Reflections on the Anniversary of 9/11

As I sit here and reflect on the last 19 years, and what I will feel and recall tomorrow, September 11th, I think about where I was and what I was doing. 

I was a LT in the Navy, doing my first shore duty in Washington DC. I was part of the Navy Washington Staff DC Intern Program, the first cohort of 15 Naval Officers chosen from the fleet to participate in an amazing program set up by the Navy to intern with 3 different high level DC staffs, as well as earn a Masters Degree in Organizational Management from The George Washington University. 

I remember 9/11 as if it were yesterday. On September 11, 2001, we were all in the middle of our second 6-month internship, and for me, I was assigned to the Department of State, Bureau of International Organizations, Office of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations (IO-PHO). This was an interesting assignment because the office director felt that since I was assigned to the office for 6 months, I was more than just a normal “intern”, I was an action officer, and would be assigned tasks that would normally be given to any action officer at the State Department. I was assigned a portfolio that consisted of Middle East Peacekeeping Operations, and the task of working on Iraq Sanctions. Now, before coming to work at IO-PHO, I had heard of Iraq, but I really didn’t know anything about Iraq Sanctions, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Dual-Use Items, the 661 Committee at the United Nations, or anything about the 4 major United Nations Middle East Peacekeeping Operations, UNTSO, UNDOF, UNIKOM, and UNIFIL. As with everything and as you do in the Navy, you learn quickly.

My office was at the Main State Building at the State Department on 23rd St NW in Washington DC. I remember the day starting out just like any other day. I left my apartment in Crystal City and got on the Blue Line Metro to head to Foggy Bottom and then do the 12 min walk from Foggy Bottom down to Main State and head up to the office. We had one TV in the office, and that was in the Lobby/reception area. I remember working on my computer in my office when I heard “Oh no!” coming from the lobby where the TV was. I got up to see what the commotion was, and on the TV was breaking news about a plane flying into one of the tower of the World Trade Building. While we were watching the TV, a second plane flew into the second tower just after 9am. The Director of my office, a Middle East Foreign Service Officer, immediately, without hesitation, turned to all of us, and said, “Everyone get into your offices now and pull out the hard drives of your computers, shut them down, and lock your offices. We are under attack.” While we were trying to figure out what to do, after we had shut down everything, the phone in the office rang, the news that the Pentagon had been hit was spreading. We were stunned. About at that time, an announcement rang over the intercom at Main State. There were reports of a car bomb in the garage at Main State and everyone was to evacuate immediately. Later we found out that those reports were false, but once everyone was out of Main State, trying to find a way out and home was chaotic. 

The Metro was not running. I suppose I could have walked home from the State Department back to Crystal City, but I saw a bus that was about to leave headed to Arlington, and figured that might be a good way to get home. The streets were gridlock and chaos was everywhere. Every road the bus went down, we ended up getting stopped and having to turn around. Finally, we eventually ended on the 14th Street Bridge, headed south out of DC, and traffic came to a complete halt. To the right we could see the smoke coming from the Pentagon. Fire, police and everyone had lights and sirens going. The bus, still stopped on the 14th Street Bridge, was not going anywhere for a long time. I could see my apartment building, Crystal Towers from the bus. I got up and walked up to the bus driver and asked him if I could get out there. He tried to tell me that he wasn’t supposed to let people out on the bridge, like that, but I somehow convinced him that I was going to get off the bus one way or another. He opened the door and I got off the bus, along with the rest of the passengers behind me. Where the plane hit the East Wall of the Pentagon, the Navy Command Center received a direct hit. Just about everyone in the Navy Command Center was killed, including several friends who were in the Navy Command Center listening to the reports from NYC. I remember getting to my apartment and sitting there thinking about what was happening and what we, as a country were going to do. I remember the next morning, everyone went back to work. We had work to do. 

Now as I sit here, 19 years later, reflecting on our country, the challenges we have endured as a nation, the strength of our resolve as one, I know that whatever challenge America faces, we, as Americans, can put aside our differences and lean on our shared values to overcome the challenge. Over the past decade, I have met thousands of veterans and their families across this nation. Many joined the service after 9/11 because they just wanted to serve. Many of those service members who joined, have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country and for our freedom. Are we a perfect country? No. But, do we have what it takes to see us through the challenges that present themselves to us? Yes. I know I’m not the only one who loves America and believes in the strength and power when we come together as One.