September 11 at 20 Years

It's been 20 years since our nation was scarred by the events of 9/11/2001. The events that flashed across televisions throughout the nation incensed our collective mind and played on the public imagination. We spent the next two decades searching for those responsible and pursued wars in the name of safety. The cost in blood and treasure has been extensive and to those who fell in service to country, we owe a debt that can never be repaid.

We remember each person who fell that day, those who perished in New York, Washington, and in a field in Pennsylvania. Their names are written in stone as a reminder to each of us, memorialized in perpetuity so that we would not forget.

What followed in the intervening 20 years was an attempt to make the world safer by millions of young men and women who elected to take positive steps to make the world a better place and prevent future tragedy. Some in programs such as the Peace Corps and others who served our nation's Armed Forces. I count myself among those who served in the Armed Forces and was impressed by those with whom I served.

But service was not without sacrifice. Some of those who served perished as they worked and fought alongside their countrymen beside them. For these who perished in service to country, I remember, and I hope you, dear reader, will as well.

Today I am taking a moment to remember those who fell on 9/11/2001 and those who fell in service to country in the years following. The debt we owe those who have contributed in blood to our nation is enormous. We must each remember their sacrifices and consider what we can do going forward to honor them, both in word and deed.