COMMENTARY - Looking Back at 9/11

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Kylee Ashton
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  There have been few moments in American history where people can remember exactly where they were: Pearl Harbor, assassination of John F. Kennedy and 9/11 to name a few.

I grew up in a military family as both my parents served and would end up meeting each other and marrying. My dad continues to serve in the Air National Guard and my brother serves on active duty as well. Not to mention extended family serving too. The military has always played a role in my upbringing. The events of 9/11 brought about a sense of honor and duty. I was nine years old when the towers fell. I was the new kid in school as we just moved to a different state, and I was sitting on the bus when the news came over the radio. Being nine, I didn't really listen to what the news was saying. I continued to stare out the window wondering what lessons I would learn today. Little did I know, a nation was in shock.  The last major attack on U.S. soil had been 60 years prior with Pearl Harbor.

When I came home that day, I walked upstairs to find my mom staring at the TV in complete disbelief. I sat down and saw for the first time, the towers falling. I didn't understand what had happened. New York City seemed so far away from me, but I knew something terrible had happened.

The events of 9/11 influenced my dad to rejoin the Air Force. I know my brother thought about 9/11 when he signed his enlistment papers. When I raised my hand to swear to defend my country 13 years later, I thought of those who lost their lives during 9/11.

A week before Bin Laden was killed in 2011, I was in New York City for an Arnold Air Society Air Force ROTC conference. Approximately 800 cadets rode the subway to Ground Zero to listen to the words of retired Maj. Gen. Susan Pamerleau. As she spoke, I remember looking around and watching the native New Yorkers take in her words with pride. She left a profound impact on me and what 9/11 meant to those who served, were serving and who would eventually serve, myself included. Looking up to the unfinished tower filled me with overwhelming pride and dedication to the service.

When President Obama broke the news of Bin Laden's death, I remember running from my university's cafeteria screaming that we got him. Fraternity Row broke out in Toby Keith songs and we were united as a nation again. A sense of peace came over myself and others.

Most of my life has been post 9/11 and that rings true for the majority of our current service members. The events of 9/11 have impacted us every day since. We continue the fight so that others won't see the terror we saw that day. Fourteen years may have passed, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of what we're fighting for.