Visit the Gallery of Greg Olsen
to view his beautiful Art work
You will not fine images showing the horror of 9-11,
there is no need, for the images are sketched into our memory.
Memories of that Day
9-11-02, moments frozen in time ,will go into the history books as the day that Americans lost any illusion that they had of being safe.Our Nation saw Evil that day ,and watched helplessly as each event unfolded .None of us will ever forget this day .On this day the first anniversary of September 11.2002 we as a nation are still trying to heal ourselves ,but for many the outward show of normal day to day living is nothing but a farce ,for we fear what is yet to come ,for the Evil beast of terror having once tasted the blood of innocence,will again return to feast.For many.The days following the attack became a time of profound lost and sadness ,even tho we might have not lost a loved one in the attacks,we ,as well ,as the World felt deeply ,the spiritual lost of so many souls .The churches filled as many turned to God ,many becoming God Conscious for the first time in their lives .Each reaching out for some understanding of how and why this happened .the question was asked where was God ,the answer was He Was There .And so tomorrow we move on,one more day of healing, to be one day closer to the Second Anniversary.And the Obituary reads "In Rememberance "
E-Mail me with your reflections/memories
I was at work when I first heard of the airliner crashing into the tower of the WTC. As with probably most, my first reaction was of denial, disbelief. As more people were spreading the same news, I felt it must be true and I said a prayer to God to be with and embrace those on board the jet, those in the building, those watching this unfold and those left behind by loved ones, friends.
I had to investigate for myself. I entered the employee lounge and joined a group that was starting to form, to watch the television for confirmation. I was seated for oh so brief moments when I watched the second airliner strike the other tower. It was at this point, I realized this was not an accident... our nation was under attack from an unknown enemy.
I returned to my desk stunned. It was impossible to process thought. I sat with my co-workers and boss listening to the radio and answering the telephone when it rang. Through the radio we learned of the eventual collapse of first one and then the other tower, the airliner striking the Pentagon and the airliner down in Somerset Co, Pa.
Somehow I made it through the day, the night and into the next day. We all did. Watching the news, listening when we couldn't watch. Praying day after day that those in the rubble would be found. It was one of the most traumatic times of my life. Yet I did not personally know one single person injured, dead or a surviving family member or friend; either direclty or through an acquaintence. I can not begin to imagine the carnage, the emotions of loved ones, family and friends. A mental hand goes up to stop those thoughts as they could be unbearable.
Today I prayed for all involved in THIS. There is no name for it, as there is no one word that can possibly encompass it all. The enormity of it boggles the mind. Everyone in this world we live in is involved, whether or not we wish to be. Even if all we can do is pray.... every prayer is needed.
The leaders of our country have been studying the intelligence data regarding Sadam Hussein. They are planning to take action. There is a lot of world wide criticism in their planning to take on Iraq. The prime minister of England, Tony Blair, is one of the few world leaders not afraid to speak his mind in our support. Many Americans are very skeptical about it. It makes me wonder, what would their response have been if they had been fore warned of the plans for 9-11........................
Would they have wanted to sit at home and wait for something to happen, before taking the necessary military action?
| Mary: I was at work the morning of September 11, 2001 when one of my twin daughters, Kellie, called me and asked if I had "heard the news". I said no, what has happened. She said two different planes had hit the World Trade Center towers. I immediately turned on my radio as well as checked the CNN news page on the internet. It wasn't long before another daughter, Andrea called me (from her job as a nurse at the hospital) and while we were talking about it, I heard on the radio about the plane hitting the Pentagon and told her to hold on while I listened to the news report about it. She was shocked when I told her about the Pentagon as she had not heard that yet. I told her "Andrea, we are under attack". We soon heard about the plane going down in Pennsylvania as well. I went into the office of a co-worker and watched TV in horror as each tower fell. Our company dismissed workers to go home at 3:00 that day as no one was getting much work done because we were either discussing the events, watching a tv somewhere, listening to the radio or checking the news on the internet. I never thought American would ever experience such a tragedy. Janice |
When I heard about what happened on September 11, 2001, I immediately wanted to go home (I was at work). I feel safe at home with my family and that is where I wanted to be. My family is so important to me and a part of my life. I just wanted to post this so anyone who reads it will know what a wonderful family I am blessed to have. I love each and every one of you with all my heart and am so glad that God let me be a part of such wonderful, kind, loving people. We do not know what our future holds or how long each of will be on this earth, but I will always thank God for knowing you as My Family! I love you all. Jan
than ever. If I was ordered to go, although I would be scared, I would go. Why? Because even after my short 8 years of service so far, I still get choked up when I hear songs like "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless the USA". I think I always will. When I think of the soldiers and civilians that fought for our freedom and the freedom of others, I feel that I owe them. I feel that I must earn my freedom and secure it for those whowill follow me. And to use someone else's words - "Freedom is not free." I will proundly pay for freedom with my time, with my service, and with mylife, if it comes to that. I love you all.
Proudly Serving,
Clifton "Tom" Smith II
IT IS A TWO HOUR DRIVE SO MY EMOTIONS WERE SO HIGH AS I DID NOT KNOW IF I WOULD SEE MY SON JOHN OR HE WOULD BE GOING....AS JOHN YOU KNOW IS WITH THE U.S. ARMY......THEIR IS A DIFFERENT EMOTION WHEN IT IS YOUR BABY GOING OFF....I SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE WITH PAUL BEING IN THE U.S. MARINES AND I SPENT MANY HOURS WORRING ABOUT HIM WHEN HE WAS IN VIETNAM AND OVERSEAS SO MANY TIMES....
I FELT PAIN FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LOVE ONES......I REMEMBERED HOW VERY MUCH YOU LIFE CAN CHANGE IN ONLY A MOMENT I WENT THROUGH THAT WHEN I LOST PAUL.....I KNOW THE PAIN AND I SURELY FELT IT FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE TOO.....
| I do want to let everyone know that my sister, Becky's, best childhood friend, Melanie, who retired from the US Army this last June was stationed at the Pentagon last 9/11 and expierenced the horror and terror of that day...See she was in a briefing for people who were getting ready to retire and forgot some paper work back at her desk....the Col. in charge told her to go get it and as she left the room and started down the hall the plane hit the building at the point of the conference room she had just left a few seconds before...the colapse of the building followed her as she and another soldier from the same meeting ran the hall....she made it out with the help of God, and is safe and sound with her family in VA now....but she told us that for about a month after she swears she attended a funeral everyday......she recovered her car keys, and some personal belongings from her burned out office, but lost many co-workers and friends that day.....she is like another sister to me as she practicly lived at our house while she and Becky attended High School.....so I thank God that He spared one of my "little sisters" and that may he keep close all her friends and co-workers she lost that day..... Love all of You....God Bless this Great Nation!!!! |
I was at work, going over entry forms for the All-American Dairy Show and making phone calls to exhibitors for additional information needed. It started out to be just another normal, hectic day, but not for long. The incoming phone calls were slowing down, we were having trouble getting a line to call out. Oh well, we were probably just having some phone line problems and they would be fixed soon. It was then we were called into the Directors office and informed that the World Trade Center was hit... we all stared and listened to the television in disbelief as the first plane hit the tower.... then the second tower was hit. No, this was not pilot error, not plane malfunction, but a deliberate attack. My heart and prayers were out to those in the planes, those in the towers, and their family members, for each and every one of our fellow Americans and the pain we were all feeling.
We went back to our desks, turned up the radios so we could be kept informed. As we continued to work, we heard about the attack of the Pentagon and the plane coming down in Somerset Co. When will it stop? Please, God, we prayed, don't let them attack our necular plants. We wanted to be at home with our loved ones, we wanted to take time to digest the news that we were hearing, we wanted to go home like the rest of our fellow Commonwealth of PA co-workers, but we had a show that was to go on in just two short weeks and we could not stop our work or we would not be ready for the show. This is one time I do not like the saying "the show must go on". How could we continue to work this day when our country was under attack and so many people were hurt, trapped, dieing, and dead? So many people were full of sorrow, and here we were continuing on, "business as usual", only we were just going through the motions...feeling much sorrow, much pain and very, very numb.
Somehow, with the Grace of God, I made it though that long day. I could not wait to get home to my husband. I remember thinking about those families involved, how much pain they were going through knowing and not knowing about their loved ones. As I held my husband of one year and two days; I thought of how much pain I would have had it been him, or another family member, in one of the planes or in the WTC and I could feel the pain the families of the all those people involved in the attacks were feeling. I prayed that God give them strength to make it through each day. And I prayed that one day we would find the person behind this terrible attack on our country.
As I look back over the past year, I wonder what will become of us? Will the American people continue to hold their families close to them? I know that it has deepened my desire to hold my family close to me and it deepened by desire to find my family that was lost to me. You see it was only a few weeks after our show held in October 2001 that I started to search via Ancestries.com hoping to locate someone from my Fleshman family. It was meant to be because it wasn�t long before I located a sister that we, Conni and I, did not know we had and together we, Conni, Linda and I, continued our search to find the rest of the family. We hold each of you close to our hearts as we finally meet you, promising not to get lost again.
