I was walking into my office, and the waiting room tv was on. The news broke in with footage of the first tower in flames. The video feed was just in time to catch the second airliner hit the second building. I never in my life felt that kind of shock. Then, all I heard was sirens, and helicopters. My office was a couple miles from the Pentagon. I looked outside, and saw a huge plume of thick smoke rising from there. I was glued to the tv until the rest of the staff got in. Then, a young flight attendant came in shaking, and crying. She had to sit down before she could speak. Turned out that she was scheduled to be on one of those aircraft, but switched with a friend. One of our assistants had to drive her home right then. We all watched events as they unfolded. Traffic instantly became a nightmare for those trying to get into or out of DC. That night, when I was home, my wife and I watching all the news about what had just happened. She is a native New Yorker, and she wanted only to be shown who to kill. I must say I felt the same way. I had retired from the Air Force 2 years before, and I kept waiting for a call that didn’t come. I still had my mobility bag mostly packed. I have never felt that we really got even for that. We did nuke the Japanese for Pearl Harbor. I think we should have responded in the same degree.
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