It's inevitable right? Every year about this time people start talking about where they were on September 11th and how they heard the news...I don't think I will ever forget. I didn't lose anyone or know anyone involved. But like every other American it still effected my life. So I'm going to share my story...
I was sitting in my senior writing class talking with my good friend Katie, waiting for the teacher to come in and start class. She was very proper and always on time so when the bell rang and she still wasn't in class everyone kind of wondered what was going on. When she finally came in, she immediately told us that two planes had hit the twin towers in NYC, that there was a lot of speculation but no one really knew what was going on or what was the cause. But my classmates started asking questions and a conversation about terrorism started, I just sat there baffled "terrorism? in the US? it has to be something else"...and then my old sophomore math teacher came in to the class room and whispered something to my teacher. She gasped and said a loud "They got the pentagon" Seeing her stunned and speechless scared the crap out of me, she just wasn't the type of person to show so much emotion in front of her students.
My school chose not to dismiss us. They figure it would cause a lot of chaos that was unnecessary. We were safe in the school and there was just no reason to send us home. So the day went on and some teachers tried to go on with their lessons but obviously everyone just kept talking about what was going on. There were TV's on in the study halls with live coverage. I got a bathroom pass so I sneak over to watch one of the TV's and see what was going on... I got there in time to see the first tower fall and I asked "when did that happen" and the teacher looked at me wide eyed and said "that was live" It was horrible.
After school I had to go to work. I was a CNA at a nursing home and there were still patients that needed to be taken care of. I just wanted to sit at home with my family...but work was a good distraction. A lot of the residents suffered from Alzheimer's or dementia and did not know what was going on at all...to them it was just another day.
To me though it was the day before I went into Boston to take my oath of enlistment into the delayed entry program for the Air Force. Yes I am serious. I had already signed 4 years of my life away weeks before September 11th and it just so happened my appointment at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) was scheduled for September 12th, 2001.
My mom didn't really understand my decision to join and she certainly didn't think I needed to sign up before I was even done with my Senior year and then on 9/11 my mom got really worried, as any mother would! She made me call my recruiter to see if I still had to go. Of course he told me yes, I had already signed my papers! (even though I found out later I could have if I really wanted to!!!) But He knew it wasn't me that was worried, I mean I was scared about joining the military with war right around the corner but I never doubted my decision.
Before September 11th I was very naive. I rarely paid attention to the news and I just never assumed the US would go to war anytime soon. I'll admit it, I was joining soley for the benefits. In fact on September 8th at my cousin's wedding I remember talking about my decision to join and I said "it's not like we are at war so it's not a big deal" So very Ironic....
I am pretty sure it was my nativity even after 9/11 that kept me calm enough to stand by my decision to join the military. I had been told "the air force doesn't see the front line, only the pilots do" & my Dad who is a Marine told me he wasn't worried and that I would be OK. & In my four years that was all true. I was stationed safely in the middle of the country in Illinois and I was never deployed. Not because I didn't want to, or did something to get out of it, but I just never got tasked. I would have been proud to go. I was proud to serve. & I was extremely proud to take my oath when I did.
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