Forgotten?

Yesterday I looked up at the sky to see an airplane cruising by.  As I did I had the same reaction I have had for eleven years. . .I wonder if that plane will actually land or will it crash?

Sometimes I wonder if people have forgotten that horrible morning of September 11, 2001.  

For some, I don't believe the images and thoughts will ever be erase.  The scar of fear must also remain to some degree or I wouldn't be wondering if that plane is going to crash instead of land.

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City
(Image: US National Park Service )
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the day when 19 terrorists  killed almost 3,000 people in America, 1609 people lost a spouse or partner.  More than 3,051 children lost parents.

Not all of those who died were Americans, either. There were 327 foreign nationals killed from 53 countries.  No wonder this attack shook the world.  

The United Kingdom lost more people than any other country other than our own.  I remember one of the most touching scenes to me during that time was when the Star Spangled Banner was played at Buckingham Palace.  The tribute to the United States by our closest friend and ally brought tears to my eyes...it still does eleven years later.

For this attack which killed more people than the attack on Pearl Harbor, let us pledge to never forget those who died that day.  Especially let us remember the bravery of the firefighters and policemen who ran toward the burning buildings as everyone else was running away.  Let us remember their honor and sacrifice.

As the mother of a police officer, and as a nurse, I understand that sense of duty.  The life of service does not stop because one has clocked out.  Stories abound of off-duty firefighters and police officers who threw their equipment into whatever conveyance they could find and made it somehow to Ground Zero.  Many who did so never returned.  

We have a great land.  One of the things that makes our country great are the everyday people who are willing to leave the safety of their home and sacrifice all for others.  We see it in our first-responders, we see it in our military and we see it in the faces of everyday people who lined up to give blood, to send supplies, who volunteered to help in anyway possible and who fell to their knees in prayer for the families of people they never even knew.

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; 

and cause His face to shine upon us; Selah. 

That Thy way may be known upon earth, 

Thy saving health among all nations. 

 Let the people praise Thee, O God; 

let all the people praise Thee." 

Psalm 67:1-3