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Sunday, September 11. 2011
Where Were You On 9/11?
With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, I came across a pretty incredible story from the Washington Post entitled, "F-16 pilot was ready to give her life on Sept. 11."
I had a number of conversations about that fateful day. The typical question is always, "where were you when 9/11 happened?" I noticed that a lot of Americans view the event as exclusively an American event; however, it definitely affected all of North America, and Canada was definitely affected.
In either case, to prove that Canada does in fact have a military, this was where I was on 9/11. Home of the Pacific Fleet:
The other really strange thought is that there are kids right now that know nothing about 9/11 because they were born after it.
Late in the morning of the Tuesday that changed everything, Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney was on a runway at Andrews Air Force Base and ready to fly. She had her hand on the throttle of an F-16 and she had her orders: Bring down United Airlines Flight 93. The day’s fourth hijacked airliner seemed to be hurtling toward Washington. Penney, one of the first two combat pilots in the air that morning, was told to stop it.
The one thing she didn’t have as she roared into the crystalline sky was live ammunition. Or missiles. Or anything at all to throw at a hostile aircraft.
Except her own plane. So that was the plan.
Because the surprise attacks were unfolding, in that innocent age, faster than they could arm war planes, Penney and her commanding officer went up to fly their jets straight into a Boeing 757.
The one thing she didn’t have as she roared into the crystalline sky was live ammunition. Or missiles. Or anything at all to throw at a hostile aircraft.
Except her own plane. So that was the plan.
Because the surprise attacks were unfolding, in that innocent age, faster than they could arm war planes, Penney and her commanding officer went up to fly their jets straight into a Boeing 757.
I had a number of conversations about that fateful day. The typical question is always, "where were you when 9/11 happened?" I noticed that a lot of Americans view the event as exclusively an American event; however, it definitely affected all of North America, and Canada was definitely affected.
One of the conversations went like this:
American: Where were you on 9/11?
Chan: On a Canadian navy base.
America: Wait, Canada has an army?
Chan: ...
Chan: Who said anything about an army?
America: Why would Canada need a military?
In either case, to prove that Canada does in fact have a military, this was where I was on 9/11. Home of the Pacific Fleet:
The other really strange thought is that there are kids right now that know nothing about 9/11 because they were born after it.
--Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Irish-born British politician, writer