Photo By Senior Airman Racheal Watson | U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Vargas, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing command...... read more read more
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UNDISCLOSED LOCATION - September 11, 2001, was a day of grief and a day of courage. The world stood still, flabbergasted by the images streaming across television screens. With the World Trade Center buildings in flames and smoke filling the New York City skyline and the destruction of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the downed aircraft in Pennsylvania, tragedy gripped the heart of America.
Fourteen years have passed since that tragic day, which took the existence of 2,977 people, changed countless lives and changed us as a nation.
Members of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and coalition partners gathered together to remember and honor those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks and on the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Our thoughts also turn to others whose lives were not lost, but were forever changed that day,” said Col. Clarence Lukes, 386th AEW commander. “The first responders and survivors, whose heroism and resilience we celebrate; the Pentagon personnel who came to work the next day with a greater sense of determination than ever before, and the men and women in uniform who have stepped forward to defend our country over 14 long years of war, bearing incredible sacrifices along with their families.”
Shortly after the first plane crashed into one of the towers, emergency vehicles with first responders lined the streets of New York City, debris rained down from 110 floors up, people filled the streets and the world population stood in a state of confusion.
“Our first responders didn’t watch it play out on their television screens—they acted—to help those that were not afforded the opportunity to help themselves,” said Lukes.
The roadways were cut off. The only way to get near the World Trade Center was on foot and people gushed out of the area, horrified and confused.
By 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building. At 10:07 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 deliberately crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing passengers and crew aboard.
First responders and volunteers worked tirelessly around the clock at each of the scenes.
On the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, former President George W. Bush addressed the nation, declaring America, its friends and allies to stand together to win the war against terrorism.
“But America and its allies are still being tested,” said Chief Master Sgt. Richard Vargas, 386th AEW command chief. “America has always had challenges, and we have always met those challenges before. And for all the challenges we face, America and our allies still have within our grasp the potential to do more good for more people than history has ever known.”
Fourteen years later, America and its allies are still in the fight against acts of terrorism with Operation Inherent Resolve, the intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The name Inherent Resolve is intended to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the U.S. and partner nations in the region and around the world to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat they pose to Iraq. The operation also symbolizes the willingness and dedication of the coalition members to apply all available dimensions of national power necessary to degrade ISIL.
“Each day that passes becomes history,” said Lukes. “Our actions are written into the pages of our nation’s story—our actions, these stories, woven into our character and our being, educate our children and future generations on who they are, what they’ve come from and what they should be proud of. Those who are, or were, too young to have a viable memory of September 11, 2001—will still undoubtedly pass the torch of pride in the 9/11 generation, a generation that that changed the face of the American and global Patriot.”
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2015 11:24 |
| Story ID: | 175720 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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