nmah6441.xml

nmah6441.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-02-17

I am an LPN and I was at work that morning when one of the CNA's I work with came up to me and said "A plane's crashed into the World Trade Center". I went into the dining room, which has a tv, and watched for a few minutes, shaking my head as to how a plane could do that on such a clear day. I then went back to work. When the 2nd plane flew into the other tower, the same CNA called to me that it happpened again! Now we all knew it wasn't a accident. I went into the room of one of my residents, a elderly lady watching her tv, who wasn't quite sure what was happening. I explained to her that 2 planes had flown, on purpose, into the WTC. She shook her head, said "Oh my God. Are we at war?" It was then I learned about the Pentagon. It all seemed to be coming too fast. I told her I didn't know, but we needed to do something. Rumors were flying fast and all we could do was watch in shocked silence. Then when we heard about the plane that went down in Shanksville, PA, the only thought I had was extreme anger at whomever was responsible.

I am prouder than ever of being an American. I remember going out and looking at the night sky after all airplanes were grounded and saying to my husband "It seems erie not to have any planes up there. We are witnessing history."

We should NEVER forget our anger, our resolve for justice, the looks on the faces of victims families holding up pictures of their lost loved ones, the shock of hearing the numbers of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty. I will also remember the nations that refused to stand with us in the aftermath.

Before and after. As a history buff, I have always appreciated what our flag stood for,good and bad, but that was always about what had happened in the past. This was our moment to stand up, so that future historians would know that the American spirit was alive and well and that we, as past generations had done, had passed the test.