Justin A. Holland

As the 10 year mark of the 9/11 attacks approaches, we all seem to be searching for ways to remember the lost and highlight the bravery of so many of our own. A lot happens in 10 years and memories tend to fade. I was in high school in Rockwall and had just started my senior football season. The smell of cooler fall air, fresh-cut grass and the excitement of Friday nights was virtually all a 17 year old could think about. It’s the same feeling our boys at both high schools feel today. It’s the only thing you care about until Christmas.

And then, as every American remembers, around 8:00 a.m. on September 11, 2001, chatter of a plane flying into the world trade center started rapidly circulating; for us, it was at the lockers where we congregated before school to socialize and talk about Friday night’s matchup. The bell rang as we scurried into classes rushing to find television service. I’ll never forget using a small paperclip to adjust the picture on the screen in my classroom so that we could see the picture more clearly, only to watch another plane hit the second tower. We all thought it was a replay of the first. Then the Pentagon was hit. This was an unfathomable attack and I was confused. Who could possibly do something like this? It was like a movie. It was like it was a dream. Everyone knows the destruction and pain that followed. The images were vivid and impacting.

This past weekend on a trip to the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, I listened to President George W. Bush’s first hand accounts of being the Commander-in-Chief in the chapter titled “Day of Fire” in his book Decision Points. “My thoughts clarified: The first plane could have been an accident. The second was definitely an attack. The third was a declaration of war. We were going to find out who did this and kick their a**,” the President remembered. I am personally thankful for his leadership during this time of crisis.

10 years later, I am a local businessperson and public servant in Rockwall County. I have a wife, a child on the way and a decade of life experience under my belt. The air is cooler again this year as it was in 2001, giving relief from summer heat and Friday night lights (and now college football) are still the thrill of the week; until Christmas. Time has passed and life has gone on. But still, there are wives, husbands, children and parents that have lived every day of the last 10 years with the sorrow, pain and heartache of losing a loved one to these attacks. For the next century, there will be Americans directly affected by these losses and my only hope is that we honor the fallen and remember the bravery of those who lost their life that day. I also hope that we give credit to first responders and selfless leaders that made tough decisions and led without any regard to their personal safety, but that of others.

America lost thousands that day but we did not lose. We are a strong country that banded together to triumph against something we could not see or understand. Through faith and courage we have rebuilt from this tragedy even stronger. We will never forget that day. We will never forget those people. And we will never forget the legacy of true leadership left behind by so many that day. May God bless those souls lost and their families.

Share on Facebook