A soldier's experience of 9/11
Melissa Lopez, '11 | Staff Reporter
Issue date: 9/18/09 Section: Opinion
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I was sitting in an auditorium, three days away from basic training graduation. I was among my fellow Delta Dawgs, Delta Company, 249th Infantry Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We were practicing our movements for our graduation ceremony when the Brigade commander took the microphone. I sat silent, wondering whether he was going to praise us for our hard work or chastise us for some unseen Army sin.
"Delta Company, Attention!" barked Drill Sergeant Kelly. The company came to attention. On our feet, we were ordered by the commander to sit. We needed to, for what came next.
"Delta Company, your lives are about to change forever," he said. His head lowered. "All our lives are about to change." I had never seen so much emotion from someone of higher rank; they all looked like they had one face most of the time.
"This morning, two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They have collapsed." He continued with information about planes coming into Missouri, as many of the troops' parents were flying in for graduation. Then he left the stage. We were numb.
My friends sitting next to me, Cox and "the Goat," started flipping out. I told them to hush, or we'd get smoked. "What difference does it make if we get smoked?" Cox said. "We are going to war."
I told them to forget what the Commander said. "Remember the third week. Personal courage. They told us we were going to war; that's all this is. No one would attack us. They wouldn't dare," I told them.
Personal courage week was centered around getting us ready for the prospect of going to war, testing us on our personal courage. At one point they stuck us all in a room and told us that we were going to war, that we would be rushed through basic training and shipped off to war, as infantry soldiers. "They are just giving us one last test in personal courage before we leave," I promised. Little did I know that was a promise I couldn't keep.
We filed into the TV workshop room single-file and squeaked into our rusty metal folding chairs. My friends looked at me and said, "See? I told you."
I told them that we would just watch a pre-recorded video that said, "Congratulations. You passed this last test. You are now ready to be part of the armed forces of the United States of America. Then the TVs turned on, and CNN told me I was wrong.
My insides turned. My heart froze. My head pounded. My world faded. My promise was broken. It wasn't a test, it wasn't ok; it was real. When I saw the replay of the planes crashing, I couldn't breathe. Part of me changed at that moment. I was going to war--I didn't know when, I didn't know why--but those planes, that attack was to be paid for.
I got to advanced individual training to learn my military occupation specialty, and a month later we went to a 9/11 memorial. The one thing that stood out to me was these two little kids, running around the track waving American flags. They didn't know what was going on; they just ran, waving those flags. I was scared, knowing that I would soon go to war. I was only 18, but these kids stood for everything I would fight for: the innocence, the flag, the pride of those around me and love of my country. I knew what I had to do.
I didn't end up going until almost a year and a half later, but I started to resent 9/11, the flags, and all the hoopla involved. I thought that people should love this country all the time, not just when a tragedy occured. People shouldn't join the Army because they know they'll never go to war; they should join because they want to serve.
It really made me mad that people could swoon so easily and just as easily forget.
I've learned a lot since then. I did two tours, one in Kuwait and one in Iraq. I've met people from many countries and seen things I'll never forget. I've felt the passing of a bullet inches from my face and dealt with the loss of fellow soldiers. I've also gone to college and was taught that maybe what we did in Iraq was wrong, but it won't change my mind. I've talked to people who were helped, I cannot be convinced otherwise.
September 11, 2001 changed lives all over the world. How did it change yours?