A Paws Salute Remembering Neighbors on September 11th

"Liberty Memorial in Prince William County, VA"
(C) Prince William County Government

WOOF!!! My human grew up in the Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia area before moving a bit north for his career after college.  He had family and many friends in the area he'd visit. As God would have it, he moved back to the Prince William County area when he retired.

"Steel Near the Liberty Memorial"
(C) Prince William County Government

The Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began like any other day. A work day. Drop the wife off at the metro-rail and head to the office. Less than three hours later, life changed in an instant.  The terrorist attacks hit the World Trade Centers Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and a plane went down in a Pennsylvania field.

The chaos and stress which ensued were beyond anyone's imagination. A 10:00 a.m. call from Mom to Dad let him know she was headed his way.  He knew she would overcome many obstacles to get to his location.  Though he wanted to make it easier on her by driving closer to her office, it was not wise as most roads, if not all, would be jammed with traffic and it could cause too much confusion. A location near the subway not far from his office was selected. Dad says, "not knowing whether I would see her again is something I never want to go through again! I prayed for her safety."  Two hours of waiting was stressful but ended with making good use of the (appropriately named) kiss-and-ride lanes at the metro station. The sad day ended with the knowledge of friends who survived the attacks while one special lady friend stood at the site waiting for husband to come out.

Recently, we learned there were many residents of Prince William County who lost their lives in the September 11 terror attacks, I decided to paw a salute to these men and women who were working diligently at their jobs when the attacks happened.  Prince William County lost the most residents of any other metropolitan jurisdiction. These residents names were honored by being inscribed at the Liberty Memorial. We remember:

Sergeant First Class John J. Chada, U.S. Army, Retired

Petty Officer Third Class Jamie L. Fallon, U.S. Navy

Amelia V. Fields

Lt. Col. Robert J. Hymel, U.S. Air Force, Retired

Sergeant Major Lacey B. Ivory, U.S. Army

Judith L. Jones

David W. Laychak

James T. Lynch, Jr.

Gene E. Maloy

Robert J. Maxwell

Molly L. McKenzie

Craig J. Miller

Diana B. Padro

Rhonda S. Rasmussen

Edward V. Rowenhorst

Judy Rowlett

Donald D. Simmons

Jeff L. Simpson

Cheryle D. Sincock

Chief Information Systems Technician Gregg H. Smallwood, U.S. Navy

Sergeant Major Larry L. Strickland, U.S. Army

Sandra L. White

Barkingly, we salute the pawsome First Responders and the Search and Rescue Dogs throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area who immediately went into action to assist those at the Pentagon. My paws go out to the humans who lost loved ones on that tragic day.

"Memorial to USMC Veterans Serving as Firefighters at World Trade Center on September 11!”
(C) Tony Chang, Flickr Creative Commons