September 11 Patches

I'm sure almost every single person on the planet will remember where they were and what they were doing on 11th September 2001.  This was the darkest day in American history and one which will take a long time for the wounds to heal ? if they ever heal.

I remember it still as though it were yesterday.  I was sitting in work and I was actually working away on my computer when my colleague said to me 'Oh my God, a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Centre'.  I remember thinking that this must have been some terrible accident and while I was horrified to think that this could happen to an airplane, it was nothing to the horrors that were still to come.

For less than twenty minutes later another plane crashed into the other tower.  We knew then that something was seriously wrong.  As the full horror unfolded during the day, everyone was numb with shock.  I really don't think any work was done anywhere in the world that day.  Nobody could quite get their heads around the full scale of what had happened on American soil.  Although we all knew about terrorist attacks, there had never been anything like this before and it really gave a new meaning to the term.

And it changed the face of how we travel today.  Security was stepped up to the maximum and there were armed marshals on flights in the States.  Fear of flying left the airline industry badly shaken and the whole landscape of the city of New York was changed forever when the twin towers collapsed to the ground killing thousands of innocent civilians.  Hundreds of fire-fighters lost their lives trying to save those fleeing from the towers and those innocent passengers on the doomed flights never had a chance.

There were two other hijacked planes that day, one flew into the Pentagon and the other crashed in a field, never reaching its original target because some brave passengers managed to overcome the hijackers and avert the flight from its destructive course.  Those brave men and women gave their lives to save others.

I still feel a cold sensation all over my body whenever I think of events on that fateful day.  It sends shivers down my spine to think there are people in this world who would even attempt or think about doing such things let alone put these thoughts into practice.

That is why I have a number of patriotic patches on my biker jacket which are there to remind me every day about the horrors that unfolded on September 11th 2001 (Not that I would ever forget).  The is there to show that we will not be beaten by these terrorists who tried to destroy us but failed.

These terrorists may have caught us off guard that day but I seriously doubt they will ever be able to attack our country with such vigor again.  The whole world changed on that day and we will never feel as safe again but as long as we stand together, they will never win.