I was much younger than the rest of you when it happened, but even I remember the event as clear as day. I was eight years old, and was getting ready for school at the time (West Coast time frame). I guess my dad had heard first and my mom was upstairs getting ready, and he told her what was going on. I heard the commotion and eventually followed them downstairs to try and figure out what the fuss was about. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on my mom's face as she watched the news report. My parents were silent. I distinctly remember asking what was wrong and they both just shushed me- my mom eventually telling me that a plane crashed and to grab something for breakfast. But I didn't move- and I watched as the first tower came crumbling down. They just stood there, frozen in horror, and even I understood that something incredibly horrible had just happened that wasn't just for show on tv. I knew it was different.
I understood for the most part what had happened- though I didn't understand the scale of the 9/11 attacks. It wasn't until the next year that I truly began to comprehend the magnitude of the event. It wasn't just a plane crash- I knew it had been terrorism, but the concept was still somewhat foreign to me until the whole "War on Terror" thing began. My school did the moment of silence and a bunch of similar things that week that I don't remember at all. But the towers crashing down- that's a moment of clarity that I don't think I could forget no matter how hard I try.
My brother was three at the time. He doesn't remember the event happening. It still boggles my mind that something that struck a chord with me and stayed with me for this many years can be completely unremembered by someone even in my age bracket. And it's more mind-boggling still that future generations (starting with those around my brother's age) will only be able to look back on this event as I might look back on something like Pearl Harbor- a tragedy, but completely unconnected. It's history now. Something so dramatic and life-changing will now only be considered history (to those who did not live through it).
The people who sacrificed their lives in the attack and the rescue efforts afterwards are real heroes. Even the people who just showed their support in the days to come, the nation rallying together- they're heroes. We may never know all of their names, or exactly what each one did to help, but that is in essence what heroics is- doing what is right without hesitation and without second thought as to any sort of repayment. I dedicate this post to those heroes who laid down their lives in an effort to prove to the world that there are still people who are willing to do the right thing, no matter the cost.
-- SJT
