Let's Roll

Great post!!

I have to say AD, I this might be your first post that I disagree with, and I disagree strongly…

I'm a cop. We already have a national Police Week, and we have a National Law Enforcement Memorial. Military veterans have Memorial Day. There is nothing on that kind of a scale for firefighters, and there should be.

It takes a special kind of person to sign up to put themselves in harm's way. Do you think it is only appropriate to honor people like that when they die?

Those heroic firefighters who died on 9/11 did what they signed up for. They suited up, walked right into hell on earth, and rescued thousands of innocent people.

This is exactly the same thing that firefighters in Texas do every day. The fact that they didn't die doing it doesn't change the basic choice they made when faced with that moment of truth. On 9/11, those firefighters chose to be heroes, and firefighters all over this country make that same choice every day.

Nobody signs up to be a cop, firefighter or soldier to die. People sign up to do these things out a sense of service (or at least they should anyways). Your attitude seems to be that if they die doing what they signed up for, it isn't that big of a deal. I really don't get that..

Maybe we just disagree with the choice of the day? You think that 9/11 should belong to the victims and the civilian heroes? I guess I could accept that. But firefighters deserve their own recognition. Choosing a day where they lost so many of their brothers seems to make sense to me.

Tanner

I agree with you post! Good job!

I'm not against the firefighters having a memorial day or week, Tanner.

I just don't think it should be on September 11, and here's why:

If we do it on that day, then we're saying that the manner of their death is what defined their lives.

Are they deserving of honor just because they died on September 11, or are they deserving of honor for every other act of bravery and sacrifice they performed, on countless other days of their lives?

And I'll stand by my assertion that, dying, in and of itself, is not heroic.

To choose September 11 as the day for a nationwide firefighter's memorial day focuses on their death, and ignores the quiet heroism of their lives.

"I'll stand by my assertion that, dying, in and of itself, is not heroic"

I agree, the heroic part is how they work their jobs, day in and day out. The heroic part was to run into the building when everyone else was running out.

"To choose September 11 as the day for a nationwide firefighter's memorial day focuses on their death, and ignores the quiet heroism of their lives."

I don't see it that way at all.

Epic tales are told throughout human history of bravery and honor. Many of these stories involve the death of the hero. These stories help put the heroic acts into terms that people can relate to.

This date in history is a shining example of the bravery of our nation's firefighters. I can understand why they would want to use this particular date in history to celebrate these heroes.

I kind of understand your point though, we don't celebrate Memorial Day on a date where we lost a large number of soldiers or Police Week when a bunch of cops died.

This day resonates with the American people though. They want to remember the good that happened that day and ignore the ugly truth.

And on another note, if they did choose to associate honoring firefighters with this date, it would probably keep the memory going longer. The day that would live in infamy is largely forgotten today, isn't it?

Tanner

To be completely honest, the passengers on Flight 93 did not give their lives that day. Their lives had already been taken from them the moment that aircraft was hijacked. From that moment, those passengers' lives were already forfeit. By attempting to resist, they were merely changing the method of their death, they sacrificed nothing, instead trying to take back the aircraft in a failed attempt to overpower the hijackers and save their own lives.

The firefighters, on the other hand, entered that tower and (at least in the second tower) knew that they were going to die. Had they refused to enter, they would have lived. The difference was expressed well by Shakespeare:

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"

The firefighters achieved greatness, and Flight 93 had greatness thrust upon them.

Well said AD… I lost three friends in the Pentagon on 9/11. They were doing their jobs…

I agree AD, especially about the vacuous, blowhard politicos, who are not worth a puddle of warm spit. All they do is get my back up.

Gerry N.

I agree wholeheartedly AD. Spot on post.

I strongly agree AD. Hero is a word that is used way too loosely. Regardless of what Anonymous thinks, being a hero is not some status that you get for being part of an organization.
Our military as a whole has made a great many sacrifices. But not all of them have been in harms way. The firefighters, police, emts, etc of new york that died that day made the ultimate sacrifice. but it was their job!
It makes me sick to see our profession riding on the coat tails of those people.
keep it up AD. love to read your blog.

I see both your points, but I take exception at downplaying the courage of those on Flight 93's courage. Taking action, ANY action, was an act of great courage. They had the choice of wringing their hands and crying 'poor me' and actually taking steps to maintain SOME control over the extent of damage that would be caused by the crash. They decided to die on their own terms rather than be used as a weapon to kill hundreds of others.

Perhaps they truly thought they could successfully bring down the flight, saving all on board. Who knows? What counts is that they ACTED – no training, no guarantees.

They truly are heroes in MY mind!!!

I could not agree more.

Yesterday, while driving up for his cousin's funeral, my husband stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial. He arrived after the pontificating, after the services, after the moments of silence and the tolling of bells at the hour and minute of the crash. He said there were only about a hundred people still there, one of them the sister of one of the victims, who looked so much like her late sister that it was eerie. As he told me about his visit on the phone (my auto accident 8 weeks before prohibited me from making the trip with him), his voice was hushed. He described the temporary memorial constructed there, as well as the planned permanent structure. He said the scar on the ground from the crash was no longer evident, and it almost seemed like sacrilege that such a horror had occurred on this little flat spot in the midst of peaceful rolling hills. It was horrifyingly wrong that this patch of beauty was the site of such unspeakable horror and incredible honor.

As we talked, he was walking back to his car. I said that NYC would forever have the horror of so many deaths, for there were so many at one time. But in that small field outside Shanksville, there was the final triumph of American heroes on that day. Not that I felt that the loss of so many EMS, FD, PD and other rescue personnel was any less of a sacrifice, but AD, you're right. It's the nature of the job. Danger is inherent. I applaud those who went up the tower stairs when every human emotion would've screamed for self-preservation. I suspect, for them, such work is a calling, and so those instincts are ignored. And those men and women knew the dangers when they signed on. Does the fact that it was their duty make it any less heroic to me? I suppose not, but it was still what they were supposed to do. I ache for their families, who are undoubtedly still grieving, just like anyone else touched by 9/11.

The real heroes to me, though, are those 40 passengers on Flight 93. Yes, their lives were in essence "taken" from them at the moment the hijackers overtook the plane. But rather than meekly accept that, rather than allow four men to dictate the lives and ends of ten times as many people, and KNOWING what they were about to do would likely be their last act on earth (as shown by Todd Beamer's final phone call to his wife), they acted.

They used what they had at their disposal to fight off men with guns, men bent on destruction. How many of us, even outnumbering gunmen like the passengers did, would have fought back, knowing that the sole aim was to keep that jet from Washington? How many lives did they save?

There's the difference for me. They could have meekly accepted their fates. Instead, they chose a course of action, in angry defense of their country and their countrymen, that they knew would bring about almost certain death. Yes, they would have died either way. But there's a difference between sitting there and letting someone pull the trigger of the gun at your temple and fighting back to save your life or the lives of countless others, and taking the bullet anyway.

The terrorists on Flight 93 made the mistake of screwing with Americans who weren't about to take it lying down. Those men and women are my heroes. Todd Beamer knew he was likely going to make his wife a widow, and still said, "Let's roll." They refused to just sit there. They fought back.

As my husband got to his car, he saw a father with his little girl in the parking lot, overlooking the field and the tent and the memorial. The girl was 7 or 8. Her father gestured to the sky, and then the flat expanse of ground where the jet was brought down. Not old enough to know the story or to remember the day, that girl.

Here, I imagine her father said, here is where heroes died.

I think there is plenty of honor and admiration to go around.

I dont think 9/11 should be "firefighter day", they should have a seperate day for recognition.

Good points are made by everyone!

AD–your compassion and directness are refreshing. You would not be EMS if you were not compassionate.

But rather than disagree, can we agree that EVERYBODY who died on 9/11 were Americans? Though a few may have been from other countries: on that day they were Americans. The reason that they died was not because they were cops or firefighters, but because they were Americans.

In a way, remembering 9/11 is more about the many sacrifices and the great heroism shown on that day. It is worthy to realize that it was AMERICA that was attacked–the land of dreams, the land of freedom. To call the roll of the names of those that perished is normal. But the real roll call is for ALL of us who live in and love this land. We were all attacked. We were all hurt.

The old saying: All gave some, some gave all. All were attacked, some paid with their blood. Of course we should remember those who fell that day. But it was all of us who were attacked. All of use were assaulted.

If there should be a Firefighters Day, then lets do it. We need a holiday between New Years and Easter. Feb 2 is Groundhogs Day, I nominate that to be renamed First Responders Day.

"Patriot" is a word that has lost meaning. Or rather, its meaning has been prostituted to politics. When I think 'Patriots Day' I think 'Great Patriotic War', which is probably EXACTLY why Obama and Company want to use it. DAMN THEM. They draw a moral equivalency to the communists of the fUSSR to the men and women who were murdered on 9/11.

The passengers on Flight 93 were Minutemen Reborn. For the first time since 1812, our nations capital was under attack. They formed a MILITIA and acted in concert as a military unit…armed with coffee pots and bad attitudes. But they did fight back. Are they any different than or g-g-g-g-grandfathers who defended our newly-born Republic with muskets and sabers?

I can't see tying a firefighter memorial day with 9-11 National militia day to recognize the folks on flight 93 maybe but if we're going to have a National Firefighters day it should be on a different day.

One thing I'm surprised that none of the bloggers I read have linked Leslie Fish's song Flight 93, apparently it was written September of 2001
http://www.lesliefish.com/mp3s/flight93.mp3

Was at a friends last night and someone said it best 'Those who only act patriotic on 9/11 are at best hypocrites'. Yes it sucked and a lot of good folks lost their lives, but to only remember that one day a year isn't right. To honor everyone's sacrifice that day… yes, but not the memory.

Articulation isn't working at the moment, hopefully folks will get what I'm trying to say.

http://weekend.firehero.org/

"Every October, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation sponsors the official national tribute to all firefighters who died in the line-of-duty during the previous year. Thousands attend the Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend features special programs for survivors and co-workers along with public ceremonies. "

The firefighters that entered the towers on that day did not go in knowing that they were going to die. They knew that there was a risk, but not a certainty, that some of them might die. No one expected the towers to collapse, the fire command staff set up the command post in the lobby of the south tower. They would not have done that if they expected the tower to collapse.

A friend of mine (and AD's for that matter) worked for the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management. His office was at 7 WTC. The story he tells of his narrow escape is harrowing, but no part of it includes the expectation that either tower would fall.

Tanner, the day is forgotten because the Lame Stream Media has made a concerted effort since about 2003 to make the public forget. Keeping those attacks in the public's memory would inhibit the media's ability to undermine the American military response. Wouldn't fit the LSM narrative and they can't have that.

The fire fighters have their memorial weekend, September 11 should be set aside to remember the lives of everyone who was murdered on that day and to keep the memory of the attack alive.

The world needs heroes.There were plenty to go around that day. If people want to consider firefighters heroes, that is their perogative.

I was assigned to Engine 9 on Providence's east side the day of the attacks. I never felt heroic, nor do I ever expect to feel heroic, but I did feel an enormous sense of pride in the days and months following 9-11.

TOTWTYTR has it right, firefighters already have a day. It shouldn't be a national holiday, rather a time where firefighters, their friends and families and anybody who wishes to can honor the fallen.

I generally agree with you on this, except for one item. This will probably seem like nitpicking to most, but it's something I've given a lot of thought since shortly after the first Gulf War. Dying in the line of duty isn't de facto heroic. It's not pleasant to say this, but getting killed by a mortar dropping on your cab when waiting to pass a checkpoint in a truck full of supplies, or getting sniped while on gate duty isn't heroic. It is tragic, but an occupational hazard. But, and this is an important "but", when someone puts their life on the line, fully aware the odds are against coming back alive, I think that is heroic. They're the people who smother a grenade with their body or draw fire intentionally so their team mates don't die, or in the case of someone who was in my unit, throws a little girl out the hole in the ice she fell through, then drowns after hypothermia sets in before the Fire Department can get there to save him. Most people who die in the line of duty aren't heroes in the classical sense of the word, but some are.

I generally agree with you on this, except for one item. This will probably seem like nitpicking to most, but it's something I've given a lot of thought since shortly after the first Gulf War. Dying in the line of duty isn't de facto heroic. It's not pleasant to say this, but getting killed by a mortar dropping on your cab when waiting to pass a checkpoint in a truck full of supplies, or getting sniped while on gate duty isn't heroic. It is tragic, but an occupational hazard. But, and this is an important "but", when someone puts their life on the line, fully aware the odds are against coming back alive, I think that is heroic. They're the people who smother a grenade with their body or draw fire intentionally so their team mates don't die, or in the case of someone who was in my unit, throws a little girl out the hole in the ice she fell through, then drowns after hypothermia sets in before the Fire Department can get there to save him.

Most people who die in the line of duty aren't heroes in the classical sense of the word, but some are.

I completely agree, Mauser Medic.

My concern is, we throw the word hero around so carelessly these days, that we threaten to render it meaningless.

There is a difference between bravery and heroism. We tend to forget that.

Brilliant post and well said. To do what they did took real guts and emense bravery.

As AD knows, I am a police detective in Philadelphia. I have been a police officer/detective for 15 years now, and I have done a lot of things that someone may consider "heroic." Of course, running into a burning building was the stupidest thing I have ever done. I will be the first one to tell you that I'm no hero. This is a job. It is a tough, dangerous job with little to no repsect, but it is a job nonetheless. I work with many heroes, but the title "hero" is earned, not given.

Of course, having said that, I think the police officers and firefighters who died in the WTC attacks were heroes. They rushed into the Towers to rescue people with complete disregard to their own safety. To me, that is heroic.

September 11 should be a day of mourning. While many heroes lost their lives, there were heroic efforts by all U.S. citizen that ignored their own feelings to stop and continued with their lives, even though their horror and sadness was overwhelming.