We interrupt our regularly scheduling blogging to bring you this 9/11 reflection, starting with a bookish quote:

***

Where do we get such men (and women)? They leave this ship and they do their job. Then they must find this speck lost somewhere on the sea. When they find it, they have to land on its pitching deck. Where do we get such men?

– RAdm Tarrant, The Bridges at Toko-Ri

September 11, 2011. It began like pretty much like every other Indian Summer day in southern California. In other words, it was perfect –  until two airliners tore into the Twin Towers.

And America has never been the same.

Amid the shock, confusion and grief, one of the things that stood out on that terrible, tragic day was the quiet. Southern California skies usually hum with air traffic of all shapes of sizes, everything from thundering commercial flights to lumbering military cargo planes to the mosquito whine of light aircraft. It was all gone on September 11, 2001, when the FAA ordered all flights grounded. The result? A suffocating silence, terrible in its unnatural eeriness.

25 Years 

Twenty-five years later, this event and those responsible are household words. Oceans of ink have been spilled and scores of song, words and commentary have been filed on the subject of 9/11. Documentaries have been produced. Testimonials shared. Solemn memorials observed. Songs written. And we remember.

There she waves, faithful friend…

Many Americans set September 11 aside as a “day of infamy” – and something else. We mourn the lives lost. But we also remember the heroes. And in remembering,  we honor the sacrifices of first responders – law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and scores of “ordinary” Americans who were anything but. We saw countless Americans  go above and beyond the call of duty to protect and serve others.

Just when you think it might be over
Just when you think the fight is gone
Someone will risk his life to raise her
There she stands…

Remember the days that followed? The fund-raisers? The Red Cross blood drives? Prayer services? An entire country awash in a sea of stars and stripes?

We’ve seen her flying torn and tattered
We’ve seen her stand the test of time
And through it all the fools have fallen
There she stands.

It’s been 25 years. But the events of that ‘Indian Summer’ day in September still reverberate. They aren’t quiet. They touched a chord.  For those who looked, the immediate aftermath of 9/11 showed America at her best: Generous. Selfless. Resourceful. Resilient and resolute. United. Uncowed.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri is set during the Korean War. But RAdm Tarrant’s question lives.

Where do we get such men and women?  From Iowa farms and Texas ranches.  From New England fishing fleets to Silicon Valley. From Wall Street to Bourbon Street. From Kentucky blue grass to Florida Everglades. From Arizona deserts to Hawaiian rain forests. From Kansas wheat fields to Alaskan oil fields. Indeed, if we know where to look, we see answers to the admiral’s question every day: We get them from America.

By the dawn’s, early light
And through the fight. She stands.

Note: Portions of this post first appeared here in 2014.