9 Years ago today.....

[StormingB81]

As I sit here remember all those Heroes of that faithful day and those since. Remebering where I was at Marine Corps boot camp knowing my life would never be the same. 2 Combat tours later both in Iraq I still have no doubt on why I do what I do. Today is a day we will never forget! Those images will never diminish. It is why we are where we are at today. And if you have any question about what to do still. NEVER FORGET what Todd Beamer said aboard Flight 93 when they fought back against evil! "Let's Roll!"

[img][/img]

[ColinDelia]

Thanks for your service

[bvigal]

StormingB81, God Bless you, and thanks to you and all those who 'stand on the wall' while we sleep!! Tears very near the surface today... just watched video tribute youtube, and also uploaded to my weather site a tribute page that I had online Sept 15, 2001 which depicts people from all over the world mourning in solidarity this ghastly event.

One thing which struck me again today, that I haven't thought about for a long time... Those people who burned in those buildings had their ashes scattered all over lower Manhattan. The dust washed out of the eyes of survivors very well contained the sacred remains of those who died! If we think of that, we'll know what the thousands of emergency personnel and later cleanup and construction workers had to deal with, emotionally, just being there. It truly is hallowed ground!

No one can argue that to blame all Muslims for 911 is racist, and unforgiveable. And the same is true for anyone who would blame all Americans for the actions of one self-proclaimed preacher with 30 followers burning the Koran. Is there a double standard?

[~FlipFlopGirl~]

Thank you to all the troops! Thank you to the heroes who risk their own lives to save others 9 years ago today- I am so proud to be an American and evil was overcomed with good as Laura Bush said~

[Stephanie]

THANK YOU StormingB81 and all that have served our country, especially those that rose to the occassion on one of the most horrible days of US's history, 9/11.

There are some beautiful statements being made today at the various memorials. Laura Bush's was one of them and very comforting.

[Portastorm]

StormingB81, thank you for your service (and that of your fellow soliders) to our great nation and for putting 9/11 in what I consider to be a proper perspective. The moment we forget is the moment we suffer again.

[StormingB81]

Thank you. I just wish we could be how we are after a disaster (i.e. Sept 11th and Katrina to name a couple) When we need it the most we stand up as one. However to many times we stand divided. Sam Houston said in a senate debate in 1850 "A nation divided against itself cannot stand." How true those words are.

[southerngale]

Thank you for your service, B81. And thank you to everyone who serves this country. We are so very grateful, although we don't say it enough.

I've been talking about 9/11 a lot the past few days and it's amazing how I can remember so many details of that day. Not just the horrific events of the day, but every little detail about where I was, what I did, things we said, etc. I forget details from a week ago, but I remember EVERYTHING about that day.

And I will never forget.

[vbhoutex]

First of all, Stormingb81, Brunota2003, senorpepr, infdidoll(wife) and any other currently serving S2K members that I am not aware of we tip our hats to you for all you do to insure our freedoms. We can not say THANK YOU enough for your service to our country. May God Bless and Protect each of you!! To those who have served previously, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, once again we can not say THANK YOU enough. Each and every one of you are the reason we have the freedom to say thank you, to salute you.
Like Kelly said, 9/11 has been on my mind a lot the last few days. I can still play the video in my mind of where I was and what I was doing that day. I will forever cherish having the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in April 2002 as a way to hopefully help with the healing process and give back a little. I WILL NEVER FORGET!!! AND WE AS A NATION MUST NEVER FORGET!!! Nor can we allow ourselves to be brought down to the level of those who would destroy in one way or another what our troops and first responders have worked and fought for.

[southerngale]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-9_fDEsv-Q&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[brunota2003]

According to some experts, I shouldn't of understood what happened that day, or even really remember much from that day (was 10, exactly a week from my 11th birthday, in 6th grade). Reality says otherwise, however, and I remember most of the stuff from that day and understood exactly what the attacks meant. I was a mix of emotions when I first heard about the attacks, but the one that stood out the most was rage. Yes, I was sad for the victims, their families, and our country...but I was also ready to kick someone's arse.

I lived in Louisa County, Va at the time...and some of the kids there had family members that worked in the Pentagon (we werre only maybe 100 miles away from there as the crow flies). The first thing that pointed to something being wrong was that our school went on lock down (kind of). The only time we were allowed outside of the classrooms were during class changes. There were police everywhere, and if your parents picked you up early, you had to be escorted by a police officer from your class to the front office. Quite...interesting, for middle schoolers.

I remember I walked into English Class (I do not remember exactly what time, but I want to say it was around 9:45 a.m.). The only teacher I remember the name of and what class it was, was that class. The teacher was Mr. Penny, he was also one of the coaches for the football team. He was handed a piece of paper right before the start of class, and then he shut the door, walked over to the chalkboard, and wrote "December 7, 1941"; underneath of that, he wrote "September 11, 2001". He asked what the significance of the first date was, and picked on me. "The day that will forever live in infamy, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor." Correct. Then he said today was another day that would live in infamy, and read the first paragraph of the letter he was handed. The twin towers and pentagon had been hit in an apparent act of terrorism on our country (in short). Then I remember he read part of the second paragraph that said "Please do not read this to your students." and he was like "If they wanted that, they should of put that in the first line!". I almost jumped out of my seat to call my parents, they were working as members of the Dept. of Corrections at the time, but decided they probably had been told before I had been. I knew exactly what that meant, however, it meant we were going to war. Surely our great country would not let someone kill thousands of our citizens, without getting justice for those actions. The rest of the day is a blur...going home and watching the news all day, seeing the video of people jumping out of the buildings, the planes hitting and the towers collapsing over and over and over again. Then the video over the next several months as they tried to do their best to search for any survivors and clear the rubble.

I will say one thing that was striking over the next several days was the complete lack of aircraft, and how clear the skies were. We lived in Central VA, which is a corridor for air traffic flying to D.C. or points north and south. There were always planes flying over, you couldn't be outside for 20 or 30 minutes without at least one or two flying over, and there were usually contrails in the sky. The days when the planes were grounded, there was obviously nothing. It was completely quiet.

And thanks for the kind words as well!

[KatDaddy]

After the last 2 photos in brunota2003 post I have nothing to add. Those photos say it all.

[srainhoutx]

We will never forget and to those that have sacrificed for our Country, Thank You!

[Ptarmigan]

I remember 9/11 very well. Such a tragic and sad day. I vividly remember the day unfolding with the attack and destruction of the World Trade Center.


Never Forget! God Bless America!


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Dg2eEhB30[/youtube]

[Category 5]

Our armed forces, police, firefighters, bless them all.

Felt this appropriate.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNnB4dkVRJI[/youtube]

[wx247]

Yes, thank you to all members of S2K and our country who serve in our Armed Forces. God bless you and God bless America!

On the five year anniversary of 9-11, MSNBC starting replaying The Today Show's coverage as it happened of 9-11-01 from 8:53 a.m.-12 p.m. Eastern time. Every year I DVR it and watch it. Each year, the events are as horrific as the year before. I do this so I make sure I never forget.

[vbhoutex]

I have probably seen the different shows about it on the History channel at least 3 times each, yet I still watch them when they are on. To this day I find it all so horrific and still tear up watching it. I learned a few new things this year that I hadn't picked up before.

[Stephanie]

Our armed forces, police, firefighters, bless them all.

Felt this appropriate.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNnB4dkVRJI[/youtube]

VERY appropriate!

GOD I love this song. Bruce is a master of story telling. Everytime I hear it I think of 9/11 and get chills.

[HurricaneBill]

While the vast majority of the 2,977* victims of 9/11 were American, there were victims from 54 other countries. Most of these were employees at the WTC.

(*The tally excludes the 19 hijackers.)

Argentina: 4
Australia: 11
Bangladesh: 6
Belarus: 1
Belgium: 1
Bermuda: 1
Brazil: 3
Canada: 24
Chile: 2
China: 4
Cote d'Ivoire: 1
Colombia: 17
Democratic Republic of Congo: 2
Dominican Republic: 1
El Salvador: 2
Ecuador: 3
France: 3
Germany: 11
Ghana: 2
Guyana: 3
Haiti: 2
Honduras: 1
India: 41
Indonesia: 1
Ireland: 6
Israel: 5
Italy: 10
Jamaica: 16
Japan: 24
Jordan: 2
Lebanon: 3
Lithuania: 1
Malaysia: 3
Mexico: 16
Moldova: 1
Netherlands: 1
New Zealand: 2
Nigeria: 1
Peru: 5
Philippines: 16
Portugal: 5
Poland: 1
Romania: 3
Russia: 1
South Africa: 2
South Korea: 28
Spain: 1
Sweden: 1
Switzerland: 2
Taiwan: 1
Ukraine: 1
Uzbekistan: 1
United Kingdom: 66
Venezuela: 1