I Remember

I was quite busy at work yesterday but I took some time out to reflect on the 7th anniversary of 9/11. It is definitely something you never forget. I remember randomly turning on CNN that morning and almost immediately watching the second plane crash in to the second tower. I remember how God shielded me from seeing the plane hit the Pentagon. I remember how I was on my way to work only to get turned around right before driving by the Pentagon. I left home a few minutes later that morning and if I had left on time, I would have been right by the Pentagon at 9:37am. I remember calling my boss to tell him I was going to be late and I'll never forget what he said to me. He said, "Becky, everything has changed. Everything." I didn't grasp the totality of what he was saying but he proved to be right. He told me to go back home and wait a little bit until things had calmed down and then try to come in later. I remember calling my mom to tell her I was safe. I remember sitting at home, feeling my house shake from when the wall of the Pentagon collapsed. I remember having to talk my way over the Key Bridge and it taking more than two hours to eventually get to work. I remember working the overnight shift that night in the control room producing liveshots (something I had limited amounts of experience doing at that point). I remember eventually driving home near dawn on the absolutely abandoned interstate and seeing them unfurl the American flag next to the hole in the Pentagon. I remember the smoke and the smell of burning metal and other unthinkable things that I could even smell at my house about seven miles away. I remember not sleeping for several days and working 20 hour days. I remember the pain I saw in the family members of those lost in the attacks and just weeping inside. I remember going to church the Sunday afterwards and just bawling the entire time starting from the time I walked in the door.

I also remember a few months later, maybe it was around the six month anniversary but I'm not sure. It was the only time I have ever cried at work due to something I'm covering. I was at the burn center at Washington Hospital Center at a press conference of victims from the Pentagon. These were the most severe victims of the attacks in DC, with at least 95% of their body in third degree burns. I listened to their stories and just the amount of courage they had and I just cried. Most of them were in military and they just wanted to get better so they could go back to work and serve their country. They described their daily routine of having their bandages changed with the most intense pain imaginable. They called their nurses angels which I had no doubt that they were. By the time it came time for me to interview them, I was a basket case. I literally couldn't put two words together (and for those that know me, that's not usually a struggle of mine!) I remember finally realizing in a tangible way what had happened to our country, our world through the eyes of one or two people. It was an incredibly powerful day.

So last night, some friends of mine and I visited the Pentagon Memorial. I wasn't with POTUS on Thursday morning because we weren't travel pool for it. (Thanks to leap year, this is the first time in five years that we weren't travel pool on 9/11.) I watched the ceremony on TV like everyone else. Actually I was watching the several live cameras uninterrupted so I saw more of it than what was actually on TV. (On a completely side note, I saw three of the Becky Protective Detail at the Pentagon yesterday! My team was well represented!) Anyway, when Darla asked if anyone wanted to go after 7p when it opened to the public, I jumped at the chance (and tried to get my piece done early!). It was incredibly moving and inspiring. Being right there on the path of the plane was moving. Just seeing the benches representing all 184 victims- from age 3 to 70- reminded me of how many families were affected that day. And that was only the Pentagon attack. The memorial was designed really well and is a great tribute to those who died that day.

When we were leaving, I stopped a second to look at the flag draped over the Pentagon, in the same place where I saw it being unfurled seven years prior. I thought about how much had changed in the world and in me. I thought about those people I had seen at the hospital that day and how hard a day the anniversary must be for them. I thought about the sadness that the loved ones of victims probably have every time this anniversary comes around. And I thought about how proud I was to be an American and privileged to be living right in the middle of it all.