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 bes
t 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.

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.

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

"LET'S ROLL"

MANY HEROES
That day had many heroes - those brave first responders who did their very bes

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.

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

REMEMBER OUR TROOPS
I hope you'll find a few minutes Sunday to stop and consider what the events of

"WHERE WERE YOU..."

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.
Labels: 9/11/01, Jose Garibay, Patriot Day, Todd Beamer