We are asked this every year on this day. Do you remember what you were doing and where you were when the first plane hit, first tower and the second, the Pentagon, and when the passengers of Flight 93 attacked the hijackers and crashed to their deaths saving who knows how many Americans that day.
I was working at my Speedway job as a store manager trainee. They don't allow radios in the stores so me and my co-workers were in the "dark" as to what was happening in New York, Washington D.C, and Pennsylvania. Our customers started rushing in crying, mumbling, terrified, we couldn't make out a word of what they were trying to say. My trainer, the store manager, went against company policy and got out the AM/FM radio we had for emergencies. Once we were able to get a signal we started to get the broadcast reports. I nearly sank to my knees when the overwhelming need to go hit me like a ton of rocks.
My co-workers didn't understand my feeling of needing to go to my unit. It is hard to explain to non-military individuals how you feel powerless when you can't rush in to do your part. I had only been off of active duty for 4 months at the point in time. I had spent nine years on active duty being involved in every aspect of military operations between 1992 - 2001. I packed up and shipped out countless members to everywhere from Somalia to the Balkans. I even had members of my unit staying in the Khobar Towers housing complex, in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, that was bombed by terrorists on 25 June 1996. About 6 members were injured and received a Purple Heart for that incident. Here I was for the first time in ten years not being involved and doing my part that I signed up for. To protect and service this great nation of ours.
I had joined the West Virginia Air National Guard as soon as my enlistment was up but being a "weekend warrior" just wasn't enough for me. I eventually left my Speedway job and headed back to federal service in the way of a temporary title 32 technician ensuring I was be doing me part each and everyday ever since.
How dare these horrible, delusional, deranged, fucked in the head terrorists attack my country at home? Now, twenty years later these same idiots still threaten our way of life. I just pray each and everyday we are strong enough to keep them out. On each of my enlistments I gave the following sworn oath, "I, Doddie, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
In today's society, we are now defending more and more against domestic enemies as we are against foreign enemies. It is a sad time when we have to defend Americans from Americans.
