The flames, the smoke, the smell. It was truly horrible.
I wanted to find a picture on the Internet of the Pentagon in flames after the crash from the approximate angle that I witnessed while weaving my car through the throngs of people to get downtown to Coast Guard Headquarters and help set up ironclad security on the building, the staff and most importantly, the Coast Guard Commandant.
Sadly, my friend Google returned many hits on websites and pages dedicated to the idea that the Pentagon was never hit by a Boeing 757 aircraft, instead it was a great lie fabricated by then President George W. Bush. The websites state that the Pentagon explosion was caused by bombs planted on the president's orders. Some go into great detail on trajectories "proving" that a plane could not have hit the building, that there is no "evidence" of any airplane parts that were found in the wreckage, or that security cameras located around the Pentagon did not capture any photographic evidence of the plane hitting the building.
America is a wonderful place, and we have a Constitution the guarantees freedom of speech. I took an oath when I joined the Coast Guard and re-took the oath when I was commissioned to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. That includes the parts about freedom of speech.
I'm glad that we have that freedom and I served to protect it. But it doesn't mean that I can't find the perpetrators of these websites proporting a big conspiracy to be infuriating and staining to our great country, as well as ignoring those victims of all the attacks who lost their lives.
I'll never forget. Never. Please don't you, either.
We will never forget!!!
ReplyDeleteIt'll always be burned into my memory, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteNever!
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear some of these crackpot theories I always think some village must be missing the idiot. Like Pearl Harbor this day is never to be forgotten.
ReplyDeletea vivid memory always....
ReplyDeleteI never will forget.
ReplyDeleteForever in my memory - the victims forever in my heart.
ReplyDeleteNever!
ReplyDeleteWe'll never forget. Emotions are still raw thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly won't forget that day.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly won't forget that day.
ReplyDeleteVERY well said! I'll never forget! Thank you for your service.
ReplyDeleteErik
I couldn't get to my children that day. I stood in front of a group of fifth graders teaching lessons I don't remember, acting as if everything was okay. I'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteBurned into our memories without a doubt ...
ReplyDeleteI had never heard that cockamamie idea. No one who was over about 3 years old will ever forget that horrific day.
ReplyDeleteIdiots! About the same idiots who claim the Holocaust never happened! We have many of these type people in our community in Montana--must be because we are so remote.
ReplyDeleteIt changed our lives forever and we were not there, we can only imagine how your life was changed forever!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your moments on the scene and we will never forget...
I can't believe that people actually believe that the Pentagon was destroyed by something other than the 757. They need to talk to the relatives of those that were killed on that jet to find out the truth. It was a terrible day. I took my two grandsons to Washington DC shortly after that. Flights were very restricted going into the city. We viewed parts of the damage to the Pentagon. Awful. I can't understand what the purpose is of making such statements.
ReplyDeleteHowdy Marti & Chief,
ReplyDeleteThank you, for all of your years of service!! I had a friend who was on duty in the Pentagon THAT DAY, luckily away from the damaged area; HE WILL TELL YOU WHAT WAS REAL AND WHAT WASN'T!!! His wife was in their apartment ACROSS THE STREET from the Pentagon, was 8 1/2 months pregnant with their 1st child AND SAW THE PLANE HIT IT!!! We don't have TV, so we didn't 'see' anything until we could get to one, but WE SAW THE PLANES HIT AND TRACY & HIS WIFE SAW THE PLANES HIT!! WHERE WERE THESE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T SEE IT AND THINK IT WAS A CONSPIRACY??? THEY'RE NUTZ!!! WE'LL NEVER FORGET IT!!!
Beautiful post - thank you!
ReplyDelete