Today is the Tenth Anniversary of that sunny Tuesday morning when the Towers fell. Driving through lower Manhattan last night we saw the tower rising nearly 80 stories into the sky and the workers preparing the site for the ceremonies today.
Also the heightened security at the tunnels and nearby streets.
Still remember the papers flying through the air over a half mile away, the burnt pulverized concrete dust falling from the sky. The smell, which lingered for weeks afterwards. And the long walk home that the summer morning with the smoke plume rising in the sky.
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.
Read the rest or hear it here.
I’ve used this before.
Hat Tip to to Cap’n Bob (http://capnbob.us)
