Posted on 04/26/2004 6:38:42 AM PDT by Columbine
It was a bright, beautiful day in Washington, DC. Not a single cloud could be found in the blue sky that welcomed in the late summer day. On that Tuesday morning, I rode in my friend's convertible with the top down, soaking in the sun and taking in the crisp, fresh air. I was on my way to the final session of a political conference being held in a hotel near the Pentagon. On the radio, we listened to a very unusual story about a plane which had just hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. The date was September 11, 2001.
Along the way, mixed in with the sounds of the open road, news reports began to tell of a second plane hitting the second World Trade Center tower. Instantly, we knew that America was under attack, but instant knowledge doesn't necessarily lead to instant acceptance. How could this happen? Who was behind it? What would America do next? These were the questions racing through my mind, when, in a moment that changed my life, the news story that I was just listening to became a terrible reality.
We heard the loud roar of a jet airplane, and from behind my left shoulder, I saw an image I will never forget. In the span of just a few seconds, I saw American Airlines Flight 77 fly right in front of me and crash in a fiery explosion into the Pentagon. Not only was America attacked, but we were still being attacked. Every loud noise I heard seemed like another aircraft heading toward a target. It was a terrible day -- terrible not just for the lives that were lost, but terrible for what it did to America. We lost our innocence on that day, and in its place sits a resolve for justice and an ache for revenge.
(Excerpt) Read more at gopusa.com ...
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