I can promise you that I won’t forget

Like pretty much everybody who was old enough to understand what was happening at the time, Sept. 11, 2001, will go down for me as a day to never forget.

I vividly remember many details of the morning, though some have gotten hazy over the years.

I had just got to the DAR office and then-editor Stan Berry had the newsroom television on, something I found odd because that rarely happened. Reports were saying a commuter plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

That struck me as odd because, being around aircraft for a long time, it was very much out of place. A trained pilot just doesn’t fly squarely into a skyscraper.

It turned out to be an airliner, and as we watched a second plane hit the other tower, there was an immediate sinking feeling because we knew this was no accident.

I don’t recall what exactly he said, but I remember a co-worker’s face, and it was full of fear.

Not long after, another plane went into the Pentagon and United Flight 93 went down in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to overtake the hijackers.

The whole time, we all wondered what was next.

Nearly 3,000 people died that day, and as a military veteran, the events of the morning cut deep.

Somebody who didn’t like the American way of life tried to take it away from us.

Today, thinking about it still makes me angry, not only because of what happened, but because of how those events have become meaningless to so many.

At the time, the term “Never Forget” was tossed around a lot, but sadly, too many have.

I’ve heard some schools barely teach about it, even though it was the first attack on American soil since the War of 1812, and what we’re finding is a generation which doesn’t care.

Too many today get in a frenzy over insignificant distractions and political rhetoric to take the time to understand how good they really have it.

Honestly, it’s disheartening. Countless men and women have fought wars and lost their lives to ensure American citizens can live their lives free of tyranny, but some just don’t care.

I can promise you one thing though … I won’t forget.

Paul Davis is assistant editor at the Daily American Republic and can be reached at pdavis.dar@gmail.com.