Let's Not Forget

[Pequod]

Eighteen years ago I was in my office at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC, getting ready to drive to a meeting in Crystal City near the Pentagon, when the news started coming in about the twin towers in New York. First one -- a weird accident -- and then the other -- no accident. A bunch of us were standing around a TV when my friend Ted called and told me to run upstairs to the big back window of our building facing the Pentagon. I did. We stood there watching it burn, with a huge cloud of smoke starting to drift our direction across the river. A short while after that the lab director closed the facility and dismissed everyone. Simultaneously, the security folks closed the gates and put us on lockdown (government operation, or what??), preventing us from leaving.

All of the folks in my division went outside to the parking lot -- we figured it was safer there than to be in a building at a military research lab in what was clearly a target area. We stood there in the cloud of smoke. Rumors started spreading of the State Department being hit. And maybe another blast near the Capitol. Then we heard booms in the distance. Lots of anguish and even more confusion. Are we at risk? Are we at war? Later we learned that the booms were from USAF jets being scrambled from Langley AFB to intercept Flight 93 had it made it that far.

Finally, after hours of standing in smoke and confusion, they opened the gates and we drove home, watching the rest of the events on TV, holding our families close. Eerily silent skies, except for the one aircraft we heard later that evening...the return of Air Force One heading to Andrews AFB.

The next day the stories started coming in. Of friends who were in the Pentagon being knocked to the floor and evac'ing on foot. Others who were dangerously close to the point of impact and barely made it out. Another...a colleague...I never heard from again because he was on Flight 77. As divided as we are today, it's often hard to remember that on that day -- 9/12 -- for a brief moment we became one.

 

[Jon B.]

Our town just lost a State Trooper who went down to Ground Zero with his canine partner to help with the rescue efforts.  He became sick shortly after returning and was fighting serious respiratory related issues for many years.  

He was a great guy.  Brought his dog into our warehouse many times for training purposes.  Sad reminder of the issues that many of the first responders are still facing. 

[Aussie Ora]

Lest we forget . I remember waking up at 4 am getting ready for work turned on the tv and seen the planes hit I thought it was a movie and carried on getting ready .was not until I was driving to work listening to the radio it sunk in that was not a movie.

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