9/11 Veterans Recall Moment 'The Whole World Stopped'

ABSOLUTELY...I was and execofficer for a memeber of the Senior Executive Service. I broke into one of his meetings on a telecon which no one was ever allowed to do. He looked at me like he was readyt o chop my head off when I whispered in his ear what was going on and that he needed to go to his office, close the blinds, and stay there until the OSI agents to protect him showed up. We went into the conference room and turned the TV on just in time to see the second plane crash into tower 2. We immediately went into Threatcon Delta. I ran to the front door of the building and unbeknown to me my wife was approaching with my 3 year old daughter to bring us cookies and say hello. I had to lock the doors to secure the facility and tell her through the glass to get in her car and go home immediately and I would call when I could. On her way to our house on base she passed several Security forces cars with lights going and sirens blowing and hummers at the gates with full up weapons on top pointed a the closed gates...she was crying and my baby was crying as they didn't know what was next...hard day. She was crying, as well as was I because we had no clue what was happening. I went onto my office and hit my knees and cried and prayed out because I knew everything I knew about our world had changed in an instant and would never be the same. I gathered myself, the OSI showed up, secured my boss and was his shadow for the next couple of weeks. For the next couple of days they needed augmentees to secure the gates so the top three and the Company Grade Officers Council armed up and stood watch with the cops on the perimeter. Our lives changed that day...our outlook out training, our everything changed...where we are now in the military is the new normal. It was a day I will never forget as long as I have breath in me.

Lt Col Charlie Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth

As did we all...