Sept. 11, 2001, is one of those days etched in the memories of those of us who were alive at the time.<\/p>\n
Ive never shared my memories of that day publicly before this year. Ive never felt it was that important since I wasnt directly affected.<\/p>\n
However, because the story involves my dad, I felt like I should at least put it down since I no longer have him either.<\/p>\n
It was a Tuesday morning, and I was chilling out in my dorm room at Ole Miss. I had classes later in the day. My dad called me and asked if I was watching the TV or knew what was going on.<\/p>\n
He said something to the effect of some idiot has flown a plane into the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n
I asked him what kind of plane and how somebody could have been so inept they hit a huge skyscraper.<\/p>\n
See, at that time, it wasnt known it was an airliner or a deliberate terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
My dad was a private pilot, and I had grown up around aviation. He had grown up during WWII and remembered a B-25 Mitchell crashing into the Empire State Building one foggy night.<\/p>\n
We had also read stories on the occasional light aircraft hitting skyscrapers because the pilot got too close.<\/p>\n
As we were talking about possible ways it could have happened, the second plane hit. That this was no accident was immediately obvious.<\/p>\n
I stayed glued to the TV and didnt go to any classes that day. I think they were cancelled, but I dont honestly remember.<\/p>\n
I watched on live TV as people jumped to their deaths from the tops of the towers instead of being burned alive. I watched it live when the first tower fell and then the other.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 11, 2001, I had been talking with my dad and witnessed an event that for me would be just as memorable as Pearl Harbor was for him.<\/p>\n
I remember feelings between sadness and anger for quite some time.<\/p>\n
I was studying to be a mechanical engineer at the time. When classes resumed, I remember my thermodynamics professor trying to speculate and explain to our class how the planes might have caused the buildings to collapse.<\/p>\n
I remember how united we all were on Sept. 12, 2001.<\/p>\n
A lot has happened in the intervening years. Even with protracted conflicts overseas, I am still stunned we have sitting members of Congress who refer to what happened on September 11th as some people did something, or that the New York Times runs a picture of the Twin Towers, stating airplanes took aim instead of the now politically incorrect truth that this was done by radical Islamic terrorists.<\/p>\n
I suppose they now blame the jets for hitting the towers, not the evil at the controls, much like guns are now blamed for the actions of those wielding them.<\/p>\n
I wish we could return to the unity of Sept. 12, but I would never want to see another 9\/11 to make us get to that point.<\/p>\n
Hopefully someday the rancor and divisiveness will subside. The lust for power that drives political parties now is ripping the nation apart.<\/p>\n
I pray that cooler heads will prevail, and the nation will once again come together.<\/p>\n
Greg King is the Franklin County District 4, Seat A commissioner and a Decherd police sergeant.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\nLet's get back to the unity of Sept. 12 - Winchester Herald Chronicle<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"