i was in 6th grade at lakeview elementary of ludington and we had just switched to our 2nd hour which was right across the hallway from where my homeroom was, as i entered the social studies room and took my seat our principle came over the intercom and told us to turn on the television. and as we did we saw the second plane hit the towers. i really didn't know what to think. then a few weeks after my sister told me that her husband (my brother-in-law) was supposed to be at the world trade center. and after i found out that it could of been one of my family members that died. now i understand of what had happened that terrible day now since im almost 18 i have a understanding that it wasnt a joke.

On Sept 11th, 2001 I was at West Shore Community College waiting to go to class when some one came in and said to turn the TV to CNN. As we all stood there, about 25 students, watching the black smoke and wondering outloud what was happening we saw the second plane hit the other tower and we stayed and watched all that followed. Needless to say there were no classes that day. My son, David Holden, is serving with the United States Army and is currently, as of 10.04.06 in Bagdad, standing guard duty and protecting his fellow soldiers. While I am scared for him I also am very proud of his commitment to his country. Him and every other service person that has been there, is there and those that are yet to go. Thank you all for your willingness to serve.

It was business as usual that day. I was stationed aboard the USS Enterprise CVN-65. We were at sea, and had been for some time. We had just left the gulf a couple of days prior, and were headed for Africa. Everyone was in the office that morning. We were watching CNN and working at the same time. One of the Senior Chief's that I worked for came in to our office and told us to change the channel. We did...We witnessed it live as it was unfolding. From out at sea! Well a few hours later our Commanding Officer announced to our crew of 5,000 that we were headed back to the gulf. We already knew it. The Big "E" was already in the area, so it made perfect sense to send us back. No one said a word. We knew at that distinct moment, what our mission was.

Los Angeles, California I was sent to California, to validate a training course that we had been developing for the software that I support. On Sept 11 2001, 5 AM PST, I had woken up early due to jet lag. I was just getting myself together for the day and was about to turn on the morning news, when I received a call from my girlfriend in Michigan: "Turn on the TV - NOW!" I turned it on just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the tower. Needless to say, this blew me away! What could possibly be happening that a pilot would hit one of the towers? I stood transfixed to the TV, absorbing every bit of information and hearing the panic developing in my girlfriend's voice. After talking with her and listening to the TV commentary, I finally understood the whole situation. As a retired Marine, that had worked in Air Traffic Control, I knew that things around New York City were about to get very rough. I didn't even think that it would spread across the country. Then, it dawned on me - I was in California and would have to get back to Michigan. If all of the planes were grounded, how would I get home? I continued my work day, heading over to the training class, hoping that this training session would end swiftly and I could get an answer. Since the training classroom had televisions, they were all tuned to the news and the current disaster. After discussing the problem with several other people that had made the trip from the Midwest, (and calling my director) we developed a plan to drive a rental car back to Michigan. The other people would be heading to Chicago and I would have to drive a separate car to Michigan. This wouldn’t be so bad for me, as I have made this same trip several times. The only problem for me was that this would be the first time I drove the whole distance alone. After the training session, I drove my local rental car back to Los Angeles airport and was overwhelmed with the situation there. Every entrance to LA International was blocked; armed guards, and police were standing by all barricades. People at the car rental desk told me that the situation was even worse. I had called and cleared my reservation just in time to keep the last car on hold. All of the other rental cars were reserved or, had already left. As I started my drive across the country, I started to notice one other thing. The skies over the West and the mountains were clear, not a cloud to be seen. Usually, under these conditions, a high flying passenger jet will leave a white vapor trail for miles, as it flies through the different levels of the atmosphere. Not one single line existed in the sky! I continued my lonely trip for 2 days before I finally saw one plane. That one plane showed me that we, the people of the United States, were getting our act back together. Call it loneliness, call it crazy but, I let out a loud cheer when I saw that plane, snaking it’s way across that sky! I completed my exhausting drive, turned in the rental car and made it back to my house without any further problem. However, there was that one incident in the McDonald’s parking lot in Missouri, where I opened my car door to quick, hitting the car next to me. The kid got out of the car, ticked off that I might have done something to his car. Since I did not cause any chip or scratch, he let it drop.

I was stationed in Kuwait during the 9/11 attacks. When our local command received word of the attack, we were placed on full alert, all dressed up in full battle gear. As things settled down, we remained under a constant threat level living in close proximity to those who could do harm. Shortly after that, I had first hand information of the aerial attack that was going to and did happen in Oct 01 as we showed them another display of awesome power as we bombed Afghanistan. As a result, we were locked in, restricted to our little Camp Doha. The only reprieve from that was my bi-weekly job requirement to go out to the desert to monitor/inspect the maintenance performance of units training. All that lead up to the initial build up of US forces in Kuwait like in 1990, only this time, the invasion has lasted longer than 96 hours. Since my return home in May 02 from that assignment, I have been deployed twice to Iraq. The rest is history.