91101 Remembered - Again, And Again, And Again

A TERRIBLE ANNIVERSARY
Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon and wherever Flight 93 was headed before Todd Beamer and the other heroes aboard foiled the hijacking by crashing it in a field near Shanksville, PA at the cost of their lives and all aboard.

I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS BEFORE
I've written about this terrible event many times, most recently a year ago, HERE.  In that short essay I gave you links to many others that I've written.  I know most of us have been inundated with remembrances of that terrible day over the past few days.  In fact, I've recently watched a television  series on the event and the aftermath which only dredged up my anger again.

THEY WERE PEOPLE
If you remember no other person, remember Christine Hanson, the youngest person to die in those tragic events that day.  Remember how Christine's life was snuffed out when the airplane she and her parents were flying in crashed into the World Trade Center.  Remember how they, along with nearly 3,000 other victims of those attacks, were pulverized - shredded like meat through a grinder - as the towers imploded.  Remember that those horrific clouds of dust and debris carried chunks of humans as they rolled up Manhattan that day.  Remember those poor people who chose to leap to their deaths from 80 floors in the air rather than be incinerated by the heat of those fires estimated to be 2,000 degrees.  Remember those brave first responders - more than 300 of them - who entered those burning buildings to try to help others escape, only to be trapped as the buildings collapsed.

REMEMBER
Remember that day....  Teach those too young to remember just what happened, and why it's important to remember.  I think it's critical that all Americans remember what happened that day, and what it has meant to our country and the world ever since.  To learn more about the victims of 91101, CNN has maintained a site for that purpose.  It will reside on my home page for future reference, but for now you can reach it HERE.  Clearly, we must remain vigilant, as demonstrated by the recent attack close to home in San Bernardino.  We must NEVER let our guard down... and we must NEVER FORGET.

And It Continues...

AN UNFORGETTABLE,  TRAGIC DAY
Fourteen years ago today, September 11, 2001,  the United States of America suffered a horrendous, coordinated attack by Islamic extremists that took nearly 3,000 lives at three separate venues.

HORRIFIC
That date produced tragedy and heroism - and a lifetime of grief for those with loved ones who were killed in those cowardly attacks.  Those innocent people who died that morning, and the brave first responders who went into the bowels of the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon looking for survivors, will remain in my heart forever.  On this anniversary of that date I want to specifically remember two of the victims - the youngest and one of the most heroic.

AN ANGEL...

Today Christine Hanson, who died along with her parents when they were vaporized when their airplane crashed into the World Trade Center, would have been sixteen years old.  She would have been a junior in high school, perhaps on the cheer squad or a star on the soccer team.  Or, perhaps, she would have been a budding musician or actress.  Or, she might have been an outstanding student.  Or, perhaps she would have fallen in love by now.  We will never know, because that young life was snuffed out.

"LET'S ROLL..."

Todd Beamer was a 32 year old software salesman, father of two sons and a daughter that would be born in January, 2002, just a few months after 9/11/01.  She is 13 years old today.   Beamer and other passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93, keeping it from attacking the apparent target in Washington, D.C.  The plane crashed in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
 

PREVIOUS LINKS
I've written about this attack for several years on or around this date.  Here are links to what I've written in the past.

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

NEVER FORGET..... NEVER FORGIVE

September 11, 2001 Recalled, Again

ANOTHER YEAR...
It hardly seems possible that we have reached yet another anniversary of the attacks on our country that occurred on September 11, 2001, and yet, here we are.  I've written about that dastardly event each year since then that I've had this blog.  You can read my post from last year HERE.  There you will also find links to several others.

WE GOT HIM, BUT...
On May 2, 2011, just a few months short of the tenth anniversary of the attacks, United States Navy Seals - Seal Team Six - located Osama bin Ladin in Abbotabad, Pakistan - a country we curiously consider an ally - and killed him, closing that particular chapter in this horrendous event.  While I felt some degree of relief when I heard the news, I didn't feel particularly safer.  I never did expect bin Ladin to show up on my doorstep with an AK-47.
 

THE MONSTER, OSAMA BIN LADIN...
When Osama bin Ladin was killed sixteen months ago - you can read the Wikepedia account of his death HERE -  I was happy that the mastermind of the 91101 attacks had been killed, and I was also a little disappointed because, even though he apparently died of gunshot wounds, it's unlikely that he suffered sufficiently for his crimes.  My preference would have been to capture him alive then submit him to exactly the same kind of death those thousands of people in the Twin Towers suffered that morning.  He should have been run through a wood-chipper alive and those pieces then shot from a cannon for the same result.  Yeah, I know... how barbaric of me.  Well, take a look at this photo of Christine Hanson, the youngest known victim in the Twin Towers.  When the towers came crashing down on her and the others in the buildings they were vaporized!  Several shoes were found in the debris, but no bodies and few body parts big enough to identify were located.  Yeah, I think my preference would be the right one.  If you wish to know more about the victims of 91101, CNN has maintained a site for us.  I've kept the link on my home page - over on the right - for your use.  Or, just click HERE.

CASUALTIES CONTINUE TO MOUNT UP
According to a recent Washington Post report, more than 6,570 U.S. servicemen and women have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since then-president George Bush launched our response to the events of September 11, 2011.  I am deeply saddened for those loses.  I have a 20 year-old great-nephew presently deployed in Afghanistan with the United States Army as a rifleman - shown on the left of this photo while on patrol - and I worry about his safety every single day.

COSTA MESA REMEMBERS ON TUESDAY
Tuesday, September 11, 2012, the City of Costa Mesa will hold a remembrance ceremony at the City flagpole to which the entire community is invited.  The event begins at 9:45 a.m. and there will be a moment of silence at 9:59 to honor the 2983 men, women and children who died that day.  I hope you will join me and other neighbors for this short remembrance.  I also hope none of you will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001, just as my generation will never forget the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 - as then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, "a date that will live in infamy".

NEVER FORGET AND NEVER FORGIVE