The moment we rallied

Twenty-five years ago today … in the early morning hours of a previously nondescript Tuesday … we were attacked.

A team of terrorists hijacked four commercial planes and flew them into highly-populated areas. Thousands of innocent men and women died that day.

Twenty-five years ago. We remember the friends and family members who perished at the Pentagon. We remember those who lost their lives in the two World Trade Center buildings. We remember the souls that downed a fourth flight in a Pennsylvania field to keep it from crashing into another building.

We remember United 93 and American 77 and United 175 and American 11. We remember and we honor the crew and their passengers.

We remember those who perished on the ground, those who had families and friends and loved ones.

We remember the heroism of the civilian boat flotilla who rescued people off of Lower Manhattan.

We remember the first responders who ran into and up those burning buildings with no regard for their own personal safety.

We remember the days afterward. Flags on every mast. Blood drives. Volunteers at a place called Ground Zero.

And we cursed the mastermind of this ghoulish terror. It was upon his orders and his command that his zealot footsoldiers took four airplanes into suicide missions. We cursed this man. And we cheered when he was captured and killed.

Nine years, seven months and twenty days later. We finally heard from the President the world’s most wanted terrorist has been killed.

We all remember September 11th in our own way. We say a prayer for the fallen. We try to reconcile and separate the differences between us. We do what we are able.

On this day, I choose to wear a set of souvenir pilot’s wings – the kind that were given to good little children on air flights – as a reminder of the sanctity and preciousness of life. I used to have two sets of pilot’s wings – a United and an American – but the American wings disappeared some time go. Such things happen. But I still have the United wings.

In our worst moments, we found hope.

In our darkest times, we found courage.

This was our “Where were you when” moment. And no matter what you were doing on that day … you remember it clearly.

This is our day of acknowledgement. Our day of remembrance.

Let us all remember these moments together. Say prayers for those whose lives never reached their natural conclusion.

And let us remember that even though tragedy and terror took our nation on September 11th, 2001 …

Let us remember how we all came together as one nation on September 12th, 2001.