Stories from america’s conflicts

September 11th

From: Judith Jones
New Jersey

”I lost my beloved son on September 11th ... he was on the 1904th floor of Tower #1. I watched on that fateful day the smoke billowing up into the clouds and couldn't believe my eyes. I kept telling myself that he got out once before and he would do it again. My husband and I stood transfixed in front of the television not believing what we were witnessing.

I only spoke to my son the night before and he as so happy and full of life. He had just moved into his home that past March and had so many plans for it. The sky was so blue and the clouds so white that the unfolding events seemed surreal. We grieve each and every day... for the wife and son and daughter that will never again know his love and kindness. We, his parents, remember him as a little boy and young man and then as a husband and father.  How could this happen to this wonderful son of ours? ... When will the hurt be less sharp or the sadness go away for even one whole day?  Will there ever be a day when I will not cry for him? I don't think so.”

From: John and Jan Vigiano
New York

”We just finished watching this year’s concert, and it brought back such wonderful memories of last year when you honored our family. Since then, a short documentary was made about our youngest son, Joe the Police Officer, and it won an Academy Award. Our life has never been filled with more kind and wonderful people since September 11th. Such tragedy brought so much good. Again, thank you for everything.”

From: LCDR Matthew Lee, USN, FPO AE 09501

"I was fortunate enough to serve alongside Major Kevin Nave, USMC. There was no finer officer than Kevin. May God bless his family.
“Thank you for a very respectful concert.”

From: Robert Dorf

"I would like to remember my brother Stephen Scott Dorf on this Memorial Day 2003 who lost his life on that fateful day called September 11th. Stephen was a hardworking person, a family person, and my youngest brother. On September 11th, he was like all those who worked in the World Trade Center, going to a job and earning a living. I want America to always remember those who lost their lives on September 11th and their families who deeply miss them. Keep them always in your prayers."

From: James H. Krass
Illinois

"I have watched your Memorial Day and Fourth of July concerts the last few years. Since September 11, 2001, these concerts have had more meaning to me. As a member of a local police department for 24 years, the attacks that occurred on September 11th showed me how vulnerable we all are.

During Mr. Osborne's comments about September 11th, he made the statement of over 3,000 men, women and children killed. I personally feel that the word murdered should have been used. This was an unprovoked, intentional and unlawful taking of innocent lives. These were not soldiers fighting a battle; these were civilians going about their daily lives. Kill and murder have different meanings, and feel that we have used them in the wrong context. I feel that it is time for us to use them in their proper text. I will continue to watch your concerts, and am looking forward to your Fourth of July concert. United we Stand Always."

From: Ms. E. M. Crampton
Texas

"11 September 2001
’Be still my soul,’ you say.
I cannot find my soul.
My soul is roaming amidst mountains of ashes
Searching for my heart.
Amidst the ashes of my brothers and sisters
And our beloved country's fathers and mothers
And children.
There, mingling with the sacred dust,
Are the remains of my heart.
A heart pierced by four burning planes.
My soul is roaring in anguish and despair.
It cannot exist without my heart.
And it cannot be still.”

(Written on September 11, 2001)

From: MaryEllen Salamone
New Jersey

For John Salamone on behalf of Alex, 7, Aidan, 6, and Anna, 4.

“On an unseasonably cold and misty evening in May, seven-year-old Alex reached his glove in the air with his eyes closed, and pulled it down to see the ball ... the last out. The parents cheered, the kids hugged. Alex ran over and said to me, ‘Do you think Daddy saw that?’ “Because what he did not get to see was his dad's beaming smile on the sideline, his pride, a father-son moment. Alex's dad was killed on September 11 at the World Trade Center.

“At age 37, John Salamone was robbed of the years he waited for all his life, the years to be a dad. He loved sports, he loved fun, he had so much to share, so much to teach, so much is lost. He could have been their strength, he should have been their comfort ... and now he is their hero, but a hero they cannot hug.

“Aidan is so much like him, Anna struggles to remember him. They will never forget him, they will never get over how he was lost. They deserve to be able to look back and know that our country did not stop securing our freedom so that a tragedy of this magnitude never again happened on our soil. They deserve to know that their Daddy did not die in vain. They deserve to remember his smile ... God, I pray they remember his smile."

REFLECTIONS

“Thank you, James, for your ultimate sacrifice you made for your country. It was your dedication as a soldier and man that helped me through that terrible year in Nam. Soldiers like you are what make our freedoms so special. I thank God for people like you and will make sure your sacrifices will never be forgotten.”

Veteran in Virginia