Remembering 9/11...

Some people say we do too much for remembering 9/11 these days...but I still take the time to remember those who lost their lives that day. This song/poem sung/read by Johnny Cash always sounds true for me each 9/11...now I'll share...and if you have any thoughts, why don't you share too?

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"Ragged Old Flag"

-Johnny Cash

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town".
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hangin' on it".
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down,
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of
That Ragged Old Flag

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Say Can You See"
It got a bad rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That Ragged Old Flag

"On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they've about quit wavin' back here at home
in her own good land here She's been abused,
She's been burned, dishonored, denied an' refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has scandalized throughout out the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
and i believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning
And we take her down every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I *do* like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag"
----

Here's a youtube link...

http://www.youtube.com/?v=mbbGi3mTjCo

Very nice.

I think of two different songs when I remember 9/11.

Five For Fighting "Superman"
and
Green Day "When September Ends"

May the victims and their families be at peace.
May our country never forget.

We live about half way between Washington Dulles and National airports, and are underneath the approach to Dulles. When they fly over, they're at 5,000 ft and 200 kts, running on low power. It's never loud, but it's never silent for long either.

For almost week after 9/11, the sky was silent. It was one of the eeriest thing I'd experienced. Working in air traffic control r&d, I know how much aluminum is up in the sky. During the day there are 5,000 aircraft in the sky; over the course of the day 60,000 flights operate. To know nothing is flying is seriously disturbing. It's our lifeblood. The first plane I saw was the Sunday after, a 767 on final to Dulles. I was over by the mom-in-law who lives closer to Dulles. It was a relief to see us coming back to life.

Someone from my company died in the second WTC tower crash. He hadn't been with us for long. I didn't know him; he was from our office near Boston.

A month after 9/11, my sis-in-law had arrived from Japan. Her husband is in the US Navy. We went to the Pentagon, actually a little park across from the side American flight 77 struck. Our 3 year old daughter was with us. There were boards set up with pictures, pins, ribbons, and other things people brought to remember people who had died. Cranes were removing debris from the Pentagon, and the building was still smoking where the aircraft struck. When we left, we drove along the rent side of the Pentagon.

Never forget.

I was getting ready to go to class that morning and was watching CNN like I normally do. They had a story about a plane that hit the WTC and everyone on the news thought it was a small twin prop private plane that flew off course. They were showing live pictures of the towers as #2 hit the second WTC. Then I heard about the plane in DC and stuff. Then PA. I was worried a bit about my parents because no one was sure how many planes were Hi-jacked or if there was going to be anything else that happened. They were at work at Ft. Deterick, MD. My mom had several people she work with take off immediately and head to New York because of relatives that they couldn't get a hold of who were supposed to be in the towers. One of the army officers up there was also MIA.

I went to Shepherd College that day and every one was in the common area of the cafateria watching the big screen. Classes were pretty much called off. I remember sitting outside and talking to a guy that was about my age at the time. All Guard members were confined to their rooms if they didn't have pagers. I live in the same town as an ANG base is stationed and have a good amount of friends who work(ed) out there and most of them were put on call that day.

I'm also a member of www.dcsportbikes.com and there were a lot of guys from there that saw the plane hit the Pentagon.

I faked sick to work that day, when I got up an turned on the TV the first plane had already hit. I watched the second one hit, and got sick for real. This was one of the worst days in memory for me, I have no real ties to anyone involved in the events that day; but it was impossible to separate myself from what I saw people going through. I will never forget the feelings I experienced on September 11th 2001, may we all be vigilant so it doesn't happen again.

SLC

i was nine at the time and i remember being told about it and not really thinking much of it (living in the UK) now i understand what it meant/means and it intrigues me slightly not in a sadistic way but i always think about it on the day when most British don't, i don't know why?

I was working and internship for a hotel in China at the time. It was evening and I was just starting my shift when my roommate came and told me about the first plane. I skipped out on my shift and spent pretty much the next 12 hours watching the news. I don't know much about airplanes and flights over New York, but I was pretty sure it was an intentional attack. I remember actually seeing the second plane hit live in a background shot. It was obvious then.

When I came home from my internship in November and saw the soldiers in full gear with automatic weapons in the airport, I knew things were going to be much different from then on.