9/11 Remembered, Again

For John, BLUF:  A sad memory, not made better by our withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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9/11 Anniversary

A friend of mine has his Birthday on 11 September.  On that day, 20 years ago, he was heading North on Interstate 395 (Shirley Highway), up where it does an almost 90° turn to the East, near the Air Force Memorial, when he saw American Airlines Flight 77 crash into the Pentagon.  He said it looked like a thousand pound bomb going off.  Having been a Navy Attack Pilot during the Viet-nam War, he knew whereof he spoke.

Of course, traffic came to a halt and continuing into DC made no sense.  My friend took things into his own hands, like a good American and a good fighter pilot.  He maneuvered his car to head South in the Northbound HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lane and led a string of vehicles back South and away from the disaster area.

That initiative on the part of Americans on the Shirley Highway, at the Pentagon, in New York City and aboard United Airlines Flight 93, over Southwest Pennsylvania, prevented things from being even worse.  We should be thankful for that and take a moment to appreciate that individual initiative.

Regards  —  Cliff