Throughout this country's history, each war the enemy was easily recognizable. During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the enemy wore red coats. The civil war was between Blue and Gray.
During the past ten years we've been involved in a different war. The war on terror. The terrorists don't have a uniform. They also don't limit their attacks to military personnel. On September 11, 2011, a new sort of war was started. Instead of attacking the military, the terrorists attacked citizens.
The draft ended in the 70's, but the terrorists reinstituted the draft on September 11, 2011. They didn't have a lottery. The draftees weren't warned in advance that they could be drafted. Christine Lee Hanson was two years old and on her way to Disney World with her parents. She was drafted into this war.
Beth Ann Quigly, a trader at the World Trade Center. She was 25 years old. She was drafted into this war.
There were 2,966 deaths from the attack on September 11. Women, children, elderly. Of the 2,966, only 55 had any affiliation with the military. Those 55 were at the Pentagon.
Of those killed on that day, only those on the flight that went down in Pennsylvania chose to join in the fight against terrorism. But they chose it out of necessity because they were forced into the choice. They had heard about the other hijackings and decided to fight to take the plane back. They failed in bringing the plane to safety, but they succeeded in saving other lives by stopping the plane from reaching its' destination of either the White House or the Capitol.
Our fallen soldiers from wars in our lifetimes and wars previous to our lives will be honored on Monday. Even if it's just a cookout in the backyard or a day off work or school. Those that died at the beginning of this war, that didn't know they were about to sacrifice their lives and those that knew they were about to sacrifice their lives on the Pennsylvania flight are also warriors in this nations history.
You're welcome to comment.
Brett
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