story1941.xml

story1941.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-09

I was at work on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was just a day like any other, until the news reports started coming in. I first learned of the unfolding events by word of mouth. A co-worker came by and calmly reported that a jet airliner had just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. It initially struck me as another one of those tragic airline misfortunes that have become so common over the last few years. I was completely in the dark about the real nature of this tragedy. A little later my wife called and said that another jet had crashed into the other tower of the World Trade Center. She told me that it was believed to be the work of terrorists. Suddenly, everything began to seem very surreal, and I wondered how this could be possible. A short time later another co-worker came by with the news that yet another jet had crashed into the Pentagon. I was stunned and wondered about the possibliity of even more crashes. Since I was working in a Federal Building for a Federal Agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, I began to feel a bit of unease about the possiblity that perhaps our building might also be targeted. But reason prevailed as I realized that our building was not clearly marked as the location of a major Agency. It also seemed highly unlikely that the plot that was unfolding could have been successful in multiple cities across the nation. Like everyone else, I settled in to listen and observe how things were unfolding in Washington and New York City. I don't think anyone really anticpated the horror that followed the aftermath of those crashed jets. When the twin towers of the World Trade Center came crashing down, it just compounded and extended the tragedy. Thinking about how many people might have lost their lives in these events was simply too mind boggling to comprehend. It was like the Oklahoma City bombing revisited, only 10 times worse. All that most Americans could do for the next several days was watch and pray. As for me, although horrified by those events, I felt far removed from them. Yet at the same time I felt drawn into the renewed sense of patriotism that was spawned by this direct attack on our homeland. There was a sense of pride and community that swept across the nation. It was a sense of solidarity with all Americans that probably has not been felt since World War II. If there was anything good that came out of September 11, 2001, it was this; Americans showed what has always been true about them. We are a nation of great diversity. We are so diverse, in fact, that it often seems that we are our own worse enemy. However, in times of great tragedy, Americans pull together with a sense of unity of purpose that has yet to be demonstrated by any other Nation. God Bless America.