9/11 means a lot to me. Having a family member in the service really makes it hit home (especially if you were in Germany/Overseas at the time of the actual attacks in 2001) that it could have been my father in those attacks. It also could have been my father that was sent over at the start of the war. In fact he almost was a couple of years ago. My father is a military civilian which means he could have been hit on either or both sides of the coin of 9/11/2001. It is a valid fear and one military brats still face today. The war is not over people, military men and women are still being sent over there. My father could still go over there along with millions of other military around the world. Do you have any idea what that feels like? Everyday I remember the emotions I felt when I found out my dad might be sent to a war zone and might never come back. The last time he was sent to a war zone was Desert Storm in the early 90's. I was just a kid and don't remember much of his one year absence. I do remember he came home and I'm always grateful for that.

I fall in between two different groups by heritage. My grandfather was a soldier and therefore my father is a military brat. He does not talk about it much. My father decided to work for Aafes system (basically the military's "walmart") and has worked for them for over 15 or 20 years if I remember correctly. I am the only military civilian kid I know (besides my sister) that consider themselves a military brat. I am technically a civilian however because of the position my father held in the Aafes system, I was moved around like military. Every two years, in the states, overseas, ect... I can say I've lived in the Azores Islands, Germany, as well as in TX, KY, WI and NM. I can say I've been to/visited even more places than that. I can say I've seen the Effiel Tower in Paris, smelled the cannals of Venice Italy, seen the Schwartzwald (Black forest) of Germany, been to the mall of america, seen the minature museum of Holland, bought Polish Pottery, tasted Belguim chocolate, and many other things. Surprisingly as a kid I thought these things were boring but having these experiences just makes me like other military brats. No, not all of them have been overseas but all of them understand a code that civilians can't. No offense to civilians, frankly you guys have a code that military brats can't understand. We don't know what it's like to have the same friends over 8-20 years, we don't know what it's like to grow up in one place. Sometimes we can't understand why you don't move every two years, why you don't get the wunderlust that is so common in military brats. I have to move the rooms in my apartment around around 20-50 times a year because I need to feel that there is some kind of "moving" going on around me. It's just the way I grew up, never fully having all the boxes unpacked, thinking about the next place we were going to go before we settled into our current place, dealing with dental/medical/school record transfers, ect...


About a month ago I went to my dad's place in Dallas to visit. He stacked me up with some boxes from my old room in Wisconsin and sent me home with them (apparently he didn't have room to store them and thought I did). So I went through them and found some old 9/11 material that I thought i should have a backup copy of just in case so I'm putting it in this journal. There is some interesting information I've collected.


Around three-four years ago I visited the Mall of America in Minn. I had never been there before and it is huge. It has a whole amusement park inside of the center of it. I was exploring it (by myself, I had come with friends/family but I shop differently than most everyone so I usually do my own thing). I ended up getting lost (the mall is big!) and almost ran straight into a memorial fountain. Being me, I wanted to know what a fountain was doing in a corner of the mall. I went up to it, read the plaques and then sat on a bench, thinking for about an hour after doing so. I'm sure I have some pictures somewhere of the fountain but I have no idea where so I'll use internet pictures. I wrote down the inscriptions on the plaques, here they are.
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[link]

This picture is taken of the "door" said to represent the door of the cockpit of Flight 93 (the one that went down in PA) that passengers battered down in order to take control of the aircraft and crash it into that field. Here is the inscription


"The open door in this piece reflects the cockpit door of Flight 93. It also represents a door to a brighter, safer future. Never forget the victims of 9/11 and walk confidently toward the future intent on 'doing something'......something good, something kind, something noble, and something right."
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Here is the plaque beneath it.

[link]

"Do Something"
In loving memory of Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.
May 29, 1963 - 9/11/2001
Citizen Soldier - Flight 93

On September 11, 2001, the citizens of the United States were attacked by terrorists using four hijacked commericals airliners as weapons. More than 2,971 innocent civilians were killed - the largest loss of life on American soil in our nation's history. Planes were flown into the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon Building. The fourth plane, Flight 93, never reached it's intended destination and crashed in rural countryside of Shanksville, PA.

The courage, heroism and quick actions of Tom Burnett and 39 other passengers on Flight 93 inspired the nation and saved countless lives. "We're going to do something" were Tom's last words before leading a revolt to break through the cockpit door and take back the plane.

The open door in this piece reflects the cockpit door of Flight 93. It also represents a door to a brighter, safer future. Never forget the victims of 9/11 and walk confidently toward the future intent on "doing something"... something good, something kind, something noble and something right.

"This sclupture remembers a moment of decision. It is the intersection of stregnths in a moment of crisis. The connections between those on Flight 93, their families and loved ones, their lives and their country, generated in them the courage and ability to act."
- Patrick D. Wilson, Artist/ Sculptor

Special recognition goes to Tom's sister, Mary Margaret, for her love and inspiration to make this memorial tribute a reality. This project was made possible by a special grant from Wells Fargo.

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I'd like to thank the people listed above too, from a girl who was just wandering around the mall and found an unexpected treasure. I'm not the only one who had no idea this fountain was there until I almost ran into it. May it stand for eternity as a reminder that the people of the world need. A reminder of the feelings we had and the love shown by the nation after the attacks. United we stand, divided we fall.