OT - NO POLITICS Hard to believe it has been 20 years....

[Fenway]

The sobering reality is the US was caught off guard that horrible morning.

Because of budget cuts in the '80s and '90s, the Air Force closed down bases in Newburgh, NY and Burlington, NJ and the nearest scramble unit to Manhattan was in Mashpee, MA.

The rationale was that the only way the US could be attacked was by missiles and I understand that logic.

I have known Ginny Buckingham for years and she had the misfortune of being the head of Massport when the attacks happened. New Yorkers immediately blamed lax security at Logan for the attacks on NY forgetting that the other 2 planes came from DC and Newark.

Logan was picked for the NYC attacks because of geography and jets loaded with fuel heading to California.

Ginny was a PR genius - and was left out to dry by acting Governor Jane Swift.

 

[LouJersey]

I mean even with these "absurd ROEs" you're talking about there were still thousands and thousands of civilian deaths due to US military action. Hate to see what that number would've been if the rules were more lax.

I agree. At some point someone has to value in invest human life. That being said, when the bad guys surround themselves with innocent people and use those rules against you purposely, well you need to make a decision and those I’m imaging aren’t always easy.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Yeah that’s another big issue,always amazed when people who commit these crimes ,and others mass shootings ,Boston bombers,the FBI had warnings about them ,and many others ,yet they just seemed to ignore them.

Unfortunate as it is there are many, many more we will never hear about because the agencies did act on others. If only they could be 100% but hindsight is 20-20. These events will never be forgotten, even generations later, honoring the fallen and the heroes.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Fenway]

 

[Bocephus86]

Went to NYC this year for the first time to do some 9/11 memorial things. My girlfriend had an uncle & a cousin who were FDNY and died that day (1 in both towers). I was just a high school freshman when it all happened, it sent me down a bad path for a while but I didn't really know anyone that died. It was very different experiencing this weekend with her family. No mention of the war, rage, the terrorists, politics... none of it, just remembering their two relatives and the men they died with that day. A true memorial. The entire thing felt like the right way to remember what happened, with the focus on the personal stories of heroism and loss - the focus on the best of us, so to speak.

Also the timeline part of the museum was the heaviest place I've ever been. My GFs sister had her BF there with us, he said the only place he'd ever been that felt as heavy as it was the Holocaust museum. I'm not surprised. Half her family wouldn't go in with us, referring to it as 'the scary room'.

 

[RoccoF14]

I resigned my commission in the Navy 12 months prior to 9/11. Wife and I wanted to start a family and I didn't want to be gone while my kids were growing up. Had I known that 9/11 was going to happen, there's no way I would have left active duty...

I was still a reservist on 9/11 but I was flying a desk instead of an F-14. I immediately called my detailer and told him I wanted back on active duty and I'd take any squadron that needed a warm body. No dice. Some of my best friends were at the Pentagon at the time of the attack (2 decorated for bravery that day, evacuating people) and a number of my other friends (many of whom, I trained) flew the first strikes into Afghanistan in early October. I would have given anything to have been with them....

My wife still hates it when I say that, but she gets it.....

 

[RoccoF14]

.....some of the footage at the beginning of this might be tough to watch again, so if that is the case or the mods feel it is inappropriate, I apologize.



FYI, at the 9:10 mark, that mountain that they are flying past is Mt Suribachi, on the island of Iwo Jima........

 

[Bruinaura]

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

The sobering reality is the US was caught off guard that horrible morning.

Because of budget cuts in the '80s and '90s, the Air Force closed down bases in Newburgh, NY and Burlington, NJ and the nearest scramble unit to Manhattan was in Mashpee, MA.

The rationale was that the only way the US could be attacked was by missiles and I understand that logic.

I have known Ginny Buckingham for years and she had the misfortune of being the head of Massport when the attacks happened. New Yorkers immediately blamed lax security at Logan for the attacks on NY forgetting that the other 2 planes came from DC and Newark.

Logan was picked for the NYC attacks because of geography and jets loaded with fuel heading to California.

Ginny was a PR genius - and was left out to dry by acting Governor Jane Swift.

I stopped watching just after the 7 minute mark when she laughed sounding careless saying she thought it was a small plane.

 

[Fenway]

I stopped watching just after the 7 minute mark when she laughed sounding careless saying she thought it was a small plane.

In fairness, most initial reports indicated it was a small plane - but the second plane ended that assumption.

 

[BMC]

In fairness, most initial reports indicated it was a small plane - but the second plane ended that assumption.

Yes, my mother called me at the office to tell me what had happened. We were speculating about whether it was a small plane or a larger one & how it could have happened when all of a sudden she cried "oh another plane just hit the second tower, a big one"...and we knew.

 

[Bruinaura]

Interesting that two days after 9/11 is the Star Spangled Banner day. If you've never been, I highly recommend a visit to Fort McHenry.

 

[GabeTravels]

If you've got Apple TV+ and you like musicals, watch Come From Away.

True story about the town of Gander, Newfoundland and them taking in 7,000 diverted passengers. Very, very well done.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Fenway]

The finished commercial



and then this happened