My 9/11, a reality with Ben Smith, U.S. Navy SEAL
My 911, a reality with Ben Smith, U.S. Navy SEAL – part one
Benjamin Smith, U.S. Navy SEAL
What a tragic day; Islamic terrorists from Al Qaeda hijacked commercial jets and used them to destroy the World Trade Center, hit the Pentagon and crashed a hijacked plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania taking 3,000 innocent lives; Americans and foreigners of all sizes, colors, languages and religions. Americans were shocked, mortified and caught completely off guard. Some mourned but others cheered our fate around the world.
We all remember what happened and we vowed to never forget. But the true meaning of never forget is not to forget what 9/11 means to our nation, to free people around the world and to never forget our mission.
I have never really tried to put together what 9/11 meant to me because of the far reaching impact it had on my life and where I was in my life at the time. It’s like being asked ‘What was BUDS like?’ or ‘What’s it like to be a Navy SEAL?’
The questions are just unanswerable in one sitting. The answers will usually produce a response of ‘really?’ or ‘You will have to come up with some better questions than that.’
My quick and ready answer is the first line of a Dickens book ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ Then I just walk away.
Al-Qaeda Training
The catastrophe ripped me to the core because I grew up only forty miles away in Upstate New Jersey and knew people in the area as most did from that part of the country. In addition to growing up in New Jersey, I could see New York City on the horizon from the top of a mountain behind my house.
I used to visit my grandparents and cousins who lived out on Remsen and we would see the towers as we went past Yankee Stadium. Occasionally, we’d go into the city to ride in the elevators in the towers and jump when we got to the top. You’d feel like you were going to slam into the ceiling and could feel the weightlessness as you moved so quickly.
Twin Towers, World Trade Center
The buildings were huge; but until you have actually seen them and been in them, you don’t get the full scope of what happened there.
About four days prior to 9/11, I was a young Navy SEAL and had just graduated from SQT, the last hurdle to jump before reporting to my assigned Team or Platoon. I was happy and excited to be a Frogman and didn’t have a care in the world. Like firemen, you don’t wish for people to get into accidents or for their houses to burn down, but you want to get out there and do something because you just made it to the big leagues.
I wanted to test my skills somewhere in the world and there really wasn’t much going on anywhere. I wanted something to happen so the SEAL’s could save someone from the bad guys.
I remember thinking that my generation had nothing to show for itself other than the advent of computer and video games.
Little did I know of the horror that awaited a nation - my nation that I signed on to protect.
(continued . . . )
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You can contact Ben Smith by an email to at the TeaPartyExpress or through www.moveamericaforward.org
Short URL: https://pronlinenews.com/?p=1523
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