I was with my Mom - in home Hospice (old Dr Cale House) in Atkins Arkansas (with Presbytetian church across the street - Methodist Church out the back yard gate
My daughter called told me to turn on the TV - and shortly after That we watched the 2nd plane hit the south Tower
My Mom very ill - cried - looked at me and said - "I guess your going back to war "
She was right - Moms just know these things
It’s odd - it changed me profoundly and we have players on the field who have no memory of that day
Maybe that’s a good thing
Do you remember Matt Jones fumbal against Texas ? ( spit) 2004
Gosh what a bad week - I never got my HI from that game - word was a mail truck got hit with an RPG - I think a texica stole it
Never thought I would be following the Razorbacks in Iraq again (first time was Desert Shield/ that was a hard season)
To the Arkansas Brigade deployed to Iraq with 1st Cav Div in Taji - 2004-05
I was teaching class. Heard about the first plane, but at that point nobody had made the connection. When I heard about the second plane, class was over. We hunted down a TV and watched as the towers came down, the plane hit the Pentagon and heard about the other one crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. I was 20 miles or so from Barksdale AFB where President Bush’s plane first landed before he was taken to Nebraska (?) and then back to the White House.
I was due to travel that morning to Lima, Peru on way to São Paulo, Brazil. I always watch NBC Today show in the morning. As I was packing rest of my bag, the news broke. My wife convinced me to cancel the trip and I did. In an hour, the announcement came that all flights were grounded and my decision to cancel the trip did not matter.
When I told my wife what had happened, I said “America is under attack”. I will never forget her reaction. She immediately got out of bed and opened the blinds to look outside as if the war was being fought on our street, I will never forget it.
I was driving in south Arkansas and was listening to KARN. The general thinking was the first plane was small so you’re thinking an accident and then word about the second and you knew what was happening then.
I was flying from El Paso to New Orleans. We landed in Austin of all places and were told to deplane and that all flights had been cancelled by the President.
Spent the next five days there till I could rent a vehicle.
I was on leave fishing on a lake about 10 miles from Ft Riley KS. We were listening to the radio and my phone rang and that ended the fishing and the leave.
We drove back to post and watched the towers fall. Signed back in from leave and got ready for a trip. Shocked that this type of thing could happen here at home. It had happened in Germany and other places overseas but not here.
It seems as if there’s so many Americans and illegal immigrants that have forgot that day. America first! I tried to add a story but I can’t find the politically correct way to do so without making someone mad.
God bless you all and thank you to all that have served and those that currently serve our country. It was my privilege and honor to serve our country. Big Red One!!
All of our lives have changed, much like those who had love ones after Pearl Harbor.
America First, all ways. American should never yield. Salute the flag, show respect for those who gave all.
Secure our borders, so this does not happen again.
Strengthen our military to where there is no other like it in the world. Use it when threatened, in other words, North Korea.
Last, support the Razorbacks, win or lose. This state needs the Razorbacks to be very successful it makes our economy stronger.
I was in my office preparing for our Fall Sales Conference the next week. A typical week then would be me in an airplane flying somewhere in America. My daughter called first crying when she knew I was not in an airplane. Soon the wife call and the other daughter and tons of friends. It was like living in a movie with all radio stations broadcasting news about the attacks. We shall never forget.
And for Borbarian and all the others who served our country with honor (including first responders and police) a HUGE thank you. You are our hero’s.
There are several days that I remember vividly where I stood. One of them was watching the Space Shuttle blow up – watching with my young daughters and then trying to explain it to them. I remember the thoughts I tried to express to my daughters years later with 9-11. They wondered aloud if all of their friends (college ages) were going to war and wouldn’t come back? It’s hard to say anything but the truth in a moment like that. Several could not afford to go to college and joined the national guard, or just plain enlisted out of high school and were serving in mundane jobs in the military. It was suddenly not mundane. Yes, they will go to war, I told the girls. And, yes, some will not come back. All true.
When I arrived at work that morning, a co-worker told me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I first thought it was probably a small private plane and was not too worried. But, as the news unfolded and we watched the second plane, we knew we were under attack and I wondered what was next.
I was at the range on Schofield Barracks, preparing to run a live fire range. We were training for war (several trips). Our commander indexed us, made us lock and clear all weapons, then hand in our ammo. I’d never seen that before and only once since. He gathered us and briefed us what happened, guys in my platoon were from New York. Then he gave those guys the satellite phones to contact their loved ones to see if they were ok. They brought a tv out to the range to show us. We were all grunts, we knew what this would mean.
I hate that day, not because of what happened (that was bad enough), but because of what I became and what I did after.
My brother was at Schofield that day, too. He was fortunate; never went to Afghanistan and was getting discharged from the Army by the time of the Iraq invasion.