It has been 17 years now. It was yesterday to me and those whose lives became attached to what history will remember as 9/11. I’ve written about it extensively and dedicated a book chapter to it. I remember we were united as a country, putting petty differences aside to comfort each other. More than 3,000 people lost their lives including over 300 firefighters who rushed into a building knowing it would probably not end well. They saw their duty and did it. Many who survived that day have had their lives shortened by what they were exposed to. We may never know how many people will die as a result of 9/11.
Onboard UAL 93 bound from Newark to San Francisco with the rallying call “Let’s Roll” New Jerseyan Todd Beamer and fellow passengers and cabin crew charged the flight deck. It crashed in Pennsylvania about 20 minutes flight time from Washington. They got on the plane as strangers and passed into history as a band of heroes.
We can build memorials, and should, to mark the sacrifice. But in the long run the best way to pay tribute to their memory is to live a life that reflects their courage, valor, dedication and love of country.
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