9.11.01

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 is a day that will always be etched in our minds. The images of smoke pouring out of the Twin Towers as another hijacked airliner slammed into them has been permanently seared into my brain. I can vividly recall the flames flickering from the building as people desperately jumped to escape the raging inferno.

On that fateful Tuesday, I was a sophomore at Columbine High School (yes, that Columbine High School). It was a day just like any other. School had been in session for about three weeks or so, and I was settling into the daily routine. This may come as a bit of a shock to those who know me, but I sometimes tend to struggle with punctuality. As a result, I rarely took the bus to school, so on that Tuesday morning, I was sitting in the passenger seat of my Dad's Camry as he was driving me to school. I was chatting with my dad when I first became aware that something had happened, although I didn't realize it at the time. We were sitting at the light at Cross & Wadsworth, waiting to turn left. My dad had the radio turned on, and I remember hearing something about something had hit one of the towers. I was 15 and didn't really pay much attention to the news, but that caught my eye. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the whole thing and couldn't figure out what they were talking about. As we finished driving to the school, I knew that something had happened in New York, but I didn't know the extent of it. I figured it was a small plane, like a Cessna, that had crashed into a building. I remembered reading about a USAF bomber (a B-25, I think) that had flown into the Empire State Building back in the 1940s, so I thought it was something similar. I never could have imagined it was an airliner with hundreds of people on board.

After being dropped off at school, I did my usual routine of hustling to my locker, grabbing what I needed for my morning classes, and then basically sprint-walking to my first class to make it before the bell rang. That semester, my first class was conveniently located on the other side of the building one floor down. I had Ms. Killion's Spanish III class first period, and when I walked into the room, all eyes were glued to the tv. That's when it hit me. That was my first glimpse of those powerful images that I will never forget so long as I live. The smoke pouring out of the tower. That anguished, panicked faces of people running on the street as dust billows around them. The wails and gasps as the towers fell. The plane slicing into the building; that one in particular will always stick with me. The NYPD and NYFD men and women running towards the buildings to save as many as they can.

Eventually, a campus supervisor walked in and told Ms. Killion to turn the tv off. We weren't allowed to have it on, and the administrators must have wanted to try and have as normal a day as possible to keep the kids calm. The rest of the day was a blur. I was able to focus on the tasks at hand, and it helped being so far removed from what happened. I was on the tennis team, and while I'm not certain, I do think our match was canceled that day. I think all extracurricular activities were.

When I got home, I found out about the heroism, courage, and sacrifice of the Flight 93 passengers in Pennsylvania. I learned how one plane managed to hit the Pentagon, which absolutely stunned me. Being a Colorado native who has always been interested in military history, my first thought was, "What was NORAD doing? Where was the Air Force? How did they hit the Pentagon?" I'd always read about how the Soviets had this extensive anti-air system; Moscow was one of the most heavily defended cities in the world. I read about all the Soviet air-to-air missiles and wondered why I never heard about US equivalents. Did we even have any? Were our cities even protected? Of course, I was thinking this and worried about what would have happened if the Soviets had ever attacked during the Cold War, not if Muslim extremists had hijacked US airliners in the present day.

The cost has been staggering. Three thousand Americans lost their lives that day, an amount that is mind-numbing. I can't imagine what it must have felt like, and continue to feel like, for those who lost friends and love ones in the dastardly attack.

However, the violence and suffering did not end there. Over 4,000 US servicemen have been killed in the resulting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians who have lost their lives. Many of the first responders in New York have suffered illnesses such as cancer and respiratory ailments from inhaling all the dust and debris. Every American who was alive that day has been affected in some form or another.

For all our faults, Americans are a resilient, determined people. We rallied around one another and with one strong voice vowed, "We will not be beaten!" We would rebuild and track down those responsible. It took almost ten years, but we made good on our word: on May 2, 2011, US Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 6 launched a daring raid into Pakistan and put a bullet into the head of the man behind the attacks, Osama bin Laden.

America will never be the same. Since then, the Patriot Act, Department of Homeland Security, and the Transportation Security Administration have come into existence. We have to take off our shoes and put liquids into a bag at airport security. I remember going to Washington DC as a little kid and touring the FBI Headquarters building. When I went back in 2008 with my dad, tours were no longer an option.

However, I have never been prouder to be an American. My country is not perfect; the United States has its share of problems. Anyone following our current political climate knows that. Despite all that, it is still the greatest country in the world. Other countries look to us for guidance. I live in a free country where I am able to express myself, like I am now, without fear of government oppression. Our press is not censored, and I am free to practice, or not practice, any religion I so choose. I don't have to worry about secret police banging down my door in the middle of the night because I had the audacity to criticize the government. I don't live in fear that I may be killed because I had the misfortune of practicing a different religion or was born outside the majority. I don't worry about the air I breathe, the water I drink, or the food I eat.

The US military is the finest fighting force the world has ever known. Pat Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL career to join the Army Rangers and was ultimately killed in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry was wounded in action and lost his hand while saving his fellow Rangers from an enemy grenade. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, this nation's highest award for valor. He was fitted with a prosthesis yet still wants to return for another tour in Afghanistan. Men such as these are a testament to the armed forces and those who choose to don the uniform and defend this country. They are an example to us all.

It's not just those serving who give me hope and affirm that America is still great. Regular Americans prove that every single day. There is always something in the news about an act of kindness given to total strangers. Just last week, two football players at a small school in Missouri saved a baby who was trapped in a hot vehicle by breaking open the window with their bare hands. When a tsunami hit Japan and caused a meltdown at a nuclear plant, Americans responded with donations despite being in the worst economic recession in some time.

Whenever I see the Stars & Stripes flying proudly in the wind, my heart is filled with pride. We have taken a terrible blow from an enemy determind to destroy us, yet we are still standing, stronger than ever.

9/11 was a defining moment in our nation's history, but the image of America is not the smoke billowing from the towers as they burn. Rather, it is of men and women rushing towards the devastation to help their fellow countrymen, regardless of the risk to their own safety. It is of firemen raising the Stars & Stripes amidst the rubble of the twin towers, promising that we shall overcome.

These are trying times around the world, but we shall overcome. The American Spirit is resolute and indomitable. That is what 9/11 means to me.
That is what living in the land of the free and the home of the brave means to me. That is what it means to me to be an American.