Those who fell....

"It was an event so horrible, it was like a bad dream we could not wake up from..."

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I love this time of year. It seems like it is the same every year once our state fair is over. Those azure blue skies, the wispy clouds, and very comfortable temperatures. Early September of 2001 was one of those rare times when our good weather extended all the way to the East Coast. 

It was a Tuesday morning. The day dawned just as perfect as it did on Tuesday of this week. In 2001, I was still working at IBM. I had a large client in downtown Minneapolis. About 8 in the morning, I was pulling into to the parking ramp next to American Express. 

I was listening to a talk radio station as I entered the ramp. I found an open spot and was getting ready to pull in when a new flash came on. The radio said a small plane had just crashed into one of the World Trade Towers. I did not think it was any big news, as this had happened before. A small plane, getting lost in the fog or something, hitting one of those gargantuan towers. I turned my car off and went across the street to my account and got set up at my desk.

After I was situated, I turned on a small radio I kept in my cubical. The news had gone from bad to worse. It was not a small plane that hit, but a jet liner. That is when my "spider senses" first started to tingle. This was not right. This might be something we all had been fearing. Fearing for some time.

My phone rang. It was my daughter calling from her apartment in St. Cloud. "Dad, did you hear the news? What is happening?" She was watching the TV and could see the huge bellow of smoke rising from the stricken tower. My daughter knew I used to be in the intelligence business while in the Navy. But this was far beyond what I was trained for. I only knew what was happening was bad - very bad.

We all know how the rest of the day turned out. The attack was well planned out. Planes where chosen which were large and carried maximum fuel. As the planes approached the towers, the hijackers "fire walled" the engines. The goal was to inflict as many causalities as possible.

Most people who died upon impact had no idea what hit them. Those on the floors above them were trapped. When the first plane hit, some were getting ready for their day's activities. Some were maybe having a second cup of coffee. All of a sudden, everything changed. Many had to instantly make a very tough decision. Should they stay quartered where they were and face probable incineration, or should they go to a window and jump. And by doing so, plunge many hundreds of feet to their deaths.

Many of the NYC police and firefighters had just started their day shift when the call went out. Not too much was known other than a plane had just hit one of the towers. Their job was to get on site as fast as possible and then get up those countless number of stairs. Once topside, they were to rescue as many as possible in need.

As they were going up the fire escape stairs, they passed many dazed and confused workers coming down the other way. However, the fire fighters and police were doing what they were trained to do - running towards an explosion rather than away from it.

I have thought about those heroes many times, many of them very young. How scared they must have been. How knowing that going up those stairs might have be the last thing they ever do. But they did it. And did it without hesitation. When the towers fell, the heroes fell with them. Hundreds of heroes - all gone in a heartbeat.

In the aftermath, some bodies were found, and many never were. Sometimes only a piece was found which required a DNA test for identification. Some bodies were just ground to bits and became part of the dust cloud which enveloped Manhattan.

Almost 3,000 people died that day. The World Trade Center complex was all but destroyed. And all because 20 young Muslim men decided to carry out a mission of evil.

Once it was over, some of our terror experts came to the conclusion the terrorists had no idea the towers would fall. Having both towers fall, turned out to be a bonus for the bad guys.

Some will forget that day. A few will try and re-write history - some are already trying. But there are many of us who will not forget. We will never forget what happened, and who did this to us. The world changed that day. Our world changed. Our country changed. As we channel our anger into resolve, our memories remain sharp. We still remember those who fell on that September day. We remember the innocent lives which were snuffed out for reasons sane people cannot understand. 

So I say this with some trepidation. Stay vigilant my brothers and sisters. I fear this attack is not yet over. The peace we have now have might only be a pause. Much worse might be coming.