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9/11 meant separation

Pencil Shavings

Dawn Hankins
Posted 9/11/21

Do you remember?

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9/11 meant separation

Pencil Shavings

Posted

I was surveyed recently about where I was and what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001. It’s hard to believe that was 20 years ago.  

Do you remember?  

Larger point being, do we, as a country, still remember after all these years?  

I think the greatest feeling many of us had and still remember is the separation we experienced from our families—right when that second plane crashed into the Twin Towers.  

I was blessed to be able to get in touch with my loved ones.  

Do you remember?  

As we’ve read and heard, story after story, over the last 20 years, many never heard their loved ones’ voices ever again.  

Do you remember?  

It was touching to me recently when a veteran told me he started calling his family during that ill-fated day—just to let them know that he “loved them.”  

A Vietnam War veteran, he realized how important it was to do that in that very moment. Ask a veteran sometime what is really precious in life. They’ll paint you a different picture. That’s why many kissed American soil when they returned from war.  

Sadly, 9/11 was a time when many were forced to return to war—some went into the desert for the first time.  

Some returned, others were never the same, due to what they experienced in Desert Storm. Funerals were held. Children sobbed. Wives clutched American flags.  

Do you remember?  

The Defenders of Freedom and Liberty of Shelbyville want to refresh our memories; they’re sponsoring a FREE patriotic program 10 a.m. today at Shelbyville Central High School Auditorium.  

Edgemont Baptist has a special “hero” service set aside Sunday morning.  

Sure, the weekend is busy day for most. It was also a busy day in 2001, when all those fire fighters climbed into “the pile.”  

Do you remember?  

Saturday is clearly a day which should be set aside to salute the American Flag and all for which it stands. Our veterans will be busy placing flags around the city and county.  

Looking back over a recent interview with organizers of Saturday’s event, I found touching quotes, which will forever be memorable to me.  

Thanks guys.  

Donnie Porter said, You’ve got to remember at that point, that I was already in the Air National Guard, so we were deployable for short amounts of time and sent where we were most needed, vividly remembered one Desert Storm veteran.  

We appreciate those who came to the defense of this country. Porter also talked about one guardsman with such “unique skills” he would be activated and deactivated to the desert seven times.  

That was in a very short time period, Porter points out.  

I now have another hero to add to my list. What sacrifice our veterans have made as defenders of freedom and liberty.  

Thank you to all who served. We humbly thank those families of Ground Zero (military and civilian.) Our prayers are with those who would never hear the voice of their loved ones ever again.  

Imagine the loss that year around holiday tables.  

Where were you? Did you hug your loved one? Do you remember?