Never Forget

Five years ago today I crawled out of my bed and walked into the hallway of my fraternity house at Iowa State. As I staggered down the hallway something seemed strange. I could tell that almost every TV in each room was on, and before 10:00 in the morning?

I walked into my room to see the complete horror of that day. I watched on TV as both the towers fell, and as they reported from the Pentagon, and about that small field in Pennsylvania.

I watched Bush's speech that day, the next day, and one year later. I knew that he would do what was necessary.

My mother called me that day, also. She rarely did - she respected my privacy as a college student. She asked me to please let her know before I did anything - or joined anything. She wanted to be the first to know if I was going to be leaving school. A number of us thought about at the time; it was quite a role reversal from the care-free college student.

We, as a nation, must never forget the horrors of that day. We must never forget who was and is responsible. We must also never allow the history of that day to be rewritten or watered down in order for it to be "politically correct." Radical fundamentalist Islamic fascist terrorists are at war with us, with our way of life, and with our nation. They neither hesitate nor show remorse for their atrocities and given the chance they would gladly murder us all without a second thought. There is a difference between us and them, and not even as complex as cultural, political, or sociological.

They cheered when the towers fell, and as nearly 3,000 Americans died.

And we will never forget.