Remembering 9-11 at the Flight 93 Memorial

As the anniversary of September 11 approaches, I found it an opportune time to share my feelings and experience of that fateful day.

I will always remember where I was the morning of September 11, 2001.

I had just turned 20 years old. I was working at a local grocery store when a customer came in and told my coworkers and myself to turn on the TV in the cafe. When we did, we were witnessing something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. The second plane had just crashed into Twin Tower and my heart sank. As I sat there watching the chaos unfold in front of me, another customer rushes in to tell us that a plane had crashed into a field not to far from where we were.

Everyone in the cafe came to a silent hush, not really knowing what to say or do. We weren't sure exactly what was going on but obviously we knew it wasn't anything good.

As the day went on and the more we learned of these awful attacks on our Country, the stores, the streets and the sky became empty. As I was driving home at 2pm, the highway, which would be busy any other day, was like a deserted ghost town. Myself and one other car were the only ones on the road. The moment I returned home, I turned out the television and was unable to move from that spot for the rest of the day. My heart was broken for the families of passengers and rescue crews and for all of the people who lived in the USA.

About 6 months after the attack, I wanted to go to the site in Shanksville, PA where Flight 93 had gone down. A friend of mine decided to come along and when we arrived at our destination, we just stood there in complete silence, trying to completely comprehend what had happened. Although we were not able to get really close to the actually spot where the plane landed, we were able to see the huge hole in the ground. It was fenced off and had an American Flag attached to it. I just stood there, taking it all in, angry at the cowards who hijacked the plane and proud of the Americans who took control of the sitiuation. The Memorial at that time was simple. Just some little flags and a sign.

But today, this Memorial is a sight to behold. A fence sits not far from where the plane crashed. It is covered in American Flags, baseball caps, toy cars, jewelry, articles of clothing, signs, etc. There are poems, sayings, placards and a cross. The guardrails are covered with bumper stickers and signatures from visitors.

As I walked up to the Memorial for the first time in 5 years, all the emotions I had felt the first time around, came flooding back. This time though, the tears I had were not all of anger but of pride. I am proud to say that I am an American and I am proud of all the brave people who sacrificed themselves to save others.

This Memorial stands here so we will never forget what those brave individuals did for this Country and its people. And I'm sure as time goes on, this Memorial will continue to grow in size