I was fourteen years old. Just another day of my freshman year at Harrisonburg High School, I was walking out of Earth Science and the hallway was buzzing with people talking in shocked voices about the twin towers being hit by something. I remember my first thought being what the heck are the twin towers? (in my ignorance, I didnt know much of the world beyond the Shenandoah Valley) and trying to figure out exactly what the deal was as I walked to my second class of the day. Walking into the next classroom our teacher Mr. Tutwiler turned on CNN, it began to dawn on me that something truly horrible was happening. The first image I saw was of a smoking tower, and then...in the flash of an eye a commercial aircraft flew into the second tower. The images of people jumping from the floors above the flames, the collapse of the first tower, the collapse of the second tower, and the general mayhem that was going on brought my blood to a boil. It was that point that I knew, I was going to put on a uniform as soon as I could. Almost three years later, on July 12, 2004 I stood in Richmond MEPS and took the oath of enlistment. Its been ten years, and whenever I think back on the good times and the bad Im always taken back to that day in 2001 when it all began for me. I hope that in the eyes of those who were lost we have done them justice. And I pray for a world where the innocent are spared the ravages of war. As I do every year, I encourage you to read the article linked below. Of the many stories of heroism that came from that September day, one man who distinguished himself that day already had shown his character decades before. COL (Ret) Rick Rescorla was a native of Cornwall, veteran of the British Army and Rhodesian Colonial Police who came to the United States and attended Army OCS, and as a Second Lieutenant served in the Ia Drang Campaign in 1965 during the Vietnam War. His battlefield leadership was stellar and resulted in his being awarded the Silver Star among other things. A business career followed, culminating in his position on 9/11 as the VP for Security of Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter in the World Trade Center. His actions that day saved over 2700 lives Most know Rescorla for being the cover image on LTG Hal Moores book We Were Soldiers Once, and Young - Steele
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:15:06 +0000
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