Remembering 11 Years ago 9/11/2001

9/11/2001...where were you? It's a question thousands of people are asked on the anniversary of this horrible attack. I'll never forget where I was nor will the millions of others who are old enough to remember that fateful day.

I was living in a small town in SW Minnesota on that day 11 years ago. I had recently returned to Minnesota after having spent the previous 10 years living in Alabama. I was working for Armour Meat Packing on the 3rd shift as a line maintenance employee. The plant I worked at manufactured and packaged luncheon meats under a variety of labels for the Armour/Swift/Eckrich Corporation. On September 11th 2001 I had just returned home and was falling asleep when my girlfriend's Aunt came through the front door of the house yelling for my girlfriend. Apparently she wasn't aware I was home as I came downstairs in a very foul mood. That changed when she told me something bad had happened in NYC and I needed to turn on the TV. I went into the living room and turned on the TV. ESPN was on but it mattered not as they had cut to a live news feed with ABC. What I saw was a replay of the planes going into the towers and my immediate thought was..." OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO WAR." I didn't go back to sleep that day.

11 years later I'm still in Minnesota and am now officially a Combat Infantryman having served a tour of duty in Afghanistan with my Army National Guard unit. I've got friends who have done multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and I am proud I was able to help in what has now become known as the Global War on Terro or GWOT. I'm proud to have many friends who have participated as well and have shared their stories with me and others.

11 years have come and gone and this war is not over. Yes we are bringing our troops home from the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan but this war is not about fighting a nation or it's people. This war is about fighting a pervasive ideology that has existed for thousands of years. When our troops are all home from Afghanistan this war will begin anew but on an entirely different front.

Feel free to post your remembrances of 11 years ago.

From the Foxhole
The Grunt