The above video was not made by me. The internet is a wonderful thing. Click and read or watch then read.

Where were you?

I had gotten to work early that day. I do remember the clear blue sky being reveled to me as I drove my hour commute. I got in work, began my daily routine and I was listening to Howard Stern when the attacks happened. Howard said something about an airplane had crashed into one of the Towers. I walked out and told my co-workers and they looked at me strange. I grab the TV and turned it on and sure as shit, it was true. I was trying to fix the antenna when the second plane hit. I took a step back and I felt a tear trickle down my face. I had never witness such destruction or human loss at one time. The news stations were saying that there could be upward to 20,000 people dead. All this was going on, the experts, the people on the ground it was surreal.

Then….

The towers fell.

I told my boss I had to go.

I left work, sped up the highway along with many other cars. People sort of nodding as you passed by. There was this silent unity with everyone. I heard some radio station folks crying literally over the airwaves. I don’t know how many times my eyes got watery that day either.

Three days later I was in NYC. I was there to ‘try’ and recover some network equipment for my work. I had to take a train down there. I remember walking up the stairway when I got there and into the city.

The smell….

The best way I could describe it is a burnt plastic smell. I got to my hotel and dropped my bags and went straight to ground zero.

I took one look at the building in which my company’s network equipment was in and said forget it.

I had credentials to get in the area so I just joined the effort. I spent the next 2 weeks laying orange flags, picking up remains and saluting when we found people.

I went home and changed my life forever.

Since then I’ve fought the war on terror with a vengeance and still preserve the 9/12 appreciation of what we have.

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General

Mrs. AS here. I wanted to let you all know about a great book that has recently come out. It is by fellow milblogger Blackfive. His book The Blog of War was amazing! It hit home for me on many of the pages. It gave a great insight to what our soldiers feel, how they react, what they experience, and how they cope afterwards. I know that if you read most milblogs you can get that understanding. But this book brought together so many of the great ones that have been written.

I can now say that I better understand some of the things my husband can not tell me,or why he may not want to tell me, or some of the fears he may have but not express to me, or why getting readjusted at home is such an up and down process.

It was really a wonderful book. *And if you’re a cryer, get a box of tissues to go with it*

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General