Here’s Why I Will Never Forget 9/11

Like others, I will never forget September 11^th, 2001.  But for me, here's why.

I will never forget being on the air that morning when the news broke, and then breaking that news to our listeners as the day developed.  I will never forget how different people were on the request line that day.  The nervousness of their voices on the line, how scared they actually were, and how they were looking for answers, from someone.

I will never forget the carnage and the death that happened to innocent people in all three locations.  How first responders sacrificed their lives by rushing into those burning buildings in both New York and Washington D.C., and to that field in Pennsylvania.

I will never forget watching the towers fall.

I will never forget the immediate feeling of anger and retribution.

I will never forget the image taken at the Portland International Jetport of those terrorists passing through security with their box cutters hidden away, and how their mission originated with a drive through Maine.  I’ll never forget how much I hated them.

I’ll never forget the words spoken by President Bush while he stood in the ruble of Manhattan, and those spoken by Vice President Cheney when he referred to the heroics aboard Flight 93.

I will never forget the phrase “let’s roll.”

I will never forget the telethon on NBC TV following 9/11.  Where Bruce Springsteen sang Rise Up, and Julia Roberts said “peace be with you, God is great.”

I will never forget David Bowie sitting onstage to kick off the Concert for New York City, with his lone keyboard and his performance of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, America.  I will never forget The Who, and the feeling that they regenerated within the first responders in the audience there.

I will never forget visiting the site of the Twin Towers a couple of times over the following years, viewing the memorial there, and avoiding the 9/11 museum both times when others with me wanted to visit, because I didn’t want to become mad.

I will never forget the sacrifice of all those military members that have served and continue to serve our country in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, and the sacrifice of their families as well.

I will never forget when Osama Bin Laden was killed, and the photo of President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and others in the Situation Room watching it take place.

I will never forget the feeling of grief expressed by family and friends of the deceased shown in pictures and film on both television and online, in the years following

I will never forget 9/11.

I will never forget how great the United State of America is, and how it always has been.