REMEMBERING 9/11 in 2022 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    At 10:28 am, eyewitnesses at Ground Zero heard another huge explosion and then the North Tower collapsed. They said they could hear the sound of twisting and crushing metal. (If you close your eyes, I'm sure you can recall all these events as clearly as when they happened 10 years ago. I know I can)

    Mayor Guiliani was asked how many had died and he answered: "The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear."

    2,606 people died in the towers or on the ground. The death toll could have been much worse. An estimated 15,000 people made it out of the World Trade Towers to safety after the first plane crash. 246 people on the four planes died. There were no survivors. The hijackers turned our beloved Twin Towers into slaughterhouses.

    Shortly after the towers fell, Kevin Shea, an off-duty firefighter, was found on West Street, with a broken neck, severed thumb, internal injuries, and very little memory of what he had done as the buildings burned. He suffered slight amnesia but was keenly aware that 12 other firefighters from his fire company who raced to the World Trade Center never made it out alive. Firefighter Anthony Sanseviro was in tears, mourning the death of his longtime friend and fellow firefigher Danny Suhr, who was struck by a falling body and killed as they were running to the burning towers.

    At 3:15 pm, President Bush had arrived back in DC. Condoleeza Rice greeted him with these words: "We're at war, sir." Bush asked CIA Director George Tenet who he thought was responsible for the day's attacks and Tenet replied: "al-Qaeda. The whole operation looked, smelled, and tasted like bin Laden." Tenet then told him that passenger manifests showed that three known al-Qaeda operatives were on board Flight 77.

    At 8:30 pm, President Bush prepared to address the nation - to address 320 million Americans who had witnessed an unspeakable tragedy. He gave these words: "Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge - huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.

    A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil - the very worst of human nature - and we responded with the best of America... with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could....

    I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible for these evil acts and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

    Before going to bed that night, President Bush would write this in his diary: "The Pearl Harbor of the 21st century took place today.... We think it's Osama bin Laden."

    It may have been the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in us, as Americans.

    Those working at the scene hoping to find any survivors were horrified. There were places they walked where they saw body parts - parts of human bodies... hands, legs. Mayor Guiliani would later report: "We recovered about 19,000 body parts - a very small percentage of intact bodies. About half of the families got something they were able to bury and the other half got nothing."

    Today - 21 years later - we come together not as Men or Women, Young or Old, Rich or Poor, or members of any ethnic group. We do not stand here as laborers or professionals or housewives or public servants. Or as Christians or non-Christians. We are Americans. On the morning of 9/11, our enemies didn't target any one group over another. They targeted Americans... American civilians. Not men and women in uniforms trained for military action.

    Firefighters and other first responders risked their lives to save those dying and in danger. They didn't see the scared and suffering in terms of race, religion, gender, or profession. They simply saw them as fellow Americans.

    We especially recognize the unique value of first responders (firefighters, police, clergy) in such a tragedy as 9/11, just as we recognize their unselfish commitment to helping other human beings whenever and wherever they are in need and in danger. 343 firemen and paramedics lost their lives on that fateful morning. They crawled up fiery blackened, smoke-filled staircases to save complete strangers... And they willingly did so. We have such fondness and respect for our firefighters. They are a special breed. You see, the death card is one that every firefighter carries in his hand. He hopes he never has to play it, but it's always there. Every time we hear a siren or a fire truck wail, we instantly know that a life will be saved. Sadly, we never know if the fireman's life will be sacrificed.


    Likewise, people look to clergy for comfort and empathy, and in fact, it was in this very capacity that Father Mychal Judge, chaplain of the NY Fire Department, lost his life at the site of the flaming Towers. He was in the lobby of the South Tower administering last rites when it collapsed. Debris flew everywhere, striking Father Mychal in the head. It was reported that at the time he was struck, he was praying out loud: "Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!" When I was in high school,Father Mychal served at St. Joseph's parish in my hometown of East Rutherford, in north Jersey. I was in his youth group at the time.

    We recognize the same valor in those civilians who selflessly went back into the burning buildings to help save lives. Heroes were born that day.

    Simply put, the attacks on NYC and the Pentagon were the most savage and audacious acts of terror ever perpetrated. They were also supposed to include government buildings in Washington DC. We wonder why our country was the target of such a brutal attack. It's because terrorism works. For us as Americans, we lost a lot of the freedom we had taken for granted on that day. We no longer feel safe within our borders, we spent years under "terrorist warnings," we are harassed when we go on planes, we spent years not trusting anyone of middle-eastern decent. It was the most costly attack on American soil, even more costly than the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the forces of Imperial Japan killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, and destroyed or damaged 19 U.S. Navy ships, including 8 battleships. During the September 11 attacks, 2,977 people were killed and more than 25,000 others were injured. Of the 2,977 fatal victims, 2,753 were killed in the World Trade Center and the surrounding area, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania. And then, of course, there were the 19 hijackers who committed suicide. Japan's Admiral Yamamoto rightfully noted that they had "woken up a sleeping giant." And 9/11 committed the United States to fight terrorism, wherever it originates and whenever it is used.


    The spirit that the terrorists tried so hard to kill on September 11 has never been stronger. The attacks only solidified our commitment that America will survive and freedom will ring. The attacked forged a new generation of patriots. Men and women have been inspired in force to join the armed services. Over 3 million have volunteered. It was an unfortunate event that created national unity. We continue to need that national unity today.

    Remembering 9/11 and honoring its innocent victims isn't about government or politics or political correctness. It's about love of country and a bond with our fellow Americans. It's about respect and an unspoken duty to keep 9/11 from fading in significance. It's about a solemn promise to fellow Americans to keep their spirit and sacrifice alive. As Scottish poet Thomas Campbell wrote: "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." 3000 unarmed, innocent Americans were targeted for death in NYC and Washington DC for no other reason except they were Americans. It could have easily been my husband or my child who was on one of those planes, or your husband, wife, or child.

    It is said that the test of any religion, government, political system, or educational system is the type of man or person that it forms. Let us think about that as we reflect on the events of 9/11.

    May all those who died on 9/11 rest in peace and may we continue to remember what happened on that horrible day... If on no other day than this day, the anniversary of that horrible and savage attack on our country, let us continue to come together not as Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, Christians or agnostics, but simply as Americans... as neighbors and members of our collective American society.


    Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, helping a stranger, a humble donation to law enforcement or the fire station, displaying our flag, or volunteering at church, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.