Where Were You on 9/11

Where were you on 9/11?

It is hard to believe that ten years has passed since that fateful day which will always be known simply as 9/11. There is no need to add the year. Everyone knows which September 11^th is being refered to.

I remember that day clearly. A friend and I had arrived in Virginia Beach, Virginia late in the afternoon on September 10th.

Va Beach is a great spot if you’re looking for beaches and sun. If you’re into military history, especially of the nautical variety, this is your Mecca. With the Norfolk Naval Base, the largest in the world to the west and MasterJet Base, NAS Oceana, to the southwest, for picture taking and touring of military installations, this is the place to be, and nicely sandwiched in between is Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, a US Navy SEAL base.

September 10th, 2001 Virginian-Pilot

Arriving at Virginia Beach, I grabbed the local paper as usual to see what might be going on of interest and chuckled at the front page story. People who had built their homes alongside the Oceana Air Station were complaining that the jets were noisy. They were right about that! Pretty stupid place to build or buy a home if you enjoy peace and quiet. There are always aircraft flying overhead in this area; a combination of civilian jetliners bringing in the newest load of tourists with a sprinkling of US Navy jets flying to and from the aircraft carriers based at Norfolk (or just beating up the beach). The focus of the story was the new (at that time), even noisier, F-18 Super Hornets which were on their way. See the Sept 10^th front page of the Virginian Pilot to the right. Twenty four hours later, this same scene would be welcomed beyond all immagination.

September 12th, 2001 Virginian-Pilot

Enjoying the rest of the day, we relaxed in preparation for the busy day ahead and turned in early. As usual, I was up at dawn watching as they raked and cleaned the miles of beach in preparation for another day (seriously – they do this EVERY morning). Later, I turned the TV to CNN, my usual morning ritual, and was amazed to see an image of one of the World Trade Centre towers with smoke streaming from it. Hearing the talking head indicate that an aircraft had flown into the tower, my first thought was how could a pilot make that kind of mistake?

As I tried to see from the damage what kind of plane it might have been, a blur from the left caught my eye but before I could focus on what it was, an explosion blew out from the side of the other tower.

Yelling at my friend to come quick I stared in disbelief at the screen. The CNN people were doing no better and sat there for a few moments, not knowing what to say or do.

Amphibious Base Little Creek

Like so many that morning, we just sat there mesmerized as the information started to trickle in. The Pentagon had been hit. Another aircraft had gone down somewhere – they weren’t sure where yet but thought it was in rural Pennsylvania.

A few hours later, we finally tore ourselves from the TV to go find something to eat and upon stepping outside; the first thing that struck us was the silence. The endless stream and roar of passenger planes was gone and all that flew over the city was a pair of US Navy F-18 Hornets. I remember pointing out the missiles on their wingtips and hanging beneath their fuselages – definitely not the blue practice ones.

Smoke over Manhattan from the towers on the way Home

That evening we watched as an aircraft carrier left Norfolk heading out to sea. We later learned it was headed north to defend the coastal areas around NYC. Needless to say the tours of military bases were now out. Their entrances were soon blocked by concrete and in the case of Little Creek, a large vehicle with a large gun.Who needs Jersey Barriers when you have a few tracked military vehicles around.
 

The terrorists should have studied their history. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's comment after Pearl Harbour certainly would apply to them; "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." It took many years, but that resolve finally paid off with the elimination of Osama bin Laden. The war on terror continues and as we see country after country eliminating their dictatorial leaders, there is hope that one day, the world will be at peace.

To those who lost friends and family on that day, 

our thoughts are still with you.

To those men and women who are fighting the war on terrorism today, 

our gratitude and prayers follow you.

www.daniellittle.com