September 11th

 

I have many thoughts pertaining to September 11th going back well before 2001.  I had a Great-Grandmother, Lula Victoria McDanial Hall, she was a teacher, and on September 11, 1911 she wanted to attend the opening of the Middle Tennessee State Normal School.  The Normal School was a two year course for the training of teachers.  Lula Hall was unable to attend the opening as she was giving birth to my Grandmother, my Granny, Floyde Louise Hall.  Middle Tennessee State Normal School evolved into a four year program and it’s name changed to the Middle Tennessee State Teacher’s College.  The school made several other changes until in 1965 it became Middle Tennessee State University.  My Granny always called MTSU her twin sister, and actually lived just a few blocks from the university.  On December 27th, 2000, my Granny passed away, she was 89.  Though I still grieve the loss of my Dear Granny, now I am grateful that she did not live to see her 90th birthday associated with one of the darkest days in American history, Sept 11. 2001.

 

Sep 11, 2001 started out as a normal day for me, I’m a truck driver.  I was traveling South on I-65, South of Louisville, KY when I turned on my radio to hear the news of a plane crash into the World Trade Center.  A short time later, I heard of the second tower being struck, the Pentagon strike and the crashing of the flight in Pennsylvania.  I knew our country was under attack and that we would be going to war.  I also had two Sons who were attending Basic Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA.  After delivering my load, I went home and sat down to write a letter to the Commander of the Basic Training Unit my Son’s were assigned.  I can sum up my letter by saying I was only requesting that he instruct his instructors to take a little extra time in training their recruits so when they joined the Best Equipped and Best Trained military in the world, that they would have a greater success at surviving the war we were about to enter.  2977 fellow Americans died on that day and I was praying that our country would lose as few as possible in the upcoming battles.  It is hard to get accurate numbers but we lost many lives during the ensuing battles, over 2000, not to mention the enormous numbers of wounded.  I was a fortunate parent, both of my Sons came home alive, without severe injuries, though changed by war. Actually, they are not the only ones who were changed by war, families and friends changed as well.

 

Today we have a new generation of Americans who were not even alive on that fateful day, as well as fewer and fewer who remember the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941.  I was not alive when Pearl Harbor was attacked, however we learned about it in the schools and from our parents.  Many schools today, do not teach about any of these historic events and many young Americans do not understand the sacrifices which were made during these times.  It is now up to us to properly educate our children and grand-children.  America’s history may not be perfect but this is our country and as we strive to improve it, we must know the negatives as well as the positives so we avoid repeating the negatives.  Please take the time to let our future be told and God Bless America and our Military at home and abroad.

 

Russ Mauzy