9/11: A Decade of Memorial to the fallen heroes!

Keywords or Terms: Tenth-year Anniversary of 9/11; Terrorists; Heroes; World Trade Center, New York; Pentagon, Virginia; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; Clarion call and word or resilience; Human and families Sacrifice; World Trade Center Memorial Park; and Heroes. 

Never again must a disaster as magnanimous as what took place a decade ago at the World Trade Center in New York, Pentagon, Washington DC and the hallowed fields at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, occur in the life of this Democracy. Never again must any annihilation and destruction from any foreign person(s), nation or ilk, come to this soil with us feeling so helpless, hapless and in disarray the way we were a decade ago. The nightmare of seeing two huge buildings collapse, part of the Pentagon destroyed and more than forty souls destroyed in an unfortunate crash in Pennsylvania are not the only reasons why a gruesome thing like this must never again happen; the constitution of our democracy and the lives and souls of the innocent lost on that day, are definitely unswayable reasons and justifications, why America must never again find herself on the defensive, within and without our shores, with our overwhelming military might. 

The tragedy of September 11, 2011 had both human and capital costs; and, the stories of the lives of many souls that were lost on that day will forever be etched in our nation’s psyche. There were deaths, miseries, sorrows, exasperation and cries of many people doing their daily routine things in those buildings when the first and second planes stuck. There were first responders who gave it all while attempting to save the lives of others; there were stories of husbands that made a last goodbye phone calls and those that never had a chance; there were brothers and sisters lost at the Pentagon and others in the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, there are parents and family who are still grief stricken and who are still today demanding answers to the question why. There are those bereaved families of the victims of that day who have forgiven but refused to forget, because they are so much of a human being than those who flew those planes into those towers. There was Todd Beamer and his plane mates who said they will never go down without giving a fight; and now, there are children who were born to those who lost their lives on that day, who want answers to what could have been  Yes, we have had so many lamentations about what actually happened that day and who masterminded it; however, the mystery surrounding how a crew of sadist came through the borders of this great country to kill her children right in front  of their mothers, must never be forgotten; Never! Never!! Never!!! 

Two thousand seven hundred and fifty souls or so fell on this day a decade ago and we will forever commemorate their memory, both in spirit and physic. The collective memory of three hundred and forty three fire fighters, sixty police officers and first time responders who were lost ten years ago would never leave us. As a result of what happened a decade ago at the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon, many people have redefined their lives and what it means to be a living and breathing soul; a few, have even changed their religion; and some have chosen to become unrepentant atheist because they could never believe that a God who loved them so much, would allow deaths to crepe into their household unannounced and so dastardly destroy the beauty of human decency. 

It’s unfortunate that people use a metric rule to measure their faith in a creator, says the reverend father; but listen to the lamentations of those who have been at the receiving end of the events of that unfaithful day: 1) had my husband, wife, uncle, brother and or sister waited a little longer or called in sick to work, death would not have visited our home; 2) had my husband or wife or dad or mom missed that flight American Airline 93? 3) If only we could have just captured what was to happen on September 11, 2011 on September 10^th, 2011; and, 4) why were my family members exempted from this disaster? We cannot give suiting enough responses to these questions; but, what we can say is: we share in your grief and would have loved to answer your mired of what ifs’ questions. May the Good Lord give you Succoth, consolation and eternal peace that surpass all human understanding, Amen!!! 

Whichever or whatever way you look at the events that led to the demise of the close to three thousand innocent souls a decade ago today, this was an unfortunate event that no one wouldn’t have stopped, if they had a privy knowledge that it was going to happen, except that individual was part of the planners or their surrogates involved in crashing the planes into the World Trade Center, Pentagon or the Philadelphia fields. We ought, all of us, who lived through the experience or consumed those indelible pictures of the  unfortunate disaster(s), must ensure that the memory of all who died on September 11, 2011 are never forgotten; we all owe them that at least. The explosions or deaths could have scared our memory, but the memory must never be allowed to stamp us out of living life to the fullest. We must keep it in our minds that the treachery of a villain must never defeat our spirit of rebuilding ourselves, community and state, for a brighter future. 

If you are family members of the victims, think about the fund times you had with them before September 11, 2011. Imagine how wonderful those times were, how you never wanted them to end, and how your loved ones reminded you that all good and bad things come to an end; and invariable or eventually, work out for the best. Consider the first time you heard that there was an enormous plane crashed into the tall towers and when to you, it looked more like a dream or theater, and that another plane crashed into the pentagon and another in a field at Shanksville, Philadelphia, took your breath away. Imagine how you felt overwhelmed and struggled with the grief of knowing your loved ones wouldn’t be coming home. Now, be that extraordinary person that overcame the horrors that men less worth your loved ones had done to your family. I know, it isn’t a routine experience, but it is an experience you will never wish on any other person; not even your enemy. If it is not possible to forget the experience, it is possible to remain positive even under tough times like you had since that event, when it became obvious that the unimaginable had happened. Doing so will greatly enhance how you are able to overcome the grief of loss of your loved one. 

Protecting this nation is now the duty of everyone, every soul that lives and breathes within this border, not only the military, for there are some heinous people bent on doing us wrong. We have committed close to six trillion dollars to wars against terrors since September 11, 2011; however, we have even committed our blood, sweat and souls to ensure that what happened here a decade ago, never again repeat. There are those who report that the planners or engineers of that dastardly act want to have a better relationship with America, but we will like to tell them, at this rung, we cannot accept their olive leaf; until we are able to figure out who is our genuine friend and who is a peripheral friend or enemy; we do not know which goats are in sheep’s clothing; until we can definitely figure this out, the deaths of the Americans and others who died that day, cannot allow us to bury or put down the sword. Their souls still haunts us and the grief of not being able to save many of them in the inferno of the fire at the Pentagon, field in Pennsylvania and the World Trade Fair towers, still make our eyes wet and sometimes, cry like babies. This is why we just have to hold forth. You know, they say time heals the wound; however, the scar for all of us in this nation, is still fresh, even ten years after. The portrait of grief of beautiful souls we could not identify immediately after the disaster, lingers on in our memories and their families and loved ones eulogized them and so, we as a nation, would forever!

  

For now, we cannot raise any duty higher to our commitment to always remember the events of that day, or what vast consequence the events of September 11 have had on the psyche of America. The intervening decade has allowed the nation to build or probably attempt to complete the World Trade Center Memorial Park with the symbolic names of all the victims engraved in concrete around a water fountain. We are humbled by this experience; we have chosen to replace the heights of those towers with meaningful lighted serenity, steadily inching towards mantra of our labor liberty, pursuit of happiness in the completion the World Trade Center’s Memorial Park. 

Further, we understand the essence of completing the memorials at the three sites and re-solidification of our resolve never to forget what took place a decade ago; and, our commitment to freedom. Apart from the momentous memorial projects underway, the pride of our nation and the reflection of the lives lost on September 11 continue to inform us of our loss as a country and our choice to heal. We will ever keep the bereaved families from this very painful and unfortunate disaster in our prayers. The poignant and somber memorial today is not just about the star spangle banner, but the memory of all those great heroes we lost on that day. The good works of those victims will forever be with us. The indelible image of the nightmare of that day will always be with us forever. To their families, a debt of gratitude!

At a personal level, all my children have graduated from Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Washington; it is a name for a school that will always lighten the load of our sadness from the events of that day. Helen, Kevin, Alex graduated from Todd Beamer High School and their diplomas are in a cherished shrine in my study, to always remind our family, the sacrifices made by great men and women, of this country a decade ago. We will always remember the call: Let’s Roll! It is call like this that makes many Americans proud despite the sorrow of the disaster, because it exemplifies the dutiful and heroic nature of being an American.