A Few Thoughts On 9/11 - Eight Years Later

I'm sure all of us can recall where we were and what we were doing on that morning eight years ago today.  I was settling into my office for the day when my Mom (who has since passed away) called to tell me a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  Initially my thoughts were that it was an accident but as I watched the coverage and the unfolding events at the Pentagon and here in Pennsylvania it became clear that it was something much more than an accident.  But what I want to call to mind today is not that day directly, but all that lead from it including two wars with the terrible loss of life both by U.S. servicemen and women and innocent civilians.  In the eight years since the attacks of 9/11 our armed services have paid an immense price to fulfill their duty to our country and we owe each and every person who serves our thanks.  Take a moment today to reflect on this and, if you can, to find a way to give something back to those who have served and are serving still in far off corners of the world.

Why did I place this commentary in a blog focused on the Young Eagles program?  Because the starting point for all of this was the evil, intentional misuse of aircraft.  One of mankind's great inventions, capable of bridging the geographic gaps that separate us making the world a closer and more accessible place, was used to terrorize American society and divide the world community.  We must now be on guard against such intentional misuse, whether dealing with commercial or general aviation, and future pilots will have to learn to fly in the aftermath of these events (i.e. ADIZ zones).  I truly wish it wasn't this way and that we could turn the clock back and erase what happened that morning eight years ago today, but none of us can.  We must move forward in a world reshaped forever.