When I think of where I was on September 11, 2001, I recall that I really had no clue about the significance of the historic terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Centers. That morning, my high school English class had gone on a field trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana’s main public library to do research for upcoming papers. As we were getting briefed by the librarians on the library resources, I remember the librarian stating that if we were going to use the internet for research, we may find that many news websites may be bogged down due to an incident in New York City. Because I was curious about what happened in New York City, I delayed my research into the true identity of Robin Hood to find out what actually happened.

As I logged onto the computer and brought up the web browser, I remember reading about two commercial jets crashing into the World Trade Centers and how initially, people thought it was a tragic accident. As I read deeper into what was being reported, the suspicion was later confirmed to be a terrorist attack. I remember looking at a friend and just saying “Wow.” I never knew an event of that much significance would change the course of my life or my political thinking.

WTC

Days later, I was sitting in my senior economics class watching the latest on the terrorist attacks. While I watched, a news reporter interviewed a woman I suspect was from New York, asking how she felt about the attacks. I remember she said that the attacks were tragic, but she was thankful we had a powerful military to bring the terrorists to justice. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming feeling of respect toward our men and women in uniform, and begin thinking about becoming one of them.

In November of that year, an Air Force recruiter came to my school. I left a lunch table full of friends to go talk to SSgt Branum about the opportunities the Air Force could provide. That same month I enlisted in the United States Air Force and the rest as they say, is history.

September 11 is not just a defining day in my life, but a defining day in the history of our nation. That day our way of life was attacked and our constitution challenged. I will never forget the power of pride in the American conscience in those first few months after the attacks, the respect our military received, and the support our nation gave to the city of New York, Washington, and the families of those lost in the attacks. September 11 was my generation’s “Pearl Harbor,” and I will never forget what happened on that day.

As our country travels through a period of transition six years after the 9/11 attacks, I think that we Americans have sort of lost that patriotic spirit we had when we rallied behind Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty. We may not agree that the Iraq War was justified, or that we’ve lost focus on Al Queda in Afghanistan, or even about the leadership of President Bush in these crucial times. But I do think we must remember, that we as Americans are “One Nation Under God,” ready to defend our ideals and our way of life. Today, let us remember what we Americans value and let us turn to God for guidance in these troubling times.