John 15:13: “This is my commandment: that you love each other as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this—that a man should lay down his life for his friends.”
Everything changed this day! If you don’t remember anything changing just walk through airport security next time and think that “nothing” changed. Everything changed!
On 9/11/2001 I was not working in education but in business, Mortgage Banking, in Chaska MN which is a suburb of Minneapolis. Once I heard about the 2nd plane hitting the 2nd tower in New York City from a small radio that was on outside my office, I kept going downstairs to the first-floor restaurant of the building I worked in to view updates on the large screen TV. I watched events what seemed more like an action movie than real events in our United States. It truly was a day that should not be forgotten – a day that changed America.
In the days and weeks that followed, American flags appeared on nearly every porch, pickup truck, and local business. President George W. Bush’s famous bullhorn speech at Ground Zero became an iconic symbol of resolve, cementing strong political alignment with the administration’s national security focus. Recruiting stations across the Midwest saw immediate surges in young men wanting to enlist in the Military or National Guard.
The morning of September 11 didn’t just change the world—it ripped away the illusion that we were safe behind our oceans. Sitting in the heartland, watching the towers crumble and the Pentagon burn, the grief was overwhelming, but underneath it, something fierce took hold: resolve. For the next two years, life was defined by an unshakeable sense of duty, a deep pride in the flag, and the total transformation of our country.
Let us never forget!!
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