that dreadful morning.
The search for survivors began immediately after the building's collapse but there were few. But the grim task of recovering body parts had also just begun. A man was found still strapped to his airline seat. Every so often a horn would sound and work stopped and it became deathly silent as an ambulance would arrive to pick up a piece of a broken body. A priest was there to give last rites. Nobody cared if the victim was Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or atheist. The were handled with reverence and care.
I always loved Barbara Olsen. She was a conservative author and commentator who was young and feisty. Her husband, Ted, became Solicitor General in the Bush Administration and is arguably, one of the best legal minds in the country. She was on the flight that slammed into the Pentagon, full throttle, at 570 miles an hour. It was amazing that the explosion didn't do more damage than it did, but still, 125 men and women in the building and 59 on American flight 77 were gone in an instant. Many, injured themselves, went to the aid of others, some coming close to perishing themselves.
And lastly, Flight 93. The brave passengers who stormed the cockpit. It wasn't them who brought the flight down, it was the hijackers themselves. The plane rolled from side to side during the struggle, banking as much as 30 degrees left and right. Many in their seats got sick from the motion. Finally the hijackers pushed the yoke forward and put the plane into a steep dive that no pilot could recover from. The men who stormed the cockpit door knew if they succeeded, they would perish. They also knew they would perish if they didn't. But they saved the icon of our democracy..The Capitol Building.
Today and tomorrow we'll hear numerous stories of courage and fear, which are actually one and the same. Most heroes don't think about what they're doing..They just focus on what they need to do. Many of the stories we have heard before and forgotten. But we need to remember, not just for today, but every day of our lives, just how resilient we are as a people and as a society. We need to remember the thousands of fatherless daughters and motherless sons of 9/11, for they will carry on the legacy of their loss, and carry the mantle of Freedom..Because they know it's not FREE.
