Never Forget: A Date Which Will Live In Infamy.
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Captain’s Blog… September 11, 2024.
There are a few days in everyone’s life when the world stops, and from that moment on, it becomes one of those “Do you remember where you were when…” moments.
Today is one of those days.
September 11, 2001 is a day that will be remembered in history alongside November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated, or December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor to name a few. To quote then-President Franklin Roosevelt talking about the Pearl Harbor attack, September 11th is a “date which will live in infamy” for all of us who were alive to experience it. I was in high school, at a welcome-back-to-school ceremony. The entire student body and staff were gathered in the high school’s gymnasium. It was your quintessential late Summer day in Northeastern Connecticut with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. The town in which my High School is located is considered a sleeper town for Boston, Mass. Many of my classmates had parents and family members that would take the roughly 75 minute drive into the city for work. When my classmates went on vacation, they would normally fly out of Logan Airport, where the two planes that hit the World Trade Center towers flew out of that fateful morning.
It was just another Tuesday in my small world. While sitting in the school-wide ceremony, I would have never thought that about 150 miles away both towers were being struck by two separate planes, a third plane was on a collision course for the Pentagon, and yet a fourth plane was in the sky above rural Pennsylvania; a battle to regain control underway by the passengers who - as I assume - had most likely no knowledge of everything else happening around them on the Eastern Coast of the United States of America.
By the time the ceremony had ended, and all the students of my high school left the gymnasium in high spirits ready to take on another great school year, both towers had fallen, there was a huge hole in the side of America’s Military Command Headquarters, and those passengers over Pennsylvania had successfully but sadly ended the take over of their plane, giving their lives in the process. I found out about the attacks upon returning to my first class of the day, which was ironically Civics and U.S. History. My teacher, Mr. Smith was over at his desk as we all entered his classroom. He had two computers on a table next to his desk. I recall one of their monitors was on. He told us that there were news reports coming down about a twin engine cessna airplane that had crashed into one of the towers and that there was also other reports of a bomb exploding outside the White House. Of course, the tension in the room rose with this information. We quickly learned that it wasn’t in fact a twin engine plane, but a commercial airliner (and a second one) that hit the towers. We quickly learned that it wasn’t a bomb outside the White House either. One thing we didn’t quickly learn was that America was under attack because the school, in an effort to protect us, turned off all internet access.
For those of you who may not have been alive for this tragic event 23 years ago, please know that we had cell phones, but they weren’t commonplace as they are today, and they did not get the internet! 2001 cell phones weren’t even digital, and they were good for one thing: making phone calls. We couldn’t look up what was going on outside the school walls. We couldn’t call our parents or loved ones to make sure everyone was okay. We had to go about life like nothing had happened.
I had band practice a little later in the day. Little bits of news had found its way into the school, probably from teachers and staff that had access to outside sources. My band teacher, an Active Reservist, told us that we were not to talk about what had happened that morning because no one knew how the person they were sitting next to in class would take the news or if they were related to someone directly involved in the terrorist attacks. Anyone found talking about the events of the day would receive detention.
I don’t tell you this story to vilify anyone at my high school. They handled what they had to the best of their ability that day. The school itself brought in grief counselors for days following what would become known to history as 9/11. Students were able to come and go to the local churches if they needed a place to grieve the events. As vividly as I remember this day, I also remember the feeling around the school. It was a heavy feeling of sadness. It was a feeling of grief for all of those people who would never get to come home to their loved ones.
America put aside their differences that day if only for a little while. Television shows paid tribute to the fallen heroes of New York, Washington D.C. & Arlington, VA, and Shanksville, Penn. for months to come. Star Trek: Enterprise aired its pilot, Broken Bow, 2 weeks later on Wednesday, September 26, 2001. It wouldn’t be until 2 years later, however, that Star Trek would take the events of September 11th and make a full season story arc about the aftermath of a catastrophic attack on earth by an alien race called the Xindi. While I didn’t lose anyone in my immediate family in 2001, I still find myself choked up for the character of Tripp Tucker when he loses his sister in the Xindi attack on Florida. While I watch the fictitious attack on TV, it brings back memories of seeing those planes hit the World Trade Center Towers, or the images of the burning rubble at the Pentagon; the dust covered spectators running for their lives through lower Manhattan as the towers fell, and the path of scorched earth where United Airlines Flight 93 came to its final resting place in Pennsylvania. As I pen this Captain’s Blog, I still feel emotional remembering where I was that day. As a journalist, I have spoken with people who lived through the events of 9/11. I recall conversations with other journalists who rode in the back of an Ambulance into New York City, so they could cover the aftermath of the tragic events that destroyed that beautiful day in September. While I never knew anyone that died in the attack personally, I will never forget what happened to them. For those first responders and civilians who ran into the towers to help the injured get out at the cost of their own lives, this blog is for you and your family. A common phrase that came about during the Pandemic in 2020 was, “not all superheroes wear capes.” This was proven long before COVID-19 by the courageous acts of those firefighters and police officers that made the ultimate sacrifice that day. It was proven time and time again for all the soldiers who fought in the days, months, and years to follow so that America could stay the Land of the Free.
We’ve all experienced different tragedies in our lives. We can either let them consume us, or we can let them mold us. The grief from September 11, 2001, just like after the Pearl Harbor Attacks in 1941, brought about a resilience across America. Its battle cry against injustice brought in a whole new generation of soldiers; men and women who said they won’t let another American tragedy happen on their watch. Some of these men and women came out of the same ceremony I did 23 years ago. Some of them never made it home. To them, I also say “Thank you.” It’s because of all these men and women that I can sit here today, on another beautiful September day not much different meteorologically than it was in 2001, and write this.
So, as you sip your coffee or tea, and you think about your day today, take a moment to pay respect to those who came before you and gave you this chance. Tell your loved ones what they mean to you, and make a point to go out of your way to try and do something nice for someone today because, as Captain Benjamin Sisko said in the episode Seige of AR-558, "They're not just names... It's important that we remember that. We have to remember."
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Peace and Long Life.
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The Captain’s Blog is an Op-Ed style blog written by the captain of the U.S.S. Charter Oak, Ryan O’Connor. The U.S.S. Charter Oak is an independent Star Trek Fan Association located in Connecticut, but is open to anyone from anywhere on this beautiful blue and green marble. Please follow the U.S.S. Charter Oak on Facebook, Instagram, and X and check back regularly for more from The Captain’s Blog…