| Sometimes it seems I can measure the passage of my life by the tears I have shed for victims of murder: John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, John Lennon etc. Or maybe the chilling of my blood over victims, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. Or the terror of war, Vietnam, Granada, Gulf War, etc. In my life I have never seen so horrible a murder or blood chilling a disaster as on 9/11. But war? Yesterday, standing behind the reference desk at the library where I work, I looked across the room and there sitting, straight and tall at a computer terminal was a young man. Even with his back to me, I recognized the dress blue uniform of a United States Marine. I recognized it so easily because I had worn one exactly like it more than thirty years ago. He stood up even straighter and taller and walked toward the desk. It took me only a glance to know he was not to long out of boot camp. His fresh young face, his hair cut (high and tight) the freshly attached PFC. stripe, the brand new Sharpshooter metal. However, what stood out most to my eyes was his "National Defense Ribbon". Maybe, you have to have worn one to know what it means. Its low ranking award, you get it by serving in the military during a time of war. A Time Of War. This young boy had enlisted after 9/11. He knew his country had been attacked. He had seen the images in New York. He had enlisted in "A Time Of War". His last words to me, as he walked away, were "Semper fi!". That is short for "Semper Fidelis", translated "Forever Faithful", the motto of the United States Marine Corps. Where was I on 9/11? I was watching John Kennedy Jr. saluting his fathers coffin as it passed by, I was watching people desperately dig for survivors of the earthquake in San Francisco. I was standing looking at a memorial wall, trying not to think of how many of my friends names were engraved on it. I was hearing a young American proclaim "Semper fi!". |
| Where were you on 9/11? |