Free Republic

Col. Robert Marr Jr. was in charge of air defenses during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Photo by Dick Blume) Commander of 9/11 Air Defenses Retires BY ROBERT A. BAKER   ROME, N.Y. -- On Sept. 10, 2001, Col. Robert Marr Jr.'s mission at Griffiss Air Force Base appeared to be on the wane. The Cold War threat his National Guard unit was designed to keep in check had all but disappeared. Twenty-four hours later, Marr found himself in the center of another war. His command, the Northeast Air Defense Sector, coordinated the military's air response to the terrorist...

WASHINGTON - Chilling radio transmissions by the Sept. 11 hijackers from the planes they commandeered were played for the first time Thursday, providing a vivid and horrifying portrait as they unfolded on that fateful day before confused air traffic controllers and military personnel. "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be O.K. We are returning to the airport," a hijacker, believed to be Mohamed Atta, the alleged ringleader of the 19 hijackers, told the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11. The tape was played for the audience at the commission's hearing. That transmission was the first inkling federal...