21 years ago today, as Americans, our lives changed, altered by events entirely out of our control, perpetrated by a commitment to unconscionable, deliberate acts birthed in hatred. The memory of that time drove me to retrieve from the storage container my journal written in that era. I lifted sections from it, exactly as I wrote them twenty-one years ago.
September 11, 2001
Today began as any other day. I found myself feverishly trying to be ready to attend Dad’s 305th Bomb Group Reunion in Tulsa this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday….However, today, at around 10:25 a.m., I was going to pick up some copies from the computer room printer when Lisa Wills and Kelley Brumley, my teaching colleagues, were discussing a catastrophe. I learned from them that the World Trade Center in New York City had been a target as well as the Pentagon. Since I was unsure how to approach the subject without inciting fear in my students, I had to plod on with my teaching. Finally, the teaching day was over, but the concepts taught and the behavior of the third graders dimmed in light of the deadly attack on the U.S. government (the Pentagon) and the U.S. economy (the World Trade Center). Those I loved seemed ever dearer to me. I felt the need to be with loved ones and Mom was delighted to invite me to their house to see the special reports of today’s devastation….As we learned more of the attacks and the sorrow and death surrounding them, I realized how fragile life and peace are. Earlier today Kelley (Brumley) and I were talking and she said, “It just shows we must be prepared to die.” I replied, “If our trust is in Jesus, we know we are ready to go.”…Ironically, as we were watching, Dad said, “September 11, 1945, was the day I arrived home from World War II for good.” (His generation had thought they had fought the war to end all wars. Yet that very morning as he watched the latest news, he witnessed the second plane fly into the World Trade Center Tower.)
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| The third graders that I was teaching on that ill-fated September 11, 2001. Photograph by Blunck Studios, Inc. |
September 12, 2001
Today is “the morning after” the worst attack in U.S. history. I left my radio on all night to KOSU to hear NPR reports. It was interesting because after 11 p.m., they began airing the BBC news report. (In London, the time was 5 a.m. – as Dad would say “The Limeys are six hours ahead of us.”) Nevertheless, I was ready to get up. I shut off the radio so I could read my Bible and pray. After I got around and ready, I went to Bigheart Grocery to buy The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World. I also took a children’s encyclopedia with a lovely panoramic shot showing the World Trade Center. ...I had my students write in their guided journals their feelings or facts about the suicide hijackings. Later in the day the students were able to illustrate their journal entries. Near the end of the day, I allowed those who wanted to, to read aloud their journal entries. If they wanted me to read the entry, they could put their journals on the round table. Curtis Edens and Laryn Rice did this. I tried to listen to the students and allow them to look at the newspaper. Steven Ben said his dad said there was a hero on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania….That night was Wednesday night Bible study at the church. …The song chosen was “In Times Like These” … one godly woman mentioned that God was trying to get America to repent. I almost immediately recalled the many times as young boys, Brendon Lowe and Joshua Corley had prayed for America to turn back to God. Even though we were very small in number, it seemed good to be with our church family. Dad taught that night from Joshua 1:1-18 (We are without a pastor at the time.). I must “be strong and of a good courage.”
September 13, 2001
Today is the 2nd day after the attack on America. About 1-2 a.m. I finally turned off NPR radio because I was falling asleep and there wasn’t a lot of news. I was packing this morning since we are leaving at 1:30 p.m. for Dad’s 305th Bombing Group Reunion* in Tulsa. I ran by Formby’s today (I should say Bigheart Grocery) to pick up the The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World. …We had Woodland Wake Up. As always we pledged Allegiance to the flags. We also sang the National Anthem and “God Bless America.” Bobby (Simma) reminded the students to be grateful for each day we have because nothing is guaranteed. He had told the Red Cross we would make cards for the rescue workers in Washington, D.C. and New York City. I told my students I would be gone this afternoon and all day tomorrow….When we unloaded and checked in, we then headed down to get Dad registered. We learned neither of the fellow members of his original crew were coming. Many of the other 305th members that had planned cannot or have not arrived due to the total flight shutdown in the USA….Each night the TV is full of news reports even well after 11 p.m. The country is so shaken by the attacks. Our country never believed we would be attacked on our own soil, but we have been. It is my moment-by-moment prayer that we turn back to God and realize our need for Him on a daily basis.
Until I reread these entries, I had forgotten the uncertainty and fear that seeped into conversations with the third graders twenty-one years ago. Not only did worry and concern affect the usually happy, carefree children but also their parents, grandparents, teachers, and adult neighbors. That morning did change the outlook of many Americans. The security of being in the strongest nation in history vanished. I didn’t fathom twenty-one years ago, other smaller attacks on unsuspecting citizens on American soil would occur, but we all know they have.
During these following years of insecurity, apprehension, and trepidation, those bright-eyed third graders have grown into responsible adults of whom I take pride each time I hear of their accomplishments. Most importantly, I rejoice when I am told and see the thoughtful, kind, caring, and dependable young people they have matured into being. In reality, no terrorist can destroy that inner commitment to follow the values and principles taught by their families and teachers. In light of that, the chapter from the Bible that I shared with many in September of 2001, still resounds with relevancy today. It is our only strength and hope.
The Lord is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked come against me to eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple…
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”…
…portions from Psalm 27
*This was the last 305th Bomb Group reunion that was close enough for Dad to try to attend. The 2001 Reunion had been bittersweet since his dear friend and pilot, Fred Rabo had died the previous year. Incidentally, Dad was the final member of the original group and lived longer than any of the other nine men.
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