9-11 one of America’s finest hours | News, Sports, Jobs

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There are events in our lives we remember clearly. I was in junior high shop class when I heard President John F. Kennedy was shot and died. I was in Chicago on a job site when the engineer, Alan, drove up and with his Southern accent said, “You need to call your mama right away.” Mom told me Dad had died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Three hours later I was on my first airplane, a TWA flight from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

Do you recall where you were on 9-11-2001 when the first plane slammed into the Twin Towers? I was working for Halliburton and in a meeting at Oakwood, in southwest Virginia, with our best customer at the time, CNX. Joe, a big guy, one of CNX’s operations people burst into the meeting room with the news: “A plane just hit one of the Twin Towers.”

“That’s terrible,” I thought. The meeting resumed. Minutes later, Joe burst back into the room, “Another plane just hit the second tower.”

The meeting abruptly ended. We headed to the TV and watched the towers collapse, killing thousands. Soon we heard about a plane hitting the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was terrifying. Are we under attack? What’s next? I worried about our family scattered all over. We had no idea if there would be more attacks and what they might look like. All planes were grounded except military jets.

I reached Lynnda working at a nursing home in Charleston by cell phone. She was fine but worried. Lynnda soon heard from Gregory, our youngest in Roanoke, Virginia. Our daughter, Dannielle, was teaching in Maryland, just outside the Beltway. Her husband was at work. We were worried and learned the Pentagon attack had jammed phone service. Dannielle’s students were dismissed early since many of the parents worked at the Pentagon. She finally called from home. Our oldest son, Corey, was in the U.S. Navy in Norfolk. We heard from him later. They were on high alert. We were all on alert. The message was, “If you see something, say something.” Dannielle still remembers the military jets flying low over their house all night.

After lunch, I headed back to Charleston. It was a beautiful day. Sunny with a clear blue sky and temperature in the 70s. It was eerily quiet. Not a plane in the sky. Traffic was light. When I stopped for gasoline, I felt a unity with fellow Americans. We were all sad, angry and worried together. Nine months earlier we had just experienced a divisive presidential election. The attack unified us. Political differences vanished. We were Americans first.

Thousands of everyday, innocent Americans at work or flying somewhere for business or pleasure had been slaughtered by terrorists. In addition, we lost hundreds of our brave first responders who ran toward the Twin Towers.

The terrorists focused on killing Americans. Age, gender, race, religion and economic status didn’t matter. The stories of people who died and their loved ones were heart breaking. One first responder talked about all the cell phone calls he heard at a makeshift morgue from people calling their loved ones. He cried knowing the bad news they would soon be receiving.

Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, killing all 40 passengers and crew members aboard. We found out the passengers learned from cell phone calls to family members after the hijacking about the other three planes. Their plane was headed to Washington, D.C., to crash into the U.S. Capitol.

A group of passengers formulated a plan to retake the plane. Todd Beamer, a 32-year-old marketing manager and former star athlete’s famous words, “Are you ready? OK. Let’s roll!” were heard by phone. They used a beverage cart to overpower two hijackers who had killed the pilot and first officer and then broke through the cabin door. A struggle ensued. The hijackers and Osama Bin Laden’s plan to destroy the U.S. Capitol and hundreds of people with it failed when Flight 93 crashed at 10:03 a.m., 20 minutes away from the Capitol.

We can’t always control what happens to us. We can always control how we choose to respond. The heroes of Flight 93 saved hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. Many first responders died years later from cancer caused by the dust they breathed during the rescues and collapse of the towers. There are more stories of sacrifice and heroism than I can begin to recount. Average Americans stepped up and gave of themselves to help others when needed most. That is the American way.

Osama Bin Laden was eventually killed by the U.S. military, as were other terrorist leaders. Others involved in the plot were captured and are in prison today. A new tower now stands at Ground Zero where the Twin Towers stood. It has been 23 years since the attacks. Families still miss their loved ones lost. Todd Beamer’s daughter was born four months after the crash. She and her two brothers, along with other victims’ families, grew up without a Dad or a Mom. They get to live in a free country because of the heroism of people like their father and others, especially our veterans.

We hear a lot of the bad about America. We need to also hear about what is right and great about America. What happened on 9-11-2001 showed the kind of people Americans are then and now. We still must fight for freedom. Sometimes it means having the courage to speak up and tell the truth when our freedoms are threatened. It means caring about others. It means holding elected leaders accountable and electing leaders with integrity who show how they care about people and American values. (Talk alone is cheap.)

Good things are happening in our region like economic growth and job creation. America’s best years are still ahead if we choose to learn from the examples the heroes of 9-11 gave us and act accordingly.

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Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a Masters in Environmental Engineering and over 40 years experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.

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