The Academy remembers........

maacoinc
Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:43:16 +0000

It has been interesting following the threads about 9-11 and the rememberences taking place to honor those that died. I just saw the note of how one person compared it to their Grandmothers feelings of Pearl Harbor and it got me to thinking. I grew up in a small village about 10 miles from the Academy. Because of the location of the LIRR line a fair number of the people worked in the financial district and as a result of this concentration this small village of 22000, sufferred more deaths that day, 61, than in all of the wars this village has sent men to fight in since the Civil War. While everyone recognizes the terror of that moment if you are not from the NY area you were somewhat insulated from the horror. Imagine if you can going to your small High School of 1000 kids and finding out that 40 of your classmates have just lost a parent. This is a town where I graduated from High School with 90% of my kindergarten class so you know everybody. With the phone lines into NY destroyed it took me 2 days to find my ten or so relatives who worked in or around the World Trade. Try going to 16 funerals in 3 months, that was the average of my friends and relatives who lived there. So when you mids go out in town and the people of NY treat you like royalty they are in many ways not only honoring your service but honoring the memory of their friends from that day. I know some of you feel awkward at times but for many people it least thanks that they can give so graciously take the kindness and honor it.