story4559.xml

story4559.xml

born-digital

story

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2002-09-11

This is with great sadness and pleasure to be able to write a little something of where I was and how I dealt with a very sad day in our great nation's history, September 11, 2001. I am a police officer. On that morning, I was driving to work in Hermosa Beach,CA. It was about 5:50 a.m. PST. I was listening to the radio and heard a little something about a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. Not knowing the magnitude of what had happened I continued my route to work not thinking too much of the crash, maybe because I have never been to New York, I don't know. When I got to work, the TV was on in the briefing room and I learned of the horror that had actually taken place. Not until I saw live the second plane crash I truly realized that this was bad, real bad. As many Americans felt, I was in shock for the rest of that day. While I contacted the citizens of Hermosa Beach and coworkers throughout the day, the conversations were very similar. The disbelief, the wondering, the sadness, the sincere remorse for the victims, their families, and to my fallen comrades in law enforcement and all the emergency personnel.
This past year has been different for me and my family. There is a sense of closeness that has not been felt in long time. I have received more thank you's on-duty than all of my career thus far. Now, on this day, the one year anniversary, I am reliving that terrible day. Not nearly with as much pain and sorrow, but with true appreciation for where I am in life, my dear family, wife and children, and the job that I do as a police officer. However, I feel a little guilty that I have a lot to be appreciative of and it took this tragedy to remind me of it. Very important, though, I am reminded of the great country we live in and I can only hope the victims of 9/11 enjoyed life in America before it was cut short. They will never be forgotten, all 2,801 of them.
Sincerely,
One of many thankful and proud Americans