We Shall Never Forget

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dntrost

dntrost

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Apr 30, 2008
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N. Myrtle Beach South Carolina
With tomorrow being 9/11 I wanted to post this note and share my experience of 9/11/01.
I am sure we all know where we were that fateful day and exactly what we were doing the minute we got the news. I happened to be in an airport in West Africa (Angola). I was headed for home which at the time we were living in England (a two year assignment I had for work). I work for oil company (don't hold that against me) but most of the people were heading home after a 28 day stay in Angola, and most were going to the states. Of course they all were not allowed to leave and ended up stuck in Angola for 7 days. I however was able to fly up to England as they did not ground flights abroad. Of course the news was sketchy and the talk was that things were being exaggerated until...we landed in Paris and saw the news. I did not have a cell phone and was unable to reach my wife so she was very worried.

My Brother, his wife and 2 children live in New York. His son Gregory (my nephew) had just visited us in England and was very excited about his new job. When I returned home (to England) my wife told me Gregory was missing. Of course my heart sank and I called my brother to see what was going on, only to find out he was in the second tower 86th floor (almost exactly the point of impact of the second plane) of course they had not given up hope and were frantically looking in every hospital, posting signs and generally just trying to hold on to any glimmer of hope. I could not do anything flights were still grounded and my brother was adamant no one was to fly anywhere! Well of course as soon as flights resumed me & my wife and children flew to New York to comfort them and do what ever we could do. Two weeks after 9/11 we did have a memorial service (no remains found**) Gregory was 26 years old single, college graduate with a great job in the stock market. So tomorrow as that tragic incident is played on every TV please "Don't Ever Forget" there were 2987 lives lost and countless lives changed. It is a very tough day for my family. My brother once said to me "How would you feel if Rian(my son) were killed in a horrific car accident and it was played on the news every year after." I know the dramatic pictures help people remember but it is very tough on the parents and children who lost family members....
Here is a website from the school Gregory went to; they have an annual golf tourney every year in his memory....
http://www.foretrost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=3
**The side note about remains is two years ago (yes 5 years after the event) they did recover some remains which of course was very emotional for my brother and his wife. They held a private service and finally felt this was closure of sorts until the FBI showed up for a second time with more remains some 4 month later, from what I understand this was not uncommon. My brother had to tell them he did not want to know if anything else was found just so they could move on and not continue to be haunted by this.

Thanks for letting me share my story…. I am sure others might want to reflect how this event changed their lives or where they were that fateful moment.
 
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Dion,
Yearly anniversaries on the news must be painful for the family of those lost on 9/11 but as you said we must not ever forget.
 
Thanks for sharing that Dion. As you said it is extremely painful for those who lost love ones to have to relive it on national news every year, a friend from works brother was a firefighter there who never came out, and I saw him walk out of the breakroom/lunchroom anytime anything is shown on it. I wont go into my story about where I was as it all seems miniscule compared to what you and your family had to endure with this tragedy. Glad to see his school honoring him.

Bob
 
It will never be forgotten, and the people will not be either. I do remember exactly where I was and what I did that morning. I did not know anyone personally, And still will not watch the clips. I saw them that day and that has been enough for me. But I will never forget.
 
9/11 is a time that changed the world.

The only reason it succeeded was the "bad guys" had the advantage of surprise.

We need to remember these events so that we are always vigilant, yet we need to live "normal" lives.

Those who had connections to the World Trade Center on that day have my sincere and deepest sympathies and WILL be in my prayers tonight. You also have my condolences for having to relive this tragedy every year.

Those events will always be an important part of American history. They removed some of our naivete. They hit us "where we live". We need to remember that, so they don't hit our grandchildren "where we live!!"

At the risk of being political and religious, "May God Bless the USA and keep us safe!"
 
It's strange how events such as 9-11 bind us together as a people. Dion, are personnally connected to a tremendous loss of that day.

I did not know anyone that was lost on 9-11, but I was strapping on my combat boots to report for duty when I saw the 1st impact. I knew then that my unit would be called to action. When I went to war, I felt I was going on behalf of every single person our nation lost that day. We are forever connected as a people by the events of 9-11 and must NEVER FORGET!!
 
My wife and I were to leave on Sept 13, 2001 for China to adopt our first child. We didn't get to leave until Sept 15 and had to drive all the way to Chicago from Springfield, Oh because the closest airport was still not operational (Dayton). We made it to China and back with our new baby girl. It was very interesting on the way home because the 747 we were flying on was virtually empty. We will never forget.
:usflag::usflag::usflag::usflag::usflag::usflag:
 
Bear_Knuckle_Turner said:
It's strange how events such as 9-11 bind us together as a people. Dion, are personnally connected to a tremendous loss of that day.

I did not know anyone that was lost on 9-11, but I was strapping on my combat boots to report for duty when I saw the 1st impact. I knew then that my unit would be called to action. When I went to war, I felt I was going on behalf of every single person our nation lost that day. We are forever connected as a people by the events of 9-11 and must NEVER FORGET!!
Click to expand...

And for that act of kindness and selflessness I will ALWAYS say thank you to all of our service men and women. We must not ever let this happen on our soil or the soil of our friends and allies throughout the world again
Thank You!
 
We will NEVER forget those who gave all that day. As a friend of a flight 93 Hero who gave it all that day and her family, We are reminded often of what the families have endured. I cannot begin to imagine the hurt they must have. Their lives go on but they will never be the same. We need to make sure that whatever we do, we never ever forget what happened that horrible day. Our Prayers for all those affected by that "Act of Cowardice" on 9/11/01. Thank you for starting this post. God Bless you and your brother and family, and all those who serve to keep us safe as a nation!
 
Dion, thanks for sharing such a personal account of the terrible events of 9/11.

I do hope that we never forget what happened. Not only so we don't let it happen again but to remember how our entire nation (and many parts of the world) became a "family" in the face of tragedy.
 
I agree 1000000000000000 times over we shall never ever forget!!!!! It is ashame we had to endure this tradgedy and hope nothing like this ever happens again. It showed how vulnarable we really are and we are not as safe as we think.
 
I could have not said it better than Ed Brown. He said it all. We should all thank our Service men and Women for their service to our country, keeping us safe. I personally try to make it a goal to shake the hand of three servicepersons each day and thank them for their service.
 
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