Memories of 9/11, why I serve

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Francis L. Hartley
  • 482nd Communications Squadron
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  On this 10th anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in American history, many of us will remember where we were at the moment the first plane hit the tower. We can remember exactly our first thoughts, and most importantly how we felt when we realized what had happened and how it would change our lives, and our country, forever.

9/11 and our response to it is quite a personal thing. Many of us served in our own way in the days, weeks, and years after. Some gave blood, travelled to ground-zero to help search for survivors, or perhaps comforted friends who might have lost someone close. I know people that were inspired to become first-responders to help prevent any future incidents, and still others were inspired to join the military and personally defend this country and our way of life.

I was a telephone switch engineer working for Verizon Wireless in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania at the time, the system that covered Shanksville, Pa. Some of the phone calls made from flight 93 that day came through my system. We were put on immediate 24 hour manning, and we were required to assist in the investigation. I felt as though I was doing my part, but I had the nagging feeling it was not enough for very personal reasons.

Three weeks prior, in August 2001 I decided to spend a couple of days in New York. I had been there once before but only for a few hours. Since it was only an hour flight from Pittsburgh I thought I would take a quick weekend trip. While there I looked for an interesting place to eat with a great view of the city. Browsing one of the tourist guides I came across the "Windows on the World" restaurant on the top floor of the World Trade Center. I immediately made a reservation and took a cab to the immense buildings.

It was a wonderful and memorable experience that any tourist would enjoy, but three weeks later, waking up from working a night shift and turning on the news, those memories took on a new and haunting meaning. It is the faces of the people that I still see in my mind's eye. I remember the man that reminded me of a famous actor who moved me up in line and gave me a table next to the window because my reservation was lost; The beautiful young woman who loaned me the required dinner jacket because I had not brought my own; The young waiter fresh from Poland who had just arrived in this country to begin his new life.

I will never know if any of those people were working at the restaurant that morning however there are two things I know with certainty. I know that there were people just like them working in the "Windows on the World" that morning, and that unfortunately not a single one of them survived. These were people doing nothing more than making their own way in life, and their lives were taken needlessly. Every time I think of 9/11 I see those people and even though I could not help them, perhaps I can help others so three years later and after almost 20 years out of active duty, I joined the reserves to do my part.

In the movie "A Few Good Men" Demi Moore's character is asked about the young Marines on trial, "why do you like them so much?", she responds, "because they stand on a wall and say 'nothings gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch'". Every person has their time in history when they are given the opportunity to serve something greater than themselves. My father joined the Army Air Corps in 1941, and that was his time. He like hundreds of thousands of others put his life on the line for an idea. This is our time in history to preserve that idea. Those faces I still see so clearly are why I serve, why do you?