The Laughing Wolf

Never Forget

Each generation has its call, its thing to never forget. Something that happens that affects each and every person, so that it is a common experience. From the site of the good Sgt. Hook, who is wisely taking the time to be with family while that is possible, comes this link. Go there, then come back and finish the rest.

I admit that I am still having trouble dealing with this, because direct action is denied to me. That morning started as it normally did with a quick breakfast at the cafeteria, the usual banter with the cook, and a coffee from the wonderful place that is only on base. I had done the initial parts of the day and was just sitting down at my computer to check the news. Every morning I checked the feeds to see what was being said about us, if anything, and see what else that might affect us was hitting the limelight. Instead of what I expected, I got a flash.

My first thought was that it was a small plane, or that something like the WWII plane into the Empire State Building had happened. It was both a thought, and a wish. It quickly became apparent that much worse was happening, with reports of the explosion at the Pentagon. The conference room was brought up, and live feeds brought in, just in time to witness the second crash at the Trade Centers. Thousands of dollars of equipment, the vast resources of advanced technology, and a knowledge and experience base unmatched in the world, and there was not a damned thing any of us could do. Nothing but watch. Ours was not a defense function, but I know I was not alone in wishing it was, in the desire to use what we had for our country, our fellow Citizens.

I made the calls duty required, those of past oaths and obligations, and watched. Shortly after this, we were ordered to leave, as where we were was declared a possible target and no one could be sure that all planes would ground. The feeling of relief I had when I learned that the President was NEACPed was tremendous, and to those idiots who call it to this day cowardice, BITE ME YOU IGNORANT ASSES!

While it is not a secret, it is also not widely reporter what all did happen that day and in the days to come. Of the hospitals and organizations that mobilized, of the fleets of civilian Nightingales that were marshalled and prepared to transport the wounded from New York to the best care in the world for each type of injury. Of the specialists who volunteered their services gratis, not just surgeons but rescue teams, construction workers, drivers, and others. The outpouring of support and supplies overwhelmed New York, and that is both the saddest thing and the brightest thing. The saddest, because it was the one thing New York did not plan for, and did not expect. The brightest because it shows what is RIGHT with America. What is so often not reported in The Media.

A few weeks later, I stood at Ground Zero and watched. I was in town on business, and was there to offer some of those resources that could do nothing on our day that will live in infamy. Resources to help with detection, protection, and healing. As part of this, NYPD took me to the site, to watch only, my request to do more having been denied. Wise in many ways, but frustrating none-the-less.

So I stood and watched as a few family members waited in forlorn hope, as policemen, firemen, and others worked in a hell that melted their boots off their feet each day, so that new boots and clothes had to be issued each shift. I stood there and watched, and never even thought of bringing out the camera I had on me, for it was not right that I so do.

There are smells that I would go very far to never experience again. Burnt human flesh is sweet, like honey BBQ too done, or a pig that has gone up in flames on the spit (and they will, very quickly too). Blood has its own scent, especially when it is splattered. Airplane crashes can provide this, along with the smell of avfuel that permeates everything. Ground Zero added something new for me, the smell of pulverized and cremated concrete. The dust was everywhere, and the scent of it could drown out about everything else.

I stood there, listening, watching, smelling, and feeling. I saw the families there, watched them, and felt ashamed that I was there doing nothing, and had been unable to do anything before despite solemn oaths to protect and defend.

Today, on this special day, I challenge each of you to do what you can as a citizen, what you must as a citizen, to ensure this never happens again. We, as individuals, can do things to stop it, to prevent the loss of our freedoms in the rush to “do something,” and to deal with the world as a reality. The passengers of Flight 93 made their choice and did what any Citizen should do. It is the choice we may all face in this new war.

I also have a message to those who are using the very real war we are in for political purposes, or for other gain or ratings points in The Media. If you have the courage of your convictions, you will go and look the children who lost their parents in 9-11 and say to their face what you are saying elsewhere. Look them in the eyes and then make the same pronouncements. If you are not willing to do this, you are a coward. Let this be the touchstone for what is said and done, for if you cannot say it to those children, then it should not be said at all.

As for me, I have looked those families in the face and seen the hell that was the towers. More than that, I remember my oaths and realize that we are in a fight to the death. I intend that the other side dies, and not me, mine, or the fundamental principles upon which this country was founded. Enemies foreign or domestic beware, for I am not alone and we will be vigilant. Not vigilantes, but responsible Citizens who will vote, who will inform, and who will place ourselves between danger and that and those we love no matter when, where, or how.

The example is before us: FDNY, NYPD, Flight 93; USMC, AUSA, USN, USCG, USAF; state and local militias; and, all the unsung heroes of the wars from Independence onward. Today, I salute you all on this anniversary. Your work is remembered and is appreciated. We will honor it, and keep the challenge you have given us. For that will be how we keep the great experiment going, and take it towards what it was always envisioned to be.

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