story10489.xml

story10489.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-03-19

This is a hard thing to explain, but I will try. At the time I was stationed at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas NV. I didnt worry too much about anything really. The Air Force was just a job for me. I got up in the morning and I put my uniform on and went to work. Then I came home took the uniform off and did it all over the next day. To really understand what went thru my mind on September 11, 2001 I have to go back to September 7, 2001. That Friday was a mandatory fun day for my squadron. We were at Freedom Park on base. I remember that it was a beautiful day. I did something stupid. I decided to play flag football. Well I ended up dislocating my shoulder. Really messed it up too; took a surgery and a total ten months of rehab to get it back to normal. Well any way I was taken to the hospital and got help. Because of the medication I wasnt allowed to work. At the time I joked that it was hard way to get an extra long weekend. Well I pretty much had all of Monday off because of the meds. I decided that I would go back to work on Tuesday the 11th. So I made an appointment to turn in my medication and go back to work. Well the apt wasnt until 8 am so I could sleep in a little. I got up as usual and put my uniform on as usual. Just took a little longer than normal is all. I got in my truck and headed to the Hospital. The Federal Hospital at Nellis is across the street from the main base. Well I wasnt on the road for more than a few minutes when the song that was being played was stopped in the middle and the DJ said some had happened in New York at the World Trade Center. I changed the radio to the all news am station. It was like bad dream. I couldnt believe what was going on. It didnt seem possible. When they said the first tower had collapsed I was in total shock. By the time I got to the hospital things were already starting to get ugly. The second tower had fallen and I also heard about the Pentagon. The local Force Protection Level had been elevated to Bravo. When I got my medication turned in finally I headed for the door to go back to work and do something. I didnt know what I could do with my arm still in a sling, but I was going to get to work. I just made it out the door when the Force Protection Level was elevated to Delta (the highest level). I just made it out before the entire building was locked down. I wasnt about to stay at the hospital any longer than I needed to. When I got on the road and got in the turning lane to enter the base I discovered that traffic was at a total stand still. I realized that the base was locked down as well. No one enters or leaves. I saw over the fence that the base Security Forces were geared up and armed up as much as they could. SO I pulled out my cell phone and called work and asked what I should do. They told me they didnt know. So I said This is what I am going to do. I am going to go home and wait by my phone. If you need me to come in on a night shift call me there, at least that way you will know where I am. I sure as hell wasnt doing any good sitting in a traffic jam. So I pulled out into traffic and counted myself lucky that I did it while I still could. On the way Home I called my Parents and told them I was ok and that nothing bad had happened in Las Vegas. I told them that I loved them and I would call them latter. So I went home and waited by the phone, and I watched it all happen on TV, Me sitting there in my uniform and my arm in a sling. I felt so useless that day. It made me sick to my stomach. I didnt sleep that night at all. I kept thinking my country needs me and I am useless to my country.