September 11, 2001 - Ten Years Later

A SAD ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEKEND
This weekend we mark the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon - as dastardly a deed as has been perpetrated on our country in its history. And, even as remembrances are being prepared throughout the country, we hear of the possibility of another attack planned for this weekend by the same band of lunatics, as THEY also mark this anniversary.

COSTA MESA REMEMBRANCE
In Costa Mesa a remembrance will be held on Sunday, Patriot Day, beginning at 9 a.m. Here's a copy of the flier for the event.
THE CNN 911 MEMORIAL SITE
Those of you who have been loyal readers since I began this blog in 2005 will recall that I've written about this tragic day every year. Today I'm not going to try to recount all those essays, but will provide you with links to them so you can visit or re-visit my thoughts as each year passed. I will also refer you to the CNN 911 Memorial link I've had on the side of this page since the beginning. You can also reach it HERE. It provides you with information about the victims in many different ways - by name, by company, by flight, etc. It tells you, for example, that the youngest person killed that day in those events was then-2 year-old Christine Hanson, shown here with her parents, who also perished.

"LET'S ROLL"
In the past I've written about Todd Beamer, whose battle cry of "Let's Roll!" launched a counter-attack on Flight 93 that probably saved hundreds of lives in Washington, D.C. as the embattled hijackers flew that plane into the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.


MANY HEROES
That day had many heroes - those brave first responders who did their very best to save the occupants of the Twin Towers as they burned and, eventually, imploded. Hundreds sacrificed their lives to save others. This weekend we will hear those stories, and many more, all over again as our nation pauses to mark this day.

MY PREVIOUS POSTS
Here are the links to my previous essays about September 11, 2001. In them I wrote about friends who were personally impacted by the crashes, and about not knowing if some of them survived. I wrote about the victims and survivors and much, much more. The first two were published on my earlier host site which provided no way to show images.

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

A SMALL MEASURE OF SUCCESS - FINALLY
I also wrote about the day we finally managed to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden earlier this year, HERE.

SOME PERSPECTIVE
As we mark this day, I think it's important to try to put this "War on Terror" into perspective. HERE's a link to a site that will give you information about casualties in all other wars and police actions in which the United States of America has been involved. I DO NOT, for one second, diminish the loss of American lives over this past decade - every single one is precious. The advancements in battlefield medical treatment and the speed with which our troops can be retrieved from the battlefield and delivered to medical care is tremendous, which has kept the death count lower than decades ago in the Viet Nam War, for example - where more than 58,000 Americans died over the four years of that strife. Please take a few minutes to visit this site.

REMEMBER OUR TROOPS
I hope you'll find a few minutes Sunday to stop and consider what the events of September 11, 2001 has meant to this country. The loss of life and treasure is almost too difficult to calculate and the battle is far from over. Please pause to give thanks to the men and women of our armed forces who VOLUNTEER to fight this battle and do so with pride and bravery. Remember young Costa Mesa immigrant, Jose Angel Garibay, who joined the Marines, hoped one day to become a Costa Mesa police officer and was among the very first American troopers to die in the War On Terror. And don't forget our brave first responders - those Firefighters and Police Officers who stand tall, protecting us every day. Click HERE for a very special remembrance of Garibay's service by a Costa Mesa employee.

"WHERE WERE YOU..."
Finally, this powerful video clip - one of dozens available for viewing on YouTube - with background music by Alan Jackson, will remind you of the horror of that day. As you watch it remember the lives that were snuffed out after those airplanes crashed into the buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C. Remember those brave souls who fought back on Flight 93 and died in that field in Pennsylvania. Remember that, as the Twin Towers crumbled, nearly three thousand people died. They didn't pass quietly in their sleep, they were murdered. Those who did not die immediately when the planes hit the buildings or didn't leap to their deaths to escape the flames were crushed, torn limb from limb and vaporized - many were never identified.




CNN COVERAGE
A neighbor, moved by this blog entry, sent me THIS LINK to a CNN report from 2002. It's 90 minutes of coverage of that day, presented while the wounds were still open and festering.

NEVER FORGIVE AND NEVER FORGET

September 11, 2001 Remembered - Again

ANOTHER SAD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Once again we reach a milestone - another anniversary of September 11, 2001. It's hard to believe that nine years have passed since a handful of Islamic extremists hijacked four airplanes, crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and were foiled in their attempt to crash the fourth into another building in Washington - perhaps the White House or the Capitol Building - by brave passengers who took back the plane but not in time to avoid crashing in a field just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

PREVIOUS POSTS
I've written about this several times in the recent past. Here are links to three of my previous entries, if you care to revisit them:

Putting 9/11/01 In Perspective (9/10/07)
Observing Patriot Day (9/10/08)
A Day Of Remembrance (9/10/09)

CNN MEMORIAL SITE
In addition, CNN.com has created a permanent memorial site which I've had posted on this page for several years. This site provides information on victims of the 9/11/01 attacks - folks like Todd Beamer, who helped lead the charge of passengers on Flight 93 with his rallying cry, "Let's Roll!". You can view that site HERE and visit it in the future at the link on the right of this page.

PATRIOT DAY
Today, as we plan to mark Patriot Day tomorrow, our world remains in turmoil. We continue to fight bloody battles in the Mideast, trying to root out the evil that perpetrated the 9/11/01 attacks. Thousands of young Americans have lost their lives in these battles. Ironically, the first from Orange County was an illegal alien from Costa Mesa named Jose Angel Garibay, who hoped to gain citizenship through military service and later to become a police officer. Brave young Garibay is buried in the Riverside National Cemetery.

LUNATIC THREAT PENDING...
As I write this Terry Jones, the lunatic pastor of a 50-person church who had threatened to burn a copy of the Qur'an on 9/11/10 because he thinks a mosque planned for a site near the World Trade Center location in New York City is an affront to Americans, changed his mind, then changed it again. According to early news reports, he's negotiated a deal with the Imam in New York City to move the location of the mosque in question. Subsequent reports are more than a little sketchy and he still may burn a copy of Islam's holy book.

MUSLIM REACTION
Regardless, his threat has unleashed uprisings among Muslims around the world and our political and military leaders have expressed concern for our troops and embassy's in hostile lands. I'm tempted to shrug off those concerns, but history tells us that Muslim extremists have no patience nor tolerance. That simple act of stupidity on the part of the pastor could, indeed, foment violence against Americans at home and abroad. We live in a very troubled world.

A VIDEO REMINDER OF THAT DAY
Lest we forget what this is all about in the first place, I leave you today with this video clip - one of dozens found on YouTube - commemorating the attacks of September 11, 2001.

NEVER FORGIVE - NEVER FORGET

OBSERVING PATRIOT DAY

TODAY IS PATRIOT DAY
In case you didn't know, today is Patriot Day, not to be confused with Patriot's Day. You can read about it HERE.





THE RESOLUTION
On December 18, 2001 President George W. Bush, following the passage (by a vote of 407-0) of a Joint Resolution of Congress that enacted Public Law 107-89 establishing September 11 each year as Patriot Day, issued the following proclamation calling on:

"(1) State and local governments and the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate programs and activities;

(2) All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States and interested organizations and individuals to display the flag of the United States at halfstaff on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001; and

(3) The people of the United States to observe a moment of silence on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001."

The complete text of the resolution can be found HERE.


"The United States loves life. We love death. That is the difference between us."
- Osama bin Laden




9/11/01 IN PERSPECTIVE
Last year I wrote a lengthy essay on this site, attempting to put September 11, 2001 and the War on Terror into perspective relative to other military actions in the history of our country. You can read it by sliding the cursor over to September, 2007 and, once there, scroll down to the entry dated September 10, 2001. I also began that essay with the same photograph and quotation from Osama bin Ladin

WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE EVENTS OF THAT DAY
I think it's very important, especially in this election year, that we remember exactly why there are hundreds of thousands of young American men and women in harms way in the middle east today. I think it's important that we not lose sight of the issue at hand - that on September 11, 2001 - now 7 years ago today - nineteen terrorists hijacked four American airplanes and crashed them into both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., slaughtering nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children. The fourth was headed for another target in Washington - perhaps the Capitol building or the White House - but was diverted when brave passengers attempted to take back the plane and it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

THE FACES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
I thought it might help you remember by presenting a few photos of just a few of the nearly 3,000 people killed in those attacks. CNN.com is maintaining a web site dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001. There's a link to it over on the right and you can also reach it by clicking HERE. I've extracted a few photos from that site to help you remember. Please visit the site and look at those photos and read the tributes to the folks we lost that day.


Christine Lee Hanson was the youngest person to die in the September 11, 2001 attacks. She was two years old at the time and was vaporized, along with her parents, Peter Hanson and Sue Kim-Hanson, as United Flight 175 tore through the South Tower of the World Trade Center.





Andrew Abate and Vincent Abate were brothers who worked as bond traders at the firm of Cantor, Fitzgerald. They were two of more than 600 members of that firm that died in the terrorist attack while at work.













Barbara K. Olson, 45 at the time of her death, was a well-known television political commentator representing the conservative Republican point of view and the wife of Theodore B. Olson, Solicitor General of the United States. She was on the telephone with her husband as American Airlines Flight 77 dove into the Pentagon.

Jason Dahl was the 43 year old captain of United Airlines Flight 93, which was diverted by a heroic group of passengers who tried to re-take the plane before it could reach it's intended target in Washington, D.C. and crashed in a remote Pennsylvania pasture, killing all aboard.


Todd M. Beamer was a 32 year old account manager for Oracle Corporation when he boarded United Flight 93 that morning, headed for San Francisco. He was the young father of two children, with his third born in January, 2002. Beamer will forever be remembered for his heroic exhortation, "Let's Roll!" to his fellow passengers as they charged the cockpit in an attempt to retake the plane from the terrorists.

HORRIBLE DEATHS
As you look at those photographs and read those snippets of the lives snuffed out on September 11, 2001, please take a moment of silence to reflect on why we cannot relax and let up our guard for a second. Those people didn't simply die in their sleep - they were either instantly incinerated, leaped to their death to escape the flames or were shredded and turned to dust as the towers imploded. To this day, identifiable body parts are still being found at the site of this horrific tragedy. Osama bin Ladin and his followers have dedicated themselves to destroy our country. The beheading of Nick Berg and the murder of Daniel Pearl demonstrate their resolve. Re-read that quote from him at the top of the page and think about the choices we face in November.

MATURE LEADERSHIP IS ESSENTIAL
According to all credible reports, The Surge initiated by General David Petraeus is working. Headway is being made in Iraq, but Afghanistan continues to go from simmer to full boil and back again. For my part, I think it's very important to have a President of the United States who understands the horror of war - someone who understands fully that we fight wars to win. Now is not the time for a trainee in the White House - a man with no executive experience, nor any military experience, at all.

OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON OUR LEADERS
However you decide to vote, please understand that the very future of our country depends on the wisdom and experience of those we elect to lead it. Above all, remember those innocent men, women and children who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and those brave young Americans who have volunteered to protect this country by serving in the military. We, and they, deserve experienced leadership.

NEVER FORGIVE AND NEVER FORGET!