September 11th: We Bear Witness (Links)

September 11, 2023

September 11th: We Bear Witness (Links)

by Kate in Victory Girls Post Comment

September 11, 2001. Though you know what happened, for those of us who have lived experience, it’s important to tell the story. We are the witness bearers of that horrible day, so that no one will forget.

What happened.

On September 11th, we watched four coordinated terrorist attacks, by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda, use commercial passenger aircraft filled with hundreds of people, literally slam, at accelerated speeds, into 3 buildings – WTC 1 & 2, the Pentagon, and that field in Pennsylvania. And then we watched those buildings explode, burn, and crumble to the ground, killing thousands more. The 9/11 attacks were the deadliest terrorist act in world history, and the most devastating foreign attack on United States soil since the Pearl Harbor bombing on December 7, 1941. Nineteen terrorists murdered 2,977 people, with the death and injury toll still climbing. And now, twenty two years later, medical examiners are still faced with an incredibly complex forensic investigation, working to identifying “fragments” of victim remains, with 2 more people positively identified just a couple of days ago. Forty percent of those who died on 9/11 – a whopping 1,104 souls – are still NOT identified to this day.

It was an unbelievable horror and the days that followed, dark.

The days, weeks, months, years following.

In the midst of those dark days — some of the darkest days in American history — something amazing happened. A country where people were still divided in the wake of a close, controversial presidential election less than a year earlier put aside their differences for a little while and came together. We prayed together, we cried together and most of all, we stood together. For a short time, the United States of America was truly united.

We watched men and women show us what American Exceptionalism meant; watching them go back into the inferno to save others over and over. We watched these brave people give themselves, their futures, and their very lives. Heroism during 9/11, and throughout the Global War on Terror, was inexhaustible.

Fast forward 22 years.

We’re all aware of a number of broad takeaways from the events of 9/11. From conversations about national security, to the always morphing & demented fringe terrorist-like spawn here in our own country and abroad, to considerations surrounding religious freedom and loss of individual liberties, to rapidly expanding technology, the fallout of that terrible event continues to impact our lives today.

Even in the midst of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan by a buffoon of a president who handed it back to the Taliban, COVID and the insanity of lockdowns, the rise of progressive Socialism – including those elected to public office, a dangerously porous southern border supporting invasion, election integrity fears, mammoth fiscal woes, lack of a reliable workforce, and of course, a completely polarized country, we are still forever changed in our thinking and behaviors because of 9/11.

And Today?

In an effort to keep the events and stories of 9/11 ever close, we’ve gathered below a sampling of some of our Victory Girls blog posts — the stories if you will — from over the years that demonstrate both the abject evil and the uncommon courage witnessed on that day. We hope you pick out a few to read, and then pass on these stories to those who have come after. It’s an important part of our history and legacy, deserves the highest moment of recognition, and should never become a distant memory, a sound bite, or footnote. Of course some say it’s better that he’s not there since he’s such a gaffe machine, but I’m looking at you, Joe Biden.

No matter the circumstances and difficulties we face as a nation these days, on this of all days, choose to live your life to the fullest — because of them. Always be vigilant. Always do something if you see something. And always tell the story of the innocent lives lost, the courage of those who ran toward danger, and those who took the fight to the enemy for 20 long years.

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Here’s a few links to past Victory Girls September 11th Tribute Posts!

A Victory Girls 9/11 Collective: We Remember, We Are Not Afraid

A Victory Girls 9/11 Collective: Life After 9/11

Remembering 9/11: The Music That Gave Us Hope, Strength, And Courage [VIDEO]

#September11: Remembering the Sixth Graders on Flight 77

9/11 Perspective: How We Got Here From There

Remembering 9/11: September 11th, My Son and Duty

Remembering 9/11: Rick Rescorla, a Singing Hero

#September11th: Remembering The 9/11 Jumpers

9/11’s Youngest Victims: The Fate of Juliana McCourt

Our Sacred Obligation to the Next Generation