Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
September 2011 – “We have been monitoring stories out of New York. It looks like a plane has flown into one of the World Trade Center buildings,” Fred Jackson remembers saying 10 years ago on September 11. Jackson is director of American Family News
Jackson is also host of AFA Report, a daily one-hour look at news and cultural trends, heard at noon (CT) on American Family Radio. In his 30 years of reporting, Jackson said there has been no other day like 9/11: “Terrorism was always over there somewhere, but it was never on our own land. September 11 changed that forever.”
The horrifying events on 9/11 changed not only individual lives, it changed the face of a nation. While the faces of panic, pain and loss were evident on the streets of New York City and across the country, so were the faces of strength, patriotism and heroism.
As then president George W. Bush said, “Freedom was attacked by a faceless coward.” However, among the dust, debris and fear, many faceless heroes* stood toe to toe with terror and beat it back into the darkness.
Heroes in the sky
As was the case during the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was unprepared and caught off guard on 9/11. All military personnel were put on high alert, and pilots in the Air Force and Air National Guard were ordered to get in the air minutes after the government grasped the unthinkable: America was under attack.
Most of those pilots could not wait for their planes to be armed. They went up with no missiles, no bullets and no idea what would happen over the next few hours. A lieutenant colonel in the 102 Fighter Wing based out of Boston, Massachusetts, took off in his F 15 with nothing but his wingman.
Nine years later, during a public speaking engagement, this pilot was asked if he would have shot a civilian aircraft. He said, “After it was figured out that 9/11 was an attack, the game changed. Something that we would never think of doing, like shooting down an airliner, we were suddenly being told that we needed to be prepared to do it if ordered. We were air defense and that was simply our job.”
Shortly after taking off from Boston, he received orders to check out a possible target, a plane flying toward New York. It was in that short time the lieutenant colonel made up his mind to do what he had to do if necessary. He said, “That short amount of time was incredibly difficult. I thought about how best to take down [my target]. Do I take out the tail, or maybe the cockpit in a way that I might eject and save myself? Then I wondered if I should just take it out completely and go for an engine or a wing. It didn’t happen, but if I received the order, that’s what I would have done.”
This pilot is not alone. Dozens of pilots have told stories of taking off runways with little or no ammo and completely surrendering themselves to the idea of willingly sacrificing their lives for the protection of others – their families, their friends, their fellow citizens.
However, after accepting their inevitable mortality, these pilots also had to deal with the fact that, if they received the order, they would purposely take the lives of the very civilians they swore to protect. And all because these innocent citizens happened to be on a plane a terrorist chose to hijack.
At the end of the day, it was the U.S. Air Force who were the heroes of the sky. No cost was too high for them to pay to protect the country they loved.
Heroes in the rubble
While pilots were protecting civilians from the sky, police officers, firefighters and paramedics were attempting to rescue survivors from the rubble. One New York firefighter learned of the crash into the first tower as most everyone else in the country did – on television.
His unit was not called out until the second plane hit. When they were sent, his first job was to set up a road block. He wanted to get to the towers. Not only did he want to fight the fire, he wanted to help the people.
It didn’t take long for him to get the call for his truck to get to ground zero. After they arrived, a fire chief told him and his partner to go inside one of the towers. He said, “You’re going up. All you need is your air, just keep your heads up on the way in because a firefighter was already killed by a jumper. God be with you.”
The firefighter remembered that it wasn’t until the chief said those words that he got scared. He said, “I began to wonder what he knew that I didn’t. I would have much rather he said, ‘Go get ’em, boys!’ or something like that. But the choice of words made me feel like we were going somewhere that we weren’t coming back from.”
As the pair began walking toward their assignment, the tower began to crumble. Instinctively, he ran across the street to what he thought was an open parking garage. By the time he got there, visibility was zero. He could only feel that the roll-down gate was closed and there would be no going inside. He hunkered down and listened to the rubble slamming the ground around him as he sat between an exterior wall and a guard post.
He said, “As I breathed, I was gagging, choking on the air that was filled with debris. I stayed where I was and could feel other people huddled beside me. Some were crying; some were choking. In between gagging and coughing, I waited to die.
“At some point, I turned on my flashlight and grabbed my mask. I opened the air valve and put the face piece on. It was so filled with debris that when I inhaled, I almost threw up in the mask. I tried to clear it out so I could breathe. I could still hear debris falling and hitting nearby.”
The people around this firefighter didn’t have facemasks or air. That realization hit him at the same time he realized they were trapped under rubble. He began to share his life-giving air with those in the small group huddled around him. The sound began to subside. Suddenly, he heard a voice saying, “You’re not trapped, come this way.” With visibility still minimal, he led the small group out to an open space.
Eventually, he caught back up with his unit. They began to search the rubble for those they could rescue. Within minutes, a chief came by yelling, “Everyone off the rubble – imminent collapse!” On the way out, his foot got caught between two pieces of unsteady concrete. He twisted his ankle and believed it to be broken. Once everyone regrouped, his lieutenant ordered him to have his foot checked by an EMT. The man who checked him out ordered that he be evacuated. He refused to leave while there were still people needing to be rescued. He stayed until his entire unit was relieved.
Heroes in our midst
For many Americans, 9/11 was an event they could only watch on television. From the same television, they were told by national leaders to continue with their day-to-day lives. “Continue buying, continue selling,” they were told. But many could not look at that day unchanged. September 11 gave them the needed encouragement to sign up for the military, police force, fire department or EMT service. These are all the heroes in our midst.
One such hero was a 31-year-old Goldman Sachs vice president who enlisted in the army infantry. Three years after the attack, he tried to explain why he joined. He said, “Three years ago I stood in disbelief and watched as just half a block away, a Boeing 767 flew into the south tower of the World Trade Center.” No further explanation was necessary.
This hero is not alone. Although the Department of Defense has no way to officially document the 9/11 recruits, the proof is in the numbers. Not only has every branch in the military seen increased recruitment numbers; the retention numbers, soldiers opting to re-enlist when their four year terms are up, is higher than average as well.
In 2010 the Army’s recruitment goal was 6,425 soldiers. By the end of the year, 6,643 men and women had signed up, 103% of the goal. The Navy’s goal was 2,200 and 2,291 signed up. The Marine Corps hoped for 2,400 and they got 2,457. The Air Force needed 1,500. They received 1,511 signees.
The retention numbers are even more amazing. The Army National Guard had 110% of its retention goal while the Army Reserve reached 108%. The Navy met 100% of its goal. The Marine Corps Reserve had an amazing 130% of its goal. The Air National Guard topped everyone with 135%. The Air Force Reserve reached 101%.
These numbers are astounding when you consider the big picture. They represent not only members of the military; they also represent families who surrender their loved ones to years of service and deployment. Children who meet their father a year or more after they are born. Children who spend birthdays and Christmases away from Mommy. Parents who kiss their children goodbye, not knowing if they will hug them again. Heroes who stare into the eyes of fear and never flinch.
We as a country will recognize September 11 as the tenth anniversary of one of our nation’s saddest chapters. We will remember 3,000 people losing their lives to faceless cowards. Let us remember with honor and respect the ones who lost their lives. Let us pray for families who still bear the scars of that loss.
Likewise, let us remember and recognize with honor and gratitude those nameless heroes who have protected, rescued, flown, fought and died for family, friends and freedom. For our nation. For us. 
*Heroes are not named in this story in order to honor all those whose names and stories we will never know.
____________________
Serve the servants
▶ Pray for the first responders in your community as well as all those in authority. As Romans 13:4 says: “They are God’s servant for your good.”
▶ Whenever appropriate, express your gratitude to policemen, firemen, EMTs and those serving in the armed forces.
▶ Write a letter through Operation Gratitude. Handwritten letters are most appreciated. Send the letter in an unsealed envelope with the salutation “Dear Service Member” or “Dear Hero,” to: Operation Gratitude 17330 Victory Boulevard Van Nuys, CA 91406.
▶ For family members of those deployed in our armed forces, offer to grocery shop, babysit, mow their lawn or help maintain their home or car.
▶ Write a letter to the editor expressing your gratitude for military and civil servants.
▶ Attend local events that honor first responders and our troops.
▶ Visit www.military.com/benefits/resources/support-our-troops, www.uso.org or www.opgratitude.com for more ideas.
