story4485.xml

story4485.xml

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2002-09-11

My son Jonathan had been called up by the Colorado Air National Guard on September 10, 2001, to complete his crew chief OTJ training at Shepherd Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Tx. After a hectic day of getting everything squared away for him to be gone from the ranch he and I lived on for six months and getting him to Denver to catch his flight to Texas that Monday, I received his phone call telling me that he had made it safe and sound late that night. Before he said goodnight, he told me of a Marine Lt. that had berated him for wearing his uniform on the flight down (which he had been ordered to do by the ANG). This LT. explained that it was dangerous for him to be in uniform just in case anything should go wrong on the flight, such as a hi-jacking by terrorists or something. He then told Jonathan where to hide his orders and his military ID next time when he would be in civilian clothing. We sort of laughed about the conversation and I said, "Well, he is right--just be sure to tell your superiors about the conversation with the Marine."
The next morning, I was lying in bed watching the 6:00 am local news and praying for my son's first day on base in Texas. Suddenly, our local news switched to the Today Show in New York about 6 minutes early. There I watched in horror as the flames from the first tower hit grew and grew. While Matt Lauer was talking, I watched as the second plane hit the second tower. I knew then that something was dreadfully wrong. When terrorism became apparent, my first thought was, "And I just sent my only country my only son. God bless them both." My second thought was, "Neither he nor I would want it any other way." God continue to bless this country and my son who is on active orders with the Colorado Air National Guard at Buckley Air Base, Denver, CO.