By 8.30 a.m., with 800 Argentine troops ashore and 2,000 more about to join them, the islands’ British-appointed governor recognised the futility of resistance by the small garrison of Royal Marines at his disposal and agreed to surrender. A few hours later, a larger landing force began unloading troops in Stanley harbour. May God bless them and this great country.Shortly after midnight on the morning of April 2, 1982, a detachment of Argentine commandos landed on the Falkland Islands, a South Atlantic archipelago a few hundred miles off the country’s southern coast, and moved overland toward the settlement’s capital, Port Stanley. May we never forget the victims and heroes of 9/11. It was at once our darkest hour and our finest hour. In short, 9/11 was a violent, horrific and sad day that brought out the best in everyday Americans. In his mid-20s, he enlisted in the Marine Corps after 9/11 and died fighting terrorists in Iraq, a cross made of World Trade Center steel around his neck. The events of that day and the heroes of that day also inspired other selfless Americans like my friend Lance Corporal Mike Glover. Rodriquez bravely led firefighters up the stairs unlocking doors as they ascended saving at least 15 lives.Īnd the passengers on Flight 93 who helped subdue the terrorists and crash the plane in Pennsylvania, possibly sparing a deadlier attack on the White House or the U.S. William Rodriguez, was a maintenance worker at the World Trade Center who had a master key. A father and his four sons answered the call on 9/11 with youngest son, Joseph Patrick Henry, killed along with his entire unit from Ladder 21. She went back into the building one last time when the tower collapsed and she was killed.Īnd the Henry Family of first responders. ![]() And even more inspiring are the stories of ordinary Americans who performed acts of extraordinary heroism like NYPD officer Moira Smith, who went in and out of the burning tower pulling people to safety. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories of survival on 9/11. Her colleagues survived the impact of the plane but all 69 of them perished when the tower fell. The fire below made it impossible for anyone above it to go down the stairs. The plane hit the North Tower just below her offices. When she came up from the subway the first plane had just hit. The cake altered Sue’s schedule, and she took a different subway than normal and arrived at work at a later time. On the morning of 9/11 Sue was icing the cake. Sue, who worked on the 92nd Floor of the North Tower had baked a birthday cake for Meghan the night of September 10th. My youngest sister Meghan’s birthday is September 11th. Cell phones weren’t working so I couldn’t call my sister or my parents or any of my other siblings.Ī few hours went by and finally I got hold of my mother who answered the phone not by saying, “Hello”, but by saying, “She wasn’t in the building.” Reports of the second tower falling were devastating. I hoped for the best, but feared the worst, and I knew the worst was a real possibility. And then reports came across that the second tower was hit. I listened to the radio in my car for news updates. So I was hoping that the tower that was hit was not the one my sister worked in. I just knew she worked way up in one of the towers. ![]() ![]() Terrorists blew up one of the Twin Towers.” I said, “Oh my God, my sister Sue works in one of the Twin Towers.” She asked, “Which one?” But at the moment I couldn’t remember which one. I asked a classmate what was going on and she said, “You don’t know? We’re at war. But for some reason, on this day, everyone was walking to their cars and leaving. Normally, at this time of the morning, students are streaming from the parking lot to the classroom buildings. I’m an early riser, so I would get to school at 6:00 am to study in the quiet basement of one of the classroom buildings with no distractions.Īfter studying for a few hours, I headed out to my car to get a book at about 9:00 am. At the time, I was a few weeks into my first semester of law school at Pace Law in White Plains. I will certainly never forget the moment I first learned of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
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