The United States, united in the wake of 9/11
It was a late summer morning like every other on Sept. 11, 2001.
My wife and I were having breakfast and watching
”
The Today Show
”
as we prepared for work. Our sons, age 5 and 6, were watching
cartoons and getting ready for school.
Suddenly, above a
”
breaking news
”
banner, an image of the World Trade Center on fire was shown. It
looked like a high-rise blaze, but we would soon learn it was much
more than that.
The United States, united in the wake of 9/11
It was a late summer morning like every other on Sept. 11, 2001. My wife and I were having breakfast and watching “The Today Show” as we prepared for work. Our sons, age 5 and 6, were watching cartoons and getting ready for school.
Suddenly, above a “breaking news” banner, an image of the World Trade Center on fire was shown. It looked like a high-rise blaze, but we would soon learn it was much more than that.
Over the next hour, we were glued to the TV, having switched to CNN as we learned that a plane had struck one of the towers and gasping as we saw images of another plane striking the second tower.
From there, it was a blur as we rushed to head off to work and drop the kids off at school.
Back then, I was commuting to Santa Clara, so I was on Hwy. 101 when word came that one of the towers had collapsed and yet another plane had crashed into The Pentagon. Later came the news of a fourth plane crash in a Pennsylvania field.
None of it seemed real.
At work there would be no work done. The entire office was glued to the television as it became evident that these incidents were a terrorist plot; an attack on America.
Within a few hours, we were all given the option to go home and be with our families, which seemed the right thing to do even though there were no reported attacks on the West Coast.
One of my enduring memories of that time is the eeriness of the skies in the day or two after the attacks. The federal government had ordered all planes to be grounded, so the normally busy airspace above Silicon Valley was left to the clouds and the birds. There was no noise of planes throttling down as they cruised in to land at San Jose International; there were no contrails above San Benito County – a flyover county for planes heading south.
The initial shock that people felt turned into sadness which evolved into anger. The country came together amid a wave of patriotism that our country hadn’t seen since World War II. Every other car on the highway had an American flag on its antenna, as that’s all some of us felt that was the least we could do to show support.
As terrible and tragic as the events of that September morning were, they did make the United States feel united. Ten years later, that feeling has faded as political divisions erode the unity and spirit of togetherness that our nation had in the wake of tragedy.
My San Benito High School students were too young to realize what was going on back in 2001, when they were 4, 5 or 6 years old. This week, as we watched archival news coverage of the events of that day, they were transfixed.
This weekend, our community and the nation will pause to remember those who died that day, those who showed no hesitation in risking their lives to rescue victims in New York and Washington, and those who signed up for military service to help prevent more attacks.
At the high school, for students who have lived two-thirds of their lives with their country at war and for whom heightened security measures are the norm, a small memorial is planned at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday in the quad at the middle of the main campus. Staff, students, parents and the community are all invited to attend a candlelight ceremony and slide show. Guests will be encouraged to offer a short reflection or just silently reflect on the tragedy that seems so long ago and yet not that long ago at all.
On Sept. 11, I will be flying back home from Portland, Ore., having celebrated my grandma’s 90th birthday with her and my family over the weekend. It will be a bit strange to board an airplane on that day, what is now a solemn day of remembrance for a country that was knocked to its knee a decade ago, but got back up.
If we fall to a knee this Sunday, it will be to pray for those who were lost or who lost someone on 9/11. Maybe, at least for a day, it will help people remember how the United States truly became united in the wake of tragedy – and how truly insignificant our political divisions are.
Adam Breen teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter for The Pinnacle. He is former editor of the Free Lance. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @AdamPBreen.
